The Uncommon Symptoms of Menopause

As with most women today, I thought I was well prepared for menopause having heard about its horrors for years. Since I managed to live through teenage angst to the power of 10, I felt it was a good indication of what I was about to undertake with "the change" when it managed to rear its ugly head.

Many women who have had hormonal difficulties throughout their lives can be guaranteed their menopause will affect them in due time. However by arming ourselves with information and good medical care, we can deal with it more effectively and hopefully without too much change in our lifestyle.

We are all aware of many common symptoms of menopause including moodiness, lethargy, loss of hair not to mention the crashing loss of sleep, but I was astounded at the symptoms I knew nothing about.

For example Anxiety. I had no idea that anxiety played a role in menopause. The nervous energy, the restlessness compounded by the increasing dark moods weighted heavily on me. It felt like the sky really was going to fall and I felt unable to focus on the positives of life.

Then there was the Itchy Skin. I thought perhaps I had a rash or developed an allergy. My entire body seemed to be intensely itchy especially at night. I was sure I had contracted some sort of insect crawling under my skin. Even my hair itched.

The Forgetfulness is well known when it comes to menopause but I had no idea in how it would apply itself in my situation. I was not too concerned since I forgot things regularly. But for me, it was a word retrieval nightmare. I could not finish a sentence verbally to save my life. I struggled to remember if I had to work that day and could not even remember my own phone number.

And my Sense of Smell. It was amplified to such a degree I was forever cleaning. I love bacon but could no long handle it's residual smell. It seemed to last for days no matter how much I cleaned.

Though there are many symptoms that are well known, it was the unknown ones that I found frightening. In fact it was my own doctor who diagnosed me as menopausal after I had gone to see her thinking I was gravely ill. I was stunned when she told me I was now smack dab into the change and this would be my new normal. She thought it was hilarious since we are both the same age and are both suffering each in our own ways. I did not.

Armed with new information and a plethora of choices to make, I scoured the web and came across some really great sites. The 34 symptoms of menopause was a enlightening read with tremendously helpful information

Having appropriate care is paramount when it comes to the changes we face in our lives. With the information available today we can choose how to face the challenging symptoms of menopause either medically or naturally. We no longer have to suffer in moody silence as we careen down the hill of hormones.

There are many choices we can take advantage of today and thankfully the choice is ours.