Menopause Sucks But Happy New Year Anyway!

Change is always complicated. Whether good or bad, it disrupts everything and demands attention.

It seems fair to classify menopause as mostly "bad" change, since it's never discussed and when it happens all the little things will blow your mind since you will have had NO IDEA what to expect. (Hey! I should write a book called What to Expect When You Are Menopausal!)

But I digress. I really just wanted to say Happy New Year and wish you a fit and healthy 2010. It will be a big year for me, one in which I want to make even more strides on the Fitness side of this journal.

Love,
Owlette

Menopause and (No) Sleep - How I Conquered It

If you've been following this blog, you know that my major menopause complaint was sleeplessness. It's been months of trial and error, but I've finally found what seems to work for me. It requires forethought and was work to get it started, but it's routine now.

The Basics:

1. I get up and go to bed around the same time every day


2. Sleeping room is dark, quiet and well-ventilated


3. No tv in bed (but I do read every night before going to sleep)

The Details That Help:

1. Exercise - walking, biking, running at least 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes.


2. Vitamins - I take a multi-vitamin (Emergen-C), and 1000 mg Omega 3 and 1000 IU of D3 every day.


3. Food - Eat regular meals of healthy food with as few preservatives and additives as possible.

The Secret Element That Made The Difference (For Me):

1. Calcium and Magnesium. I take multi Calcium (2000 mg), Magnesium (1000 mg), and Potassium (200 mg) every day in the evening. It's recommended to take at bedtime, but I've had better results taking it a couple of hours before bed.

Other things I've tried (like Chinese herbs) didn't do much for sleep, although certainly provided other support for my body in transition. Over the counter preparations like Remifemin didn't do much for me, but didn't harm me. Over the counter estrogen and progestin creams didn't seem to have much effect on me either.

In desperation, I cut out all alcohol (which made me sad because a glass of wine is one of life's joys) but saw no difference in my sleeping. I have now found that I can enjoy a glass of wine or beer with no problem (but more leads to sleeplessness.)

The calcium product that I am using is called Mega Food Calcium, Magnesium & Potassium and can be taken with or without food. It was highly recommended by the expert at my local organic food store. I think it rocks.

What is a Hot Flash Anyway?

Basically, a hot flash is a brief feeling of intense warmth and sweating. It can be brief or extended in duration and intensity. While there can be other medical reasons for hot flashes, we'll concentrate on menopause-related hot flashes.

A hot flash begins as a sensation of intense warmth in the upper body, and can be followed by skin redness (flushing), drenching perspiration, and for some women, a final cold, clammy feeling. Typically, these symptoms begin at the head and spread downward toward the neck and chest, but they can also feel like they rise upward from the chest. Hot flashes can last from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, with the average being 4 minutes.

Hot flashes can be accompanied by other uncomfortable sensations, such as heart palpitations, a pressure feeling in the head, or feelings of dizziness, faintness or weakness.

Researchers do not know exactly what causes hot flashes. Current theories suggest that most hot flashes are due to a menopause-related drop in the body's level of estrogen. This drop affects the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that regulates body temperature. In a hot flash, the hypothalamus seems to sense that your body is too hot even when it is not, and tells the body to release the excess heat. One way the body does this is to widen (dilate) blood vessels, particularly those near the skin of the head, face, neck and chest. Once the blood vessels return to normal size, you feel cool again.

Hot flashes affect up to 85% of women during the years immediately before and after menopause. Hot flashes can begin as early as two to three years before the last menstrual period and can last for six months to as long as 15 years after the final period, but the average is two years.

Some women have only a few episodes a year, while others have as many as 20 episodes a day. Hot flashes occur in women who experience natural menopause, as well as in women who undergo surgical menopause because their ovaries have been removed or because they take medications that lower estrogen levels.

In most women who undergo natural menopause, hot flashes generally subside within 2 to 5 years after the last menstrual period. In a small number of women, however, hot flashes can continue for 8 to 15 years after the last menstrual period. There is some evidence that women who go through menopause due to surgery may have more severe hot flashes for more years than women who go through natural menopause.