I have a hard time remembering--imagine THAT--exactly when I started into peri-meno... I think it was around 1995.. it was almost like I woke up one morning and the term "Change of life" had a whole new meaning..Life as I had known it, had certainly changed alright...nothing was the same..I had these overwhelming feelings of impending doom... just knew everything was going to make me DIE..anxiety attacks 24/7.. knew I had cancer in various places, detached retina..that one was a bout with ocular migraines... vertigo---KNEW that one was a brain tumour..blood pressure sky rocketed... heart palps... cholesterol jumped... hot flashes..phantom cramps..flooding.. then nothing for months then floods..and about a gazillion other things including, but not limited to hair in places I didn't want it and none in places I did... looking back, I guess I was/am one of the "lucky" ones... most of these symptoms were brought under control fairly quickly with a combination of diet, exercise, supplements ( B 100 complex, vit E, and a calcium/ magnesium).. and a better understanding of what was happening to my body...and how THAT affected my emotions and mind..for instance the B vitamins help regulate your hormones.. stress will deplete the body of them...was I stressed? you betcha... also I stumbled across an article about breathing correctly, and realized that much of the time I was stressed out, I was either holding my breath or breathng completely wrong.. thus contributing to the endless cycle of anxiety... learning to stop looking at everything as a huge outside force that was going to KILL me also helped LOL. that came by getting out and DOING things.. getting some fresh air and thinking about other things..I had gotten pretty self-posessed. Little by little the symptoms faded and I was left with a larger bra size, a few (?) extra pounds, still those pesky chin hairs.. an occasional hot flash..although almost NEVER in the winter when I could have used them...and the begining of an appreciation for this next chapter in life.. I just passed the "official "17 months bleed free, so I guess that means I'm there..I was able to go through these years without the benefit(?) of HRT.. but I realize that everyone is different and for some women HRT is the answer to getting through this time... what ever works is my belief.. nothing is written in stone on this one.. except I think the basics... drink plenty of water, get some form of exercise daily, get sleep when you can--I started taking naps again--and find somethng to laugh about often..seriously..laughing releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel better.. might be something to the old addage.."Laugh all your troubles away".. hang in there ..there is light at the end of the tunnel... sorry this ended up being so long, I do tend to run on sometimes.. Judy

The breweries will be pleased with that magazine especially if drinking beer becomes the latest fad and they sell lots more. I'm always fascinated by magazine articles which over time promote various things as being the latest thing good for you and they are often things which we know we should consume in moderation. From what you are saying, it seems the wheel has just about turned full circle with red meat gaining favour again. As for the beer - well I have a mental vision of a whole heap of menopausal women out there who believe magazine articles belching and hiccuping their way through as much beer as they can get down. I wonder if the magazine could be sued when these tiddly ladies stagger out of the bars and get run over by a bus on a busy road. Sorry to ponder on about this, but its a bit of light relief. Cheers Joan

Hi melonwhelz, Sorry I didn't respond sooner, had a rough week taking my dog who has an incurable disease to all these different vets. He will be okay and I will just pray for the best as he is my bestest friend. Anyway, the day after I posted, I started to spot, thought I was going to get my period, but nope! It never happened. I have to make an app't to see my gyno. Yes, my body is very confused and sending mixed messages to my brain which I hate! At least when I had Lyme I knew all my symptoms including the mood swings and depression, but this is a whole new ballgame! I am feeling a different type of depression, almost like I am bored but too tired to do anything about it. I did receive the book "Awakening at Midlife" yesterday so I am going to start reading that. How is your sister? I help many people who have Lyme Disease because it is horrible and so misunderstood, especially by doctors because they don't know how to treat it. What helped me recover was following a book written by a brilliant doctor named Dr. David Jernigan (Beating Lyme Disease Using Alternative Medicine". I know so many people that are cured now because of Dr. Jernigan. Maybe your sister should buy the book? Anyway, I feel so drained, is that normal? I need to vacuum and do some laundry but I'm not doing it, LOL! I am laughing at your drumroll:::: THE CHANGE! Oh why oh why don't men get this? Yeah, I'm bad. Denise

joolsy, you are among friends and fellow change-of-life mates. I've been living the same roller coaster as you for the past 10 months. As the other learned women here have already written, we're here to listen and share. My H can't quite grasp what's going on with me either so he just pretends it's not happening and he treads very carefully around here now making every effort to not upset me. The only concrete advice I can offer is, on those days where your anxiety level is peaked and you are very brittle emotionally, just keep telling yourself that it won't last very long and you just need to concentrate on being as positive as you can be. It's hard, I know. When this first started with me I thought I was on the verge of a breakdown because my emotion's were all over the place and I didn't know what had happened to change me so. And there are still days where I seriously wonder if I've losing my mind or is it *just* hormonal?!! It really helped me to calm myself and not be quite as worried about my mental state once I realized I was perimenopausal and that is what I was experiencing. Like I said before, when I'm having a really bad day I focus on the fact that maybe tomorrow I will be normal again and if not tomorrow, the next day. It can get depressing. I sometimes get depressed and worried because I have no control over these feelings and I just have to ride it out until it passes. Melancholy is probably a better word to describe it. I had an extremely heightened day today. When I talked to people my mouth was running 100 miles an hour and I could not calm myself down all day. My heart was racing and I couldn't sit still. When I finally got home today I headed right to a hot bath and stayed in there for an hour, bathroom door locked so kids couldn't come in and bother me. It did the trick I was a new person two hours later and calmly worked through homework and music lessons this evening.