Why I Started MenopauseStage

The transition into menopause can take years. I first encountered it at home, watching my mother. She had hot flashes and night sweats, and her moods could change sharply. I was in high school then. I couldn't understand why we couldn't just have an ordinary, peaceful day. To my teenage eyes, she seemed irritable and low, ready to pick at the smallest thing. Things at home grew tense. I should have been concentrating on school, but mostly I wanted to get away from a house that felt suffocating.

I didn't get into the university I had hoped for. How much those years at home had to do with that, I can't say. But I have never forgotten what high school felt like. Later, with time and effort, I went on to graduate school at a university I was glad to attend. I now work as a senior medical editor.

Over the next twenty years, much of that faded. Just as I was beginning to forget what my mother had gone through, things started changing for me too. I'm 44 as I write this. Looking back, the first changes began about four years ago. First came more frequent brain fog. I struggled to fall asleep and woke easily during the night. Then my moods began to swing. Later, when I felt emotionally unsettled, I could feel my heart beating faster. In hindsight, I think I may already have been entering perimenopause.

I went for checkups, and no problems were found with my heart or uterus. After that, I began learning about ways of looking after myself drawn from Chinese medicine. I tried acupoint stimulation, made changes to what I ate, and tried some traditional Chinese movement practices. My sleep is much better now than it was then. I can't say which of those changes made the difference.

As a child, I watched my mother go through menopause. Now I'm living through changes of my own. I still remember the teenager who wanted to leave home. I don't want anyone to be laughed at for going through this, or to suffer alone for fear of being laughed at. We can look for ways to care for ourselves, and we can ask for help.

That is why I started MenopauseStage. I want to write down what I've tried and what I'm learning, especially the ideas about everyday life I've found in Chinese medicine. I hope someone else going through similar changes might find a little help here.