I am pretty hot; what about you?

The other day while talking to a friend, I suddenly felt a heat wave working its way through my body. The other night I felt so hot, I had to remove the blanket from my bed. Many other occasions made me realize, I am a hot lady experiencing the typical side effects of menopause such as heat flashes, occasional lack of focus, partial memory loss (or procrastination!), sleeplessness and the urge to cry whenever there seems to be an almost appropriate occasion. Yes, I am in menopause and there is no way around this phase in life.

Misery needs company, because suffering with company is so much more fun. Most of my female friends are experiencing this precious phase of their lives and looking at them sweat seems like looking into a mirror. We are all sitting in the same boat with the urge to get to the other side of the river where it is quiet and relaxing. First of all we must keep on rowing and rowing to be rewarded. Sweat is the price for success or, as the saying goes, “No pain, no gain”?

Back to “misery loves company”: I recently celebrated my German friend’s 50^th birthday in Las Vegas. We had a great time and, as you can imagine, she is now experiencing her first menopause symptoms like most of us do that age. We realized that although hot, our hot days are definitely over. Therefore, we spent most of the evenings in our cozy hotel room watching chick flicks after surviving exhausting shopping adventures. Instead of parties and gambling, we were happy to shop or relax at the pool and enjoy yummy food together with good wine. What was wrong with us? A lack of energy? Not really, but rather a desire for relaxation. We are not young girls anymore, and even though we spent a few days in a city that never sleeps, we felt an urge for sleep in an air conditioned room with pay TV and room service.

The highlight of our stay in Vegas was a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon (which I highly recommend to anyone). The helicopter was even air conditioned. The other big event was the musical “Menopause” at the Luxor Hotel. Guess what, the event was crowded and basically monopolized by middle aged women. It was quite an experience, and the musical shows just how complex menopause can be. The quintessence was simple but convincing. We can’t change the facts, but we can change our attitude.

Menopause has many symptoms and there are medical ways to ease them. I am not a doctor and I am far away from giving you any medical advice or recommendation. Nevertheless, there is one piece of advice I want to give all women facing menopause: Take this phase of your life with a sense of humor. The change brings changes. Live with it and accept it, instead of wasting energy fighting or hiding it. Just be yourself and do what feels right to you. It is only a phase in your life and not a disease.  Menopause will also pass. Remember puberty when you suffered from abdominal cramps and skin issues? Now talk about difficult! But it passed and made you a woman. This time you are in a phase that leads you to wisdom and makes you a mature woman. Look at it as a promotion and not a punishment. You have made it through life successfully. You are still in this world after going through childhood, puberty and midlife. You have survived life and your chances look good for many more years of survival. Celebrate this victory and allow your body to heat up in excitement about it.

Be a woman and act like one. Please share your personal story and tell us about your experiences in this special phase of your life.

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