Menopause experiences and good websites wanted.

I guess I am one of the luckly ones, thought I can't say for sure why. Back in the 1970's, I started listening to a radio show on WOR radio from New York. The host of the show and famous author was Carlton Fredericks. He was definitely ahead of his time when it came to advising people to read food labels, stay away from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (we now call if Trans Fats), stay away from food additives (BHT, BHA, etc), and stay away from pesticides, etc. He passed away in the mid 1990's, but I have continued to follow his advise and to refer to his books as often as I can. I went thru menopause at the age of 52. My periods just gradually started coming less frequently beginning at about age 50 until they just finally stopped. A blood test confirmed that it was over.

I had some mild hot flashes at first, mostly at night, but they stopped after about 2 years. I can't say that my moods changed, except that I was very happy not to have cramps anymore. I didn't gain weight, but I attribute that to watching my diet. By no means do I live the perfect life, and I have had my fair share of life 'stress' situations. But overall, I really think that diet choices have alot to do with how your body handles menopause. I've always gotten alot of sleep and feel that the ups and down of my moods and personality are mostly just the result of outside influences and living life.

The 2 biggest changes for me were my skin - it is now so dry (including my vagina) - and a definite change in my s*x drive. The first I just try to deal with using creams, etc. The second has become more 'mental' than 'physical'. Since the hormones are not there to trigger the desire, my mind has to do it. It's still good, but for me, not AS good.

I wish you well on this journey. Don't let the change overpower you. It is just another phase of your life, and certainly one that shouldn't rule your days (and nights) and the way you live. Best of luck.......

Moved by Judy
Originally Submitted by Grandma Joy on September 19, 2007 - 9:21pm.

Hi Louise,

My experience probably won't help you figure it out at all, but here goes. When I was dx with cancer, they sent me to the psychology nurse who told me I probably had 5 years to live, that I should plan my own funeral and write my own obituary so I could have things the way I wanted it. Then she says you're probably perimenopausal so we want to put you on bellergal, paxil and something else. I said, "lady I'm here for a cancer dx, not menopause." Then she told me I just didn't understand what was happening with my body and was cramming info down my throat so fast I didn't know which end was up.

I had the first cancer surgery, then they came back and said "oops". I was mad, I cried, I was in pain daily. At the end of the first year, they tested my Lsh (I think that's the name of the test to see where you are in menopause) and said "oh, you're through with menopause!" News to me, didn't even know I was in it! During that time, I had what I called hot flushes - not flashes- because mine lasted all of ten seconds beginning at the top of my head and going to my feet. We later learned this was actually because of the drugs and chemo causing connective tissue to shrink throughout my body. I would also break out into a sweat that burned like fire - again that was drugs coming out of my body. After that, I was too busy fighting to survive the protocol to even think about menopause. I wasn't depressed over the empty nest, or that I was getting older and really didn't have any of the "classic" symptoms.

Which brings me to a question I've been working on lately. Is it possible the onslaught of chemicals in household products, our medicines, the environment and our food, not to mention the GMO's in the food, are causing such a bio-accumulation in the body thus presenting us with more dis-ease? Do women have more symptoms during menopause because we are repeatedly told we will have them and we need this or that to combat them? This is constantly promulgated in the media. I'm really curious to hear comments on this.

A last note. My sister went through menopause at 38, had panic attacks for 6-8 months, would break out in a sweat during the attacks, then it was over.

Wish I could help more.
Grandma Joy

Moved by Judy
Originally Submitted by louiseds on September 19, 2007 - 11:26pm.

Hi Grandma Joy

Thanks for that info. It reflects my thinking re the treatment and the dis-ease. Things have to get pretty bad to have me running off to the doctor too. I think a lot of dis-ease is invented to fit treatments that are being developed. ie we are made aware that we have a dis-ease by the people who want to 'sell us a solution to a problem we didn't have because we didn't know it was a problem, or that it wasn't a big enough problem to treat'.

I know it is not as simple as that because there are some things that only a doctor can fix, but gee its hard to tell the difference sometimes. Obviously your psych nurse had that problem too.;-)

Re the chemicals, GMO's etc, I think the jury will be out on that for a while. After all everything on the planet is made of chemical substances, but there are probably a lot more chemical biocides, preservatives (that by nature prevent breakdown, some of which may be prevention of good breakdown) and other alterers of materials and natural processes than earlier generations lived with, breathed, ingested, absorbed etc every day in modern built environments. Even the safe herbicide Glyphosate is absolutely deadly on frogs. Mozzies would be cheering! Just because a chemical is 'safe for humans' when used according to its registration and for the purpose it was registered doesn't make it safe for anything else. Have a look at the cautions on any label!

