Help! I am scared of the Big M!

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Ok, I just turned 53. So, it’s coming for me. But, I am hearing so much about menopause lately that I almost wondering what is real and what is manifested (in my brain because that is how my brain works). I mean we now have menopause superstars! Dr. Mary Claire Haver in da house!

Did you know one symptom of menopause is an itchy inner ear? I once went to an ENT and the nurse recorded in my notes, “patient admits to using Q-tips”. I felt like a Q-tip criminal.

So, last Monday before Thanksgiving break our school district had turned on the heat (they pick an arbitrary date to turn on heating and cooling each year) and it was also getting ready to rain. The barometric pressure was dropping and it was like a sauna in my room. I think I had my first real hot flash. I also think I made some high school boys uncomfortable when I unnecessarily said, “don’t mind me..my cheeks are rosy and I feel like I’m on fire… it’s just menopause coming for me…also that is why my fan is on at my desk”.

So, yeah – I don’t plan on sharing and talking about it so much even if the worst happens. I don’t want menopause to become my whole personality.

Some things of menopause are not new to me…

I have never been able to wear a sweater to teach in. They way overheat the building in the cold weather months. This has been a thing since my 20s for me.

I have always layered at school. I have always chosen cooler fabrics because I do tend to get hot and I would rather be cold than hot. That’s just my nature. I am a pretty active teacher with some dance moves and side lunges.

I have always loved sleeping with slightly damp hair and in my tank and shorts combo.

Ready for battle?

Here is a list of possible menopausal symptoms:

weight gain, thinning hair, anxiety, depression, body odor, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, forgetfulness, fogginess, confusion, difficulty concentrating, slower cognitive function, peach fuzz on your face, brittle fingernails, incontinence, pungent perspiration, voice changes, sleep problems, joint, bone, and muscle aches, digestive problems, bloating, constipation, gas, taste changes, burning tongue, dryness in your mouth, soreness in your mouth, tingling in your mouth, frequent urination, headaches, migraines, dizziness, increase in allergies, itchy skin, wrinkling skin, rashes, irregular heartbeat and palpitations, electric shocks, tingling sensations throughout the body…and that’s enough.

Are you depressed now?

Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?

What do you think – Is it good we are talking about it so much now or is this making us paranoid?

Do you want to talk about this topic?

Have you or someone you love been affected by menopause? Call 1-800-Coffeetails and you may be entitled to… just kidding.

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are!

Amy

37 thoughts on “Menopause, is that YOU?”

  1. My boys are getting quite used to me talking about menopause and my symptoms though they usually just give an eye roll and walk away. I think it’s both a good thing that it’s talked about more but that it does make me a bit more paranoid and on the lookout for “other” signs. Then again I feel like I kind of have to be as signs and symptoms are my only real guideline having had a hysterectomy years ago.

    Like

    Reply

  3. It sounds like you are ready for what awaits, Amy… and I’m sure you’ll face it all with the same determination, grace and humor that I always find when I visit here! I was lucky and rarely had hot flashes but the dry skin, stiffness and moodiness were the tough parts for me! In hindsight, I wish I’d spent time strength training and stretching consistently. The great thing for me was that my monthly hormonal migraines went away and I rarely get headaches anymore! That’s been a big blessing!

    Like

    Reply

  4. I am glad there is so much more information readily available to us and saddened that most doctors don’t have much training when it comes to menopause. It’s not just about lessening symptoms for me. I want to stay as healthy as possible and knowing what my hormones are doing and not doing is part of that. I see a Midi health specialist now in addition to my gynecologist. It’s nice to have someone who does a more in depth evaluation and blood work. It’s really made a difference for me!

    xo,

    Kellyann

    Like

    Reply

  5. Yes! Write about it- talk about it- we shouldn’t be ashamed- sharing info will only help the community- lovely everything we get blessed with as women right?

    Like

    Reply

  6. Everyone I know seems to be starting with the menopause early. I am 45 and keep thinking is that a sign or am I just imagining it. lol It’s good that we talk about it as it’s a big part of our lives.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Hi! I’m 54 and went through it about 3 years ago, (no kids) and I was like you, always hot like open the window when I dry my hair even if its 20 below! Now I am always cold, like long underwear cold! And the only other thing that happened is the worst is the burning and dry mouth! It is out of control, no more spice at all!!! Mexican food is OUT! Salad dressing with vinegar is OUT! Bloody Marys OUT! And 3 years later it never got better!

    Cheers!

    Missy

    Like

    Reply

  8. I am 61 and have gone through menopause and am at times still going through it. I never took HRT, which is a whole other topic, but I have to say it hasn’t been that bad. I have had my moments but to be honest I think it differs from one person to another. And if you are like me and really busy you may not notice a lot of the changes.

    Like

    Reply

  9. I am 57 and just went through it – meaning it’s been a year since my last period – but the symptoms are still with me, just different ones! No more hot flashes except occasionally, but still some joint pain and the 3 am nightly wakeup 😦 Not sleeping is the worst to me, but there is one more I’ll tell you in email but not public. I think it’s super important for women to talk about it – I would have liked a heads up to what was coming besides hotflashes!

