My Menopausal Musings

For the past few years I have been reading articles and interviewing woman about menopause symptoms and remedies. We've talk about trying everything from tincture of sage to hormone replacement therapy. Today the NY Times published " Menopause, as Brought to You by Big Pharma ," by Natasha Singer and Duff Wilson. It's certainly an eye-opener. Lawsuits and internal documents show how Pfizer and its predecessors promoted the idea of taking hormone drugs. If you or someone you love is careening into menopause, have them talk to family, friends and doctors. Be informed. For me, the cure for my hot flashes was sex. I highly recommend it ;-)

How many chances do we get? Are there a finite number of times for a do-over or do we get as many chances as we make for ourselves? An endless cycle of failing, trying and succeeding constantly swirls around me. Each new turn surprises me even though there can be nothing more certain than this cycle of change. Fail; try; succeed. Fail; try; succeed. Fail; try; succeed. As I’ve gotten a bit older I’ve become more Zen about the cycles. The one thing I feel sure of is that each one is no better than the other. Each cycle offers its lesson. I’ve struggled these past few years to be more open – telling my story; exposing the mysteries of hot flashes and my tears; bearing my heart on the pages of my book. In spite of my efforts, I have not been completely honest with myself. I’ve been spinning out of control. No one knew, not even me, and so the spinning continued. Finally, realizing I was dizzy, I discovered that all I had to do was to reach out my hand and everyone that loves me g...

I'm not sure what's more surprising, that there is a World Menopause Day or that it's something I seem to be paying attention at this point in my life. In any event, what's really important is raising awareness and opening the dialogue about menopause and how it effects all of us. That's right, I said all of us -- pre- peri- or just plain old menopausal women AND the people who love them. So, here we go.... HOT Sales FLASH! Help boost sales of I THOUGHT I GREW UP on October 18th for World Menopause Day. Have you been waiting to get your copy or perhaps been thinking about sharing I THOUGHT I GREW UP with a friend? You've waited this long, so here's what I'd like for you to do to help me on my path to Oprah ;-). Let's try to direct our heat with a laser-like focus on the goal at hand. SALES!!! Buy it on Barnes & Noble Buy it on Amazon Of course you're always welcome to buy a book whenever you are moved to do so (God bless you), but I say l...

I am happy to report that my memoir about dating through hot flashes is officially being published! I Thought I Grew Up should hit Amazon by mid-May. We're busily putting the final touches on the cover copy and art. I'll certainly keep you posted as this dream is realized.

Months have passed. Valentine's Day is nearly here again, and not surprisingly, I'm single again. The lack of sex, although it wasn't that regular during my last relationship, seems to have brought on a new round of hot flashes. That said, I do seem to be on a much better footing. Oddly enough, so does our country. The nation has a new man in it's life and I figure I'm about due for something good myself. I've finished my memoir, which proudly began on this blog and it should be available for purchase by this spring. I realize I promised updates on the publishing process, but with the whole break-up combined with a world financial meltdown and an election, I guess it's all kept me a little busy ;-) I seem to have moved into a new menopause phase which I will begin to share again on my Boomer Girl blog. In the meantime, I'll let you know how the book is coming on this site. I've got to give a table of contents some thought and then I'm off ...

Between the next rounds of dating was a little more down time than usual. It wasn’t just me; everyone was spending less time on personal matters and turning all attention to politics and the war. It seemed as though my hot flashes were running as hot as the political debates. The hot flashes were never ending. I was not sleeping as well as usual. I wake myself up in the middle of the night because I am wildly ripping the clothes off my body. I am alone. I am just hotter than hell. It’s unbelievable. I am finally comfortable and drift back off to sleep only to awaken because I am so cold that I must get up to retrieve the duvet from the floor. Months of practice have enabled me to strip and merely throw the duvet to the side for easy recovery. My sleep is interrupted a bit less. Friends are considering hormone replacement therapy to subside their hot flashes. Others are talking about herbal teas and tincture of sage. I am not ready to go there yet. While I am occasionally...

It is date day. He calls me and I explain that I find myself in his home town. He offers to drive me home and to take me out in the city. Without hesitation I agree. So much for the mad planning of menopausal women. Frantically, I shower and dress while having a hot flash. It is August, and while my friend is also having hot flashes, her husband is very thin, never hot and has no understanding of why I am sweating, swelling, yelling, crying and gasping for breath. I have fifteen minutes to be ready. The solution? Teething rings left in the freezer from years gone by placed between and under each breast. I am just beginning to breathe normally and the doorbell rings. My friend and I are paralyzed. Her husband befuddled. Insisting that my friend stay in the kitchen – I know her nose was pressed up against the window as I left – I go to answer the door for my mystery date. He is exactly what he represented. He is young, cute and smart. Stepping out with my most vivacious self, I hopped in...

I am in menopause. I am at my beginning. Again, I have come of age. We all do it. We all do it differently – hormone replacement therapy; hot flashes; loss of sex drive; increased sex drive; the tragedy of new facial hair; fear of bone loss; antidepressants – and none of us know what will come next. Very few of us share our secrets. I have spent the last few years discussing these issues with girlfriends. We have shocked and surprised each other as well as found comfort in some of our common stories. After years of being single and keeping my eyes on nothing but my career, it was clearly time to take control of myself and my body. I had just gone through a record emotional dry spell. I felt very alone, but imagined that I was not in a place so different than other women. Women in the workplace spend years losing themselves in order to gain advancement that, even if it does come, won’t be as satisfying as they thought. It is that time in your late thirties, often through your forties, t...