Mood Swings and Hot Flashes

What My Sister Says About E-books

2007-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my sister the other day. She’s a voracious reader, she’ll read anything. I’ve seen her reading cereal boxes at breakfast. So, her latest thing is downloading electronic books from the internet. She’s four years younger than me and just starting to feel the symptoms of perimenopause. She recently bought several e-books about menopause, but only really cared for a couple of them. She knows about my blog so she wanted me to suggest them to you, in case you might be interested.

The first one is called Menopause A-Z. She liked this one because of the chapter about how to recognize “early” menopause. I told her at her age it probably wasn’t early. Needless to say her brother needs to learn a bit more tact. The other thing she liked was that it came with three free reports. Her favorite among those was “Hot Tips for Hot Flashes.”

The second one is How to Conquer Menopause. This one was her favorite, even though it was a little more money. She felt it was more comprehensive and told her what she wanted to know about hormone replacement therapy. Plus it came with 5 free reports. We are a family who likes our free stuff!

Some of you have asked me about Internet Marketing so if there is interest, I’m thinking about putting together a free guide for those of you who are interested in making some “pin money.” I’ll rant about why I got into it and my experiences with “job security.” Don’t get me started on that one.

When Does Menopause Start?

2007-05-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

One of the first questions an OB/GYN hears from a woman is “when does menopause start?” And actually the question has two answers. The most obvious one is the average age is 51. It’s different for every woman, of course, but the range can be from 47-53. But the other, not so common answer to the question- when does menopause start -is it starts at the end of perimenopause. Perimenopause is the roughly four year period leading up to menopause. Menopause itself is that day when a woman has not had her period for twelve months.

Common but troubling symptoms can include:

· Hot Flashes

· Vaginal dryness

· Severe mood swings

· Irregular periods

· Joint pain

· Stress

Stress can be a real problem for many women. It leads to severe feelings of overwhelm. It can wreak havoc on your emotional life. These symptoms can be linked to hormonal changes. There are a number of popular approaches to stress reduction. You might try bicycling or yoga. Qigong and tai-chi are both very effective for reducing stress. My wife likes this tai-chi standing exercise that I taught her. She is able to get into a zone for ten minutes or so and says her stress just melts away. It seems to help with the hot flashes and mood swings, as well. I know a couple of women who swear by acupuncture for relieving symptoms. My middle sister, who’s 46 and just starting perimenopause, says she couldn’t do without her black cohosh supplements. This is a common herb native to North America.

We started with the question- when does menopause start –and answered it. Then we talked a little about symptoms. And finally we discussed what you can do to help treat those symptoms. Menopause does not have to be the harrowing experience that is sometimes made out to be. With a little patience, everyone will survive it.

How About an Herbal Menopause Remedy?

2007-05-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

When I first started researching topics dealing with my wife’s mood swings and hot flashes, I came upon a web site that suggested using a natural herbal menopause remedy. We are always concerned about what goes into our bodies, and I wanted to find something that would help alleviate her symptoms. There is surprisingly a great deal of information about the use of a herbal menopause remedy. Here’s what works and why.

One of the herbs most frequently mentioned is Black Cohosh. This herb is wonderful for relieving hot flashes and seems to help reduce cramps and congestion, as well. Black Cohosh has been used by Native American women for generations for alleviating these sometimes debilitating symptoms.

Chaste tree is another herb that is widely used. The berry from this plant is an excellent hormone balancer and is used for alleviating a woman’s depression.

Oddly enough, one of the more common herbs used in helping a woman overcome menopausal symptoms can be found right out in your backyard (although I’d probably find a purer source). Dandelion root is a liver cleanser and also acts as a hormone balancer.

We’ll take a trip to the Orient for the next useful herb-ginseng. Studies show that ginseng strengthen the adrenal glands, enhances your immune system’s function, increases energy, and helps normalize blood pressure. Of course, today a great deal of the ginseng used here in the US is grown right here.

Now, you’ll always want to consult your physician before beginning any regime of herbal medicine to make certain that it doesn’t interfere with any other medicines you might be taking. My wife did this as well, of course. She has found that a combination of proper diet and exercise (particularly the tai chi standing I taught her) works well. Then she combined those with herbs, and menopause symptoms have reduced dramatically. I hope the same can happen for you!

So there, we’ve covered some the more commonly used herbal menopause remedies and the symptoms that they can address. There are more, of course, but these are some of the more commonly used ones.

Get Menopause Relief

2007-04-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

I want to take a little time and talk about how to get menopause relief. The symptoms of menopause can really unsettle your life. One of the two main symptoms of menopause are mood swings and hot flashes. So why is it that they happen for middle-aged women, and what can be done? And of course the answer is menopause. I hope that this little primer will be useful to woman AND men.

