Flashes Are On

I wanted to think these perimenopausal symptoms were more likely just signs that I'm sleep deprived, due to Anna's teething and frequent night nursing. However, last night confirmation came--I had my first hot flash.

Actually, it wasn't my first, come to think of it. When I was in my teens and twenties I had very painful periods and asked an OBGYN if it could be endometriosis--something my sister had. He thought it likely and did a laparoscopy to look for and clean out any lesions. He found mild to moderate endometriosis, removed it, and afterwards prescribed a drug that simulates menopause, so that the endometriosis would stop growing and my fertility could be preserved until marriage. I took the pills for three months and then gave up on them, due to the hot flashes. I had so many I had to bring a fan into my first grade classroom and stand in front of it in the middle of lessons. That didn't work for me (LOL), so the OBGYN gave me birth control pills and had me keep taking them all month to avoid having a period. It is the monthly bleeding that causes more endometriosis to grow and attach to the female organs--eventually causing infertility. The birth control pills worsened my migraines, so I quit taking them after a year. I got married a few years later and conceived our first son on our first anniversary (whom I miscarried at 21 weeks).

The endometriosis was kept at bay during the rest of my thirties by frequent pregnancies and prolonged nursing. I've had few periods during the last nine years.

Anyhow--after that long digression--I'm reflecting today on how hard it is to grow old in a youth-obsessed culture. I am committed to growing old gracefully, but some things I WILL fight hard against. My hair will be dyed when it becomes necessary, and I'll give up chocolate and exercise like a fiend before submitting to weight gain. Otherwise, I'll go with the flow. But clearly, I see that managing it all gracefully may be the second greatest challenge of my life.

The GREATEST challenge--you've probably guessed--has been and is still, raising an ADHD child.

Holly - thank you for the hormone-cream tip! I will look into it.