by Karen Ramos

Created on: April 30, 2008

Menopause is a turning point in a womens life when she begins to get signs that her body, mind and soul are going in a direction of which she has little control. It is not an excuse, really it isn't but a fact. It is something I believe every women would love to bypass but it has to happen in most cases so you just have to take it one step at a time.

Some of what I have been through is pretty moderate and probably because I am in the early stages of menopause called (Perry Menopause). When I was first diagnosed with it I was 37 years old. They first told me that I was just PMS, then 6 months later I was re-diagnosed with Uterine Fibroid. I did not know much about Fibroid but I started to look up all kinds of information and asking a lot of questions. It just didn't seem to be what I was experiencing. Then I was once again diagnosed with Perry Menopause and they put me on birth control pills to try to get me regulated again. Which it actually did, but I was still having other symptoms that birth control could not help me with.

Now at age 40 I have been experiencing the most symptoms yet. All of what I have been experiencing yet:

Mood Swings: it usually is just a week before my menstrual cycle, but sometimes it will hit at any time. I can almost feel it coming on but the strange thing is it is so hard to control when an onset occurs. I get very irate about the smallest things and I know that they normally would not be a big deal, but during certain times I am much more dramatic then usual.

Advise: just talk to your family, friends and co-workers who would be directly affected by these moods and they will have a better understanding of dealing with you and visa-versa.

Hot Spells: I do not experience too much of these so called "hot spells" however it does come and go at times. I am usually a very cold person. At 70 degrees I am okay, but 69 degrees I am cold. During some of these "hot spells" at 65 I am very hot. I have not woke up to any hot, sweaty nights yet, but I hear they are coming.

Advise: try to find your happy medium and pay attention to your surroundings. If it is expected to be cold, bring a sweater just in case. If it is expected to be hot, wear less and hopefully that works for you. Carry around deodorant at all times and maybe a handkerchief's to dry yourself.

Menstrual Cycles: unbearable at times. Painful most and very exhausting. I feel like sometimes it is taking all that I have to get up these days when what I call "Mother Nature" hits. The week before my breast are tender beyond even my touch, nauseous, headaches, moody and very tired. Sometimes I am so emotional I want to cry, but I try to remind myself that my body is taking control over my mind rather than my mind taking control of my body. I also feel as though my insides are falling out. It can really be horrible. I have been prescribed
"Vicodin" to help with the pain and to be able to rest. Sometimes I cannot even sleep.

Advise: hot pads, have your husband rub your lower pelvic and stomach area in circular motion (it helps), warm Tea and a big body pillow. Try to rest and not do too much activities because that will cause more unnecessary pain. Rest is a key to welling yourself through this time and it will pay off. There is also a pain medicine called "PMS" that I get through Zee Medical and wow it works really good. The only bad thing is that you can only take it every four hours, but it only seems to work for two good hours. Sometimes that is enough.

I am sure there is more to the symptoms that I have not even experienced yet, but for now this is what I have been experiencing and I say "bring it on".

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