S
saucywench
By all due accounts, I believe I will be rolling into menopause in about 8 months. I am of course now in the perimenopausal stage, and have been for...no telling HOW long. Seems I did a search on here for such a thread but came up empty, although I know menopause has been mentioned in threads here and there. I know that the number of peri- and post-menopausal women is relatively small on this site, but I wanted to get some dialogue going--with those who have been through it, those in it now *raises hand*, and hopefully the younger women who have yet to enter these stages can also learn from the experiences imparted here. If you are a woman, there is no escape. Your experiences may be mild, they may be severe, but--you will go through it. You may have even had it forced upon you through surgery.
I want to discuss all aspects--the physical, physiological, psychological, sexual, and emotional impact that menopause has on us.
I have been mentioning menopause to my PCP for the past couple of years or so. He tells me that I'm not officially 'in' it until I have stopped having a period for a full year. So the countdown is on.
One of the things I'm currently wondering about is to what degree my perimenopausal state affects my other conditions: back pain, history of depression, mood swings...it's like a 'chicken or egg' situation: what causes what?
As far as physical/physiological, I have been aware of a few things, but I don't know what I can attribute to aging in general, and what I can attribute to signs of menopause. I first noticed small signs of aging shortly after I turned 47--which, oddly enough, was the same age I began to notice aging in my two older sisters. Over the past four years, those small signs have been increasing in number. At first I had a stray gray hair here and there, and now (under my hair color) I notice the gray is more widespread. Many of my eyebrow hairs have lost their color (which I suppose is gray only they simply look colorless to me.) Fortunately, most of these colorless eyebrow hairs are on the upper lid under my brow and I just pluck them out. But then, I have also developed a sparse trail of coarse hair (I refer to them as man-hairs
) right along my chin line. These are annoying, unsightly, and they grow like mad. Sometimes I pluck them, but sometimes I just shave them. They're going to grow back regardless of the method I use. Some of these hairs also appear on my upper lip. Whereas I have noticed before I had a little baby fuzz there, these few hairs have also grown in coarse. There are three or four that are dark, the rest are colorless. I even have some growing right on my lip line. If I don't catch them early, and press my lips together, I can feel them 'stabbing' me. :blink Also (and this is weird), I have tiny, tiny, colorless hairs that have appeared only on the edge of my right nostril--they remind me of cilia. Also, I have observed that some nasal hairs seem to be peeking out a wee bit from my nostrils. Eww. That's one body area I never thought I'd need one of those rotor thingies for maintenance, but if they get really noticeable, I'll have to do something about them. And speaking of lip lines, I am losing definition there. I have been fortunate enough in adulthood to have a generous pair of lips, for which I'm grateful, but they ain't what they used to be. I can tell something is going on there, but they're still plenty full...although I am getting a few of those vertical lines.
Of course, my undereyes are getting a little baggier, and losing theiir elasticity. My double chin has been getting progressively worse over the last four years, and in addition I've gotten that matronly 'jowly' appearance--another eww. Also, even though my double chin is plenty fat, I'm getting these vertical 'wrinkles' right down the middle, which reminds me of a chicken's neck.
I have two or three books on menopause, only one of which I've partly read so far, though I don't care for it much. It's 'The Silent Passage,' by Gail Sheehy. I know this edition is dated (1991, I believe), but her tone comes off to me as sort of Carrie Bradshaw-esque...if that makes sense. I am just not identifying with her (or the women she references) at all so far. Maybe there's more substance as I get further into the book.
Anyway, that's the gist of some of my physical issues. I'll get around to more of the psychological/emotional if the thread progresses. I would welcome your input--if you're brave enough to post.
I want to discuss all aspects--the physical, physiological, psychological, sexual, and emotional impact that menopause has on us.
I have been mentioning menopause to my PCP for the past couple of years or so. He tells me that I'm not officially 'in' it until I have stopped having a period for a full year. So the countdown is on.
One of the things I'm currently wondering about is to what degree my perimenopausal state affects my other conditions: back pain, history of depression, mood swings...it's like a 'chicken or egg' situation: what causes what?
As far as physical/physiological, I have been aware of a few things, but I don't know what I can attribute to aging in general, and what I can attribute to signs of menopause. I first noticed small signs of aging shortly after I turned 47--which, oddly enough, was the same age I began to notice aging in my two older sisters. Over the past four years, those small signs have been increasing in number. At first I had a stray gray hair here and there, and now (under my hair color) I notice the gray is more widespread. Many of my eyebrow hairs have lost their color (which I suppose is gray only they simply look colorless to me.) Fortunately, most of these colorless eyebrow hairs are on the upper lid under my brow and I just pluck them out. But then, I have also developed a sparse trail of coarse hair (I refer to them as man-hairs
) right along my chin line. These are annoying, unsightly, and they grow like mad. Sometimes I pluck them, but sometimes I just shave them. They're going to grow back regardless of the method I use. Some of these hairs also appear on my upper lip. Whereas I have noticed before I had a little baby fuzz there, these few hairs have also grown in coarse. There are three or four that are dark, the rest are colorless. I even have some growing right on my lip line. If I don't catch them early, and press my lips together, I can feel them 'stabbing' me. :blink Also (and this is weird), I have tiny, tiny, colorless hairs that have appeared only on the edge of my right nostril--they remind me of cilia. Also, I have observed that some nasal hairs seem to be peeking out a wee bit from my nostrils. Eww. That's one body area I never thought I'd need one of those rotor thingies for maintenance, but if they get really noticeable, I'll have to do something about them. And speaking of lip lines, I am losing definition there. I have been fortunate enough in adulthood to have a generous pair of lips, for which I'm grateful, but they ain't what they used to be. I can tell something is going on there, but they're still plenty full...although I am getting a few of those vertical lines. Of course, my undereyes are getting a little baggier, and losing theiir elasticity. My double chin has been getting progressively worse over the last four years, and in addition I've gotten that matronly 'jowly' appearance--another eww. Also, even though my double chin is plenty fat, I'm getting these vertical 'wrinkles' right down the middle, which reminds me of a chicken's neck.
I have two or three books on menopause, only one of which I've partly read so far, though I don't care for it much. It's 'The Silent Passage,' by Gail Sheehy. I know this edition is dated (1991, I believe), but her tone comes off to me as sort of Carrie Bradshaw-esque...if that makes sense. I am just not identifying with her (or the women she references) at all so far. Maybe there's more substance as I get further into the book.
Anyway, that's the gist of some of my physical issues. I'll get around to more of the psychological/emotional if the thread progresses. I would welcome your input--if you're brave enough to post.