My wife and I have been happily married for fourteen years. Like many women her age (she’d kill me if I gave it out so I’ll just say she’s maturing nicely) she started feeling the signs of menopause. Actually, perimenopause what they call it. It’s the period leading up to menopause. Apparently menopause is actually only one day-that day when a woman has gone an entire year without her period. Perimenopause generally occurs in women between 45-55 years of age, but even women in their 30s have reported signs.

It’s certainly isn’t the case that every woman has the same symptoms, but some of the things that might happen to you at the onset of menopause are: night sweats, the feeling that you are just not yourself, feeling like you can’t keep your train of thought, hair loss, mood swings and hot flashes. And please don’t think that menopause just affects women, either. Indirectly, the entire family is affected. It’s not easy for a woman to have to put up with these feelings. My wife and I have had many difficult conversations about what she’s going through. Truthfully, I think if more men learned about menopause and could understand that it is a natural life occurrence they’d be better equipped to deal with their wife’s symptoms.

Obviously if menopause is a natural function of aging, there is no cure for it. And why would there be? But there are things woman can do to get menopause relief.. For instance, make certain that you stick to a well-balanced diet. Also, try a program of mildly vigorous exercise. Some women find that Traditional Chinese Medicine gives them relief as well. Herbs such as St. John’s Wort, Black Cohash, Ginseng, and Valerian Root seem to be effective in treating mood swings and hot flashes. Stress-reducing techniques such as tai chi, qigong, and yoga are all very popular. I have taught my wife a simple standing exercise from tai chi (I used to teach this professionally) that really lets her just chill out nicely.

I hope this little piece has been useful to you, dear reader. I know that my research has been very helpful for me in understanding that my wife’s mood swings and hot flashes are not meant to be directed at me. They just happen and it helps when I understand this. They are just apart of what is happening to her body right now. I love her and support her in this transition in her life. I am fortunate in that she has always supported me in my life changes as well.

Menopause and Relief from Stress

2007-04-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Many women have a difficult time getting menopause relief. And it’s no surprise. It’s easy to get frustrated and stressed. Treating menopausal stress is no different than treating any other type of stress. As a woman moves through perimenopause, she can undergo very heavy hormonal changes. And, of course, these changes affect different women in very different ways. Among the symptoms you might feel are:

Mood Swings
Hot Flashes
Insomnia
Vaginal Dryness

Obviously any sort of change, be it major or minor, that you might go through can be stressful. Change or loss of a job, the birth of a child or grandchild, relocation, and certainly the painful trauma of divorce can all be stressful situations. By the way, it isn’t really the stress that gets to us so much, it’s our reaction to it. Before we get into treating menopausal stress, let’s ask the question-what is stress? And how can dealing with it give you menopause relief?

Stress is your body’s natural reaction to any challenges or threats. When you encounter this sort of situation, your body just wholesale dumps “stress hormones” into your system. Hormones like adrenaline and epinephrine can really get your heart racing. You might feel hot flashes which in turn causes profuse sweating-just what you need. All of this coming on you like a freight train will make you tense.

Well then, what are some things you can do in treating menopausal stress? Again, let’s go our list:

· It’s a good idea to avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods when you’re stressed out.

· Quitting smoking is always a good idea. Certainly it’s no easy task but very beneficial in the long run.

· Keeping a positive attitude is key. Mood swings can really cause stress so maintaining a positive attitude can really help.

· Starting a gentle exercise routine, such as yoga or tai chi will help. My wife uses a simple standing qigong exercise I taught her (I used to be a professional tai chi instructor)

· Watching your diet by choosing those foods that really nourish you is another good idea for getting menopause relief..

· Be active. Start a hobby, volunteer, plant a garden. Activities such as these will keep your mind off your symptoms.

So, you see, it’s really not all that difficult to manage your symptoms. Does it sometimes take a little work? Sure, anything worthwhile does. But you have many more years of life ahead of you, and you can live them stress-free if you just take the time to learn how.

. If this article, Menopause and Relief From Stress, has been helpful to you and if you’d like a free e-course (yes, that means no charge!) in the tai chi exercise that I taught my wife, then just add your name and email address above on the side bar.
And don't worry, I'll NEVER sell, or give away your personal information.
I hate spam as much as you do.

The first one!

2007-04-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog, Mood Swings and Hot Flashes. This blog is for everyone who endures the sometimes bothersome symptoms of perimenopause. Menopause is the day that you've gone a full twelve months without having your period. Peri- is all the time leading up to that.
I suppose you might find it odd that a man would write about what can be a tender subject. But when my wife started exhibiting symptoms of perimenopause we both decided to do a bit of online research. I'm concerned about her well-being, and frankly about both of our sanitys! It's not easy going through perimenopause and it's not always a picnic living with someone who is. But I love my wife dearly and it is well worth the effort.
She asked me if I would chronicle our efforts so that it might help other men and women. So- here we are. Hang on to your hats, it may be a bumpy ride!

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2007-04-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

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Mood Swing and Hot Flashes