Perimenopause: how do ya know???

emmie said:

Derm will get rid of skin tags, but out of pocket, considered "elective", I have had a few and like GT, pull them off and clean area after, and add some antibacterial ointment as they can get infected easily.

I have way too many to have the derm do it, don't want to spend the money.
I've managed to um....manage some of them myself, but there are so damn many of them.

Pip - I handle them like I do the chin hairs. Tweezing them is now part of my make-up routine, as is PRN tagioplasty.

OMG!!!

My daughter got rid of hers with wart medicine. Said it hurt, but it also hurt at the dermatologist. The wart medicine was 6.99 the dermatologist was close to 699.

Fingernail. $0. Soap & antibiotic cream - you've already got it.

You can also ask a family member to tie a piece of thread around them very tight. They will turn black and fall off in a week.

I used to tell my daughter they were "magic moles" and if someone rubbed them 3 times, they would get their wish come true. This worked until she was about 10.

Someone ahead of me at the ATM left $10 on the floor. WWYD?

Tea tree oil also supposedly works on skin tags

OooooowwwwWWWWWWwwwwww!

NEWS!!! Latest research on hot flashes and why they happen!
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_139218.html

Ahhhh so its all in our head......

But demonstrably so!! :-D (have to say I felt incredibly sad for those poor women, lying in the MRI machines for 2 hours)

cambridge said:

The weight gain, changes in body temperature, hair thinning, heart palpitations, headaches and lightheadedness, and many more symptoms too numerous to mention - and mostly just feeling "not myself" -- is sometimes overwhelming. I wonder how long this will last and how much more I can take. Like many who posted here, my anxiety is often through the roof for no obvious reason. It's scary. To echo others, I feel like I've aged five years (in just one).

This. I hate, hate, hate it.

I went to the dermatoid Monday because my rosacea has been flaring. The good news is that the flare isn't as bad as it seems. Because some of it is plain old acne. Seriously? WTF?

I have to go through menopause *and* have worse skin than in my teens at the same time?

j_r said:

Someone ahead of me at the ATM left $10 on the floor. WWYD?

Depends on how much trouble it would be to report it. If I'm in a vestibule at the bank and the bank is open, I'd turn it in. If it's a standalone ATM not in a bank, or if the bank is closed, it would probably take $20 for me to bother to follow up. I would also be influenced by the income level of the area I'm in. In a poor area, I'd be more likely to put some effort into getting the money back to its owner.

Is this a menopause quiz question?

joanne said:

NEWS!!! Latest research on hot flashes and why they happen!
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_139218.html

This doesn't surprise me much. I could always tell when a hot flash was coming. They were always preceded by a weird feeling, probably something like the aura that people with migraines get. I always had time to throw off the covers or peel off the sweater before it really hit.

Too bad I couldn't have participated in that study. I have no problem with MRIs. When I lived in Maryland, I participated in a couple NIH studies as a healthy volunteer (the control) and got paid a useful amount of money for dozing in the tube for an hour or two.

joanne said, a while back: "What I don't understand though is where my energy went in the last 12 months?"

Seriously, joanne, if you can't remember all the **** you've been through in the last 12 months, go back and read your posts! It's a miracle you're not lying on the floor panting.

Oh, and pretty much all of the above, including the first noticeable acne of my life in 40s. (How do teenagers manage this at all?) The anxiety, the vocabulary out the window, the bad sleep. Thank God/whoever for family and friends and MOL, and the book group who ALL agreed about the bad sleep.

Oh, I am SO relieved to hear people talk about vocabulary out the window. My husband keeps accusing me of being senile, which doesn't help AT ALL. And the anxiety and bad sleep... OMG. This thread is a real public service, helping me stay on an even keel. I was starting to think I was losing my mind or headed into Alzheimer's.

PeggyC said:

Oh, I am SO relieved ... This thread is a real public service, helping me stay on an even keel. I was starting to think I was losing my mind or headed into Alzheimer's.

This!

Agreed.

I had my picture taken for an "innovation inspiration " award at work. I will wait for those of you who know me to stop laughing....

Ok?

I got the digitalis in e-mail and was horrified at my skin. This was on a MacBook 15" retinal display. The posters are going to be 2'x3'. I'm horrified.

