I’m almost 59, so I can assure you that this too shall pass.

My suggestion is get yourself a Swell bottle. Or maybe a hydro flask. I kept my swell full of ice water at all times. At the first sign of a flash, drink. Keep it at your bedside table for night flashes.

And hang in there.

quote:

And hang in there.

Thank you!

The ice water is a good idea.

The thing I am most worried about, though, is teaching with a mask on and having a hot flash in the middle of class, with the mask etc.

Oh, one more! (Actually, if I wait awhile, I'll probably remember some other things I'm worried about)

I am always worried about getting a forehead temp. check in the middle of a hot flash.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

quote:

And hang in there.

Thank you!

The ice water is a good idea.

The thing I am most worried about, though, is teaching with a mask on and having a hot flash in the middle of class, with the mask etc.

Grab the water in mid sentence. No joke, it works fast.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
BTW, I wrote the above after looking at the list in your link, WTG. Oddly, I almost wonder if maybe I should add the warming foods. Because I sometimes think getting over-cold triggers the hot flash.


It's like my body won't tolerate whatever it has decided to label as an extreme of temperature.

Those are really good observations.

I was offering specific examples of what affected me in ways they hadn't in my younger youth. YMMV.

Menopause fundamentally changes your body chemistry and it's all about find your new normal. Getting through it with a minimum of fuss is all about watching how you react to various things and trying to find a balance that works.

Don't know if you drink beverages loaded with ice, but that's another extreme you might want consider avoiding.

(edit: just saw Cindy's post. Try it both ways. Different things work for different people. I can't tolerate cold beverages, not even cool water from a tap. Makes me feel bloated. I just found that if I avoided extremes I did better.)

I generally don't drink beverages with ice. I don't even think we have any ice...

But I do sometimes drink cold sparkling water, and sometimes cold coffee (fridge temperature, I don't add extra ice).

Anyway, I'm annoyed because I have gotten by so far by ignoring it. But now I guess I have to pay attention to it because otherwise I'm not going to figure out what triggers it.

Covid ruins everything.
/whine

Funny, SK - in the past couple days a friend had posted a documentary of a group of Indigenous women discussing menopause. Her commentary was that she finds it frustrating that no one talks about it. In that thread, someone recommended a group on Facebook which is women past 40 talking about menopause and aging in general, so I joined. If you are interested, I can invite you to the group.

I’ve been wondering if perhaps I’m in the beginnings of peri-menopause as well. After reading some of the comments here, I’m pretty convinced that this might be the case.

Menopause rocks. It’s the best.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Menopause rocks. It’s the best.

Cindy, say more?

Dol, yes, I would love an invite to that group, thank you!

Kinda yes, kinda no re: menopause rocking. The whole monthly cycle, cramps and associated mood swings are gone. Needing to plan for it (making sure you are prepared with whatever stuff you use) is also gone. It's so much easier. I never had huge monthly mood swings, but the absence of the hormonal ups and downs really does make a difference in my outlook.


But bone density declines, though you can help it a lot by continuing or starting weight-bearing exercise (like exercise that isn't swimming, bicycle riding, etc.--not that those aren't good but they're not the same for your bones). "Old lady skin" starts to develop. Your metabolism slows to a crawl in some cases.

I never minded gray hair on anyone, so that doesn't bother me. But the old lady skin definitely gets to me.

And SK: I have a friend who swears by those water bottles with straws when wearing a mask. You can stretch open the bottom of the mask, take a glug from the straw and be done with it with minimal exposure.

I went through menopause at around 50, and I was in the best shape of my life.

As Nina says, the convenience of no more periods is awesome.

Sure, there is the aging and gray hair. But you control a lot of that. Get a ton of exercise to stay strong and have healthy bones.

My black skin is doing pretty well. No wrinkles on my face, but the legs are a dead give away. The skin on my legs looks so fragile. I guess if I walk fast enough no one can see.

Not happy about my gray temples. With short black hair, gray temples are not a good look!

Edited...oops lost part of the post! So I am a bit older than you. I was doing a lot of teaching to 20 somethings at menopause. My chest would turn beet red. So layers of clothing that hide that and break thru sweat. Water, water, water! Exercise helps a lot. Spicy food and stress were triggers. You have a good attitude. Hang in there!

I am 51. I didn't have particularly problematic periods. (Alliteration, ack!) But I was hoping that I would see a reduction in my migraines after menopause. So far, that has not happened.