But that's a bit off-topic. I suspect some of the obsession with menopause and HRT that I found on the Internet is purely the old 'quest for perfection and eternal youth' that I love so much, NOT. It's all me, me, me, something that we are getting better and better at. This translates to products, products, products and $$$. Maybe your 'cancer' scare was sufficient to distract you from menopause symptoms? Maybe you didn't have any menopause symptoms at all?

I am sure there are women who are genuinely brought to their knees by menopause symptoms. Hey, look at how hard puberty and the period following it can be on young people, the moods, the seriously bad social behaviour, the drug use, the whole Emo thing etc. Yet some kids sail through it. Who said it would be any easier coming out the other end?

I have a very interesting book called "Is it me or my hormones", by Dr Margaret Smith and Patricia Michalka, pub. Finch 2006, ISBN 1 876451 74 2. Dr Smith has been around the ob/gyn scene in Perth Western Australia since I was a young adult. She is very wise and has worked in the area of menopause for many years. She is an advocate and presecriber of HRT where it is *needed* and does a lot of fine tuning of prescriptions. However the other author is a counsellor and the other thrust of the book is 'look at your whole life and other things that are happening in your health, physically, mentally, spiritually before blaming your menopausal body and going off to see Dr Smith for HRT'. (Louise thinks, "Hmm, Dr Smith would probably rather treat women who really need HRT and get on with her own retirement.")

A lot of menopause symptoms seem to be signs that a woman getting out of the acute stress-filled, time poor busy teenagers phase into a more contemplative period of looking after aging parents, kids reaching adulthood with all its adjustments and traumas, prospects of retirement and superannuation worries, loss of youthful appearance and self esteem that can go out the window with it, the empty nest and how the two of you will survive the next 20 or 30 years with only each other to look at over the dining table. I hope that's me, because I think I can deal with most of that.

It would just be nice to know where I am in the continuum. Thanks for your thoughts.

Cheers

Louise

Moved by Judy
Originally Submitted by a6a25725 on September 20, 2007 - 12:17am.

Hi,
My menopause was fairly calm and uneventful. I had a few hot flashes, and didn't realize I was in full blown menopause until I started getting night sweats. My periods started getting fewer and far between and then stopped.
I remember having vaginal dryness and a few emotional outburst but other than that not much else comes to mind.
I had a few personal problems at the start of my menopause,divorce, working to support myself and two teenage children still at home so didn't have much time to dwell on any symptoms. I came through it fairly intact. The children finished school and moved out. I started going out with my second husband and eventually got married again. I was still menopausal when I remarried but life was much calmer and the few symptoms I had were fair mild.
I think being so busy kept my mind occupied so didn't have too much time to feel sorry for myself.
Regards,
Flora

Moved by Judy
Originally Submitted by louiseds on September 20, 2007 - 2:33am.

Hi Flora

I am still at the stage of periods getting irregular and having weird cycles where fertile-type mucous seems to come and go with no resulting bleed, then I get fertile-type mucous again. I am not going to try and work out why, it is just pre menopause cycles I think.

Were you getting the flashes, sweats, and outbursts before you stopped menstruating or did all that come later? How long was it between last period and feeling relatively normal again?

Cheers

Louise

Originally Submitted by Clonmacnoise on September 20, 2007 - 4:06am.

Dear Louise,

I know I've posted here before about menopause, and I won't repeat all that now.

I found that before my last period, I became very tense and over anxious for a few days, and then I'd get a lighter period. My periods all my life were always just two days, light, and not enough to even wear a tampon most days. Just a quick fix in the bathroom was enough to carry me through a couple of hours.

My last period came and went and that was it.

I suppose my body craved the estrogen. As it began to decrease, I became less sure of myself. I began to worry about things I had never worried about. I had a few panic attacks. As the estrogen continued to decrease, I found my strength and vitality decreasing, and a certain primordial fear beginning to creep into my whole frame of mind. Not like me at all.

