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Not my mother's menopause

Posted , 8 users are following.

sharcerv52408
sharcerv52408

Just like everything else in this world has gone through some kind of "evolution," I think menopause has as well. I can't imagine our mothers and grandmothers having gone through menopause to the extent and measure that some of us are going through it or else I'm sure we would have heard about it. I mean think about it, back in their day we lived in a more holistic culture. A culture that cared for and nurtured people with natural cures rather than medicine. Doctors used more natural approaches to healing. The only symptoms our foremothers had to complain about were the heat flashes and weepiness. That is probably the most complaint they had which is why that is all the doctors are familiar with and therefore all their medical textbooks refer to.

Now here we are in this day and age with a litany of symptoms that doctors are unfamiliar with which has them thinking we are crazy. They are going by old textbook information. There has been a great change in the way menopause behaves.

But what has caused this great paradigm shift in our symptoms? I think it has a great deal to do with the pollutants we're exposed to today, the chemical process our foods are manufactured with and even the medications a lot of us are on and if you factor in any other stresses in our lives then it's no wonder we are going through it so rough. I honestly believe if my mother or any of our foremothers we're going through it like this, we would've heard about it. This is definitely not our mothers' menopause.

3 likes, 31 replies

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  • gentleballads
    gentleballads sharcerv52408

    Posted

    sha, nice discussion here - very true and apt. At least we have a place to come to and compare our notes !

    the meno experience seems to affect certain women and in certain areas too ! even in this day and age - exposed to the same chemicals and hormones. I read the experience of meno is largely determined by an individuals reaction to it. i would imagine women with high EQ and sensitivity pay a bigger price.

    this would say how much does the predisposition of a woman affect the way she experiences it ?

    i feel like a bad joke has been played on me ! like ive been dragged into a well-designed program. 

    right now, im trying to get myself educated. education is the only way out of the trap.

    • Zigangie
      Zigangie gentleballads

      Posted

      Well I didn't know peri caused problems until after meno. I was so relieved because I thought I must be dying from some strange undiagnosed illness.

      Apart from night sweats and heavy periods I seem to have had every symptom going over the last 10 years. As is being discussed elsewhere as my mum had sailed through it i expected to also and I really wasn't expecting to get any symptoms at all until after my periods had stopped.

      I have to say though I was probably more in tune with my bodily functions than my mum.

      Like I knew when I was ovulating because I'd get a dragging sensation and certain discharge. I also had all the symptoms heavy breasts slight back ache when my periods started missing. I was always quite surprised when one never showed up. This went on for 6 or so months after the period free year was up.

    • sharcerv52408
      sharcerv52408 Zigangie

      Posted

      Well my hope and prayer is that I'm going through the worst of it now during peri. God help me if it gets worse after I stop seeing my periods! I still get them fairly regular. I haven't skipped any yet.
    • gentleballads
      gentleballads sharcerv52408

      Posted

      sha and zig, Menopause Matters discusses certain issues on FB and it divided the whole meno into four parts - early and later peri, and early and later meno and it has assigned a set of symptoms for each stage. Although i dont match with it completely, im waiting for the full onslaught of some symptoms which i dont have till now ( touch wood ) but i could trade some of my present ones if allowed the choice.
  • loretta63638
    loretta63638 sharcerv52408

    Posted

    My mother drank and prayed. That is how she dealt with it. Although I agree times have changed and added to our stressing, however, I believe they suffered equally just dealt with it differently. Most suffered in silence we are a generation of equality of all. So we speak up and often. xx
    • lennie45832
      lennie45832 loretta63638

      Posted

      Loretta, I tend to agree with you, that women probably endured the same symptoms but how they dealt with it is totally different not to mention that there were no support groups on line or off line and as you said drinking probably was how they coped. its sad, because its bad enough to be bombarded by your body but not to have anyone who you can talk to or can relate to is even worse,. I dont have anyone but this board, thats ti. My family is great but they have no understanding of dealing with this
    • loretta63638
      loretta63638 lennie45832

      Posted

      Keep posting Lennie some one is always here. I am glad to have found this forum it has helped me many days! xx
    • nancy0925
      nancy0925 lennie45832

      Posted

      Alot of mothers and grandmothers didn't have to work either. I hate having to work and feel like crap everyday while i'm here. I'd rather feel like crap at home. These symptoms make me hate working....
    • nancy0925
      nancy0925 loretta63638

      Posted

      No I'm going to go through what is supposed to be a natural process naturally lol.
  • AusWinnie
    AusWinnie sharcerv52408

    Posted

    I think in my mothers day they were treated for their symptoms with anti depressants.  The doctors, who were mainly men, didn't have a clue about menopause and probably just considered them to be depressed.  Many women also took painkillers for some relief.  In Australia we had a saying "a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down".  Bex was a painkiller.  Many women ended up dependant and with kidney damage. 
    • lennie45832
      lennie45832 AusWinnie

      Posted

      I agree with you, they were heavily medicated to deal with these issues, I think we experience it more so because we are not taking any medications./ 
    • Zigangie
      Zigangie lennie45832

      Posted

      Women until the last scare in 2002 would have been offered HRT anyway. In fact during the 60s in the USA it was considered malpractice to not offer women of certain age HRT.

      This coupled with the fact that vallium etc was dished out like sweets is very likely why women were not complaining.

      It's a pity that if pushed Doctors still prescribe synthetic horse urine (like the ones used in the trial) HRT even though it is now widely accepted that it is not well tolerated in humans.

      Plant based bio identical estradiol is a different and safer option altogether.

      I think women and indeed some of the medical profession need to be educated about this.

      Many women go on a birth control pill to help with their menopause symptoms, the reason they work is because they also contain synthetic estrogen and progestins.

      There is no money for pharmaceutical companies in making bio identical hormones as they are natural and cannot be patented.

      Example Climara patch which was developed in 1994, the estrogen which was identical to human estradiol and therefore cannot be patented so the company had to patent the glue used on the patch.

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