The following is something I found on a friend's web site and she allowed me to share it with you. To give her the credit she deserves, her site is, web page, www.womenscorner.com. She also has a baby boomer page on her site. Check it out. FYI...Lise (the site owner) designs web sites for women around the country.

My favorite part of this article is the quote by Margaret Mead!

"The most creative force in the world is a
menopausal woman with zest"
Margaret Mead

Do you feel any of these?
Doctor Northrup, who wrote the book "The Wisdom of Menopause", was on Oprah's show and confirmed that perimenopause could start as early as 13 years before menopause. And a few guests on the show were relating their experiences and they were in their 30's and 40' not the 50' like most of us would think.
And it's during that period that you experience all or a lot or some of the symptoms. I have underlined the ones I had before... See how many you have.
Common symptoms of Menopause

Hot flashes
night sweats
irregular menstrual cycles
heart palpitations
acne
cold hands and feet
fuzzy vision
migraine headaches
grumpiness
forgetfulness
mood swings
concentration difficulties
short-term memory loss
dizziness
insomnia
crying a lot
"crawly" skin
vaginal dryness
uncomfortable intercourse
urinary tract infections
incontinence
extra body hair
thinning scalp hair

Not everybody is created equal. You may have some of those, or all (poor you) while your friend may have different ones than you and then there are those who never experience anything (lucky them).

For me the worst were the night sweats (waking up every 2 or 3 hours, t-shirt completely soaked) and insomnia. Oh but then let's not forget the CRYING...Crying at commercials, watching Disney movies, especially when animals were involved (even cartoons! pleeeaaassse). Now I only cry during the movies...

In today's world, women can expect to live 30, 40 even 50 years after experiencing menopause--equivalent to half their lives! Think about it, we are then FREE. Well, that's how I look at it.

Hormone replacement therapy was one of the standard treatments for menopausal symptoms. However, HRT (hormone replacement therapy) has made the news in July 2002. An 8 year study was stopped 3 years earlier because of finding increase in breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, and blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism) and legs (deep venous thrombosis).

The most exciting benefit of soy is its potential to support women's health as they go through menopause. Studies have alluded to its ability to:
• inhibit cancer-cell growth
• reduce the risk for osteoporosis
• help lower cholesterol levels, thus reducing the risk for heart disease
SOY helps maintain body equilibrium by replacing the lost estrogen with natural compounds known as "plant estrogens". These plant estrogens (in soy, black cohosh and don quai) are so much like the body's own estrogen that they are able to restore a feeling of normalness and calm. Isn't that we are looking for?

[ May 20, 2003, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Dotsie ]