When the hot flashes started, I experienced them back to back all day and all night. I probably had 300 a day. Hot flashes begin in the core of the body and flash out. It's not unpleasant for me, just exhausting. You really can't do much during a hot flash because it really knocks you off your feet. I came close to fainting a few times.

I tried HRT twice during the whole thing. The first time, I took it for about three weeks because the doctor begged me to. He said it would help me get some sleep and stabilize what I was going through. I didn't sleep for more than an hour for three months. I was so tired I was dry heaving all day. Remember I work a devilish day and am out in the Southwestern Indiana heat all day in the summer time with 40 kids.

Like all drugs, the HRT poisoned me. I have never taken a single drug including over the counter drugs that have not poisoned me including cough drops.

I went off the hormones and sank further down into a kind of rabbit hole existence. I wrote five novels in the whole time frame, so I can't say it was unproductive.

I tried the hormones again when I found the prolapse out of desperation, and it helped bring me out of the rabbit hole, but on the cusp of the impending poisoning, I quit and am beginning to feel like my old self again.

I think some women respond negatively to losing the estrogen, and some don't. I've talked to a lot of women who say they have few if any symptoms of menopause, and some, like me, have a tough time. At this point, it's like recovering from a long illness.

I would advise women who are wondering about menopause to look for irregularities in their mind sets, their general desire to do the things they always did, their re-evaluating the world around them. There is a sadness, a loss that seems to take over sometimes.

I could go into some detail like the hilarious trip with testosterone or the hormone that released that caused my tendons to relax so much I couldn't walk for nine months.

For me the one truly horrifying side effect was fear. I truly hate fear. I wrote a lot about fear in my novels.

God Bless, and hopefully, you will be one of those women who just defies gravity!

Much affection,

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by louiseds on September 20, 2007 - 4:34am.

Judy, thank you so much for this detailed account. In a sense it is not the nuts and bolts of what happened that is important. What is important to me in your post is that menopause played mind games with you and changed your perception of both yourself and the world; that you went through stages with your symptoms, recognised them what was happening and either utilised the time differently or did something about it, aware that the cure may be worse than the disease. The other thing that is important is that you have come out the other end, strong and whole.

I think fear of the unknown is at the heart of my request, as everyone seems to have a slightly different experience. As you say fear is very powerful and unpredictable. I'll have to work on that in the meantime.

BTW, have any of your novels been published?

Cheers

Louise

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by Christine on September 20, 2007 - 6:54am.

Louise...this was such a lovely idea. We have a pregnancy forum and it stands to reason to have a menopause forum...what do you think? If you would like to do that I will set it up and then ask the women who have responded to please copy and paste their (beautiful!) replies to the other forum. I can't just move them (I don't think) or they will be under my username.

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by a6a25725 on September 20, 2007 - 12:23pm.

Hi Louise,
I think the fertile type of mucous is "Mother Nature's," way of telling us that time is running out to add to our family if we want to.
I remember having the same symptoms of mucous and no bleed.
The flashes and sweats started before my periods stopped and continued for about a couple of months then gradually I started to feel normal once again.
My physical symptoms were fairly mild but now that I look back, I believe that some of my outbursts were probably exaggerated by the changes my body was going through. After an outburst I would rationalize to myself and any others who cared to listen, why I got so emotional.
My children told me I was always over protective and over cautious but i was getting worse. That made me stop and think and I realized that I was smothering them and had to ease up or I might lose them.
I did a lot of soul searching during this time and I believe it helped me to become a lot more mature and understanding of others. In other words I was finally growing up!!
I think I am still learning but the lessons are easier to accept and understand now.
Rest and relaxation help to ease the symptoms.
Menopause is another step in our journey through life and we can learn a lot about ourselves.
Regards,
Flora

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by louiseds on September 20, 2007 - 5:42pm.

Hi Flora

This sounds all very commonsense and reassuring to me. As you say responding to menopause is just another adjustment we have to make in the growing up process. And I am very relieved to hear that this off and on again mucous thing has been experienced by somebody else.

We do have education for puberty, we do have education for childbirth, why don't we have education for menopause, rather than the reactive stuff we get for dealing with the results of menopause that goes off the rails???

I think this is where the diary could be useful, as a teaching and learning resource.

I'm really happy that Christine has suggested a menopause Forum, which also has the potential to be a great resource.

Cheers

Louise

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by louiseds on September 20, 2007 - 5:51pm.

