*Menopause*

[jelli]

Originally Posted by Incubus

I've been using a Moon(Diva) Cup since Un-Mrs.I introduced me to them a few years ago. Highly recommended. I love that I've not had to buy any more 'female' products at the supermarket/shop since I got one.

No more hygiene aisle was a definite plus for some!!!

[jelli]

Originally Posted by Novelafemme

i think i have used every menstrual product out there and can hands down say the Diva cup was my least favorite. my absolute favorite was the sea sponge <shush Lady Snow and Strappin> but with both you inevitably end up having to manage the "bloody hand" predicament when using public stall-style restrooms.

i had a hysterectomy in may of this year and while i love it i do want to remind everyone to still have bi-annual sonograms of your ovaries. Either that or ask your doctor to run a c125 blood work up. That is the ovarian cancer marker, much like the brca test is for breast cancer. ovarian cancer is the silent killer and often is a-symptomatic until it becomes a stage 4 situation.

and for everyone who loathes the gyn office as much as i do (think i'd rather dig a ditch naked), most planned parenthood offices have lgbtq friendly obgyn docs who are trans-friendly.

I know here in the Bible-belt you can usually find out lgbtqi resources such as friendly docs by contacting your local PFLAG too.

[jelli]

I know it's not for everyone, but wanted to mention the shewee/he-wee too. Whether it be when you're camping, public restrooms(where you wouldn't have to explain the direction your feet are facing), or every day life.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Shewee-SHEWEE/dp/B001OTE9L2"]Amazon.com: SHEWEE: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

I'm quite comfortable using male or female toilets. Both have cubicles. There are plenty of cis-guys who will only use a cubicle, for whatever reason.

When it's Mooncups are Go! I never visit the restroom without a bottle of water.

I'm a daily 'packer' but really not when I'm bleedin' ...although that's not been a problem since Feb/March.

TMI? (Too Much Information?)

[jelli]

Originally Posted by Incubus

I'm quite comfortable using male or female toilets. Both have cubicles. There are plenty of cis-guys who will only use a cubicle, for whatever reason.

When it's Mooncups are Go! I never visit the restroom without a bottle of water.

I'm a daily 'packer' but really not when I'm bleedin' ...although that's not been a problem since Feb/March.

TMI? (Too Much Information?)

Not to much TMI in my opinion. Thank you for being open and posting!

Originally Posted by jelli

Not to much TMI in my opinion. Thank you for being open and posting!

Yer welcome jelli...I just think it's important we all share about this together. It's not something that divides us, it unites us. There's a shared physical experience, even emotional experiences.

We may have a different experience when it comes to our gender expression but does that mean we need to separate our experiences? You lot love us for our butch/genderqueer/otherness and we love you for your femme/queerness/otherness too. It's a shared experience as far as I'm concerned.

[jelli]

[jelli]

Don't even get me started....

[T4Texas]

I have been very fortunate in some ways. I had a cancerous tumor in 2005 which necessitated a hysterectomy. I made sure they removed everything. ovaries and all. My docs told me I would go into instant menopause at that time. And so I waited and waited but nothing happened. I have had one hot flash, (so I know how it feels) and one instance of night sweats and that was it. Im hoping Ive sidestepped this but of course your body can play tricks on you and its possible it might still come up in the future. For now Im enjoying the reprieve.

[jelli]

I am hoping to find some relief here before long. I mean sheesh.

I knew today was going to be a bad day. I tossed and turned all night long. The fan was on high as well as the Ac going(kids were probably like penguins by sunrise). So when it was finally time for me to wake up I was totally caddywhompus in the bed, sheets wrapped up around me, surely it must have been all that random hair sprouting. lol

The rest of the day was on and off tears... it's either the menopause or the idea of turning 40. LMAO

[Ranger Butch Force]

I just wanted to bump this thread up and chat more about this.

I will probably have to have a hysterectomy soon and I'm both nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because I'm scared about "going under the knife" even though it will more than likely be a laser. Excited because I won't be in pain anymore as well as feeling better in general.

My sex drive has gone down a bit but when I told my girlfriend that it will go back up (I read that it will on several sites), she was pretty happy about that.

So, I was wondering about others experiences with the surgery, especially with recovery time.

[Luv]

I guess it depends on if you have a full or partial hysto..but there are meds out there to help bring up the sex drive if you need it

[Ranger Butch Force]

Originally Posted by Luv

I guess it depends on if you have a full or partial hysto..but there are meds out there to help bring up the sex drive if you need it

I won't know until I go to the OBGYN, which will be real soon.

[stonewalldog]

Intelligent design my ass! The female reproductive system is a freaking joke!
I am an atheist but if there is a god, I sure have a bone to pick with him! LOL!
But that is another topic.

