For Women Only

[quicksilver]

Oh no!!!. I thought the stories I heard my mother tell a MILLION times were just her being a putzse.They're not heredity, they're gender related.
Keep that in mind, people.
DID I JUST SAY THAT AGAIN??? SORRY!

 

[expatgirl]

This thread is way to funny........and yes, Vera, I'm going to be 54 in a few weeks and I still have pimples and wake up with a $200 barrel of oil on my face. I'm very appealing to OPEC----but on the plus side I have no wrinkles or grey hair. I had a cosmetologist do a skin test in my 30's----wash your face, have a skin test disc put on and wait 2 minutes. Mine was saturated with oil. She commented that she had never had a client with the amount of oil as I did after only 2 minutes.......no surprise there----cheer up she commented you'll probably not get wrinkles for a good while......as far as mentalpause is concerned you do lose your concentration-----hot flashes are just that----learned to take a shower and lie under the ceiling fan au naturelle----lots of baby powder.....DH was quite understanding about the mental illness that you go through, too.......mood swings .........to this day I can not read any stories about child abuse or killings..........just can't.......tears galore

 

[quicksilver]

Okay ladys fess up. I see the same people here, and you know we know you're in the same boat.
Give it up. We won't laugh..... Yes we will - sympatico though, promise!

 

[MexicoKaren]

Having navigated these treacherous waters, I think it is important to say that not everyone has the same symptoms - some better, some worse. I underwent an abrupt menopause at age 41 because I was having chemotherapy for breast cancer. D**m stuff killed my ovaries almost overnight. So I had the double joy of instant hot flashes and all the good stuff that goes along with chemo. But I don't think I ever had alot of mood swings and depression and memory loss - HOW COULD I TELL? Once the chemo was over (9 months), I just felt so much better, plus I was just happy to be ALIVE. Still am. 1985 was a really cr***y year.

 

[pdswife]

I think it's starting... I've thought it was starting for quite awhile.
Have the hot flashes ( I'll be fine one second and sweating like mad the next)
Nights sweats OH YEAH! ( I need to cut holes in the blankets so my feet can hang out)
Mood swings.. ( just ask my poor hubby)
Forgetting things...( last week I couldn't talk or even remember what I wanted to say)
BUT... my FEMALE dr. says NO.... well then I have a fatal illness!

 

[Barb L.]

Ok, all you youngin's, I will be 63 next month - ! Sounds horrid doesn't it! - just a number - lol, an OLD number. All my change were, hot flashes - now hot feet, neck/head at night- ! No PMS !!! not so bad for me - just a part of growing up ! Each person is so different, Mom had night sweats- me no -just flashes ! Now memory is the Pits !! Simple words and names - bothers me a lot ! One time we were at the lake at our camper - couldn't remember - (flower pot) !!! Ask hubby - what are those tomatoes in ? I was so mad at myself- then felt so stupid - hate that the worst !!!! lol, but haven't forgot it since !!!

 

[babetoo]

had a hysterectomy at 27 years old. really bad fibroids on outside wall of uterus. they left the ovaries but they shut down pretty quickly. memory lapses were the worse things. moody and teary. got estrogen shots monthly and that seemed to do the trick.

about five years later stopped the shots and no more symptoms.

babe

 

[LPBeier]

Having navigated these treacherous waters, I think it is important to say that not everyone has the same symptoms - some better, some worse. I underwent an abrupt menopause at age 41 because I was having chemotherapy for breast cancer. D**m stuff killed my ovaries almost overnight. So I had the double joy of instant hot flashes and all the good stuff that goes along with chemo. But I don't think I ever had alot of mood swings and depression and memory loss - HOW COULD I TELL? Once the chemo was over (9 months), I just felt so much better, plus I was just happy to be ALIVE. Still am. 1985 was a really cr***y year.

I agree totally with you Karen about everyone having different circumstances.

I suffered from incredible mood swings for most of my teen and adult life. Then PMS hit at 20 as I mentioned before and things just spun out of control. When I finally had the hysterectomy at 45 the doctors were concerned that either it would help the mood swings or make it that much worse. I was put on an estrogen gel immediately and almost all my emotional ups and downs disappeared. I have just recently weaned off of it after 4 years and other than still having hot flashes a couple of times a day I am still doing really well.

 

[elaine l]

What cracks me up about this thread is way back when it was mentioned about hot feet. Gosh, this year when I dug out my summer sandals (even though it was still chilly out) my feet were "moist" and sliding around. I thought I was crazy having such "hot" feet. Hehehe. I am not alone! Yeah.

 

[jpmcgrew]

What cracks me up about this thread is way back when it was mentioned about hot feet. Gosh, this year when I dug out my summer sandals (even though it was still chilly out) my feet were "moist" and sliding around. I thought I was crazy having such "hot" feet. Hehehe. I am not alone! Yeah.

Never had sweaty feet until I was about 40 I'm 50 now I hate it don't know why it started then but my feet will sweat in shoes or flip flops even when it's cold. I really hate that. As I said my monthly stopped visiting all together about 3 months ago I have no symptoms yet. So my question when doe's one possibly expect such unpleasantness is it usually right away or is it a bit delayed once once one ceases to get their monthly expectations? I got it in my mind that I'm going to sail right thru with not to much trouble as I did with never really having cramps. So feel free to destroy my fantasy. I rather be prepared mentally than just go into shock. And to think I hated the visits and never wanted them but now that they seem to be gone I now know I am getting older and things are going to change. I will never age mentally I still think like a young person and intend to stay that way.

 

[VeraBlue]

I've discovered several cures for the hot feet symptom. During the week, when I'm alone here, I've taken to sitting on the edge of the tub (I do this right before bed) and turning the faucet on, cold water only. I then let it simply cascade over my feet. I do this till they are cold, which can take anywhere from 3 minutes or 3 hours. Seriously, it takes a couple of minutes.

