You are not Ill, You are not Sick, You are Peri-Menopausal, Menopausal or Hormonal

Many women think that they are very ill or at least sick when they have symptoms that those of us in the know, know are menopausal symptoms. Night sweats, hot flashes, headaches, forgetfulness, irritability, mood swings, dry skin, insomnia can all be symptoms of various diseases but are also side effects of menopause.

Women in their early 40’s don’t think they are old enough for menopause. Women in their mid forties don’t think they are old enough either. The truth; THEY ARE old enough for menopause. Menopause does not have an age requirement like getting your driver’s license or eligible for social security. It happens some time in between and can vary among women greatly.
Of course you want to check out with your doctor, but don’t let your doctor say you are too young. Be sure to be your own advocate and ask your doctor for a FSH blood test. That test may be an indicator that you are entering menopause. Menopause is not an illness, is not life threatening and is a whole lot better than having a life threatening illness.

I am not minimizing menopause symptoms in any way, they are miserable, annoying and even debilitating, but they are not forever! Women who have had a child or who are breast feeding sometimes get hormonal symptoms similar to menopause. It is a glimpse of the future as your hormone levels fluctuate.

Recently I had conversations with 2 women who were relieved to find out they are only menopausal. They are both in their early 40’s, healthy, active women who were just not feeling like themselves and experiencing new odd symptoms. The internet had both the women convinced they were seriously ill with who knows what, so you can imagine their relief. Menopause happens, sometimes sooner than later, welcome to the club.

Humor as a Home Remedy

We all have been there and have had friends going through a bad patch, illness, death, job loss, divorce, etc. and sometimes all at once. There are many ways to help but one of the best I think is humor. A funny movie or book is always a good choice. What also is fun are some Utube or web sites that can brighten your day.
Have you seen the ‘Old Spice Ad’? This is a laugh and a cheer up. Got those winter blahs and that trip to someplace warm is not going to happen? Here is the solution to view, and then ask if that didn’t make you feel better? www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE
Need another humor remedy? Cat Lovers have to check out http://www.simonscat.com/

Humor can lift you up, get you laughing and feeling better. When I was going through chemotherapy and had little energy and felt poorly , I had one friend play the piano and sing on the phone to me, badly. She was so awful that it was very funny. If I didn’t pick up the phone she would leave her song on my machine and I would save one of her routines to crack me up at another time.
I don’t think you can overdose or ever get too much of humor as a home remedy. Inexpensive and thoughtful, sharing the humor is the best home remedy around.

Lipstick Entrepreneur

Have you heard the term “Lipstick Entrepreneur”? It is meant to mean an independent business woman. Recently this term has been coined in UK papers like the Times, and the Telegraph. UK papers are in love with snappy headlines, but I take a bit of offense to this sexist name.
Historically when economies were poor, lipstick sales increased as an affordable luxury. At first I thought Lipstick Entrepreneur was about this phenomenon. I was dead wrong. This term is used in all seriousness to explain the increase of women entrepreneurs when world economies are depressed. Even the UK Financial Times had a headline “Recession Spurs Rise of Lipstick Entrepreneur”.
I take offense that women risking to start their own businesses in the face of a poor economy are diminished by the expression ‘Lipstick Entrepreneur’. Are men entrepreneurs called ‘Cigar Entrepreneurs’? Of course not! Men and women should be praised for their entrepreneurial endeavors, especially in a tough economy. Adding local jobs, adding taxes, local, state and federal are just some of the positive advantages that entrepreneurs give to the economy.
I am a proud lipstick entrepreneur, but not because I like the snappy title. I am just proud to be a woman entrepreneur, an independent business woman, and a menopausal entrepreneur to boot!

The Prius Scares Me

I will be the first to admit that I do not look carefully when crossing a parking lot of a grocery store or a parking garage. I usually am busy finding my keys or wrestling bags and call on my hearing to alert me to oncoming cars. Enter the Prius. Those cars are so quiet; I feel they are sneaking up on me. I applaud that they are fuel efficient and the way of the future but to me they are still scary sneaky.

I was afraid of the Prius before all the recent problems emerged. I hope Toyota quickly fixes the immediate problems and then looks at this quite, sneaky problem. Usually Prius drivers are conscientious and are not speeding through parking lots or parking garages. Sometimes however they are like everyone else and are looking for a parking spot more than anticipating a middle aged women walking in front of them. Some of us have to admit that our hearing is not what it once was and those cars are so very quiet that our brain has not yet associated and register the very quite Prius engine sound as warning signal.

Vans, pick-ups and other cars have the back-up warning sound option as well as a distance alert option. I propose that Prius have this option in the forward position as well. Not only have I walked unintentionally in front of an on coming Prius in a parking lot, but I rode my bike in front of one or more too.

The New York Times ran a story about Hybrid engine noise, or lack there of recently. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was cited in the NYT story to reveal that data on hybrids and pedestrians and bicyclists getting hit is up to twice the normal rate in parking lots and other places where cars travel slowly. I feel vindicated. It is not just me!

