When I was 29, I had a hysterectomy, and my doctor started me on hormone replacement therapy. Now that I'm over 50 ... well, it's time to stop taking those hormones, and just be the way nature intended.
I stopped taking them in June, and since then I've had some mild hot flashes. Or I guessed they were mild -- who can tell when you live in the desert and its +/- 110 for two entire months?? Well, at night I notice them now, and they're crazy! You wake up hot, and throw off the covers, only to be tugging them back on 10 minutes later! Sure does interrupt the sleep!
I am now noticing them during the day as well.
I'll be working along, doing my thing, and suddenly
its like you just opened the oven door ... that's on ... and set to 350.
Good thing they don't last too long, but they sure aren't fun!
The other side affect I've noticed is weight gain. Of the 50 I lost, I've gained back 5 -- and I am NOT happy about that at all! Ok, Ok, I know that I shouldn't judge on the scale, that my weight will fluctuate because I'm female anyhow -- yeah, I've heard all that, but I'm still ... letting the scale judge me. *sigh* Adding to the hormone changes, the stress levels with work have all piled up to conspire against me. When I don't "feel good", chocolate always makes things better --- right???
I checked wiki for some basic info:
- Hot flashes, a common symptom of menopause, are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and may typically last from two to thirty minutes for each occurrence.
- Lifestyle changes may help alleviate hot flashes. These include avoiding caffeine, hot drinks, chocolate, spicy or hot foods and alcohol. (sheesh, that leaves out ALLLL the good stuff!!!)
I think that I'll just endure the hot flashes for a while -
and keep having my Diet Coke and occasional chocolate :)
And a little extra time at the gym helps both stress and the weight gain -- a win/win!
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