Posts by Liz

Can early early life influence age at menopause?

Posted by Liz on Jul 26, 2010 in Early menopause | 0 comments

Back in June, I posted about a blood test that can may be able to help predict when you start menopause. However, research suggests that there are specific early early life (i.e. while in the womb) factors that allow for such a prediction without the pin prick.

Back in the 50s and 60s, many of our pregnant mothers were prescribed a synthetic estrogen commonly known as DES (diethylstilbestrol). DES had been frequently used for at least four decades to prevent miscarriage and other common complications of pregnancy, that is, until it was taken off the market in 1971 after being linked to a rare vaginal cancer in girls as young as 8 years, called clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA). My own personal experience with DES and this cancer is that a very close friend whose mother used DES back in the 50s was recently diagnosed with CCA, and while she remains alive and healthy, she continues to battle the challenge of deciding whether or not to expose her uterine area to ongoing radiation and risk damage to organs other than her vagina.

So what’s so important about DES when it comes to menopause?

It appears that women who were exposed to DES while in the womb may actually speed up the rate that they are losing eggs by as much as a year. As I written previously, a woman’s egg supply increases from about 20 weeks after conception and steadily increases to age 14, and the declines steadily until menopause. However, exposure to DES while in the womb may cause an earlier than average (i.e. ~ages 50 to 51) menopause. Conversely, women whose mother who were 35 years or older at the time they were born may start menopause a little later.

Other factors, such as birth order, being exposed to cigarette smoke while in the womb or having been breast fed (or not) does not appear to influence age at menopause.

My friends at Reuters Health covered this story a few weeks and I encourage you to read their piece for more information. Quoting the lead study investigator, they note that this is importantly mainly because as we continue to unravel the mysteries of menopause, we are learning that there are many factors that come into play and that early life events, and not just behaviors during our adult years, can indeed influence what happens later, including timing.

One a day…takes the menopause away

Posted by Liz on Jul 23, 2010 in menopause, women's health | 1 comment

Did you know that One-a-Day has a menopause formulation that theoretically reduces hot flashes, improves mood and addresses energy issues? Interestingly, if you compare it to One-a-Day for Women 50+, the ingredients and the amount of each vitamin and mineral are almost identical.

So, what makes the menopause formulation so much more effective for menopausal symptoms? Evidently, the addition of soy isoflavones, which, studies have shown, may help alleviate hot flashes or promote bone health. However, increasingly, researchers are focusing on S-equol, the compound in soy isoflavones that actually appears to make soy effective in addressing menopausal symptoms.  So, based on the evidence, it’s fairly unlikely that soy extract in a multivitamin is going to provide the relief you seek.

I’m not certain that their sponsored blog, Menopause Live, is going to either. Granted, sharing experiences via Menoplay (a video blog) is an empowering approach, but you have to wonder about the fact that the site reserves the right to edit the videos. Or the subtle implication that these women are not taking medications but rather, a vitamin everyday to cure what ails.

Look, I’m all for multivitamins and supplementation, physical activity, emotional support and sharing. But I don’t appreciate the veiled messaging or false claims that are not backed by research and data. I don’t like to be hyped, duped or taken advantage of. And I don’t support the idea of using women “just like you/me/them” to push product.

Do you really think that your symptoms are going to go away when you take a vitamin and push “play?”  Doubtful.

Don’t believe everything you read, see or hear.

Wednesday Bubble: A Different Kind of Hot Flash. Guest Post by Erika Napoletano

Posted by Liz on Jul 21, 2010 in emotions, Inspiration | 0 comments

Every now and then you run across an awesome woman who demonstrates what it means to have the guts to provoke, educate, humour and intrigue. That woman is Erika Napoletano, a self-described writer, disruptive presence and devils advocate.

This week’s Bubble takes a look at a different kind of hot flash and one that most of us should aspire to.

Thanks Erika…. love this post!

Liz came to me awhile back and asked me if I’d be interested in contributing a blog post for Flashfree. Still a few years from menopause, I wondered exactly what I had to add for her readers (aside from my semi-patented f-bombs and unfiltered look on anything and everything).

Then yesterday, I had a different kind of hot flash:

I don’t need.

And no, there’s not a word missing at the end of that sentence.

Being someone who’s in complete opposition to affirmative action and “up with woman” bullshit, it’s hard for me to write a “I’m an independent woman” piece. Hell, you won’t find one. But I came to an moment during one of my training rides yesterday that I simply don’t need.

There’s nothing in my life that I can’t get (or haven’t) for myself. I have wonderful people – friends, family, clients – who populate my world. My home is comfortable, my car runs. My boobs remain perky (albeit, there’s a little Better Living Through Chemistry involved in that one) and I can still fit into the same clothes year after year.

I kinda don’t need anything.

I’m finally at a place in my life where I can look at my wants with loving eyes. Googly eyes that would get a construction worker slapped.