After years of trying to quite car noise, now manufacturers are looking at sounds to alert pedestrians. Some are adding models with some alert sounding sounds that they call “high-tech noise that broadcast their car’s presence and futuristic status”. Would that be R2D2 sounds? Marc Johns has a great illustration that would fit most Prius owners and alert pedestrians and bicyclists, “Excuse me, um, vroom, vroom”.

The Kiss and Cry Spectacular

The 2010 Winter Olympics starts soon. In 1994, 16 years ago, my husband and I traveled to Norway to witness this multi sporting event. When we walked off the train and a reporter asked me who I worked for and about fell over when I said we were on our own dime, I should known something was unusual.

The Olympics is not just an athletic event for the athletes, but for fans like us it is an endurance event. Bracing the cold to stand on top of the snow for hours as a skier swooshes past. Up predawn to take a series of buses to sit in a cold ice arena, or to climb to the top of the luge or bobsled course. How about sitting outside in the cold to watch award ceremonies and then getting back to your room at midnight with a predawn trek the next day? It was the one vacation when I wore all the clothes I packed and actually tried to wear them all at one time it was that cold. It was also the one vacation where I lost weight not even watching what I ate because of the physical exertion, the cold or the fatigue, or all together!

The Olympics are exciting and I am glad we did this once in a lifetime vacation. This year in Vancouver, the weather may not be as cold as Norway was but the logistics will be the same. Getting from point A to point B on time is an Olympic achievement. The excitement is always there and seeing great athletes is a wonderful treat. In Norway they opened up one side of one of the mountains for skiing to the public and we rented skis and hit the Olympic slopes. It was a humbling eye opener to ski down and see 10,000 people milling around and looking at you. I have skied the mountains in Vancouver for this Olympics and hope they open some runs for tourists to get the first-hand thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.

This year like most people, I will watch the Olympics from the warmth and comfort of my home. I will be judging the skaters costumes, make-up, as well as their skills on the rink. I will be listening to the commentaries on the skiing events and cheering the underdog teams, or participants that always arise from the winter Olympics.

As far as the kiss and cry corner for the skating events, I think it is just another aspect that makes the winter Olympics so special. Waiting to see your scores while trying to catch your breath with hundreds of cameras trained on you could make anyone cry. Sweating while everyone else is trying to stay warm while maintaining a cool confident manner sounds like menopause.

Yes one more example of how menopause symptoms can be found anywhere to anyone, even Olympic athletes!

Night Sweats, and Hot Flashes Story Contest

Here is the scenario; you have just finished working out at the gym in a spin class, aerobic, or yoga class or have been on the machines and now you are cooling down. You feel good and wiped the sweat off and are walking to get your stuff to leave. Who should stop you but (fill in the blanks here) the handsomest man, former co-worker, old boyfriend, or old flame, to chat. You notice during the chitchat that you are again sweating profusely. What is going on you ask??? Welcome to the world of hot flashes. Now take the same sweating you had going while working out but you are sleeping, or trying to, and welcome to the world of night sweats.

The reasons that cause night sweats and hot flashes are varied. Here are several reasons or causes: menopause, medications, various diseases, stress, diet, humid weather, too hot a bedroom, too many blankets, or just a high internal thermostat. So with all these reasons or causes affecting so many women, I can only imagine the hilarious stories around night sweats and hot flashes that need to be shared. A shared laugh with a sense of humor is the only way I know to get through this sweaty condition. So if you want to share your story, you may win a Haralee.Com item of your choice. Send us your story to Haralee@haralee.com.
Entry must be submitted by March 1, 2010. Winner will be announced by March 22, 2010.
The winner agrees to have their story published on our blog with your first name, or initials only.
Pictures are welcome.

Here is one of my stories: I just got out of a business meeting and met my sister for lunch. She told me I needed to freshen up in the restroom. Yes, one eyebrow was heading south down my check and my lipstick from my lower lip was creasing my chin. Not a pretty site and of course I wondered how long I looked like this while I was giving a presentation? All my sister and I could do was laugh.
Have some fun and share a laugh!

Procrastinate No Longer

This is not about New Year Resolutions. This is about putting off doing things good or bad in your life until…. The until times mount up quickly; until you have more money, until you have more time, until you drop 15 pounds, until you meet your insurance deductible, until you are in that area, until next week, next month, next year. Sooner or later until the ‘until’ never happens.

Gift cards from companies have been banking on this procrastination behavior for years. The card may have an expiration date of 6 months or 1 year or no expiration date and still many people never use them. They fall into the trap of waiting for the right time, the right reason, or the right gift to use the card. Some airlines are now putting a deadline on frequent flyer miles. No activity in 12 or 18 months and all those miles you have been saving until you have enough will be gone.

A colonoscopy, a visit to the dentist, or a mammogram can easily come under the put off until later category. But what if there is no until because you put off too long? What if you lose all those gift cards and the people who gave you them want to know what you bought? What if that perfect trip to France you have been planning with your miles and vacation days doesn’t happen? Can you still have just as good of a vacation using those miles to Louisiana instead?

What makes life interesting is that things change. No life is ideal and waiting until whatever is not making life Today any more interesting. I say do not put off the good or the bad UNTIL; add some interest to your life today!