Menopause

Menopause, oh dear what a state to find oneself in. Defined as the end of of fertility, it is a natural biological process that occurs most commonly between the ages of 45 and 55. For many women it heralds a new era of relief because they no longer need to worry about pregnancy. But for others it represents a time of misery and discomfort that can last for a year, two or three years or even longer. Years of hot flushes, disrupted sleep, low energy levels, and, for some women, anxiety or feelings of sadness and loss. It has to be the worst design flaw in the history of design flaws, I mean, I get that the child bearing years are over but if I had designed the female body it would just settle into comfortable retirement without all the side effects. WHAT IS THE POINT OF A HOT FLUSH? 
It starts with a few seconds of feeling pleasantly warm, but that pleasant feeling is swiftly followed by the face turning lobster pink and the body temperature gauge spiralling out of control from cold to roasting, resulting in a barely controllable urge to tear off all your clothes and dive into a freezer. I have seen a cartoon of a couple outside their home with snow on the ground. The woman is lying on the middle step of three steps leading up to the front door, the snow has been cleared from the door to where she is and her husband is telling her to get a move on and thaw the third step before her hot flush passes!! That sums it up very well. 
Thank goodness for HRT. I was taking it for 16 years until, in 2008 my doctor persuaded me to come off it. I struggled for the following eighteen months. I tried Red Clover, Soya products, Black Cohash, St John’s Wort, Sage, Ginseng. I even bought a strong magnet that is worn next to the skin, but nothing worked, the hot flushes were relentless. A pink face and perspiration dripping down the side of my face isn’t a good look in any environment, so my doctor agreed to put me back on a very low dose. It keeps the symptoms nicely under control.

Polly x