Hi ladies! Glad to see I'm not alone. I had an endometrial ablation July, '07. (stopped my periods) I'm 49 now and for the past month I have been having what I think are hot flashes. All of a sudden I'll feel very warm from my chest up. My face and neck get red to the point that people have been asking me what's wrong. I just laugh and tell them it's a hot flash! I average one per hour. I noticed when I had my physical a few months back that my blood pressure has increased also. I'm usually a very, very, good low. Now, I have prehypertension. It never hit me, but I have suffered from migraines the last ten years. (never had a headache in my life) My dr. thought they were just menstrual migraines, but now I think they were due to perimenopause. Good Grief!! Anymore, my skin is so dry (my hands snag clothing), I can't concentrate, I'm forgetful. I take Lexapro for PMDD, (guess I really don't have that anymore either!) which could be why I am not experiencing severe mood swings. My appetite seems to have lessened in the past six months also. I've lost about 15 lbs., and am now down to 132 lbs., which I am very proud of. lol Here it goes! I'm having a hot flash as I'm typing this!!!! Does this sound like Menopause to anyone other than me? (I have no one in my family to compare to. My mom went through an extremely early menopause at 35. Weird. My sister had a hysterectomy at 32 and has been on hormones since. She is now 52.) Thanks!

Menopause in elderly women or elderly female is a common issue, but men may also suffer from menopause, it is a physical condition wherein males may experience complex hormonal changes that may affect their sexual life, intimacy mood and temperament especially during their middle life. There are other temrs used to refer to male menopause such as andropause and viropause, This conditions starts with hormonal alterations and physiological chemical alterations that happens in all men usually during their 40s and 50s, however it is believed that it can occur during earlier ages from 35 years or even till 65. The reason of occurrence of male menopause is to indicate the ending of the First Adulthood and make the man prepared for his Second Adulthood. Alteration in aphrodisiacal aspects of man can be initial indications. Hormonal changes significantly influences men who are experiencing male menopause, truncated level of hormones at early life are core to the alterations linked with male menopause. It may also have physical and psychological reactions because of hormonal variations throughout the month, same as in the case of PMS in women.

Dianalo, I beg to differ. I did not judge a doctor to be "less competent" because of his office decor. We were ~then~ talking about how office decor can have a psychological effect on people. I said that with this opthamologist, the decor was so depressing and uncomfortable to myself and my daughter that I decided to look elsewhere. Our long-time family eye doc had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly and I was looking for a new one to take my family to. There are many equally good eye docs in our city; my goal was to find one that was not only a good physician, but that I thought we would enjoy for the long-term. I don't need or seek out high-end or fancy offices, but I do appreciate comfortable ones. This can be achieved with a little or a lot of money as long as they put some thought into it and make their patients' comfort a priority. You have to also keep in mind that physicians and dentists are like everyone else, some really enjoy creating a great atmosphere for their patients,their staff and themselves just as we here enjoy creating a great atmosphere in our homes and our workplaces for our family, our friends and ourselves. Some don't and that's ok, too, as long as it's clean and comfortable. But . . . you give me the choice between a few equally good, well-qualified physicians with a pleasant, caring bedside manners and who all have good staffs and I'll pick the doc whose office I feel is the most welcoming and comfortable. But, an office that is thoroughly depressing and uncomfortable to me, as this eye doc's was, with the wood everywhere that actually gave me a sliver touching the wall; with dim, gloomy (seriously) lighting; with a lack of enough light to read by; with uncomfortable no-armed plastic chairs, lined up one next to the other so that I was bumping elbows with the person sitting next to me; with too few end tables to give you space between the people and to hold reading lamps; with hardly any magazines and the ones there were old and looked ratty; with a patient bathroom separated from the waiting room only by a thin door that was right between two of the chairs . . . and let's just say that sound carried very well out there, I couldn't help but think that this guy was not very concerned about his patient's comfort! Was this guy a good doc? Yes, but as I have already stated, there are many other equally good docs in town. And his prices were no lower than the rest. BTW, he dressed very well and was a pleasant person. I didn't judge him by his clothes, his shoes, or that he didn't spend a lot of money with his decor. That is not the issue; lack of patient comfort and apparent unconcern for his patients' comfort was the issue. It was my call to make and that was my (very detailed) criteria for making it (LOL!). Now, let us get back to how different interior decor in medical/dental offices can have a psychological effect on people.I find it a very interesting topic! Lynn

I've been thinking of these things while deciding on master bdrm paint. i've been trying to explain the choice of blue to my husband and while doing so a light bulb went off. I work out of my house a couple of days a week, and over the past 10 years I've had 3 offices in two houses. The first one was in a spare bedroom in my old house, painted in BM China White (builder's choice). I could not concentrate in there and had a difficult time being productive. Then I moved my office to a basement location where I have BM Rosemary Sprig on the walls. I loved working in there. Currently, my office is in the bonus room of the new house with what on the walls? The dreaded China White (builder hasn't changed his colors!). The color makes my crazy..I still can't concentrate and I don't like being in there. It's also a craft room and well, there's not much crafting going on in my house these days. Needless to say, I can't wait to paint, but htis room is in line after my foyer and bedroom.