After the wedding, I am going to check into laser peels. The only reason I am not doing it before is that there isn't enough time for everything to heal.

Where do you go and what do you ask for and how much does it cost? Derm? Med-spa? I'm pretty clueless about this stuff. I once treated myself to a microdermabrasion facial at Garubo, which is probably only like first base.

mjc: I actually did come to a complete shuddering stop yesterday.

After Sydney BIL rang at 6.30am to say that he's moving in with FIL and will arrive in a few weeks, it took a little bit to sink in. I thought I was just doing my morning non-work routine: coffee, toast, MOL...then suddenly it was after 10 am and I hadn't showered, couldn't stand up...was meant to go to hydrotherapy at 1pm and had to google the directions - managed to do that by 11 am, but still no shower. Realised by 11.30 that it just wasn't going to happen, I was almost panicking at the thought of having to get into the car. I rang and cancelled. Then I broke into tears for two hours. Seriously.

By 2.15pm I was just OK enough to shower so I could get my grey roots covered at the salon around the corner. Still hadn't brushed my hair all day, and still felt really shaky. Am horrified that my mouth has two deep scowl grooves down my chin, and I can't manage to erase them with an 'at-rest' smile.

Was in bed by 8pm.

BIL sent an e-mail: he'll be here in 3 weeks.

research on exercise and hot flashes:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_139256.html

I can say that working on the pain angle, and working on sleep issues have been particularly helpful for me. But the seasons are changing so the light is changing, and my break-through migraines are getting worse esp this week: I'm all spacey, thinking and staying on-task are really hard. I'm doing micro-movement exercises (isometrics?) for core muscles, shoulder and neck/scalp muscles and that is helping a bit. If I had kids or if I worked a full week, I'd be a mess.

joanne said:

mjc: I actually did come to a complete shuddering stop yesterday.

After Sydney BIL rang at 6.30am to say that he's moving in with FIL and will arrive in a few weeks, it took a little bit to sink in. I thought I was just doing my morning non-work routine: coffee, toast, MOL...then suddenly it was after 10 am and I hadn't showered, couldn't stand up...was meant to go to hydrotherapy at 1pm and had to google the directions - managed to do that by 11 am, but still no shower. Realised by 11.30 that it just wasn't going to happen, I was almost panicking at the thought of having to get into the car. I rang and cancelled. Then I broke into tears for two hours. Seriously.

By 2.15pm I was just OK enough to shower so I could get my grey roots covered at the salon around the corner. Still hadn't brushed my hair all day, and still felt really shaky. Am horrified that my mouth has two deep scowl grooves down my chin, and I can't manage to erase them with an 'at-rest' smile.

Was in bed by 8pm.

BIL sent an e-mail: he'll be here in 3 weeks.

This actually brought tears to my eyes. Now you are finding out just how much pressure you've been under, but I'm really glad that it looks like relief is in sight. Kudos to BIL for finally rising to the occasion, and in such a spectacular way.

***

I had a dream this morning that my family was at my childhood home, waiting for my Dad to visit (Dad passed away 12 years ago). I saw him get out of his car and walk up the path to the sunroom wearing his signature khakis and short-sleeved plaid shirt, with a huge smile on his face. He opened his arms and gave me a huge bear hug, and as I woke up he was still hugging me. And thinking about it now makes me cry.

I sometimes have dreams like that, about either parent - isn't comforting to still feel their arms around you as you wake up?

Yes, until you remember they aren't really around any more...

By that stage, I've usually got so much else going on the mother-inside-my-head is yelling at me not to be late (or messy, or whatever)! ;-)

Sorry, it's just gone 5 am here, a bit early for Sunday. Can't get my brain working. Going back to bed...

I'm in dire need of a compassionate and knowledgeable gynecologist. I waited 6 months to see one and today's visit was horrible...I left in tears. I have a complex medical history and need a Dr who can take more than two minutes to go through my medical history. I'm having severe symptoms, similar to endometriosis and this Dr brushed it off and said she felt my symptoms are more consistent with low estrogen and I may be premenopausal. My mother and grandmother had endometriosis, so it's worth further discussion. The Dr. handed me a two month supply of low dose estrogen birth control pills and said these would help.

So sorry you're going through this - wish I could help. Lending you a sympathetic shoulder, and hoping someone else sees the thread has come alive again.