Raw Menopausal Truths and the Indignities of Getting Old

 AnArtfulMom So one thing that I can say is that I have lifted weights for many years. But with the woes of menopause and other life altering circumstances in the last six months or so, I haven't done a darn thing. Sigh!  I do have a garage full of weight equipment, and hubby and I are presently working on cleaning the area in preparation of continuing with our life-long affair with weights.

Lifting weights and fast-paced walking or aerobics REALLY does make a difference. I need to get my rear in gear! Just because I am 55 doesn't mean my life is over, right?   :)

Thank you, friend, for your visit. Your comment is appreciated.

~Virginia

 leslie miller "does one's face get more and more "mannish" as one age?" OMG! Now that you mention it, I see just what you mean!!  Dear Lord, the "horrors!!"  Presently, I am overweight, but I worry that if I lose too much weight, after having been heavy for so long, will my face change to look haggard and depleted? YIKES!

Thank you, Leslie, for the visit. You have added to the ongoing laughter here.   :)

~Virginia

 agapewoman Oh, my gosh. I hate it when my blood hits the boiling point over something that my brain is telling me "it isn't worth it!" It's like someone said below, an violent alien has taken me over. Then later, I really regret getting so upset. Ugh.

 isthisthemiddle Hey, like what I just described to agapewoman. After the fact, I feel so foolish and embarrassed to have gotten so upset! Dear Lord, who am I?

 agapewoman I will confess here, but only to YOU. Since being menopausal, I have actually chased down an offending car a ways; but have given up when I (thank God!) have come back to my senses just in time.  *Like, what is wrong with me?*  Just what did I think I was going to do when I caught them?   LOL!

In my car chase, you must try to envision my hubby sitting there, calling out, "Honey...Honeys...calm down..."   :)

 theprofhypo Hi Debra! And I must tell you that I just Love, Love, Love your description of "the trenches." You've hit the nail right on the head. Thank you!

And thank you for the visit and the input.   :)

~Virginia

 goldenpoppyd You started at age 37? OMG, you poor baby!  I really feel your pain now. What the heck am I complaining about.  lol!

I love that WWF analogy. Very cool and very creative!

Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. I will be paying your blog a visit and check up on you as well.

~Virginia

 goldenpoppyd So sorry-- you have been indeed through the mill. While we're letting our hair down, I'm 54 and still haven't made it 12 months yet. It's not fun feeling like we're candidates for the medical text books, is it? Not getting good sleep is torturous. My best bit of advice is to find a good doctor who knows what she's doing to help you, if you haven't already. It can still be hell, but without my doctor I don't know where I would be. She told me, "You are not going crazy. I understand." How I cling to those words some days!

As important as my doctor's help is, so is the community here at BlogHer. Without Virginia and the other friends I've made here I'd be sunk-- they have been life-savers. 

Hang in there, and here's a virtual hug!

 isthisthemiddle And you are one of the reasons I stay on, Melanie. You are wonderful!   :)

 isthisthemiddle Well, thank you! But we are supposed to write together, Amiga. I LOVE what you have written about menopause. Your stuff is so fresh and funny and honest. I think that our menopausal comadres will appreciate hearing what we are all going through!   :)

 HomeRearedChef So kind of you-- I don't there's any stopping us now. It's our therapy! Love you, sweetie!

That is just what we need to convey to all the menopausal BlogHer ladies, that writing about it IS our form of "therapy!" isthisthemiddle 

And you know that I LOVE you, too, Querida Amiga!   :)

 Judaye OH, I know, these ladies are raw and way funny! I LOVE them all!

I began talking about menopause one year ago this month, and I was so fearful of expressing how I felt. But once I got out there, I realized I am NOT alone. Phew! I thought I was going crazy, you know?

So Judaye, you are not losing your mind, or your friend. And here on BlogHer we are sticking together. Thank you so very much for taking the time to visit my post, and then going the extra couple minutes to leave me a comment.   :)

Please allow me to send you virtual hugs!

~Virginia

 LindaCSmith Oh, Linda, GEEZ, your comment is killing me. You had me in tears, I was laughing so hard. Thank you; I needed that this morning!

Now let me get this our before I go insane: ELEVEN YEARS!!! Lord have mercy, that is a long time! And yes, I'd heard that before but didn't want to believe it. Sigh!

Melanie, known as "isthisthemiddle," also writes about her menopausal experiences, and we both have experienced that feeling of thinking it was finally over. Yay! We'd felt great for quite a while there. When suddenly it resurfaced. Yikes!

So here's hoping menopause will be over soon, for all of us.   :)

Thank you very much for your visit today. It was wonderful to read your comment!

