I am someone who suffered with awful PMS, hormonal hell, physical symptoms w/menstruation, etc...and for me, menopause has been almost completely a blessing and a godsend! Actually my sisters (all of whom had the same bad pattern) formulated a theory. Women who never had the experience of that kind of nightmare probably have a worse time with menopause because suddenly the mood swings, period effects and so on are really severe and unpleasant. Whereas, for women like us that stuff is par for the course and the final cease fire of menstruation is mostly a huge relief. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it-or should I say living it. My last menstrual period was 2+ years ago and I can't honestly say I miss it for a second. I feel great, no more mood swings, and not having to deal with periods from hell (perimenopause was a horror show too of course)...what's to miss or mourn?! As far as symptoms, I have hot flashes but then again my skinny bones husband is constantly cold so usually when I feel really warm I discover he's turned the AC up to 88 degrees again. Otherwise, so far so good.

First of all, thank you all for your thoughtful comments. Not much to report, really. First an almost-funny but not really aspect of the visit... earlier in the afternoon DS said to me, "They're not going to stick that q-tip thing down my throat are they?" I said of course not, that's for strep. Again, he is the best kid, never a drama queen (older DS has that job), but he has this vomiting phobia which includes a huge fear of that strep test because of the gagging issue. He has had strep once, and has had the test maybe twice, but it was so traumatic! And PS the last time he had it done was at least 5 years ago and it was a huge ordeal. So, we went to the doctor -- who was not our usual doc, but one we haven't seen before -- and explained the situation. By then DS was beside himself, could not get comfortable in the exam room, kept going back and forth to the bathroom, etc., while we waited in the exam room for the doc to show up. Doc examined him, noted that he has gained something like 15-20 lbs. since Oct. (he has also grown about 4-5 inches since then), and sees that he has a low temp of 99-point-something. So he says, "It could possibly be strep -- sometimes the only symptom is stomach upset. We need to do a test." And DS loses his mind. It was almost comical but not really. It took a good 20 minutes to get him to cooperate. It was ridiculous, really. And again, this is my kid who gives us NO trouble, ever, so it's just weird to see him act like this (tears, refusing to open his mouth, acting like he's going to leave the room). Anyway... after all that, the quick test was negative. (I was actually hoping it was strep so we could show him that the test was worth doing! Not to mention an easy fix w/ antibiotics. So, basically the doc said there is a stomach bug going around (as well as strep), and that is likely what he has. He said to call if it gets worse, of course, but he thinks it will resolve itself. He didn't seem overly concerned about the on-and-off minor stomach issues that I mentioned, but I also didn't press the issue because frankly, after the Huge Drama over the strep test, I just wanted to get out of there. My plan now is to see what happens over the next few weeks, especially as school gets closer. He's going to high school in Sept., so I'm thinking a new school may mean some anxiety and we'll see if stomach issues come up again. If so, we will make an appt. to see his regular doc and talk about what to do. What I think, knowing DS and observing him all this time, is that he gets nervous about things sometimes. Older DS has major anxiety issues and is very vocal. Younger DS probably has some minor anxiety issues but he is not vocal about them at all, so he stuffs it inside and it affects his stomach. Then he has this vomiting phobia which compounds the original problem, because then he's afraid of vomiting, which makes him more nervous and thereby makes his stomach feel worse. I could totally see it yesterday. When he was home, he seemed OK -- not eating much, still going into the bathroom occasionally when he thought he might vomit, but basically OK. When we got to the doc's office, I think he became even more worried about vomiting in public, so he was antsy and going back and forth to the bathroom every 5 minutes. While I was watching him, I realized he was acting the same exact way in the airport in June when he was feeling sick. We were in the security line and he was convinced he was going to vomit and his whole demeanor was exactly the same as in the doc's office... and he never did throw up. And he was totally fine by the next day. DS is sooo much like DH in almost every way -- they look alike, they act alike, and I suspect DS has inherited the adolescent stress issues that DH had at the same age. DH confirmed last night that he was the same exact age when he started getting really bad migraines. They stopped after a year or two. Maybe it's growth/puberty related? He has been growing like crazy -- as I said, about 4-5" since last fall. Anyway, I will definitely keep an eye on him and by the way, he slept through the night last night without getting up, and is still sound asleep, so I suspect he might be feeling better today. I still can't be sure if this particular stomach issue is really just a little stomach bug, or if it's anxiety about camp, but either way, hopefully the 'bug' will pass within the next 1-2 days, or the anxiety will pass once he gets to camp and gets into the routine there. (Camp is only an hour from home, so worst case scenario, we can run up and get him at any time.) Then I'd like to visit his own doc at a time when DS is actually feeling okay, so he's not emotional or just feeling ill, so we can talk about the whole situation. He actually has a physical coming up in Sept/Oct so that may be the perfect opportunity, unless things get worse before then.

You sure have my sympathy! We don't have dental insurance, either. We have spent a small fortune on my teeth, too, and now the dentist has recommended me to see a periodontist (?) to do something to stabilize two implants I have side-by-side that are getting loose. I know that is probably going to cost plenty, but to add to the pain (and my anger), I got a form letter from him with a long form to fill out about my past medical history and the information that they "do a thorough periodontal check-up, take x-rays, and have a "consultation" with the patient to determine the best treatment. You can just bet that every one of those little items is going to mean a big separate chunk of money. Not, "I'm going to see ($250) what I can do for your implants,...ah, yes, come in next week for a bone graft ($1000? more?), and we'll check regularly to see how it is taking, at $300 a pop." I intend to put up resistance to that "thorough periodontal checkup," at least, because my dentist is on top of any problems in that line, and I certainly don't want a specialist at this point. But do you think I'll be successful? I can just hear the receptionist saying how it would be "irresponsible" of them, once they got me in their office, not to check everything. Har har. $200 per filling certainly sounds excessive to me, too--not if it's a simple matter of drilling and filling. Is every cavity the size of the Grand Canyon? I'm sorry for both of your children, too. When I was a kid, the dentist's waiting room seemed like the ante-room to hell, but dentists are kinder these days, and getting it all done under anesthesia sounds really nice! Sorry for ranting. This is a sensitive topic for a lot of us, I guess.

Interesting stuff about Activia, Lydia! No, I wasn't eating it, and yes, I have a problem with dairy, so I don't drink milk. It's not a digestive problem, though; I'm allergic to a protein in milk. I don't eat cheese either, but that's because I have to avoid saturated fat. Funny, I was taking l-lysine just before this happened. I felt sick on Thursday, and had trigeminal neuralgia. I thought it was warning me of a herpes simplex outbreak, and started pushing lysine immediately. The symptoms went away, so I thought the lysine had worked. Then on Saturday I came down with the fever. Yes, my yogurt is definitely real. I was buying plain, non-fat Dannon or Greek yogurt, in quarts. I'm an inveterate label reader. BBoston, your experience really does sound similar (except for the "both ends" part). Like I said, if things haven't drastically improved by Monday, I think a visit to the doctor is in order. I tried to last until 4:00 without eating, but couldn't do it. I just had some food and am waiting for my blood sugar to rise. It's an awful feeling when it gets terribly low. So I'll go to the reception, bringing the food and wine, and if it turns out that I'm unable to stay, so be it. I gave it my best shot.