Hi Christine

OK, that sounds very logical. I guess the only reservation I would have is that menopause in itself is not really our core business, and it could become just a discussion of menopause, rather than being related to prolapse management. I guess you will make that clear in the wording of the introduction to the Forum?

However, I think it would be a good place for women to post info about websites, books, and general menopause resources in other formats that they have found useful on the way through this life stage. This reminds me that I can no longer work out how to put links in my posts. What's the secret?

Cheers

Louise

Originally submitted by Clonmacnoise on September 20, 2007 - 7:04pm.

Louise,

Considering that menopause is a major reason for prolapse, it could legitimately be just another forum. In addition, poor or dangerous deliveries could also be a forum because they are a major reason...

I think just talking about the things we experience help other women. I thought I was the only woman within a thousand miles who had this prolapse thing. Then I find out my two best friends have it too! But how often do you say to your best friend, "I think my bladder is falling out of my body; do you want to go shopping and have lunch?"

As far as the impending menopause goes, my onset definitely was perceptual. I have always had perceptual disabilities and often see things differently than others, so I can't say that this was a normal thing.

During crazypaws, I began to see the world as suddenly too big, to formidable, too difficult to wander into. I was horrified by speed and anything over 25 mph seemed to be a terrifying 100. I stopped going out and stayed home or went to work, hence the books. At a few low points, I had what I called box cutter days. It was a matter of an intense growing grief that kind of leaked into my heart and overwhelmed me. I thought I was dying. HRT made that better for a short time. I understand completely why someone would take it.

I hope this helps. I think re-evaluating how you feel about certain things will tell you if the estrogen loss is making a difference in your life. The passions don't die; they shift.

As for the writing, I wrote a syndicated column on childcare for Scripps Howard (a major newspaper chain and syndicate) for 15 years; now I do a column for a subsidiary of NBC. I can't post my name here or it will appear on Google with all my other scribblings - God forbid! I've written novels for fifteen years. Right now I have a publisher interested a book called "Porkchops." It's a comedy about Catholic Parish life in Midwestern America. Thanks for asking.

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by louiseds on September 20, 2007 - 7:26pm.

Oh Judy

The only woman in 1000 miles... Isn't that really annoying? (That was using nice polite words) Why is it so? Why do we isolate ourselves like this from those friends we trust and love?

Shopping and lunch... LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Onset was perceptual ... seeing things differently from others... Hmm, me too. Maybe that's why we can't see any sense in prolapse surgery. It's not rocket science, is it? When some people say of menopause symptoms, "It's all in your head", they may be closer than they realise in that respect.

Crazypaws... LOLOLOL

Boxcutter days... says it all. I can see why you are a writer.

HRT made me feel better for a while ... Hmm, a bit like prolapse surgery, eh?

The passions don't die. They shift. Just like other times in your life when you start to respond to the world differently? Like falling in love, having your first baby, going back to work after being a stay at home Mum, leaving a marriage? You can't fight it, and why suffer more by trying? Just go with the flow?

This is all very reassuring to me, although I can see that some women would be terrified at the thought of all this happening. Then again, I do see things a bit differently from most.

What a wonderful generous community this is!

Cheers

Louise

Originally submitted by Clonmacnoise on September 20, 2007 - 7:32pm.

Louise,

I think we keep things from our dearest friends while we are sorting things out. We are frightened and need support, and it's just too hard to confide in someone who might just change the subject.

Yes, this is a very very loving community. Thank you all so much.

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Moved by Judy
Originally submitted by goldfinch1 on September 22, 2007 - 6:58am.

I guess I am one of the luckly ones, thought I can't say for sure why. Back in the 1970's, I started listening to a radio show on WOR radio from New York. The host of the show and famous author was Carlton Fredericks. He was definitely ahead of his time when it came to advising people to read food labels, stay away from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (we now call if Trans Fats), stay away from food additives (BHT, BHA, etc), and stay away from pesticides, etc. He passed away in the mid 1990's, but I have continued to follow his advise and to refer to his books as often as I can. I went thru menopause at the age of 52. My periods just gradually started coming less frequently beginning at about age 50 until they just finally stopped. A blood test confirmed that it was over.