My favourite is a a method that requires the love and tenderness of someone who can safely get in the same room with you. That's the ice bath treatment. Fill a bowl with ice cubes and a a bit of cold water. Soak a wash cloth in the bowl and then wrap it around your foot. It usually only takes a minute or two before the cloth no longer feels cool. Dip it back in the bowl and rewrap, alternate feet. This is especially helpful after an afternoon of shopping the blues away in a pair of unsensible shoes, too. It's so much more effective when someone you love does the wrapping and soaking.

Finally, a more drastic measure is to hack off the foot at the ankle and place it in the freezer. I recommend ziploc type storage bags so as not to incur cross contamination with your chickens and other assorted food products. Also, as with anything else from the freezer, please don't defrost on the counter and definitely do not refreeze without cooking first.


Hey....how many of you have a single weird and lone hair growing somewhere facial??? Hmmm?? How many??

 

[MexicoKaren]

LOL-I always sleep with at least one foot hanging out of the covers no matter how cold it is! jpmcgrew, you might sail right through - some women do! I really hope you are one of them. Hey, it's just the introduction to the next part of your life - and trust me on this - it's a good one. No kids at home, no job to go to, no alarm to set every night. Just enjoy.

Hey....how many of you have a single weird and lone hair growing somewhere facial??? Hmmm?? How many??

Oh Vera, it started with ONE hair growing out of a mole on my cheek (I always fancied it a beauty mark) and now there are about FIVE very bristly hairs growing there. I chop them off as soon as I see them. Oh - and my daughter bought me a nose hair clipper. Do you think she is trying to tell me something?

 

[jpmcgrew]

LOL-I always sleep with at least one foot hanging out of the covers no matter how cold it is! jpmcgrew, you might sail right through - some women do! I really hope you are one of them. Hey, it's just the introduction to the next part of your life - and trust me on this - it's a good one. No kids at home, no job to go to, no alarm to set every night. Just enjoy.

Thanks MK, I guess I will find out sooner or later. The funny thing is ever since I was about sixteen it seemed I would get over heated and sweaty for no good reason not on a regular basis but just every few weeks or so. It comes over me like a wave for about five to ten minutes then go away.

 

[jpmcgrew]

The black hair is a curse for sure it's my chin that seems to get them I use tweezers. I swear some can grow a 1/2 inch overnight. That is one thing I could definately do with out. WOW! I can just imagine all the guys reading this thread. Oh well they probabley need the education. I'm sure they have their own problems as well. I HOPE SO. If not than it's just plain not fair

 

[MexicoKaren]

jp - have you ever had your thyroid tested? My daughter has thyroid problems and has hot flashes, hairs growing out of her chin, etc. Only 39.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I love this discussion!!! I have no sisters but this feels like how sisters would talk about these things. It must be true - we really are all sisters under the skin!

The hot feet thing doesn't really bother me much. It's happening, but since I am barefoot 90% of the time, it's not too bad. I do stick them in a bowl of cold water from time to time and it feels heavenly. But my real issue with my feet is that suddenly, I have dry, cracked heels and rough dry soles. I've never had this before. I have very nice feet (I think) since they have rarely been subjected to shoes (barefoot and pregnant most of my life) so this is irritating. I spend a fair amount of time with those "sanding" things and applying oils and creams to keep them looking OK. Is this happening to any of you?

I get the odd stray facial hair, too, which I promptly tweeze out. But if it gets any worse, I'm gonna kill them with laser treatments! I remember being scared at a very young age of my great grandmother because she had a very creepy bristle on her chin - now I have a horror of scaring small children with unwanted facial hair.

Oh and BTW, how many of you can actually see these facial hairs without benefit of some serious reading glasses? Or a 10x mirror?

 

[LPBeier]

I get the odd stray facial hair, too, which I promptly tweeze out. But if it gets any worse, I'm gonna kill them with laser treatments! I remember being scared at a very young age of my great grandmother because she had a very creepy bristle on her chin - now I have a horror of scaring small children with unwanted facial hair.

I now also have some thick hairs growing on my face from two moles. It is usually just two or three and I pluck them on a regular basis. However, ever since puberty I have had some "peach fuzz growing above my upper lip. I was mortified in Grade 10 when I was in the school office running the school newspaper off on the guestetner machine (no photocopiers in those days) and the principal of all people walked by me and said "is that a moustache I see?" My self-esteem was low in those days but that just put me at rock bottom. I borrowed my sister's leg shaver when I got home and tried to shave it off but of course it came back thicker. A friend suggested bleaching it and finally I resorted to going and getting it, and my thick eyebrows (almost just one) waxed every 3 weeks.

Now, I don't worry so much, except the most pronounced hairs.

 

[jpmcgrew]

jp - have you ever had your thyroid tested? My daughter has thyroid problems and has hot flashes, hairs growing out of her chin, etc. Only 39.

No test the little hairs started about 7-8 years ago I think the hot moments are just a natural thing as I am very warm natured anyway. I'm the type that can take a great amount of cold and enjoy it while other people complain about it. I really like the temp outside to be around 55 degrees as long as there is no wind and a lot of sun. High humidity cold is not as comfortable. But you are right it might be worth a test. I do not feel bad at all and sleep really well. I also like to stick my feet out of the comforter until it gets really cold.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I had my thyroid tested a couple of months ago to see if that was causing some of these symptoms since I'm still getting "it" every month. (I think I was actually hoping all this was a sluggish thyroid.) But nope, all those levels were fine.

 

[expatgirl]

well, my perfect sister-in-law according to her had NO symptoms---one day she woke up and had finished "all this business.........ah-----to be perfect....meowwwwwwww