My Menopause Symptoms - and Yours

I'm like a walking textbook of menopause symptoms. *sigh* But here's the thing, and it's really important - why didn't I know what the symptoms were before they started? Because no one talks about it, that's why.

Here is a basic list of symptoms, culled from various places around the web:

• A change in the pattern of periods. Shorter or longer, lighter or heavier, more or less time between periods - you know your body and when there is a change. You may still be able to get pregnant at this time, due to the irregularities
• Hot flashes and/or night sweats. Sometimes these can be followed by a chill
• Trouble sleeping through the night, with or without night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood swings, feeling crabby and crying spells, which may be caused by lack of sleep
• Quick, unreasonable anger
• Feeling mixed-up, confused or unfocused
• Short term memory problems
• Hair loss or thinning on your head
• Hair growth on your face
• Racing heart
• Low energy
• Breast tenderness
• Headaches
• Dry eyes
• Itching
• Joint and muscle aches and pains, especially in the morning
• Change in sex drive
• Bladder control problems

I'm not a medical professional, but I think it's reasonable that if you are experiencing any one symptom that is interfering with your life; and/or at least three of the above, that you go to the doctor and begin to discuss how to handle this change in your body.

As always, our gal Oprah has compiled lots of the newest info on her website http://www.oprah.com/. She's a lifesaver, right?

I'm Running in a Relay Marathon!

Here's my big secret - I committed to running in the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon. We have a team of five and each of us runs one leg of the 26-mile-385-yard course.

I'm running the shortest leg - 3.41 miles - and I'm terrified that I won't be able to do it and will humiliate myself. In fact, just writing this brought on a hot flash.

Our team has only two rules:

1. No walking
2. No one over 75 can pass you

That shouldn't be too hard, right? But I have seen some fast 75+ year olds, so I'm a little worried. Seriously - I don't want to have to trip a senior citizen.

I'm less nervous when I know what to expect. So here is my plan:

1. Add .25 mile every week so that I'm running 4 miles at the beginning of April.
2. Walk or bicycle whenever possible to increase endurance.
3. In early April, go down and run my part of the course.

It feels like a HUGE deal to me to be doing this. I suspect I'm being just a wee bit dramatic, but...

Every journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, right? (Repeat ad nauseum)

Post Surgery + Fitness Update

Wow - it's taken longer to recover from surgery that I thought. Still bleeding eight days later, but feel more like myself. I can't tell what was surgery after-effects and what's plain old hormones though!

On the fitness front, it's just too icy in NYC now for me to run. I just made an attempt, but Beloved and I had a major blowout on the corner. She thinks it's just fine; I was slipping and sliding. When I attempted walking in the street (a garbage truck was blocking ALL traffic from the street) she had a huge hissy fit.

And I just don't have the patience I used to for dealing with drama. I don't understand why SHE can't understand that if I run a couple of miles and then have to walk home for another mile over ice, that makes me uncomfortable. I am tired after running and it's also only 23 degrees, so picking my way home over the icy patches will be COLD as well as slippery. We just have to do our running separately, I guess.

And now I'm mad at her for wrecking my workout. When did I give her all that power? I think this temper thing (which is not normal for me) is one of the worst aspects of the change.