by Barbara Besteni

Created on: May 08, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Menopause Brings Midlife Adventure: It's girl's night out for a group of 40 and 50-something South Florida women who are all going through the midlife adventure known as menopause. Six years after they began their weekly tradition, it's still going strong.

"A few years ago we went to see 'Menopause The Musical'. We laughed so hard we decided we needed to have that same experience on a regular basis," says Loretta Garcia. At 58 years old, she's the senior member of the group.

The musical talks about the condition through parodies of Baby Boomer hits such as "'I Heard It Thru the Grapevine; You No Longer See 39" and the disco favorite "Stayin' Awake! Stayin' Awake!" The producers say, "The show has evolved from a grassroots movement of women who deal with life after 40 and all the challenges that result to a women's movement that targets the interests, needs, and sensibilities of women over 40."

Society's view of menopause, however, is nothing to sing about.

What Is Menopause?

The medical definition of menopause is the end of menstruation. During menopause a woman's ovaries produce lower levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone; she is no longer able to become pregnant.

"If only it were that simple," says group member Rita Taylor.

Technically, a woman reaches menopause when she hasn't had a menstrual period for one year. The symptoms normally associated with menopause - weight gain, hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, fatigue, short-term memory problems, mood swings - are really suffered most during the period of perimenopause, which for some women can begin as early as the late 30s.

Menopause is the end of a long, slow process. Getting there is the hard part.

"There's all this talk of women being bitchy when they're going through menopause. It's no mystery. We don't sleep. No wonder we're cranky," says Peggy Cassidy.

Other Signs Of Menopause

The ladies have other signs that you just might be in menopause.

"Menopause is when you get to work and find you've got on one brown shoe and one blue shoe," says Mindy Vargas.

"It's covering your kitchen counter with notes to remind yourself to do complicated things like feed the dog and turn off the oven before you leave the house," Garcia says.

"It's turning up the air conditioner and sweating up a storm while your husband reaches for an extra blanket," says Taylor.

Menopause is also normal part of life. But to many women it signals the end of their youth. Once she reaches menopause and her childbearing years come to an end,

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