Organic donna - I am absolutely 100% in the same place you are with respect to a relationship. In fact, I turn 53 next week, look and act pretty darned Ok compared to some my age (and not as good as others, of course!), and although I'd love companionship, just don't have it in me to start up another relationship nor any real interest in sex. I am recently through menopause, and I don't know if that has made it worse or not. It certainly is a quandry, because it would be great to have someone in my life that I loved and who loves me. But I don't really have the push to get out there and find it. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone on that front! Suzieque

Thanks for the well wishes, HU-536588320. Sorry to hear about your alternative doc. My wife had a scare years ago, while she was using Prempro (or Premarin - forgot which.) Doc said she had a non-atypical hyperplasia in one of her breasts. Scared the crap out of us both. She then discovered Dr. John Lee's books, and that's why she started using natural progesterone cream. We learned about terms like unopposed estrogen, etc. Quite a journey that launched us both onto. I think you're right about DHEA being like a building block. I think some of the books we read called it a precursor...so instead of a woman deciding that her body needs more estriol, or estrone, or estradiol, or progesterone...if she supplements with some DHEA...then the body will turn that into whatever it needs. That's why I was so eager for my wife to try it some time ago. So, I was bummed to find out that she didn't respond well to it. It's been a while, but I think it irritated her tissue. I did some research, and turned out the provider or manufacturer of this particular DHEA suppository used a base that contained glycol (maybe even ethelyne glycol - been too long ago.) Well duh - that's what's in antifreeze! So the questions I asked and reading I did seemed to suggest it wasn't the DHEA my wife had a reaction to - it was the base they used. Not long afterwards, my wife came across the bezwecken cubes. They didn't bother her. So I read up on it a bit, trying to understand why she reacted favorably to that, but not the DHEA suppositories. Well surprise, surprise - the base used by the hydration cubes was kinder or more gentle - didn't contain that crap glycol chemical, lol. I wondered if we kept looking, and just tried a different supplier or manufacturer of DHEA suppositories...that also used a kinder or more gentle base...how would she respond to it? But since the hydration cubes did the trick...I guess we never pursued it any further. Wow - thanks for passing on the tip that, the DHEA does exactly for you what my wife and I are looking for. :-) Maybe I should get that recipe from you for the DHEA after all! :-) You know, you can spend a lot of time studying and researching all this stuff...but the human body is so complex and interesting...it still surprises you. It remains to be seen what kind of approach this OB/GYN will come up with. The first step was for my wife to get an ultrasound. I think that's in like a couple of weeks.

"Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be." Uh-huh, and some other stuff, too. I'm so sorry to learn that your DH's cancer is back. Is the therapy helping? Things Change. You can't 'pick up the slack' on everything your bigger, stronger DH used to do. Stop thinking you can. You will only achieve what you state here: Two 'cripples'. Moving a mattress is just the kind of quick, in-and-out kind of help some younger, stronger person would be happy to do. Got anyone around to ask? Help for your back pain: I have spinal stenosis and use Aspercreme 4% lidocaine patches; $8 for five at Target. I cut them in half. Sometimes heat or cold helps, but this is a fallback. Use one patch 12 hours out of 24. My MD suggested this. The 4% patches do not require a prescription.

Nosoccormom, I have to disagree with your cycling friends. I would not discount the importance of that race to the competitors. It was the world cycling amateur competition. These women are probably training 20 hours a week minimum and are traveling the country racing the circuit. Although these women are a little older, it is these types of races that Olympic athletes are chosen from. It absolutely matters to these women and should not be discounted because it is an amateur race. Neetsie, I have to disagree with you. There are small men and large women, but women overall are at a disadvantage when matched up with a similarly sized man. And many small men are top pro cyclists. Regardless most men are taller and heavier than women and therefore it would reason that most transgender women will be taller and heavier than women. There are not many 5’2” men out there but there are many women that size. I suspect you and many of the people disagreeing with me on this are not competitive athletes. I can tell you that my cyclist women friends are upset at the prospect of transgender competition. They all truly believe transgender women carry an unfair biological advantage. I really do appreciate reading every ones thoughts.