I work for a company that makes a natural herbal based menopause relief formula. It's got ashwagandha (sensoril), HMRlignan, vitamins, and minerals. I'm around a 30 year old male so I haven't tried it, but what I'm reading makes it seem pretty good because it's non-hormone based and ashwagandha seems like a pretty good adaptogen to use overall. My personal feeling, again as a man, is that menopause should not be painful and difficult and my mother said that she didn't have a bad time other than night sweats but she doesn't really associate that with menopause. She was a very healthy eater though and always had a rich garden of greens she'd eat from and was active and not overweight. As a nutritionist, I believe that most problems people are facing are from general lifestyle mis-steps such as not eating enough fruits and vegetables, not sleeping enough, not exercising enough, and being stressed. I would look at those areas before self-diagnosing myself as suffering from any malady because those are much more impactful than anything else. I hope that helps, David

Hasn't been drained in over ten years? Don't you have the system checked out at least every other year by a service tech? If so, how come they are not draining the tank? Shut off the valve installed leading to the tank from the boiler. Open the drain valve and see what happens. Should be a metal tag on that valve saying must be left open during operation of the boiler so turn off/down the tstat when playing with the boiler. As for the drip, it is normal when one tests a pressure relief valve. There is a seal to keep water in until the rated pressure is reached and debris can catch on the seal and drips happen. Use a coffee can to catch the water. No big deal.

I had hoped that this subject was dead an buried..... :-(

One of my pet peeve's has been people who post on forums seeking assistance, asking for help, but then, once they find the answers necessary to solve their problem, don't bother reporting the solution leaving the string the dangling! It’s as though they don't realize that a public forum is not solely for their use or benefit but also (arguably more so) to serve others that will be searching for the same information about the same issue, possibly, for many years to come. I realize we’re all more motivated to write when pressured by those problems that need solving but, considering the time spent and efforts made by others kind enough to generously offer their assistance, taking a few minutes to post a solution once found is the least one can do. I didn't get back to this as soon as I would've liked to but I’ll not be one of those people so back to my story and its exciting conclusion. They've recently been replacing the main gas lines in our area. I didn't immediately see any connection but it seemed too much of a coincidence that these previously nonexistent leaks and drips should randomly begin to occur very near the same time that construction began. I talked to one of the guys which lead to talking to some of the other guys which eventually lead to speaking with the guy in the water department. What I learned is that the waterline in this area is, more or less, a loop supplied on both ends. In the event that, while excavating to install the gas lines, some sort of damage is done to the water line that necessitates an emergency shut off, they shut off the supply on one in advance so that, if needed, they could immediately stop it by shutting off the other side. This apparently caused an increase in the water pressure of the loop. He (the guy from the water department) opened up the other end and our pressure here dropped from 148 down to 120, apparently still considerably higher than normal or is desirable, but low enough to make a difference. All leaks have stopped. So, to answer my own original questions, higher than what is considered normal water pressure —but not necessarily in excess of its stated psi rating —will or can cause flow from a pressure relief valve. Also (I was previously unaware of this) other fittings, valves etc. throughout the house plumbing are only designed to withstand up to a certain pressure. As for me, I suppose I still need to install a pressure reducing valve but I don’t need to install one today. In the meantime, I may be able to pressure wash the house without a pressure washer!