I had some mild hot flashes at first, mostly at night, but they stopped after about 2 years. I can't say that my moods changed, except that I was very happy not to have cramps anymore. I didn't gain weight, but I attribute that to watching my diet. By no means do I live the perfect life, and I have had my fair share of life 'stress' situations. But overall, I really think that diet choices have alot to do with how your body handles menopause. I've always gotten alot of sleep and feel that the ups and down of my moods and personality are mostly just the result of outside influences and living life.

The 2 biggest changes for me were my skin - it is now so dry (including my vagina) - and a definite change in my s*x drive. The first I just try to deal with using creams, etc. The second has become more 'mental' than 'physical'. Since the hormones are not there to trigger the desire, my mind has to do it. It's still good, but for me, not AS good.

I wish you well on this journey. Don't let the change overpower you. It is just another phase of your life, and certainly one that shouldn't rule your days (and nights) and the way you live. Best of luck.......

Hey - I certainly suspect you are right in that I was so distracted I didn't really notice the menopausal symptoms. I have wondered many times since then why I didn't seem to have gone thru what other women went thru and really was curious about it. Either they were very minor or so overshadowed they went unnoticed.

Blessings,
Grandma Joy

Grandma Joy

Be so grateful. For me it was a never ending story I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Dear Louise

I can sympathize with what you are going through. I also did not understand the process well, and was in denial until a blood test confirmed it. I did not have a lot of the traditional physical symptoms, such as hot flashes. I think my biggest reaction was grief over not being able to become pregnant anymore. I simply wasn't ready for that. Several years after, I am divorced and very busy trying to make a living, abstinent and with a definite prolapse, and am somewhat thankful I don't have strong sex drive to complicate issues, especially since my vaginal tissue is also dry and I have been told by a doctor that it is very thin. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be able to have sex again, and if not, does that mean I must be alone for the rest of my life. However, the struggle part of menopause is over, I think. Still some feelings of grief for loss of fertility, mostly complicated by the prolapse issue, but I am busy with other activities. I think it is important to recognize that there has been a loss (maybe some women think "Hooray, now I don't have to have any more babies" or "hooray, now I have a reason to tell him no more, or less, sex"). It's when a loss is acknowledged that it can be gone through or let go.

I wish you well. You have been a trememdous help to so many. Hang on to yourself during the process.

PS I did forget to mention one symptom. I have become increasingly hirsute. There was always some light fuzz, but it grows increasingly thicker and longer and bristiler on the face. I handle it by clipping it with scissors, as the people who do laser hair removal say that won't work because the hair isn't uniformly dark, and I absolutely do not want to shave my face. I don't trust HRT.

Been reading the thread about menopausal symptoms now that I am clutching my packet of Vagifem in my hot little hand. I'm too afraid to take it after what I've read. Somehow I feel better having it, but I think having it in the cupboard will do for now.

Is there anyone on the site who has had a positive experience with vaginal oestrogen I wonder?

Also, this is a really dumb question but once you have vaginal atrophy or dryness, what happens? Is it progressive? Do you have it for life? Does it go away? I understood it was just like the rest of your skin, getting thin and dry and needing a topical moisturiser. Once gynae told me never having smoked was a good thing. Skin less damaged. So glad I've done something right!

Sally

i was given ovestine to use and was told to use it by 3 different doctors..1st said use it every day....the 2nd said 2-3 times a week ..the 3rd said once a week..then i saw my gynea consultant and he told me to STOP using it as it was confusing my body and it didnt know what it was suppose to be doing...so i stopped using it which was a shame as it did feel a lot better by using it...i called into my surgery for a prescription of replens to replace the ovestin cream... to see if that will help the dryness i cant say how its working as i havent used it yet as im still very sore after having a womb lining biopsy taken a few days ago...personally i dont like the idea of having to put something in your body that isnt meant to be there..on the other hand if it is beneficial and gives you a better quality of life you have to try it...

Thanks for that Dollie. Sorry to hear you are sore. I had a go at the Replens last night. Don't think it makes much difference. Usually I just use Aloe Vera gel. Reading the literature that came with the Vagifem it says you must be closey monitored by your doc. That ain't likely to happen. Don't blame them they are just soooo busy. I wasnt given any instructions for frequency of use at all. Just too much guesswork. Going to give it a miss I think. Sally

Yes, I read abut the dodgy ingredient Louise and other peole saying it worked for them. Don't know. I was definately worse a couple of days later but think that might have been down to the fact that I stopped used the aloe vera night and mornng. Gone back to using that instead.