Other than the hot flashes, I don't have a lot of other things I notice, other than just slowly looking older. (So far hardly any gray, hopefully my hair is from my dad's side, and if so, I won't go gray for a long time).

But the connection between exercise (and weight probably) and hot flashes is something I'm going to pay more attention to. It seems like my hot flashes have gotten a lot worse since I start working from home and self-quarantining. Stress is probably part of that, but also I think I'm not moving around enough in general. (And I think my fake-zumba is too recent of an addition to see if it's going to have an impact).

So I am going to try to continue increasing my activity levels in addition to paying attention and trying to find any triggers.

Admittedly, I'm an outlier here but here's some of my experience FWIW.

First, I never minded my periods (which never caused much pain anyhow), and in fact, missed having them. I feel I've lost a part of my identity.

I suffer most of the usual aspects of aging, internal and external ( that is, orthopedic and lipid issues and outside, the gradually wrinkling skin.) My hair has been white for at least fifteen years and I don't color it though I think of it once in a while. I most mind the pronounced thinning of my hair, and the appearance of hairs where I don't want them. (I splurge on a $$ Canadian-sourced produce which much reduces those loathed chin hairs!.)

I take a small dose of the hormones I indicated, and perhaps on that account I never have hot flashes, though my personal thermostat seems to be broken. There are days midseasons when I alternate between the airconditioner and the furnace (not to mention the on-off use of an electric blanket).

My metabolism has slowed painfully and keeping on top of my weight is a constant struggle.

All this could be just a function of aging (as are other changes I could list).

But my bone density is quite good - slight osteopenia in one hip. And a very good thing too! I fall often on account of my remaining skeletal imbalance and other defects resulting from my almost total spinal fusion and neurological fall out. Several times I've landed so hard on my hips I was left with severe pain lasting weeks (torn muscle, bone bruise - is there such I thing?). Each time I thought gratefully that if I had worse bone density I'd surely have broken my hip.

I have suffered cracked ribs and other injuries at other landing points too! One son kindly subscribes to a fall alarm device, which relieves both them and me. That is, despite its all too frequent malfunctions. (I am grateful to the police for tolerating unneeded trips to my house after the alarm summoned them. I wasn't even home ). My muscle mass is undiminished.

I attribute such remaining youth as I have primarily to vigorous exercise daily - an hour of cardio mostly, and a combo-calesthenics/physical therapy. At one time, I exercised almost twice that and was invited to join a "golden" triathlon team! I can't do most ordinary exercise (I used to love biking and running, but the risk of falling even on an indoor treadmill is daunting - something called "footdrop").

I've been fortunate to have a sturdy indoor stairstepper to keep me somewhat mobile during the lockdown. I feel sure my heart would be in far worse shape without all this, but GAWD is it boring! Having finally discovered videos makes it tolerable, though (I recently finished "Game of Thrones" in semi-disgust. Qualifying videos must be something that takes my mind off stuff and with at least a semblance of relationships. Recommendations?)

Dietary protocols come and go, but the golden rule of exercising is disputed by none! It is a religion with me, but HARD.

Thus runs my (partial) saga of aging, with mitigated menopause. Maybe I can be considered a test case of HRT assisted menopause.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
I am 51. I didn't have particularly problematic periods. (Alliteration, ack!) But I was hoping that I would see a reduction in my migraines after menopause. So far, that has not happened.

Other than the hot flashes, I don't have a lot of other things I notice, other than just slowly looking older. (So far hardly any gray, hopefully my hair is from my dad's side, and if so, I won't go gray for a long time).

But the connection between exercise (and weight probably) and hot flashes is something I'm going to pay more attention to. It seems like my hot flashes have gotten a lot worse since I start working from home and self-quarantining. Stress is probably part of that, but also I think I'm not moving around enough in general. (And I think my fake-zumba is too recent of an addition to see if it's going to have an impact).

So I am going to try to continue increasing my activity levels in addition to paying attention and trying to find any triggers.

About the migraines . . . I don't have that issue, but if you are only 51 and having hot flashes, I would say you are likely at the beginning of this process rather than the end. All of which to say, the migraines still have a chance to improve once you come out the other side.

About exercise . . . I have noticed that my weight is very sticky. By that, I mean that I am a certain weight, and I come back to that weight after a binge, and I wind up at that weight even if I try to lose weight.

So, um . . . if you are not happy about your weight today, this would be a really good time to get after it and make some big lifestyle changes to drop the pounds now.

And if you are happy about your weight, I don't want to talk about it.

Cindy -- carrying an extra five corona pounds because she can't stay as active as she needs to