What No One Told Me About Menopause: It's Unpredictable

This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen, and never disregard medical advice or delay seeing help because of something you read on this website. 

When we go on vacation, I like to research where we are going and learn as much as I can about it.  I like to find some interesting sights to visit, restaurants to try, etc.  I'm the same way when I want to learn about a new hobby or experience.  I want to know what I'm getting myself into.  I'm not a planner, exactly - but I like to have some idea of what to expect. 

That's probably why, for me, the most frustrating part of this whole perimenopause experience is that's it's very unpredictable! 

As I said in "What No One Told Me About Menopause: It Can Last a Long Time" - the process is different for every woman, depending on factors such as genetics, general health, diet and lifestyle.  In other words, the most predictable thing about menopause it that it's unpredictable.

Your cycles may get longer, or they may get shorter.  Your periods may become lighter.  Or heavier.  Or it may be lighter than usual one month and with heavy bleeding the next.  You may have hot flashes and insomnia, or you may have mood swings and vaginal dryness.  You may have all of it.  Or none of it.  

For me, it has been all OVER the place.  In the past year my cycles have become extremely erratic, ranging anywhere from 15 days to 65 days.  I've had cycles when I experienced a period that was much lighter than what I am used to.  I've had ones that were almost horrifyingly heavy.  As I write this,  I'm on day 63, but I'm not sure if I should count the very light spotting one day last week as a menstruation or not.  (That all might be TMI... sorry)   

I've experienced days when I've had 3 or 4 hot flashes.  And days without any.  Nights when I can't sleep, nights when I sleep like a log and a few rare nights when I woke up drenched in sweat.  

I'm trying to take things in stride.  Whatever is gonna happen each month is what's gonna happen. I suggested to the Man of the House that we start making bets on how long each cycle will last to make it more interesting.  (He wasn't into that idea.)  

To get back to my main point - menopause is unpredictable.  Whatever you are experiencing is probably "normal" for you.  However, if you are concerned about any of your symptoms or if they are interferring with your quality of life - you should always discuss them with your doctor.  

Do you have questions about menopause?  Let me know in the comments and I'll try to answer them throughout the series.  

What No One Told Me About Menopause: It Can Last a LONG Time

Featured snippet from the This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen, and never disregard medical advice or delay seeing help because of something you read on this websiteHave you ever completely underestimated how long a certain activity would take?  Something we think will take a couple of days often actually takes weeks.  Or months.

Have you ever completely underestimated how long a  task or activity would take?  You go into it thinking you know exactly what to expect but then it just goes on and on and on.

That's kind of how this whole menopause journey has been for me.  

I don't know exactly what I was expecting.  I guess I thought that for several months (like, maybe a year or two) your cycles got further and further apart while your periods got lighter and you skipped one here and there until they just completely stopped.  

Imagine my surprise when I learned that perimenopause symptoms can begin years ahead of menopause.  Years!! 

The process is different for every woman depending on factors such as genetics, general health, life style, diet, and lifestyle.  The average length of perimenopause is about 4 years, but for some women it can last for as little as a few months or as much as ten years. 

I had NO idea!

Even when you reach the point when you haven't had a period for twelve consecutive months (menopause), you may continue to have symptoms for several years.  The good news is that they usually decrease in intensity and frequency.  Symptoms such as hot flashes usually disappear within five years.  However one study found that up to one third of women continue to experience hot flashes for ten years or more.

I can't tell you how long my symptoms have been occuring.  When some of them first began I wrote them off to other things.  And of course, still being in the perimenopause stage - there's no sure way of knowing when they will end.

The important thing to remember is that every woman is different.  Just because you're not experiencing what your mother, sister, or best friend experienced doesn't mean that you're not having a normal, healthy menopause. If you are concerned about any of your symptoms or if they are interferring with your quality of life, you should always discuss them with your doctor.  

