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Monday, November 7, 2011

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS - PERIMENOPAUSE

Ah, the joys of getting older.  You know what I mean - the droopy eyelids, the dry skin, the more frequent visits to the hair colorist...and to the bathroom.  And that's just the beginning.  There are some definite pluses to aging, but they certainly aren't in regards to our bodies. Of all the things I find bothersome, the thing that causes  me the most distress - even more than not being able to see without my reading glasses - is perimenopause.




Perimenopause sounds sort of innocuous, don't you think?  It's almost a pretty word, like periwinkle - the little i in peri, there just to fool you.  Because, truth be told, perimenopause can be a nightmare for some, including me, and by extension my husband, children,family, friends, and pretty much anyone I encounter when those moods and pains and irritations descend on me, taking over my sanity for a few (or many) days each month.


 My husband has come to understand it, bless his heart. He's learned to live with me - or avoid me, probably - when I'm in the midst of the body snatching that comes each month, sneaking up on me - is this really happening again????  It's as if someone has stuck a tube inside of me and blown me up like a balloon, then added a vice around my head, then drugged me so that I feel as if I'm dragging 30 pounds of potatoes with me everywhere I go, I'm so tired.     This is way, way worse than pms, which meant a few days of bitchiness and that was about it.


I did a little research today about perimenopause, and I found here a list of symptoms that can occur during this phase of life, which can last a really, really long time for some women.  Seriously?  Haven't we done enough?  Didn't we give birth, have c-sections, struggle with birth control? Didn't we  nurse our babies, turning over our bodies to them for months and months?  Some of us went through hell and back just to get pregnant. And now comes the onset of middle age, and having to deal with the loss of our youth as we grow older.  Do we really need this? Do we deserve this? Come on!


Some of my friends are fortunate, and haven't really experienced much of the joys of perimenopause.  Others struggle with hot flashes -which so far, I rarely get - extreme fatigue, mood swings, ferocious headaches, and on and on.  We commiserate and help each other through the bad days, and understand completely the need to hide under the covers and not leave the house when things are especially tortuous.  Thank goodness for those women in my life - without them I might have assumed that, once a month or so, I was losing my mind.


Recently, Dr. Oz did a show about perimenopause, and here was the ad for it:


Sort of makes you wonder, doesn't it?  And what is the rage about...is it about being perimenopausal, or is it about the way it feels, or is it just a general rage at the universe that now, at this point in our lives, we have to deal with THIS.  I didn't bother to watch the show - it's not as if I don't know about this already.


And men complain about losing their hair.  PLEASE!


Pass the chocolate, NOW.

2 comments:

Jess PJ said...

A very funny post. Thanks for sharing!

Sharon Greenthal said...

Jessica, thanks for coming by and commenting! Nice to know you. Sharon