Feeling hot, hot, hot

When a woman gets to be my age...not yet 50 but very close...one can expect to have symptoms associated with pre-menopause. So most of us wait for them, fear them and hear about them as if it’s like getting the plague.

For about a year now, every time I've been moody, sad or unusually hot, I've been told by my family that it was pre-menopause. I always brushed it off thinking that when it did happen I would surely know. I often joked about the 34 symptoms of menopause (Google it if you are curious to know what they are :). It’s easy to associate every little change to the dreaded "M". I've heard monologues and songs about it (Clémence Desrocher), seen ads on television, and waited like every other women for it to start.

Fast forward to October 24^th and my hysterectomy. My doctor went into details telling me what I could expect from the operation and that it would automatically "throw" me into menopause. He said I could expect it to start in the week following my operation.

So I waited with baited breath, and when nothing happened, I thought to myself, maybe it would skip me. Who knew, some women report hardly being bothered by hot flashes.  I was starting to feel a bit smug and 5 days ago, right on cue as my doctor had predicted, came the dreaded hot flashes.

At first I was not sure that it was that, I thought the furnace was maybe malfunctioning or it was because of my leather couch...I do find I get hot sitting on it. But no, it is what it is...no doubt about it. It takes over my body and suddenly creep's up on me without warning. The feeling is like suddenly opening the oven to check on a roast.

Serge came home one night after work and I was wearing shorts...not so unusual if it was not for the fact that we are in November. I have now started a second closet in my first floor office which includes; shorts, capris, long pants and jogging pants. This is necessary to deal with the many changes in temperature that my body goes through during the day...or sometime within a period of 5 minutes. You see, it’s not only the hot flashes that are inconvenient and that cause me to strip, but these are followed by cold flashes, where I'm freezing and change back into my jogging pants and sweater.

I went out for lunch with my dad yesterday (trying to get rid of my cabin fever) and after lunch I was so hot, I had him turn on the air conditioning in the car. Thankfully he complied and did not say anything...now there's a good man :)

Unfortunately, I'm on my own, since I can't take hormones given my mom’s history with breast cancer. It’s definitely not worth the risk and the reason I opted for a full hysterectomy.

But not to worry, up to now, it is bearable, quite funny in fact and I am taking it in stride. I am even prepared for when I go back to work (check out the cute flower fan I bought that plugs into the USB port of my computer). And the Internet is full of remedies and tricks that can help...so they say.

As for my family, I ask you to be patient and pretend you don't notice my constant change of clothes, and rejoice, that I won't be complaining about my periods anymore. As for the other 33 symptoms of menopause, I am still waiting for them to kick in.

I know that the hot flashes will go away...sometime in the future, and that it’s all part of being a woman. And I am sure Serge would tell you that being a man is not any better, since he has to put up with me....for better or for worst....remember honey :)