I'm wondering if you have enough time in your growing season to get blooms. Anyone have any thoughts on that? They'll germinate quickly, but maybe won't flower. Maybe. If you have a bunch of seeds, you might want to set some aside for next season just in case. Moonflower vine is an annual - treat them like morning glories b/c that's what they essentially are. Mine are in part sun - they are climbing a large willow teepee trellis. I would soak them at least 48 hours and perhaps nick them with a nail clipper if you wish. I've been told by morning glory people that it's best not to fertilize - otherwise you get plenty of green and very few blooms.

Birth control pills may help mask menopause symptoms By TOM VALEO Published March 28, 2006 All women can expect to enter menopause sooner or later, but women taking birth control pills may not notice, at least for a while. In the meantime, they can expect several benefits from the pill beside avoiding an unwanted pregnancy: They will avoid some of the most conspicuous signs of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats and irritability. "A woman on the birth control pill is getting hormones at a level above what her ovaries would produce,'' said Dr. Catherine Lynch, director of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa. "When a woman goes into menopause, the ovaries basically shut down and no longer produce estrogen or progesterone in any significant amounts, so a woman taking the birth control pill in the standard fashion of three weeks on active pills, followed by one week of inactive pills, often won't have any symptoms of menopause until that pill-free week. She may not even realize she's in menopause because she's getting adequate estrogen and still cycling.'' During the week when she is not taking active birth control pills, the woman may even have a "withdrawal bleed" caused by the sudden drop in estrogen. A withdrawal bleed is easily mistaken for a normal period. And if the woman is taking continuous-use birth control pills, she will take inactive pills only one week out of every 12 instead of every four, so she will have a withdrawal bleed no more than once every four months. "So a woman who's, say, 51 and taking Seasonale one of the continuous-use birth control pills isn't going to have hot flashes or night sweats for 12 weeks, because she's having estrogen provided for her by the pills,'' Dr. Lynch said. "She may experience symptoms during the week she takes inactive pills, but just as symptoms start to climb, she starts taking active pills again, and she won't appreciate that these are symptoms of menopause.'' But that's not all. Taking birth control pills also seems to reduce bone loss. In fact, if the woman is also doing weight-bearing exercises and getting plenty of calcium, low-dose birth control pills may even help build bone density. Women on the pill also experience less iron deficiency anemia, and some studies suggest that the pill protects against benign breast disease, endometrial cancer and epithelial ovarian cancer. The Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study, the largest to investigate this last issue, found a 40 percent decrease on average of ovarian cancer in women who had taken oral contraceptives. The risk decreased as the amount of time on the pill increased, so women who had taken the pill for seven years or longer experienced a reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer of 60 to 80 percent. Some Women on the pill also experience less iron deficiency anemia, and some studies suggest that the pill protects against benign breast disease, endometrial cancer and epithelial ovarian cancer. studies suggest that oral contraceptives might even protect against colorectal cancer, uterine fibroid tumors, Alzheimer's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Taking the pill has always meant an increase in the risk of blood clots, which can cause a stroke. But a woman who does not smoke, does not have high blood pressure, and takes a low-dose oral contraceptive can almost eliminate that additional risk. So why not just stay on the pill and enjoy all the benefits of hormone-replacement therapy, known as HRT? Because even low-dose birth-control pills deliver five to seven times as much estrogen as HRT. HRT simply gives the body back what the ovaries were producing before they were shut down by menopause. The birth control pill delivers a dose of hormones large enough to shut down the ovaries, and it's pointless for a woman to keep taking hormones after menopause has begun and she has stopped ovulating. She would be better off with hormone-replacement therapy, which would provide her with the same benefits but a lower dose of hormone. "The trick is figuring out when she is in menopause,'' Dr. Lynch said. "There are a couple of ways to test this, but they're not 100 percent reliable. She can go off the pill and see if she's still cycling, but if she's sexually active, there's an outside chance she could get pregnant. "While it's rare for pregnancy to occur at the age of 50 or 51, it can happen if you're still ovulating.'' Tom Valeo is a freelance writer specializing in medical and health issues. Contact him c/o Seniority, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail features at sptimes dot com. [Last modified March 28, 2006, 08:52:07] Here is a link that might be useful: from a Florida online newspaper

Hi figittts, A beta blocker is a drug that blocks the various beta receptors in our blood vessels. They are in our arteries in our brain and also in our hearts. (I'm no expert, so I'm just saying what little I know). When something activates our beta receptors, it causes our vessels to constrict, our BP and heartrate to rise. There's something about the beta blocker that prevents the spasming of blood vessels in our head, which is what causes the aura and the migraine. Supposedly, we get auras because the vessel spasm is in the vicinity of our optic nerve. Beta blockers are not without their side-effects.......like listlessness, lack of energy, motivation and for those who already have low blood pressure, it can make you feel dizzy. I'm on the drug Toprol XL and take just a smidgen of it. I'm not sure it keeps me from having migraines now, since the headaches really started easing up when the further away I got from having periods. I have the auras about every 6 months now, with just a very mild headache. How long have you had them? I'm almost afraid to say this, in case your's just started up, but they say that if you've had them your whole life, you tend to get over them during menopause. But if they just started up at menopause, then you're likely to keep them. That happened to my sister-in-law. she's on Topamax. I think it made her gain weight.......but most drugs that affect the brain do. You may have to try several different meds for migraines, until you find one that works. Are yours around the time of your period (or when your period usually is)? Look up Migraines on the internet and you'll find places that tell you things to modify, to help reduce your liklihood of getting migraines. when mine were really bad, I had to give up chocolate, nuts, MSG, and others. And I absolutely positively couldn't eat ANYTHING after 6:30 in the evening, or it would cause a migraine in the morning. I've heard that people with sleep apnea can get migraines, and once they start using CPAP, their headaches improve.

Kathijo, yep, sounds like you're in "perimenopause"...premeno. I've been going through this for 2-3 years; I'm 43 but early menopause runs in my family. My periods have been erratic for over two years, very irregular and often heavier than they used to be. I sometimes feel like I'm in PMS mode all month long, yuck. Can't sleep (its 3:30 am & I've been up for two hours), feel like a puffy baby whale, and oh yeah, get those crying jags too. I'm not feeling hot, but I do get night sweats at times...geez the list goes on! I haven't had any tests, but I did go on the pill (Loestrin) a few months ago and it has helped somewhat. I'm looking more towards herbal & dietary/lifestyle changes rather than HRT as symptoms warrant, though. There are a ton of books, just go browse your local bookstore. And the link below is very informative too. I'm not scared of doctors (I'm married to one!) but I have to be practically at death's door before I'll go. I don't have a regular doctor; I just go to Planned Parenthood for my annual pap. If you're anxious about it, perhaps PP or a "well woman" type clinic would make you more relaxed? As Joan says, reschedule your pap; they can't get a good reading if you are bleeding. Take care of yourself! Carina Here is a link that might be useful: Power-surge