7/7/07 The Lucky Day!

Sparky came home with the most beautiful pink roses for me on Thursday. I asked why and he said it's because he knows it's a tough time for me right now and I put up with him. (He actually said "Because you are menopausal and you put up with me" but I didn't want you to think he was a pig. We've been discussing the "M" word a lot lately. He didn't mean it accusingly, he meant that he knows it's a tough time.)

He was actually half right. Perimenopause (I refuse to believe it's the actual menopause) has been visiting our home. But far from me putting up with Sparky, it is quite the opposite. He is definitely the one putting up with me.

Here is a list of symptoms: (All 35)

Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
Irregular heart beat
Irritability
Mood swings, sudden tears
Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles
Loss of libido
Dry vagina
Crashing fatigue
Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
Disturbing memory lapses
Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
Itchy, crawly skin
Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
Increased tension in muscles
Breast tenderness
Headache change: increase or decrease
Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
Sudden bouts of bloat
Depression
Exacerbation of existing conditions
Increase in allergies
Weight gain
Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
Changes in body odor
Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
Tingling in the extremities
Gum problems, increased bleeding
Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
Osteoporosis (after several years)
Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.

I may or may not have had nearly ALL 35!!!!!!! in the past year.

Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling? This is the newest visitor to our home.

# of "power surges" on Thursday: 15.
# on Friday: 3.

I'm thinking of having a counter added to my blog so I can list the number per day.

All of the others? - well reading the list of symptoms made me feel like there was a man in a lab coat following me around as he put pencil to pad to record my life, thus creating this list.

If this list were a Keno card, and I had a # for every symptom I have, we would be so so rich.

Hope today is lucky for you!