Wondering what other women's experience is with moving into post menopause.

Hi Kathleen,

What would you specifically like to know about - it's WONDERFUL!! Best part of my life so far...

Well, OK, I loved being pregnant, and I enjoyed my kids - and I am happy to have had that experience.

But I have absolutely no complaints about being post-menopausal. I find I get cold easier than I used to - so I wear an extra sweater and sleep with more blankets on my side of the bed than does my husband. But that is so very very minor!

Good to see you Kathleen. How's 2011 treating you?

I'm not there yet, but can't wait! Looking forward to hearing what others have to say.

I second what Anne has said. Getting beyond that bothersome time
of month is about the only advantage I see to the aging process.
Hopefully one gets wiser and more tolerant. Life becomes more
precious and you place greater value on everyday.

Kathleen, I haven't had any changes other than a little extra padding. Metabolism is slower and arthritis is worse, but those are age-related and not woman-specific.

Internally, you need to take 1500 mgs. calcium daily and do weight-bearing exercises to slow the bone loss.

I just watched an Oprah that I had taped from last week, during which she interviewed Bo Derek. The subject of aging came up, and Derek was saying that we all have to hope that our enhanced wisdom and knowledge is a fair trade-off for the crepe-y necks and other physical losses we encounter with age.

Post menopause had definitely been the BEST part of my life!! I know myself better and am more comfortable with myself.

What I want to know is......why the hair on my head won't stay dark but this one pesky little hair that appears every now and then growing out of my chin (what is up with THAT?!?) is black as midnight. Why, why, why? (this chin hair thing is a totally new thing......suddenly made an appearance a few months ago. Naturally I yanked it out. It has reappeared twice. Now I'm keeping an eye out for it..........)

I have the black hair on the chin thing, too. Except it's not just on the chin any more but also on my upper lip. I've never, ever, in my life had black hair! Other than that, and the hot flashes and night sweats, post menopause isn't so bad. I am much more comfortable with who I am, more introspective in many ways. I don't like the pounds piling on and the physical annoyances, but I'll live with it. Most days I don't pay attention to the physical because the mental and spiritual awareness more than makes up for it.

Oops, I forgot about the hairs on my chin. I've had those happening for some time now. I keep plucking them with a tweezers and praying my close-up eyesight stays good enough that I can continue to see and remove them.

So that is there, too.

That's why they make those magnifying mirrors, Anne!!

magnifying mirrors with 300 magnification eyeglass readers.

I have more of those little suckers than I care to count. Tweeze, tweeze, tweeze Since my eyebrows and eyelashes are still black, the color is not a surprise.

And the more we age, the more of those little suckers we get.
I used to tweeze my friend's chin for her; and she was 90 years
old. Her's grew very fast.

LOL Yonuh! I am USING a magnifying mirror.

Lately I have started to find WHITE hairs on my chin, which are harder to see...even with the magnifying mirror and all the good light I have in my bathroom. They're as tough as the black ones, too! NOT fine and soft. I guess they truly are BEARD HAIRS. Yikes!!

Guess the next step is the 300X magnifying readers Meredithbead suggests.

Yeah, I have both black and white really coarse hairs. I've found they're all easier to see if the light is reflected in the mirror rather than on my face.

Don't wear glasses for distance, but definitely need them for reading. Some of the print on bottles, even a magnifying doesn't help.

Speaking of menopause, did you know the health issues people have actually come up with a World Menopause Day?

Yep, since 1999, it's apparently been October 18th. who knew?

This year, in honor of World Menopause day, I was invited to a webinar, featuring two medical experts on the topic. Their program was called "Understanding Postmenopausal Sexual Health." The presenters were Drs. Laura Berman and Michael Krychman.

Dr. Berman spoke about the concerns we face when experiencing vaginal dryness and painful intercourse, including confusion and embarrassment.

Dr. Krychman discussed the physiology behind these conditions and available treatment options.

There was a short Q&A session will follow the presentation.

Their program has now been made available to the public, so I can share it with you. Just follow the hyperlink at the front of this paragraph.

As a disclaimer, I should also tell you that Pfizer sponsored the event, though no Pfizer-proprietary products were discussed or promoted...

They listed a few websites that we can also refer to with menopause questions.

These are:

PersonalMenopauseAnswers.com

Healthywomen.org

I know we don't discuss sexual stuff here very often if at all, but hey, we are all women who will potentially experience these challenges.

So I thought I'd share the link...

What's wrong with using a little Vaseline? Vaginal dryness doesn't seem like a very deep problem! LOL...pun intended!!!

Every women has different problems, some the same so why not share? Thanks Anne!!!

Vaseline, KY Jelly, personal lubes: The presenters said these help with comfort, but we need to read and understand the label regarding ingredients -- some of those special "designer" lubes can have side effects and should be avoided for that reason.

But the experts on the call pointed out that lubes don't treat the condition, they merely help with comfort.

According to the presenters, natural lubrication is considered to be better for us. And the experts on the call were recommending TOPICALLY applied estrogen cremes, which have less risk than taking a systemic estrogen -- that is, an estrogen pill. (I know I took pills originally, until they were declared too risky, health-wise. Many of us did, I am sure.)

Apparently these locally applied estrogen products come in creme, ring and tablet forms. They allow our vaginal tissues to regain their former elasticity and lubrication.

The treatment still has some risk, however, so those have to be understood, so we can make an informed decision.

The last point the presenters made on the call is that medicine is leaning toward individualized care, away from "one size fits all" treatments.

If you want to know more, the link to the presentation and/or the links to the websites I gave offer more information.

Years ago they implied estrogen treatments could cause cancer.
I knew of women who stopped taking them for that reason. Personally I stay away from doctors, so somebody else will have
to take up this discussion.

It's frightening what you ytake because just about everything once recommended is now being nseen in ads run by attorneys as harmful. I was lucky and needed and took nothing. It's just too scary taking whatever these doctors recommend!

Thing that gets me, is one day they'll [the experts] say something is good for you. And a few days down the road, they'll say they were wrong; that exact product is bad. Don't take it!
Who do you believe? They keep changing their mind!

It's amazing how easily we are influenced by these so called experts. You're right what they say boggles the mind!