What’s with this sore breasts & menopause? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned this before? Women & their breasts- they might give pleasure to men but they are often a “pain” to us!
Who would have thought they would still be causing discomfort long after the periods have stopped?
Breast pain & sore nipples have been part of my life, and I have been quite attached to them in some circumstances. As a young girl they would signal a period about to come, so there were never any surprises on that front. As a newly married woman hoping to get pregnant their presence was a hopeful sign of success. And as a young Mum breastfeeding my new baby breast discomfort was par for the course.
Who would have thought though that they would still be causing me angst long after my periods have stopped? I Googled “breast pain and menopause” and there were nearly 780,000 hits! So I am not the only one suffering!
I thought all this would go once my periods stopped but little did I know. As I keep finding out, there is a whole world of “secret women’s business” going on out there that you do not find out about until you too hit the dreaded menopause.
Anyway by searching the Net I did find out some interesting facts. One was that caffeine can make them worse because it dilates blood vessels and stretches nerves- perhaps cutting back on the coffee and coca cola will help me. Taking evening primrose oil was also a suggestion. I will try anything to make this discomfort go away. Perhaps in my 70’s I will finally get some relief- if I can wait another 20 years!
They tell me my fall in Peru was caused by altitude sickness but I know better than all those (non-English speaking!!) doctors. I believe it was caused by menopause vagueness and sweaty feet! Haven’t got time to tell that story on my blog. Though I might just give you some key words- holiday, Peru, tall mountains, not much oxygen, very dizzy and disoriented, lots of coca leaves(!) and bam…big fall out the open door of the mini-bus!!
My story is that it is another example of menopause causing us all types of problems apart from the obvious…hot flashes, insomnia, memory loss…
My story is that I was confused and vague (as usual- menopause) and I slipped out the door on my unusually sweaty feet (because of menopause) and smashed my elbow because my bones are going brittle (because of menopause.)
The moral of the tale is that if you don’t want to spend 4 days in a Peruvian hospital getting your smashed elbow operated on by a non-English speaking doctor, and being tended by non-English speaking nurses & people (including the plumber) who show an inordinate interest in your naked, overweight, white flabby body, then don’t go to Peru on a holiday between the ages of 50 and 55!! And bring your own (sterile) thermometer!!!
Is it a season of Light?
I have reread my first few blogs and realised I have been extremely negative about this whole experience. Sorry about that but, hang on, I am negative about the whole experience! So a change in attitude is called for- there are lots of positive things about menopause….I just can’t think of any right at this moment because of my aforementioned memory lapses and inability to concentrate.
Okay perhaps a quote from Charles Dickens will get the creative juices flowing (apparently lack of juices of all sorts is another menopause symptom!)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……
It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness..
Okay, I’ve written a lot of words about the Season of Darkness …Let’s look at menopause as the Season of Light.
How can menopause be the best of times?
Well, der….no more bloody (!) periods!!! Forgive the corniness, I just had to use that adjective! How can that not be good? The cramps, the rummaging through your bag…those days of having to say “Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare tampon on you would you?” to complete strangers in bathrooms are over. Thank goodness!
And those times when our period was late…and we waited for the smallest sign it was on its way and we weren’t…wait for it…pregnant. That feeling of impending dread in the pit of your stomach…… Of course there were times when we wanted it to be late too…. “Yes, darling, we’re going to be a Mom (Mum in Aussie land) and Dad!!”
And all that money you save not having to buy sanitary products- you can but an extra coffee and even throw in a big slice of some creamy cake!! Which brings me to my pet grievance…why are sanitary products considered a “luxury item” and taxed as such? Only male politicians would dream that up…Or is that only an Aussie tax?
As usual I am feeling confused. But this time it’s not just because of the muddled state that I often get into with menopause; its because I am being bombarded with information that I as a layperson find hard to decipher. As they say, just when you thought it was safe to go into the water…….As I am sure you know, black cohosh is a herbal remedy available around the world for the treatment of the symptoms of menopause, particularly hot flashes. It is actually a member of the buttercup family, (known scientifically as Actaea racemosa) and is native to North America.
Black cohosh is often recommended on menopause sites and in books as a natural way of combating the symptoms of menopause. However as usual when it comes to medications that might actually help women when they go through menopause there is controversy about its use. Whether it is HRT or black cohosh, look hard enough and you will find scary stories about possible side effects from use. Where does this leave the poor sweaty, hot women just looking for some relief? Confused is where!
Today our national newspaper today carried a report from the Medical Journal of Australia about the use of black cohosh to treat menopausal symptoms. It stated that the report showed that there was evidence of liver failure associated with the use of black cohosh, with eight reports of hepatotoxicity in patients associated with black cohosh being published over the last decade, with six requiring liver transplants. Apparently none of the patients had a clinical history making liver damage a possibility through other causes, with none showing any signs of excessive alcohol intake, injecting drug use, prior blood transfusions, a family history of liver disease, or a past history of liver disease. Scary stuff.
But then if you look further you get reports refuting this suggestion of a connection between the herb and liver damage. In fact the The National Herbalists Association of Australia web site seems to imply it is a big conspiracy trying to prevent women from getting access to a safe, effective and naural alternatives to the traditional methods used to relieve menopausal symptoms. Now that I find a bit hard to believe. I am not into conspiracy theories! They say that black cohosh has been administered to many women in clinical studies during the last 40 years, and no association has been found!
So where does that leave us, the poor consumer? As I said earlier- confused and worried! Who is right? Who should I believe? Is black cohosh safe or not? Should I take HRT? I am sure I am not the only menopausal women facing this dilemma. And they say life was meant to be easy!
Talking of sweats I was describing hot flashes to my friends the other day what it is like to have them and be a high school teacher with a class of 30 fifteen year olds while going through menopause. You know kids are pretty adaptable- they soon get used to your face suddenly taking on a fire engine red hue, not from rage but from a unexpected hot flash…..but they never cope with the sweats.
I mean they are grossed out when you accidentally spit on them while talking animatedly about a topic you find fascinating that they (yawn) would rather not know about …like calculus or Pythagoras’ Theorem….however you should see the look of horror on their face when a drop of perspiration, that starts out as a drop on your temple, runs down your cheek , teeters for a tantalising moment on your chin, and then plop, splatters onto their workbook (with an apologetic bounce as it does so!) Not even your frantic apologies as you feverishly mop up the page (smudging all their work as you do so) using a tissue miraculously found from the depths of your bra, can ease their horror!! Nothing worse than a menopausal math teacher!