Meeting the Challenges of Menopause

"Feelings of sadness overwhelmed me without reason or warning.  I cried and wondered if I was going crazy." -Rondro, 50 years of age.

"You wake up in the morning and find your house in a mess. You cannot find personal things. What you had been doing with ease for years, now seems so difficult, and you don't know why." -Hanta, 55 years of age.

THESE women were not ill. Rather, they were going through the  menopause transition, a natural change in a woman's life and the end of her fertility. If you are a woman, are you approaching that time of your life?  Are you going through it?  Whatever the case may be, the more that your loved ones know about this transition, the better equipped you will be to meet the challenges associated with it.

The Menopause Transition

The menopause transition, also called perimenopause (around menopause), includes both the period leading up to menopause and menopause itself.  In common usage, however, "menopause" often refers to the entire transition. 

Most women start perimenopause in their 40's, but do as late as their 60's.  In most cases, menstruation ceases gradually. Because of the erratic production of hormones, a woman may skip periods, bleed at times, or have extra-heavy periods.  A small  number of women stop menstruating abruptly, almost overnight, as it were.

"Each woman's menopause experience is different," says Menopause Guidebook. It also states:  "The most common menopause-related discomfort is the hot flash (sometimes called the hot flush)," which may be followed by a cold chill.  Those symptoms can disrupt sleep and sap energy. How long do the discomforts last?  According to The Menopause Book,  "some women get a few hot flashes for a year or two around the time of the menopause transition.  Others suffer for many years,and a very small percentage report occasional hot flashes for the rest of their lives."  (Note: That rest of their lives includes me)

Because of fluctuating hormones, a woman may also experience depression and mood swings, resulting in weepiness, as well as poor concentration and lapse in memory.  That said, "It's highly unlikely that any one woman will get hit with everything," says the Menopause Book. (note: You want to make a bet on that? I got hit with everything, not a happy occasion. And, remember ladies, who haven't gone through it yet, when those mood swings hit, your loved ones will be affected as well.)  Indeed, some experience few, if any, problems and discomforts. 


Note: Sometimes I wish that men could experience this transition, so that they would understand what women go through with this.  But even that is cruel, because when the women do suffer or experience these hot flushes and mood swings, the men will be affected enough.  Guys try to be patient. And ladies try to be considerate of those around you who are affected as well, because you will likely take that out on others around you, as I did for a short time. But most of that was the medicine I was taking for it.  As an ex boyfriend put it, I was a total !#@* during that time. 

Next time: Meeting the Challenges of Menopause/How to Cope

From the jw.org publications