This is for women of a certain age; and by that I mean around 48 give or take. In the past week I have heard more about sweating and sleeping (or not sleeping) and cramping and bleeding than any of the other years of my life.
I remember my first hint of it back several years ago now. I was living in L.A. and had a really good doctor who had a really swanky office. I rang her up because something had changed: four or five days of a flow had turned into fourteen, and a manageable outfit and purse selection had become impossible. I was grateful to speak to her very smart-sounding nurse who listened to my symptoms and didn’t even bother to put me on hold to look for my chart.
Nurse: “How old are you?”
Me: “41.”
Nurse: “Oh. That’s normal.”
I went on to listen about how I was probably just starting the beginnings of menopause and that I was probably OK – and that things start to change for woman after 40. No one had warned me about this new normal and I had never heard of this word she threw around, “perimenopause.” Menopause was something that happened to older women. The nurse actually apologized for having to tell me that it was my time.
I’ve been reminded of it all a lot lately…the bloated boobs, …the going back on the pill, …the forgetting to take the pill, …the forgetting in general, …the gloom, …the doom. I may or may not have at least one of those symptoms, but I know a lot of you do because you’ve been telling me so. Here’s the part when I pay it forward like the nurse and let you know that a 68-year-old woman told me that she still flashes. I’m not sure I wanted to know this myself, but it feels good to share.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. A lot of us are going through the same thing. Speaking of “us,” did you realize that you can’t spell menopause without it?
There’s power in there somewhere.
Stay true,
Joy
PS: That picture of the word “us” was drawn by my boyfriend who is doing his best to understand all this. I was trying to find a picture of the word “us” to insert into this post and he decided to draw one. I both love him and hate him right now. He admits that red was probably not the best choice of color.
