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Some thoughts about that depression meme that's going around. Since it does ask for age and gender, I wonder if it takes into account that interrupted sleep, weight gain, memory loss, inability to concentrate, and mood swings are also symptoms of menopause and changes the scores accordingly. It's rather surprising how many health professionals don't get that out of the way first. If a woman's over forty-five, it's the first thing I'd consider -- as your body adjusts to lower estrogen levels, life can become a physical and mental roller coaster.
Dear lord, the lack of sleep alone can account for the weight gain and the mood swings and the inability to concentrate. Primary source research; I don't remember the last time I slept through the night. If I had to work outside the house, I'd be on HRT so fast it'd make your head spin.
When the beloved used to work in group homes, there was a woman under their care who'd suddenly starting having health problems right out of the blue. She wasn't sleeping, she'd wakeup three or four times a night soaked in sweat, she was forgetting how to do things she'd known how to do for years, and was violently moody. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I asked how old she was. (I did volunteer work with the client at the therapeutic riding stable) She'd just turned fifty. I said, "You think she might be in menopause?" Hadn't occurred to any of them. And some of them were in their fifties. Some of them were having the exact same symptoms. ("I am NOT in menopause!" "Honey, if you're sweating like a duck, odds are good you're a duck." "I am NOT a duck!" "It's a meta... never mind.") And guess what? She was. Once they knew what the problem was, they could start dealing with it. (To the extent that their drastically reduced budget allowed but that's another story.)
There's a 100% guarantee that 51% of the population will be going through an estrogen adjustment with varying symptoms to varying degrees. And apparently the other 49% is doomed to endure an enlarged prostrate and erectile dysfunction. No wonder everyone's depressed...
Dear lord, the lack of sleep alone can account for the weight gain and the mood swings and the inability to concentrate. Primary source research; I don't remember the last time I slept through the night. If I had to work outside the house, I'd be on HRT so fast it'd make your head spin.
When the beloved used to work in group homes, there was a woman under their care who'd suddenly starting having health problems right out of the blue. She wasn't sleeping, she'd wakeup three or four times a night soaked in sweat, she was forgetting how to do things she'd known how to do for years, and was violently moody. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I asked how old she was. (I did volunteer work with the client at the therapeutic riding stable) She'd just turned fifty. I said, "You think she might be in menopause?" Hadn't occurred to any of them. And some of them were in their fifties. Some of them were having the exact same symptoms. ("I am NOT in menopause!" "Honey, if you're sweating like a duck, odds are good you're a duck." "I am NOT a duck!" "It's a meta... never mind.") And guess what? She was. Once they knew what the problem was, they could start dealing with it. (To the extent that their drastically reduced budget allowed but that's another story.)
There's a 100% guarantee that 51% of the population will be going through an estrogen adjustment with varying symptoms to varying degrees. And apparently the other 49% is doomed to endure an enlarged prostrate and erectile dysfunction. No wonder everyone's depressed...
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