I read most of Christine's book today. Fascinating. So much to change, so much to accomplish. A bit at a time I guess. Did some serious cycling today and feel none the worse. At least my confidence is returning.
Sally

Wise Woman Herbal for the Menopausal years by Susun Weed. (Ash Tree Publishing)

i have used the replens 3 times ( 3 times a week) and there has been a noticeable difference in that short time...i am however going to use it every other day for a couple of weeks as i am so dry...i also rub a tiny ammount around the vulva area night and morning to...it is a bit messy but am going to carry on...its best to insert it in the mornings..i have had no burning pain in the vulva area and no stinging when i pee..i am still having a problem when i wear knickers tho as they seem to rub so i go knickerless around the house..in the uk you can get replens on prescription by your doctor..its well worth a try...

Please go to this site before reading any further:

http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/2078

Original posting has been removed.

Thank you,

Oceanblue

Oceanblue...check out this thread from a couple of years ago:

http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/2078

(((hugs)))

Hi all,

Has anyone living in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, used Yes Pure Intimacy?

Seems to have some very good positives.

For further information:

http://www.yesyesyes.org/

Thank you,

Oceanblue

Good morning all!

My choice, the only choice!

Recently I asked if anyone had tried a newly released oil/water based lubricant named Yes™Pure Intimacy.

Having tried the UK lubricant once, as well as reading their literature, without a doubt: Whole Woman™ Bliss Balm is by far the best!

Why? Bliss Balm's aroma is indeed 'light, sweet and sensual', the ingredients are certified organic, the balm feels great, and lastly, the container is made from glass.

Thank you for taking the time to have this ayurvedic balm created for our benefit and well being Christine!

Hugs,

Oceanblue

You are so welcome, Oceanblue - thank you for writing! I love it too and it's the only body and face "lotion" that I use. My granddaughter loves us to put it in her very curly hair. We will be running a sale soon so that you can stock up, coz the expiration date I believe is next July (even tho it would probably last, sealed, indefinitely). We will certainly continue to have it made. :) C.

Christine:

What is the shelf life of the 3 balms once the jars have been opened?

Hi Goldfinch,

Sorry this response took so long. I gave a 7 a.m. lecture Thursday morning, went out to lunch with my husband, came home and took a nap, and woke up with the beginnings of what I believe has to be swine flu - or a close relative! Feeling a bit better today - but expect it will take days to recover completely.

I really don't know the answer to your question, but my gut instinct is - sort of indefinitely! Everything has been infused into the oils and then the perishable qualities of the oils made inert by the embalming process - high heat in huge urns.

Hope you are doing great.

Christine

I went through menopause w/o hormones - cold turkey, as it were. My period became first very irregular. I would go three months without, then have four within five weeks. Some were very heavy and I would pass great clots. My cramps did not worsen, however. I did experience mood swings - in fact, the whole perimenopause thing was kind of like having PMS all the time, a fact which my loving family did not hesitate to point out to me. Sleep became a patchy substitute for the full night's slumber I used to get. I woke every two hours allnight long. I also turned into the kind of person who woke bright eyed and bushy tailed at early hours (6:30, 7:00) on weekends. Yikes! I was turning into my mother! I gained weight, despite being on the very same diet and exercise program I had always used. I had hot flashes, some very severe. I remember lying on my bed, naked, window wide open, 36 degrees outside, sweating. When all these symptoms began to abate, with the cessation of my period, my rectum fell into my vagina which intruded itself into my urethra making it difficult to empty my bladder! Now, about 18 months since my last period, the hot flashes are almost entirely gone. My mood is much improved. The weight gain remains. I am just now starting to sleep better, having nights when I actually sleep all night long, although I still also have the other kind. Thanks entirely to WW the prolapse is much more manageable and the discomfort is gone. If I had it to do again I would have been much more faithful with my soy supplements.

The original request for a menopause site was posted by Louise in 2007 so Louise you may have found a site by now. :) I wanted to mention to anyone that might still be looking for a site to check out www.power-surge.com. It's a wonderful site that has been in existence for 15 years and their board/forum is very busy. I would read it almost daily when perimenopause hit me like a brick 5 years ago and felt like I was falling off a never-ending cliff. I just turned 50 this past summer and things, at least emotionally and physically, have calmed down quite a bit.

Hope that helps someone.

emmalu