My night sweats would cause me to toss and turn all night. Then I would be sluggish and grumpy all day. My solution is simple. I work out. I get up between 4:30 and 5 Am every week day. When it is light enough out, I ride my bike between 5 and 8 miles. Then I work out with free weights, some kettlebell moves, sit-ups, and planking. Then in afternoon, I walk my Queensland Heeler for 2 miles. She is really hyper so there is no living with her if she doesn't get a good long walk. My job requires me to be on my feet all day and some heavy lifting.

By 9pm, when my head hits the pillow, I am out. I sleep like a baby. I know I still have the night sweats but they don't wake me up anymore. If I fon't work out, I get the night sweats and toss and turn again.

There are theories about caffiene and alcohol as being catalyst for night sweats but I am willing to give up either.

[~ocean]

or use soy products holistic care for yourslef helps alot od menopause
Great energy for ur heart stonewall..

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Ranger Butch Force

I just wanted to bump this thread up and chat more about this.

I will probably have to have a hysterectomy soon and I'm both nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because I'm scared about "going under the knife" even though it will more than likely be a laser. Excited because I won't be in pain anymore as well as feeling better in general.

My sex drive has gone down a bit but when I told my girlfriend that it will go back up (I read that it will on several sites), she was pretty happy about that.

So, I was wondering about others experiences with the surgery, especially with recovery time.

I was thrust into surgical menopause. The hot flashes have lessened over the past 20 years but still rear their head now and then. I am still thinking the flare ups are due to diet rather than a biochemical thing. The "heavier" I eat the more likely they recur. The "lighter" I eat, the less they happen. Carbs seem to make them worse as does dehydration.

Prior to surgery my sex drive was diminished. Excessive bleeding caused fatigue, there was pain and discomfort, and just a general ill feeling. Post healing phase, the drive returned to normal.

I dont know what the recovery/healing times are like with the new methods of doing the surgery. I had the old fashioned abdominal one. Took a good month for the internal healing. Overall a couple of months to get back to feeling like my functional self again.

The only thing I wish someone had told me was the vagina, as a muscle, will lose its strength and function as a result of the surgery and lack of use. Muscle tone and strength needed to be regained post op i.e. kegels and orgasms once this was deemed medically safe to do so.

[macele]

i am 47. sigh. i haven't been to the doctor yet. i have an appointment this week. but i think that i am starting what i have been waiting for since i was 11 years old. menopause lol. o my, i am sweating up a storm. night and day. moody has hell. weight gain. crying way more than usual. etc etc.

i've read some of this thread. i am going back to the beginning. i don't think i saw my question discussed in what i have read so far. which is, has anybody experienced highs/rush? like feeling so damn good! i mean even with all these bad symptoms, i feel better (sometimes) than i've felt in a long long time.

[Smiling]

This was the thread that most closely matched what I have to say, so I hope no one minds my having posted this here....

I awakened at 3am from such a deadly sound sleep that my face was noticeably swollen from fluids accumulated (I could feel the pressure even before I scared myself by looking in the mirror, lol) while my head was planted face-down in a pillow for hours and I found my arms were completely numb beneath me.

That happens to me sometimes; on those occasions when I sleep really hard.

After I quit drinking coffee about 2 months ago, the insomnia I suffered with for the past year + seems to have completely left me; at least for now. My new problem is actually a very old one that seems to have resurfaced: sleeping so soundly that I cannot wake up without some sort of very loud, jarring aid.

This happens more frequently during that time of the month for whatever reason.

When I was much younger, I used to fall asleep for entire weekends; unable to hear alarms or the telephone ringing or even someone trying to physically rouse me. I subsequently found that when I left a TV on for background noise (and I think the room being filled with ambient light helped, too), I didn't enter into such a deep sleep state and so I had CNN on in my bedroom 24/7 for quite a few years.

Anyway, as the fogginess lifted a bit this morning, my fear began speaking directly to me. So clearly, I could almost imagine it had a voice; and just what that voice might sound like, were Fear standing right beside me in tangible form whispering quiet poison into my rapt ear.

And as I listened, I sobbed like a scared child afraid of some imaginary Bogeyman under the bed. What the heck...?

I had to pee. Then I started my period and I suddenly knew what had happened. Usually, I get a backache so severe that it reduces me to tears; I didn't get that this time. That is what I can always rely on to know I'm about to get my period, because my cycle isn't always regular. The accompanying sickness is, though.

And once I actually start bleeding, the symptoms dissipate as if by magic. It's so bizarre.

My face is still really swollen even now; just over 2 hours later. And I don't know if it is from sleeping face-down or from the crying jag. Probably both. Each month, it seems to get worse; especially so as I have gotten older.

I cannot wait for menopause. I don't mean to make light of it, as I know it creates a great deal of suffering for many people; but as it stands right now, I say please bring on the hot flashes and major mood swings. I welcome them.

Unfortunately, I'm only 38.

[Gayandgray]

BUMP! BUMP!

[Deborah*]

That women have to bleed each month, and get cramps for days each month, seems like a curse on womankind. Or like God hates women.

Deborah