Hi Ladies, I wanted to let you know about a FREE e-book on menopause that two sisters have created. Here's the link - http://menomavens.com/downloads.html This is full of great information. Hope it helps, Bobbi

To repeat some of what I've said earlier in multiple posts, I've taken a multi-faceted approach: sunlight therapy light for 30 minutes each morning during the shorter winter months making sure to eat healthily, esp. lots of legumes exercise (which for me also includes social partner dancing...not only provides exercise but physical interaction and music!) bamboo sheets have greatly helped with night sweats. I sleep much better. join a menopause support group or else start your own such Meetup group (I did, in NYC!) I take Rainbow Light Menopause One make it a point to be social....to get out of the house and be around other people. Go for walks...be around nature. If you are a night owl (like me), try your best to change your schedule little by little. Waking up earlier and going to bed earlier means you will have more waking hours in the natural light, and fewer waking hours in the dark, which in turn helps with serotonin levels and mood. Talk to a shrink if you are depressed and/or try to engage in cognitive therapy on your own. Be aware of how you are able to somewhat impact your own mood. For e.g., I noticed a pattern, whereby I was constantly assessing my mood multiple times per day. 'Am I feeling depressed right now?....Yup, I am. I am indeed feeling down...just like I was earlier today...just like I was yesterday. Ugh.' I realized that in doing that, I was then creating a sub-conscious 'reality' for myself, that if I am feeling down today, and I felt 'down' yesterday, and the day before that, that it stands to reason that tomorrow, and the next day, will also be the same. And how on earth can I expect to be in a good mood, if I believe this to be my reality, for the foreseeable future? Talk about creating a sense of doom for oneself. ;-) So.... I realized that this thought pattern I was exhibiting was not serving me one iota. Of course, we all know the expression of 'living in the moment'. I decided to purposefully try this at every moment of every day. 'Oh, doesn't this cup of coffee taste so good?.... this is so great that I just finished this work spreadsheet on my computer...I can now cross this off my to-do list.... this is great... Oh, this is a great song I'm listening to ...this salad I'm eating tastes so fresh!.... don't my two cats look so cute sleeping together..." And so on. By doing this, at the end of each day I found that I was able to look back and think 'you know...today wasn't that bad actually...'. And if I practiced living in the moment the next day as well, I could say 'this is great...today was pretty good...yesterday was pretty good...'. So that in turn helped to create my own new reality, which then helped me believe that the days ahead would also be pretty good! ;-) (If I assumed the days ahead would not be so good, they usually were not so good. But if I took on a more positive outlook, that my days ahead would be good, or 'pretty good', indeed, they usually were. While we can't control our emotions or mood entirely, much of it IS about perspective, and recognizing the ways we self-sabotage. And on that note....do not believe for one minute that 'older women are regarded with little worth' (as someone else here said). I am so utterly tired of women (and most often, it's American women) making this complaint. If you believe it, so it will be. No one wants to be around an older woman who is down in the dumps about her age. You could take two older women who look the exact same age more or less, and who have a similar appearance. One woman is confident, takes pride in her appearance, dresses attractively, does not feel her age is in and of itself a detriment; she is engaging, curious, outgoing. The other woman goes around believing that now that she's X-years of age, she's washed-up, and that society and men will 'ignore her'. She doesn't bother trying to dress nice, because she figures 'why bother'. Which woman do you think society is going to respond to more favorably. Which woman will more men find attractive? ;-)

If I remember correctly (that's a problem in itself!), the test for estrogen level was pretty definitive - I was below the level that I was supposed to be, and I think the doc tested me again in about 6 months without an improvement. By then, I knew without them telling me that the remaining ovary wasn't working and that I was going in to menopause. My mother also did not provide any info. She, in fact, said it wasn't that bad. For me, it's been 10 years of hell. I started with hot flashes about every 1/2 hour, and now I'm about every 1.5-2 hours. That's a lot (or not much) of disturbed sleep. I do remember something that my doc told me, but I haven't really researched it - women who have less body fat have more severe menopausal symptoms because they don't have any or have less stored estrogen. Not that that will make you feel any better! Still, my exercise kind of keeps me sane and out of the "poor me" mindframe. Hopefully, this isn't really menopause for you. I have seen some comments about hot flashes from women going off the pill - maybe doc can answer whether that's common.

Hugs for everyone! I have suffered from "power surges" and night sweats since 1987. I had just had my 32nd birthday...way too young, but a hysterectomy would solve the problems I was experiencing, I was on estrogen shots, patches and every pill strength trying to level my hormones! It wasn't until I was diagnosed with my breast cancer that I realized what that estrogen was doing to my body. My breast cancer was estrogen positive....meaning it thrived on estrogen! First medication the Oncologist took away. I increased my Vitamin E intake, I was prescribed Paxil and now I take Lexapro. Yes, they are anti-depressants but works wonders for power surges not to mention the anxiety that comes along with being a survivor!!! I found out after eating blanched soy beans and my tumor marker shot up.....soy is a NATURAL estrogen! Meaning soy products are off limits. If you have breast cancer history in your family you would be wise to avoid soy. Black cohosh is a natural estrogen, as are yams. Please don't misunderstand I am all for natural and holistic healing but,I would highly recommend speaking to your Ob/Gyn before self medicating with herbs...again IF you have breast cancer in your family.