    Like

    Reply

  10. I too take OTC Estroven and have been for 15 years or more. I rarely have a hot flash but do have brain fog often. I read that menopause should have ended for me……..so I quit the Estroven. Nope, still there so I’m back on the Estroven hoping menopause will come to an end some day. Welcome to the suffering, lol. BTW I’m 65 and have been menopausal since my early 40’s.

    Like

    Reply

  11. Tried fighting my way through it but went Christmas shopping at Macy’s in my cute holidy sweater and freshly washed hair within minutes of entering the store I had a hot flash that drenched my hair and sweater that incident along with the vaginal dryness and uncomfortable sex did me in – I tried different medications from the doctors office but ended up with a doctor that gave me a compounded hormone troche you melt in your mouth and that did the trick. She talked to me about how all the studies scared women off hormone therapy but the results came from a very limited study and that you are much better actually taking them. I just turned 71 and I feel like they have helped keep me younger so I will be staying on them. The cost for mine is $120 for a three month supply. Good luck with your journey when it starts. I had a friend who just breezed right through it nothing needed ! but few women are that lucky. Oh and that thinning hair for me has been very real.

    Like

    Reply

  12. Been there. Done that. lol 😂 so happy to have that part of life over and done but honestly? I didn’t have but maybe 2 hot flashes! My periods just stopped and after a year they said – ok now you’re done. Or maybe it wasn’t talked about as much as everyone does these days! I went thru it in 2017. Maybe i started well before that but again- didn’t really talk about it 🤷🏻‍♀️

    Like

    Reply

  13. I honestly don’t worry too much about it; I think it’s a hot topic right now because women our age are flooding TikTok and because we have all this information at our fingertips. I’m not saying that it’s not real, but the only thing I’ve experienced are the hot flashes that are no joke. People are used to me by now, so it’s nothing strange for them to see me with a fan all the time anymore. For me it’s just a way of life that I’ve accepted, and I know it won’t last forever. This was a funny post, though!

    Like

    Reply

  14. Add these symptoms to the worse year of your life and welcome to my 2024! I don’t sleep well, have had multiple hot flashes, weight gain, & many of the other symptoms you mentioned. I can’t take estrogen due to a blood clot disorder I have, but I have found some OTC pills and I think they help. There is a positive side to going through menopause though, so that is my positive note to end on here :).

    Like

    Reply

  15. Well, I am 58 and am acquainted quite well with menopause, unfortunately. She (It?) came for me when I turned 50. I was the Queen of Hot Flashes, with as many as 25/day. I also had night sweats, dizziness, anger, and many more symptoms. The worst thing, though, were the heart palpitations and the feeling of dread right before I got a hot flash. It’s not fair, and having to stand in front of a class of middle schoolers during a hot flash was the worst! Of course they noticed, and of course they asked me what was wrong. My OB/GYN prescribed a hormone patch for me, and it works like a charm – I highly recommend it!!

    Like

    Reply

  16. I’m very well acquainted with this delightful phenomenon as it came for me at age 48. My hubs likes to ask when it will end and I have to inform him this is the new me lol. There are a lot of symptoms women don’t discuss that we probably should. As my dr. said when I first went in telling him I wasn’t myself and that I had woken up that day definitely five pounds heavier and also my metabolism had slowed to the point I felt like I could literally feel the blood moving through my veins and he said I wasn’t crazy which I appreciated because I felt a little crazy. He also said almost any sort of symptom you have can fall under the heading menopause. I think we do change (hence the name), and you figure it out and you kind of make peace with things not necessarily looking or working the way they once did. I cannot take HRT because I’ve had some issues with mammograms and HRT isn’t recommended in my case. It’s all a process and I think initially it is a bit of a shock but things do settle down over time and it’s good to laugh about some of this stuff.

    Like

    Reply

  17. I think I am at the end of it, with the main symptoms in the past being hot flashes and trouble sleeping. It wasn’t too bad, so maybe I was lucky?!

    Like

    Reply

  18. I think I’m the weird one here. I actually looked forward to menopause because it meant the end of having a period. I didn’t necessarily have bad ones; I just hated having them. I was done with periods by the time I was 52. I may have had some brain fog, but I also have hypothyroidism. I still have hot flashes when I’m in a hurry to get ready. Of all things, my uterus (or maybe it was my cervix) went on a diet several years ago so I had to start on low dose estrogen. Last year, though, I had a complete hysterectomy…not a thing remains. I asked, specifically, that everything be removed so I’d never have to worry about cancer of any kind in my reproductive organs. I think we need and should talk about menopause so women are more informed about what might happen to them. The whole menstruation thing shouldn’t be so damn taboo. I remember sneaking tampons or pads to the bathroom when I was in junior high because our principal didn’t believe in those machines in bathrooms.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    Like

    Reply

  19. I am 52 and went into early menopause 1 month ago after my 41st birthday.
    Something I learned that most women don’t know, you are officially in menopause 12 months after your last cycle. Also there is an actually a simple blood test that could let women know they are in perimenopause but most doctors don’t do it. It is how I found out at 39 I was going through “the change”
    My crazy symptoms were burning mouth, anxiety (still have) joint pain, digestive issues and now I sleep very warm so like you wear shorts and tee all winter long.
    I had to change the way I eat and cut back on things like added sugar, coffee and alcohol and feel so much better now. GOOD LUCK, it is a wild ride

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment