Is This Menopause? Help Me Find Out What's Going On

[Judyin Philly]

Susan

So glad you posted too and agaree with all the above.

yes, that's the book

get it for your special treat you yourself.

hugs and love

will write you later,

nice to see you all here.

love

judy

(just posted on d/s)

[lindalee]

Oh dear women....(not excluding you, Richard! the one brave, valiant male who ventured into a thread with the scariest of all words - MENopause! )....

Just logged on briefly before bed.....I can't tell you what your support and insight means to me. So good to hear other stories and get opinions/ideas - better than me stewing in my own feeble brain!

Robbin - HI THERE!! nice to see and hear from you and I"ve missed you!

Patti - way back there - - thanks also for your input - I think I forgot to say hi to you earlier!

Hi Ursula! I am looking into adrenal fatigue, I have suspected that for many years - my whole life, since earliest childhood - the fight or flight mechanism has always, always been in play and that can't be good. but...I know what you mean, just feeling like all the energy has drained out of you..... the simplest of things are just.....herculean.

Lee - thanks for your support and prayers also. will look into St. John's wort again - took it years ago. Since the meds aren't working, maybe I"ll just go holistic.....I walk the silly dingos but only a couple of miles a day. I think we must go further!

Dear God - all those climbing years.....so much adrenalin and actual physical danger - enormous physical stress on my body, too - that combined wtih all the extreme weight-lifting. climbing.....it was the most wondrously natural thing I'd ever done....and when you're doing something like that - - - well, you just flat out can't think of anything else or you or your partner could die. so, I was addicted - it took me away from everything for many years.

Judy - am going to go to half.com and get that book....Anne MOrrow Lindberg, right? read it decades ago....

Sometimes, I think I don't even have any adrenalin left, BTW.

I feel encouraged and am looking forward to seeing this doctor next week. Dang, Robbin, could thyroid actually cause that much trouble! amazing!

nighty-night......

see you - - -

quote--

Judy - I love her book and writings. The edition you have sounds like a treasure. Would love to see that!

I read it and always get something new from it every time. I'm going to Cape May for the first time- maybe we can meet up on that thread

Susan - Have you read Sheila Walsh's book "Honesty"? It is one of my FAVORITES!

"Silence.

I hear my breath,

but nothing else.

The world is quiet.

I am alone.

Someone turned the lights out

and everyone went home."

also from her book-

"It is not for the moment that you are stuck

that you need courage, but for the long,

uphill climb back to sanity and security." (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)

"Prayers are heard when children pray,

though sometimes it takes years

to find the strength to listen

to the truth behind the tears.

Her body grew, as children do;

inside she lived alone,

a little girl,

her spirit bruised and trapped beneath a stone.

But one day in her prison cell,

a tiny shaft of light

began to burst through bars of steel

and lift the dead of night.

And as the little girl looked up

and saw herself all grown,

and the hand she took

that led her out

looked strangely like her own."

I met Sheila when she sang with us at my church. This book had such an impact on me. Her "Honesty" was so powerful.

Take care!

[TriticusToxicum]

(BTW, notice how all our problems begin with "men?" MENopause, MENstruation, MENtal?)

I come in peace

I did some research. Check your symptoms below.

SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING MENOPAUSE

* You sell your home heating system at a yard sale. (Hot flashes)

* The person you sleep with complains about snow piling up on the bed. (Nightsweats)

* Your husband jokes that instead of buying a wood stove, he is using you to heat the family room this winter. Rather than just saying you are not amused, you shoot him. (Mood swings)

* You write post-it notes with your kid's names on them. (Memory loss)

* Your husband chirps, "Hi honey, I'm home." and you reply, "Well, if it isn't Ozzie f*cking Nelson". (Irritability)

* The phenobarbital dose that wiped out the Heaven's Gate Cult gives you four hours of decent rest. (Sleeplessness)

* You find Guacamole in your hair after a Mexican dinner. (Fatigue)

* You change your underwear after every sneeze. (Mild incontinence)

* You need Jaws Of Life to help you out of your car after returning home from an Italian restaurant. (Sudden weight gain)

* You ask Jiffy Lube to put you up on a hoist. (Dryness)

* You take a sudden interest in "Wrestlemania". (Female hormone deficiency)

* You're on so much estrogen that you take your Brownie troop on a field trip to Chippendales. (Hormone therapy)

And I might add...

QUOTES BY GREAT LADIES

Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened? - Cora Harvey Armstrong

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the jerk up with cookies. - Anonymous

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. -Helen Hayes (at 73)

I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. - Janette Barber

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. - Lily Tomlin

A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car. - Carrie Snow

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends. - Laurie Kuslansky

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. - Erma Bombeck

Old age ain't no place for sissies. - Bette Davis

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. - Ronda Hansome

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. - Jane Sellman

Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows. -Jennifer Unlimited

Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. - Charlotte Whitton

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.

- Caryn Leschen

I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. - Jennifer

If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. - Catherine

I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde. - Dolly Parton

If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them. - Sue Grafton

I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on. - Roseanne Barr

When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.

- Elayne Boosler

Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. - Maryon Pearson

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.

- Margaret Thatcher

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. - Gloria Steinem

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. - Zsa Zsa Gabor

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. - Eleanor Roosevelt

I hope you found something to snicker about and that you're feeling better today!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

hee hee!

[lindalee]

[DingoGirl]

thanks Richard...you are such a sport.....

Now HOW did my MENopause thread get turned into a male-bashing thread???? (uh, Lynnie - - - not my fault, folks, not my fault)

Here's my favorite Shakespeare - - of course, helps a lot more when Emma Thompson's reading it....

Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more,

Men were deceivers ever,

One foot in sea and one on shore,

To one thing constant never.

Then sigh not so, but let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds [songs?] of woe

Into hey......nonny, nonny.

that's why I love this board....you pour out your deepest and most embarassing hideousness....and you get support AND laughter!

Patti - I keep thinking about your wise post and wondering if I"m just all topsy turvy and physiologically nuts lately and am so happy to be seeing new doctor next week!

[Green12]

I melt them so they are soft and mushy. AND....all of my life I have melted Hershey's choc. bars and licked them - yes I said licked them - - off the plate. I just read that Britney Spears does that also and it kinda scared me....

Just don't go barefoot in a gas station bathroom on us, then I really will be worried

Good to see your sense of humor is as sharp as ever!

I also agree about the adrenal burnout as a posibility, so I am hopeful your doctor's appointment next week will be fruitful.

I'm so glad you are feeling the love and support here and that you are encouraged

Hang in there Susie Q!!!

Love and Hugs

(I owe you an e-mail, haven't forgotten ya!)

[DingoGirl]

ha ha ha HA!!!

Barefoot - in a gas station bathroom - - OMG did she do that? I've only seen her in platform flip-flops...slinging that vapid looking baby on her hip (well, he can't help who his parents are)...oh sorry - that wasn't so nice........

SEnse of humour - when THAT leaves me people know to be quite worried....

Haven't taken my antidepressant in a few days and feeling much better today. I know, I know, I won't go off it entirely but sometimes I think the higher I go on these drugs, the worse I feel.

Um, really should take the dingos hiking but ALL Of my hiking pants are just a bit too snug. Harumph!!

Have already eaten about 10 Reese's minatures this morning. Crap....but they have protein, right, in the peanut butter????? I know the adrenal-boosting diet will not allow this.....

Am goign to try and enjoy this beautiful day and do something productive - even if it's just taking the dogs to dog park and squirrel chase. Last time on squirrel chase - Stinker , getting dementia now, doesn't bother to find her way back to the car - runs off forever in the back-country of the park. I found her outside the fenced area, near the road, and when I drove up she looked at me as though she'd never seen me before....and was munching down ecstatically on what turned out to be a fossilized squirrel carcass - like, squirrel jerky - - - eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww

[lonewolf]

Just wanted to add a note of encouragement. I hope you get some answers soon! I'll say a little prayer for you.

[CarlaB]

Susan, I went to an MD who practices holistic medicine and she did a hair analysis. It revealed a LOT!! I do have adrenal fatigue and read the book Tired of Being Tired by Jesse Lynn Hanley, MD. She also co-wrote a GREAT book called something like What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause. I have read them both, but think you would get more from the Tired book. I am literally a different person that I was a month ago when I couldn't even get out of bed. Low adrenals can also contribute to low thyroid, which I also have.

I went gluten-free in December, and it was a couple months ago that things started going REALLY bad for me health wise. I FINALLY feel like I'm making some progress. Hope you're feeling better soon. As far as the hikes, don't do them if it would be draining of your energy.

Richard, great jokes.

[nikki-uk]

Hey Susie-so sorry your all 'topsy turvy' at the moment.

I don't proclaim to know much about the peri/ menopause but,if my ever worsening PMS mood swings and a menstrual cycle that is all over the place is anything to go by then I'm not far behind you .....

I'm hoping your doc can verify your hormone levels -and rule out any thyroid issues.

I know you hate the anti-depressants,but (and I also know you probably know this already )they do take 6 weeks or more to get the full effect...

In the mean time,try and get out with the girls.I know it all seems like such an effort but might help a bit.

It must feel frustrating for you as you seemed to have been one of lifes 'doers',but you need to be kind to yourself ,lower your expectations of yourself-baby steps

BTW I love your Much Ado quote.

So eloquant,and sooo true!!!

Take care Susie-giving you lots of encouragement to get through this (which I know you can)

PM me if you need to {{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}

[AndreaB]

Glad to see you again Cecile!!!!

And I can see you!!!!

Hope you are feeling better, you'v been missed.

[lindalee]

Hi Cecile - back pain - had that about a week ago and I never get that (bought a new mattress) anyway...I found my heating pad and it went away. I did boost my calcium and magnesium. I love that thing. I am still sleeping with it!!!

[AndreaB]

Aahhhhhhhhhhh, Heating pads....they work wonders don't they?

[tiredofdoctors]

Ummmmmm, LYNNIE my butt! It was Fiddle-Faddle who first mentioned MENopause, MENstruation, etc. . .

I simply Re-itterated it with ONE WORD in my thread, and wouldn't you know it? It gets blamed on me. I think I was born with a target on the middle of my forehead!!!!!

Richard, you are a brave, brave man.

[AndreaB]

I think I was born with a target on the middle of my forehead!!!!!

[DingoGirl]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH well lookie here...it WAS Fiddle-FAddle and I DID blame Lynnie!! ha ha ha ha ha ha

Cecile - - my god woman, where have you been...I"m going through stinking' MENopause or something and thank God you've arrived.....

[Fiddle-Faddle]

(hee hee!)

[DingoGirl]

OMG I was kind of worried last night.....thinking about this thread....as in, every time I go to the board my name will be associated wtih MENOPAUSE, whether I'm goign through it or not....and then I was thinking - holy cow, I don't want this to be like the tazorac thread.... (BTW still peeling my face and it looks better than ever - they thought I was 30 last night when I went out )

Now why didn't I even think that posting this would make people forever associate me with a menopausal woman???

Cecile - I don't know what we're going through.....but I want this thread to go away until next week - - or maybe I"ll just post results in an entirely new thread - - - that doesn't have the word MENOPAUSE in it - - -

Love you girls!

[CarlaB]

30?? Do you need a prescription for this stuff???

[DingoGirl]

Carla - yes you do but ask your doctor or dermatologist for samples, if possible...this stuff is awful at first and you will look WORSE before you get bettter - extreme peeling.....

OMG we must make this thread go away.....

Maybe I"ll start a new thread now.....for women and aging issues.......Cecile - you start it - it will have YOUR name on it......

[jerseyangel]

30?? Do you need a prescription for this stuff???

I was just going to ask the same thing!

[DingoGirl]

MAKE IT STOP...........

am going to have to start another thread now.....what am I going to call it?

(seriously, girls, was up half the night not wanting a MENOPAUSE thread any more!!!)