“Only one? Night sweats were uncomfortable; never really had mood swings, or maybe I’m just always kind of crabby. Worse thing is probably the weight gain, although memory lapses are a close second. Never had weight problems in my life, always ate what I wanted and was always active. Now, I gain weight just thinking about going to Chipotle for lunch. Having to learn how to eat well at 60 sucks.”
Susan Dennison
“Panic attacks with involuntary muscle spasms!”
Judy St George
“Dry itchy skin used to keep me awake, then I’d be grouchy the next day.”
Daphne Archer
“Heavy flow out of the blue, especially at work.”
Maria Armida Carlton
“Never experienced any. I have a sister (10 months older) and one day, about 10 years ago, she walked in and said to me,
‘Gosh, I am burning up!’
‘I looked at her and asked, ‘why?’
“She ignored me and said, ‘look, I’m sweating now!!’
“Again, I asked ‘why?’
“She looked at me without looking at me and said, ‘and I’m on my 3rd period this month!!’
“‘WHY?’ I asked again.
“She yelled ‘BECAUSE I’M GOING THROUGH MENOPAUSE!!’
“I laughed, and she said, ‘it’s not funny. Haven’t you had any symptoms yet??’
“I looked at her and said, ‘I quit having a period when I turned 42.’
“‘42!?’ she yelled at me, ‘and no other signs of menopause??’
“I shook my head, indicating no, because I’m still laughing.
“‘Really, how do you prevent menopause symptoms??’ she asked.
“I looked at her and decided to have some fun at her for yelling at me. She’s a single mother of three grown kids, never remarried, or even dated again, much less have affairs.
“She’s looking at me, begging me to tell her my secret.
“Finally I tell her my secret was SEX. She looks at me and says, no yells, ‘NOW IM F…..’ I’m laughing my head off and tell her, ‘no you’re not!!’
“That was fun. But sincerely, I guess I lucked out and had no signs, and just five years ago I started getting the facial hair, and the plucking started.????”
Rosa Martinez Carrasco