Annie, I used to have those leg cramps, but it was every month when I had my period. In the 1970's I started reading Prevention magazine, which was not the slick mag it is now, and they talked about calcium deficiencies. One part of it was caused by using non-fat dairy (which I used to do) and they claimed it was necessary for you to digest fat with calcium to utilize it. The other part was an imbalance of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, caused in part by drinking diet soda (an excess of phosphorous in those drinks leaching magnesium and calcium from your system). I always struggled with my weight, so both those things were part of my diet. They claimed that even calcium supplements, if they contained phosphorous (if you had excess phosphorous intake from soda) would not help the imbalance and your body would not utilize the calcium. I don't know if it's true or not, but what I did cured my leg aches every month. I found a liquid calcium, magnesium supplement (without phosphorous) and began taking it, along with switching to 1% dairy. If I would run out, or get out of the habit of taking it, I would get these terrible aches in my legs at the onset of my period. I remember several times when my legs would start this terrible aching, during my 1 hour commute, stopping at a health food store to get my calcium and chugging a bit of it in the car, then continuing on my way home. By the time I reached home the aching had stopped. It happened enough times that I became a true believer in their theory. So, even if you take calcium, read up on the best kind to take, see if it contains magnesium and phosphorus and if you drink soda, try to find a supplement without the phosphorus. And if you use only nonfat dairy, try switching to 1% for some things and see if it makes a difference. Here is a link that might be useful: one article on calcium supplements

Honestly, stop with the pesticides. Our school system has been saying for years that _one_ pesticide treatment on the hair followed by fine combing, laundering bedclothes and towels as normal, and disinfecting hats will do it. You don't have to sterilise the whole house. The lice can't live long off a host anyway. All those pesticides are going to make you sick. Also, if your knees are itching it's definitely not lice, as lice are site-specific having adapted to live in particular kinds of hair. So head lice are different to pubic lice, aka "crabs", for instance. Unless you have head hair growing from your knees, you can be sure they are cootie free :-)

Hi i girls. I'm kind of new here (I signed up a while back to talk about holly trees that were sick, lol, now I'm here to talk about menopause). Yes, the zest for life in general can sometimes feel like a complete zero for me too but I try to surround myself with positive things to combat that. My pets, good friends, my gardens, of course, and forcing myself to take more of an interest in my job. I'm a legal secretary. I think it's all a matter of mind over matter because all of the above seems to be working. I logged on because I was looking for advice/help in dealing with the physical changes. That muffin top that appeared out of nowhere to the point where none of my clothes fit anymore! It's driving me nuts. I've always enjoyed a waistline and now it doesn't exist anymore. In the past six months it's all but disappeared. I googled menopausal bloating and it appears to be a very real thing that I'm going to tackle with a vengeance. If anyone here has any hints or advice on how to deal with this I'd be grateful. I've never had a weight problem and never had to diet, which I'm very thankful for. I'm 5'3" and was always in the 112-116 area. This extra flab around my waist is really bothering me and when I learned that the body transfers fat from your hips and thighs to your waist I was shocked. I had no idea that was part of this miserable thing called "menopause". Any advice is welcome. Feel better ladies. You're not alone and I hope you all find peace in this incredibly difficult journey. Debbie

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