~Virginia

 HomeRearedChef LindaCSmith  Can you imagine a MAN putting up with this for 11 years? If men had menopause, we'd have solutions to these symptoms within a year. Grrr.

 isthisthemiddle Melanie, my hubby says you are probably right! So how do we transfer this dilemma to them?   lol!

 HomeRearedChef I sometimes tell my husband, "It's your turn to have the menopause symptoms today, honey. I need a break!" I think he would help me for a day or two if he could, lol.

 isthisthemiddle Aren't our husbands just the best!   :)

 lauriemann57 "I'm tired of feeling tired!" Oh, I hear you and second that. Just when you think it is over, you PRAY it is over, and there it is, like a bad nightmare. Though I will say that I am so glad not to have the messy periods every month, and all the complications that come with it. But menopause is like the giant zit on your forehead or tip of your nose, ever growing and getting larger, you never expected to have.  Sigh!

Thank you, Laurie, for the visit and for sharing a piece of life that we all, as women, have in common.   :)

~Virginia

 lauriemann57 So frustrating. A decade of this and we're still standing-- let's just say we are strong.

 neekswrite Between you and I (and the rest of the readers here), my sister took my mother to a comedy show recently, and my mother cut loose. My sister was mortified, my couldn't figure out what my sister's problem was! Seriously, when my mother was younger, she would have NEVER done that.

Again, why do the elderly think they can get away with passing gas and burping?   LOL!

 HomeRearedChef They start losing their hearing and since they can't hear them, they think others won't either?

 @BehavioralChild LOL! In some cases, and I won't point any fingers or mention any names here, they just simply say, "Ah, who cares! I'm an old lady. I'll die if I keep it inside!"

 HomeRearedChef  When we were young, if Mom happened to pass gas within earshot, she would snap her head around and squint her eyes at you, DARING you to giggle.  Now she just pretends nothing happened at all. 

 neekswrite See how we change as we get older. And I also know of parents that pass gas when they feel like it, laugh at their deed, but won't hesitate to scold their children when they do. Now that I think is NOT fair. This should be then "equal opportunity."   lol!

 @BehavioralChild If I can't see what hurts me, then He has been merciful. I appreciate that!   :)

 cookingwithkary So there you are, dearest Amiga, I've been looking for you but had not seen a recent post. About "Raspberry Ketone," I am most interested. If indeed it does help you to lose weight, please do keep us posted. In any case, I am now heading over to read your blog. Thanks for the heads-up!   ;)

Big hugs,

 HomeRearedChef

 Busy cooking up my Gumbo! Hugs back

 cookingwithkary Gumbo?  Did somebody say Gumbo?

We are gonna have to talk about Gumbo sometime.  If I may toot my own horn here I have been told mine rivals the best they had in Nawlins. 

We'll talk!

 souschef I LOVE a good gumbo, and preferably a seafood gumbo, thankyouverymuch!

 HomeRearedChef

 Hey Ms.V! I do love seafood Gumbo, but alas my son & daughter are allergic to shell fish, can you imagine? I usually have two pots going one with shrimp!

 cookingwithkary Awww, I just haste when someone is allergic (not their fault, mind you), then I have to alter my menu. Especially if they were the guest of honor.  Sigh!

 souschef

 Love the Gumbo! Yes we need to compare notes! I posted an easy Gumbo on my blog, without a roux. However I prefer to cook on the stove top, adding a roux, fresh herbs & spices!

 cookingwithkary Sorry to interrupt and butt-in, but you just said your Gumbo is done without using roux. I guess I need to go and check out your recipe. When roux isn't used then okra is used in its place. Usually. But I go and check it out.   :)

 the.me.i.be I think it is wonderful to hear you are still a few years away from being menopausal. That call for celebration, in my book! As you can see from all the comments here, most of us are not happy campers, but we are learning to live with this new challenge in our lives.   :)

Thank you for stopping by to read and comment.

~Virginia

 HomeRearedChef  - I've read a little Christianne Northrop. I hope to be ready for the transition when it happens.

- On the other hand, I've read Suzanne Somers too. If I start to feel dead below the waist, I can totally see me seeking out a specialist in BioIdentical Hormones & signing on to extend my menstrual years if it means I'll have a vibrant sex life beyond my 60s.  I don't want to fight mother nature but I don't want to feel like a female eunuch either...

 the.me.i.be I have always like Suzanne Somers, and after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, she looked for natural ways to take care of herself. I'd never heard of BioIdentical Hormones, sounds really interesting. And if you can extend to have a "vibrant sex life beyond [your] 60s," I say GO FOR IT!   :)

"Female eunuch," that is just too funny. Love it!