With so much crap going on in the world around us, I’m exhausted with the political pissing and moaning and righteous indignation that populates modern media. When’s the last time you sat down and looked at your wants and needs and came to a definitive conclusion about where YOU stand? Maybe it’ll hit you when you’re on a bike ride. Maybe the frozen food section at the grocery is your Dawning Recognition destiny. But do you truly need? Or are you wrapped-up in wants disguised (and mistaken) as needs? I’m betting you’re all taken care of, and if you can embrace that like a huggy little bunny (one that doesn’t crap pellets, of course), it’s gonna be a pretty kickass day.

While it might not be much later in life that I join Liz’s club of real hot flashes, I’ll take these moments of dawning recognition over a screwed-up flow of hormones any day. And I fully expect that Liz will mock me and giggle the day I tell her that I’ve succumbed to The Change.

Kinda likin’ the changes I’ve found this week, though.

About the author: Erika Napoletano is an online strategist based in Denver, Colorado. As the Head Redhead at Redhead Writing, she serves up sound yet snark-laden advice on life’s successes and foibles, social media, SEO copywriting and business strategies. Follow her if you dare.

Imagine there’re no….flashes

Posted by Liz on Jul 18, 2010 in hot flash, mind-body therapy | 0 comments

It’s easy if you try?

Wow! What a concept, eh? Well, it might not be so far-fetched, at least according to researchers at Baylor University. Writing in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, they say that cool imagery might actually reduce the incidence of hot flashes.

Two years ago, I wrote about Baylor research that showed that hypnosis could reduce hot flashes up to 68% in breast cancer survivors. This time, the investigators asked women who had survived breast cancer to participate in five weekly  hypnosis sessions and also, to describe mental images they would use for reducing hot flashes before undergoing hypnosis. Women who participated in the study were also taught self-hypnosis techniques and were encouraged to practice daily using their preferred imagery.

The results?

Overwhelmingly and not surprisingly, the women preferred cool over warm images. In fact, more than a quarter visualized something cool water-related such as a waterfall or rain or shower. Other images included cool air or wind, cool mountains, leaves and forests and snow.

The researchers say that while more study is needed, the findings might actually help to equate certain parts of the brain that are activated through imagery to those activated by perceived events.  Conversely, it is possible that in the case of hot flashes, “think” cool equals “feel” cool although I remain less convinced of this personally.

Regardless, I’d love to see more on this as Baylor researchers continue to delve into the brain mechanisms that control hot flashes with their minds. Imagine that…

Why I bake. A guest post by Wendy Goldman Scherer

Posted by Liz on Jul 16, 2010 in Inspiration | 2 comments

When I asked Wendy Scherer to take over Flashfree for a day, I didn’t know what she was going to write about. But I love this post. Because it demonstrates that escape from everyday stresses doesn’t always have to come from without, but rather, sometimes, the greatest joys and introspection can be derived even from mini-staycations. Baking as a staycation. Who knew?!

Please show my friend, colleague and family member Wendy Scherer, some FF luv.

I am not a cook. Ask anyone.

I don’t like to cook. And frankly, I’m just not that good at it. I don’t have the patience to cut things into similar sized pieces, nor do I care. I don’t like picking out just the right recipe, reading Cooks Illustrated, or having to time out components to a meal.

I’m quite fortunate that I have a husband who not only loves to cook, but makes terrific food. And considering that I do like to eat well, it’s a pretty cushy deal for me.

When Andrew is out for the night and I’m in charge, I admit I can cook a few things. Quiche, lasagna, chicken pot pie, spaghetti, scrambled eggs, hot dogs. That’s just the beginning of my vast repertoire, but think you get the picture.

Cooking stresses me out. The opposite is true of baking. I lose myself in it. Kneading bread is one of my greatest joys. I know what it should feel like and it’s exciting when it’s just so. Getting the crust to the exact right place before rolling it out. Now, there’s joy. Baking is precise in its proportions. I like that. It’s order. But it’s not science to make it wonderful; that is spirit, gut, instinct.

It just is.

I’ve always baked to relax. To de-stress. It’s like therapy to me, only much, much cheaper.  I mean seriously, what costs less than yeast and flour? And I don’t need an appointment, either. The kitchen is open 24/7. And the best part is that I don’t have to eat the goods. There is nothing easier than getting rid of a rustic French loaf, an apple pie, and extra challah, or baguettes. Trust me, it’s true.

I’ve always been this way. See me here at age 11. That’s when I decided that the first thing I want when I grow up is a Kitchen Aid mixer.

And when I lived alone, single in my twenties, there’d be nights when I made a half dozen pies only to drive around the next day delivering them to grandparents and friends.

And now, in the kitchen in my new home, baking has never been better. I have counter space galore and every rolling pin and baking mat has its place. But best of all, I have 3 teenagers to consume whatever I make. And they don’t even realize they’re doing me a favor.

About Wendy Scherer…

Wendy blogs at Finding Blanche http://findingblanche and photoblogs at http://wendyscherer.com and is on Twitter @wendyscherer.