I thought this would be a busy FORUM for baby boomer women. Where are all the menopausal women?

sitting naked in front of the air conditioner vent with a fan blowing on us from both sides and fanning ourselves with a piece of cardboard as the hot flashes overcome us ?????

;-)

lionspaw....you crack me up....how true!!! But what about the night sweats. It used to be I'd wake up each morning and my pajama top would be wringing wet....all of a sudden in the last few weeks I awake to soaking wet legs and feet! What the hell is that all about? And the memory lapses...dear heaven....I have lost my mind! I call my poor daughter by the dogs name all of the time. Imagine her horror when I say "Go poopy now Gracie!" while walking the dog!

DJ, You are so right! I have just realized that many of the previous posts have been deleted. I am not quite sure how this happened. I will put a call into my web guru today!

I am soooo disappointed. Hmmmm! I checked several FORUMS and quite a few seem to be missing old posts. I thought that maybe the new year did it, but some have posts from the 2002 and others don't, so that isn't it. I will let you know. Thanks for making me aware of this!

Who has followed the path into menopause "naturally" and who was forced into it via surgery or disease?

I had my first emergency hysterectomy when I was 31. The doctors removed my uterus and cervix. My second hysterectomy came about 9 years later. Then I had my ovaries removed. A week or so after my surgery my doctor prescribed HRT. It took almost 2 years for me to figure out the dosage, but I think we have it right.

Before my surgery I was always cold, now I go through phases where sometimes I'm hot, sometimes I'm not.

I really don't like those little hairs on my chin and on my upper lip! argh!!! My hair has gotten grayer with streaks of white.

If I had my druthers though, I'll pluck some hairs from my chin over dealing with a period, the bloating, and sanitary products!

I had a complete hysterectomy in December 2001 -- and except for a few hot flashes -- completely taken care of by a "magic" little soy pill in the morning -- and a stray hair here and there on my chin and upper lip -- the only main thing I've noticed is that where I used to freeze all the time -- I have gone through this winter without having to wear a jacket outside Not hot flashes -- my body just always feels warm now instead of cold.

But I never thought about the "memory loss" as being a part of menopause -- I was actually beginning to worry about early alzheimers and had discussed it with my counselor -- we eventually just past it off as having alot on my plate lately and decided not to worry about it -- and now I think it might be part of the "process" -- I'm going to worry even LESS about it

And I'm with you Vicki -- I'm happy to trade those monthly PMS attacks for this

I had a complete hysterectomy in June of 1996 after fighting uterine fibroid tumors for years. My periods had been growing heavier and more painful. Then I started passing these huge clots, some up to 3 inches in diameter. Then the clots started damming up inside and causing even more cramping until suddenly they would pass and I would ruin whatever clothing I had on with no advance notice. When I started staying home from work on the days I was on my period, it finally convinced my doctor that I might look into surgery. Prior to that, they had tried Estrace, and other alternative remedies, none of which worked for me.
I have never regretted that surgery. The doctor did it vaginally, so I had no incisions or scars, and was up and walking that evening after surgery. As soon as my urinary catheter was out, I was up and walking all over the hospital. They had to hunt for me to give me meds and check my blood sugars. I was out of the hospital and went to stay with my mother for a week before going home. I didn't really need that, but it was a nice little vacation time to spend with my parents.
I had little pain after leaving the hospital. During my hospital stay, I used a PCA (patient controlled anesthesia) pump with Demerol. I don't think I ever did use the entire dose.
I wish all surgeries could be as easy as that one was.