Do you have questions about menopause?  Let me know in the comments and I'll try to answer them through out this series.  

What No One Told Me About Menopause

This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen, and never disregard medical advice or delay seeking help because of something you read on this website.

I am experiencing an entirely new stage of life - the wild and crazy world of menopause.  (Yep.  We're going there.  So, if this topic is going to make you uncomfortable - you may want to stop reading right now and go to a different blog.)  Wait... that's not true,.  It's not really entirely new since technically I have been in this stage of life for several years now.

Here's the thing.  Other than the bare basics - no one ever told me much about menopause.  I thought you had a short time with hot flashes and mood swings while your periods got further apart and then just stopped.  Little did I know.  Even after all this time, I'm still surprised by it on a regular basis.  And I'm still learning what is involved in the process.

Let's start with some of the basics...

What IS menopause?  I think of it as a sort of reverse puberty.  Remember puberty?  That time in life when your body went through changes leading up to the beginning of the menstruation years?  Menopause is the time in life when your body goes through changes marking the end of the reproductive years. During this time your eggs are depleted, your ovaries start to shrink, and you begin producing less estrogen and progesterone - the hormones responsible for menstruation.  Some women may experience early menopause if these changes occur for reasons such as Premature Ovarian Failure or hysterectomy.

Menopause occurs in three stages.  Perimenopause is the 5 to 10 years before menopause when your hormone levels begin to decrease.  This can start as early as the mid-30s, but usually begins in a woman's early 40's.  This is the stage I'm currently experiencing. Menopause is when a woman has not experienced a period for 12 consecutive months (without experiencing other causes such as pregnancy, medication, or illness).  Postmenopause is, well... the rest of your life without periods in which the symptoms experienced during menopause decrease or disappear completely.

What are the symptoms of menopause?  You've probably heard all about the hot flashes, but menopause can also bring about:

• irregular periods
• night sweats
• insomnia
• mood swings
• irritability
• anxiety
• vaginal dryness
• dry skin
• elevated heart rate
• urinary issues
• weight gain
• and more

(Sounds like a real good time, right?)

Throughout this year, I will be sharing some of the lessons I have learned about menopause over the past several years.  And maybe a few more that I learn in the months to come.  I hope you'll join me for the journey.

Do you have questions about menopause?  Let me know in the comments and I'll try to answer them through out the series.

Hypochondria 2.0?

I've mentioned before that I have had to force myself to stop watching Dr. Oz because I end every episode convinced I have most, or all, of the symptoms for whatever disease/syndrome/infection/condition he was discussing on any given day. 

On the other hand, when I have real symptoms I tend to just blow the off or glaze over them.  I've thrown my back out I don't know how many times in the past couple of years, but I always grit my teeth and self treat with heat, ice, and ibuprofen instead of seeing a doctor or chiropractor about the situation.  I just assume in a few days the whole thing will be a memory.

But, this one has somewhere caught in the middle of the two.

It started with what I thought was a very itchy bug bite on my forearm near my elbow.  A little blister, which popped pretty quickly and scabbed over.  But then a new blister formed right beside the scab.  And popped.  Then another right at the outer edge of those. Which also popped. And every so often would leak a little clear fluid - you know in that way bites do sometimes.  Then last night it was itchy and red all around the scab.  This morning I woke up to this:

I don't think that's good.  It has me concerned.  A Dr. Oz level of concern.  My imagination is running wild with thoughts of MRSA or some flesh eating virus.  While the female off spring has me convinced that I have either a) been bitten by a brown recluse, or b) have West Nile Virus. 

The flip side of paranoia is that if I go to the doctor I will pay for an office visit to be told that it is a slightly infected bug bite - keep it clean and put hydrocortisone on it. 

As that internal debate rages, I cleaned it.  Put some hydrogen peroxide and antibacterial ointment on it, and am now sprouting a very stylish Star Wars band aid.

I think it looks a little better already. Don't you? (please say "yes")