Posts Tagged "menopause"

Shhh.

Posted by Liz on May 18, 2008 in Uncategorized, women's health | 1 comment

I was talking to a colleague/old friend the other day about this blog. She is a few years older than I and we got into this great conversation about generational gaps when it comes to discussing health issues. Perimenopause and menopause in particular, have been huge taboo issues for women for decades.

Take for example, an episode from ‘That 70s Show,’ in which Kitty learns that she is not pregnant but rather, has entered menopause. When she asks her mother (played to a T by none other than Betty White) about her experience, she’s informed that she never went through menopause and has always been “healthy.” It’s funny and sad simultaneously. And definitely well worth the watch. (Fast forward to timecode 3:59.)

As the last of the baby boomers enter middle age, their appetites for health information appear to be ever more insatiable. And yet, some of the savviest and most practical women I know confess that they rarely, if ever, discuss their symptoms, moods or concerns about the changes that they are going through with their friends, let alone their mothers.

I’m fortunate. I have a mother who is pretty open about these sort of topics. And although she’s 70+, she tries hard to maintain an open attitude about certain things. When I approached her a few months ago about what I was going through, she was very forthcoming about her own experiences. And while her experiences were not exactly like mine (let’s face it; no two women’s experiences will ever be exactly the same), being able to talk about it was very liberating, even if I didn’t find “why” behind my own symptomatology.

Janine O’Leary Cobb, a former professor at Vanier College in Montreal, author of Understanding Menopause and founder of ‘A Friend Indeed,” once said that “it seem[s] to be one of the last things women talk about because it’s so entangled with aging and we don’t want to talk about getting older.”

And yet, research suggests that when we do talk about “it” and about getting older, hopefulness and positivity dominates, even as we acknowledge the more negative, i.e. loss and bodily changes, at the same time. And there a majority of women in this study who said that they feel a greater willingness to embrace personal growth and opportunities being presented to them with ease and sense of self as they age, a liberation, if you will.

So, what’s my point? Well, I’m not suggesting that we embrace the sugar-coated version of perimenopause and menopause that many advertisers would lead us to believe. But if we start having conversations with our gal pals and our mothers and colleagues, well, maybe we can begin moving towards removing the stigma that surrounds the “change” and aging once and for all.

Knowledge and exchange are certainly positive, powerful aphrodisiacs for growth.

Mabel is unstable

Posted by Liz on May 16, 2008 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

I found this vintage ad promoting a mild sedative for the “change.” Had to share. If you click on the ad, you can read the copy. Poor Mabel. Do you think she felt better floating through her days? !

Put Up Your Dukes!

Posted by Liz on May 14, 2008 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that women rapidly stop producing reproductive hormones around mid-life to reduce competition with younger females in the same family unit…in other words, a majority of women cease to have the ability to breed so that the next generation can step in. Evolutionary-wise, this hard-wiring was established to reduce the likelihood of reproductive conflict with younger females who might marry our sons. The researchers explain that their study helps to explain the timing of these events.

Unlike other primates, humans also tend to live a long time after menopause. Researchers believe that this may have evolved from a need for mothers to share food with their children in order to enhance the next generation’s own fertility.

A great write-up of these two studies can be found here.

Talk Talk

Posted by Liz on May 10, 2008 in hot flash | 0 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvAVJTQeFiQ]

I’ve been surfing lots to see what folks are saying about the menopause. And it’s given me pause, which is why I wanted to pick up my pen and intervene.

Too often, what I run across is run of the mill, me-too, stale copy with highly technical information “dumbed down” for the consumer OR advice on how to delight in the menopause OR unsound or unproven alternatives that are not tailored to the individual but to the masses.

So, how do you like your information served? Sugar-coated with a cherry and whipped cream? Or organic, fresh and crisp, just-picked and newly-ripened, one perfect portion at a time, presented with you and your needs in mind?

I only ask not be “talked at” but spoken to in an engaging, respectful manner. I didn’t believe those tampon ads back in the 70s depicting two happy teenage girls on the beach exercising, and I don’t believe that I should be told that I will delight in a drenching hot flash, perspiration rolling down my face, and huge sweat rings staining a new silk blouse.

So, here’s my promise to you. Straight talk, no shooter, engaging, factual, and timely. If you catch a few words here and there that resonate…well, we’re halfway there.

Here’s the first course:

A small but scientifically designed study out of China shows that acupuncture plus cupping provided relief of menopause-related perspiration in approximately 81% of women compared to acupuncture alone or cupping alone. Sound interesting?

Mama’s Little Helper

Posted by Liz on May 9, 2008 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

There’s a new cocktail in town! Won’t necessarily do its wonders for ‘all that ails’ but it’s a good start and worthy of consideration, even for the toughest constitution. Hmmm, I can only imagine eyes popping and chattering as all you Sixties love children excitingly talk about Ms. V and so sorry to disappoint. I’m actually referring to black cohosh, rhodiola, and three immortals with a twist (i.e., topical progesterone cream ). Sounds strange, eh?

True confession time. I started having major night sweats about four months ago. Drenching night sweats. Talk about a wet dream! My MD suggested a regimen of topical progesterone combined with a low-dose topical estrogen. Progesterone? Okay. But, estrogen and me haven’t done too well in the past.

So, Flashfree might be a blogger by night but by day, I’m a medical writer/health reporter so I read and read and read and write and write and write. And while I live and breathe and eat in the Western School of Medicine, I honestly subscribe to the East meets West way of life.

Mind you, I’m not recommending that you go out for happy hour. But what I would like to convey is that there may be an effective allternative if you are hormone-shy like me, provided that you consult the healthcare professionals in your life that are ‘in the know.’

Couple rules of thumb – standardized formulations rule the day, don’t try this at home without speaking to an expert first, and shaken, not stirred!

Any other combos you’d like to share? Experiences? Tell me more!