Or is it hot in here?
The other day, I saw a post by NPR on Facebook. I don’t remember the exact question, but it was something like, “Do you know what menopause is and did your mother ever tell you about it.”
I posted a small response to that which I’ll share at the risk of rousing not-so-nice feelings, memories, fears or responses. I simply described what my mother described to me of her memories of her grandmother going through the change. This, unfortunately, until I started dealing with it myself, was the only education I got.
“She sat at the dinner table, arms out-stretched and her fingers were spread wide, barely touching the table. We watched in silence as she began to turn red, starting from the neck up. She began to glisten. We knew not to say a word, lest we get our heads bitten off.
Today, I understand that all too well, and my husband dare not say a word.”
Ever since I posted that I have been having hot flashes every half hour. In fact, I need to walk away from the keyboard for a few minutes… I’ll be right back.
Phew. Cold bottle of water on the back of my neck. Tissue to blot my face, under the eyes at the hairline and down around the neck. Oh and in the crook of my elbow.
They tell me this too shall pass.
For at least a half hour.
Judith T Fisher's Original Blog 
F**king menopause. And as Forrest Gump once said: And that’s all I have to say about that.
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So far, I like everything you’ve written, and I’m not just being gratuitious. I promise not to comment on everything else you write because I am sure that would get on your nerves. But I did want you to know that I will be reading. :o)
I think blogs are a wonderful thing, but only if you have (at least one) readers. Writing for myself ,(speaking for myself, at least), gets terribly boring.
Love to you, darlin’. Val
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When I had my first symptoms of *the change* my doctor asked me at what age my mom had menopause. My mother, may she rest in peace, was in good health physically and mentally when I asked that question. But typical of the modesty of her generation, she replied, “Tell your doctor I’m too old to remember!” Case closed.
I toughed out chemotherapy and never missed a day of work, so I tried to live through it unmedicated for about a year. I’ve been on HRT for a long time, and so has my doctor’s wife. I don’t intend to quit unless the symptoms do, either. We monitor my health carefully. I have been able to reduce the dosage without a problem, so maybe it will not be necessary some day. Until then, I’ll accept a calculated risk because the alternative is pointless misery.
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