Want to know what’s worse than this freezing cold New England weather? Hot flashes in the freezing cold weather. Heat on, heat off; layers on, layers off; covers on, covers off; my internal thermostat is all out of whack. I’m freezing one minute and roasting the next. I’m in the midst of ‘The Change’; what I’ll change into I’m not yet sure. But no doubt about it, hormones are powerful little chemicals.
I’ve been reading up on menopause lately and have many of the common symptoms: Hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations, mood swings, trouble sleeping, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, headaches, electric shock sensations (this one is fun). But being a nurse, I knew all of these symptoms were normal. What did surprise me was a look at the history of the treatment of menopause.
I’m sure glad I’m not living in Victorian times when ‘The Change’ was seen as a sign of lunacy! It was generally felt that these women should be locked up. And many were. In addition to the asylum, women were subjected to all sorts of unnecessary and dangerous ‘treatments’ and surgeries.
Here is a short but fascinating summery of the history of the treatment of menopause. After reading this it appears that the male doctors were the lunatics, not the poor women.
The mad, mad menopause: LOUISE FOXCROFT charts its fascinating, and sometimes gruesome, history…
My treatment for menopause? Let nature take it’s course.
