I never thought someone who was forty one could start going through menopause. Most women aren’t getting pregnant till their forty now days. I started just feeling bad.

I ached all over, so naturally I thought I had a cold or the flu. I began to sweat all the time. It was like I had stepped out of sauna. Sweat would just start running out every pore in my body and it would be 20 degrees outside.

I had headaches all the times. My nerves were shot, and I felt awful. I would get the shakes and get dizzy spells. I wasn’t sleeping hardly any. I would just lay awake all night.

I didn’t feel like eating and would not eat sometimes all day long until I forced myself. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I went to the doctor two times for them to say everything was fine.

I went through this for about five months until I had to go in for my pap smear. I told him I had been sick for a while, so I hadn’t had my period. He took all kind of notes and ask was I pregnant.

I just laughed and thought he was crazy. We did the test. It was negative – thank God. I’m too old for a baby. Finally, he took a bunch more tests. I was going through menopause.

Hello, I’m too young I screamed, but I wasn’t. He actually put me on some hormone medicines. We tried three or four before they he actually got exactly what I needed to help me.

I had to make several trips. But in the end, it was well worth it. I feel much better today. I also had to change my diet and exercise. This helped greatly. I sleep well at night, my diet and appetite has gotten much better, no more shakes, and I’m a much happier person.

I talked to my doctor, family, and friends about what was going on. They helped out a lot. I read and did my homework. Knowing what is going on and what can treat it has done wonders for me.

When I first noticed these symptoms, I did not recognize them for what they were. I honestly thought I was getting the flu.

My face and neck would break out in beads of sweat for no apparent reason. Several times throughout the course of a day, and my face and neck felt hot and flushed.

My body would follow with bursts of extreme heat radiating from the inside out. These “bursts of fever” would occur several times a day, for several weeks at a time, and would then subside for a month or two, only to be followed by weeks and weeks of the feverish, flushing bursts of heat and discomfort, and profuse and random sweating.

I do not think I am finished with these symptoms, although they have subsided for the time being.

My menstrual cycles are extremely irregular, when before the cycles were like clockwork. I am not taking any medications for these symptoms, nor have I sought medical attention. I did, however, look online to find out what was causing these bursts of feverish sweating, and the only explanation that was reasonable was menopause!

I also spoke with a few friends that were the same age to find out what they were experiencing. Their experiences were very similar to mine, however, I have found that no two women experience menopause in the exact same way.

I do not know how long these symptoms will last. I do know from speaking with other women that they can last for several years.

When I begin to experience the hot flashes and the sweating and the irritability, I make sure that I always have ice water available throughout the day.

I also ensure that I maintain a daily routine that includes low impact exercise. Yoga is an excellent way to relieve and reduce menopausal symptoms. I drink herbal teas in the evening hours that contain chamomile and valerian to help me get a restful sleep.

This routine seems to help alleviate the symptoms related to menopause, and I prefer to find natural solutions to a very natural cycle of life.

Yes I have met menopause.

I started losing my hair around 5 years ago and have been having Hot Flashes for the past 3 years.

The hot flashes started during the day and I did not think anything about it at first.

Then I started having the hot flashes at night.

Two years ago I stopped having any period.

I still have the hot flashes.

I have talked to friends and have looked stuff up about menopause on the internet.

I really never have felt bad. I go to work 6 days a week and keep busy.

My periods were getting far and few between and I was having hot flashes at night and during the day, feeling tired because I could not sleep at night.

I did some home remedies but they did not seem to work, so I went to the doctor and she said she could give me something for the hot flashes but that I would probably have to take it for the rest of my life and so.

I opt out on that and just deal with it.

I am now 50 years old and still have hot flashes, insomnia, feeling restless still. I don’t know really how long menopause last but if anyone out there knows please tell us.

I started getting irregular periods, which were erratic – I used to get period once in every 15 days which will stay for 4-5 days. This continued for about 6-7 months.

The symptoms for the beginning of my period will be before 3 to 4 days of my periods I will not have bladder control.

Once the period is over I will be fine otherwise. During the first year I used to have regular normal flow for 3-4 days and the period will stop gradually.

After the initial six months I started having my period sometimes in 15 days or after two moths. The flow has started to be very heavy and I used to pass clots and became very weak and anemic.

I will have a flow for about 8-10 days at a stretch, very heavy. I also developed a lump in my breast which used to inflame during periods time and slowly subside after the periods.

Suddenly the lump got infected and it ripped like a boil. I went to my gynecologist for this who sent me for a biopsy of the lump, the scooped out the lump and we found it had some two three infections like some bacterial infection, a very negligible percentage of tuberculosis etc.

I was treated for this for about 6 months on medication.

I am perfectly alright now with regard to the lump. But I continue to have erratic periods with heavy flow. I was also sent for a scanning of the uterus. There was nothing serious but for the typical menopausal symptoms.

I follow a very healthy diet which is rich in iron and minerals and calcium. During the period avoid having excessive iron which will worsen the bleeding. This is my experience with menopause and hope it has been useful.

I have no children and most of my life been overweight, until 2006 when I had weight loss surgery which resulted in 100lb weight loss.

Since then I’ve probably had 8 periods and in the last six months I’ve stated experiencing hot flashes in the daytime and night time sweats so bad I would have to get up and take a shower.

I had my last pap smear in October 2008, but didn’t mention this to my doctor. I currently don’t take any kind of hormone replacements nor do I want to.

I have notice a slight change in my emotions, not crying or sad, just changes I can’t put a name to, it doesn’t interfere with my daily activities, but I know it’s there and it feels odd.

I have talked to friends, but they’re not doctors, yet we sometimes take their medical advice to avoid doctors.

I haven’t experienced the night sweats in a couple of weeks, only hot flashes and pray I don’t have to have a hysterectomy.

Many of my family members have experienced menopause early in life, as well as my mother and sister. I’ve often heard you could go through menopause early also if you’ve never had kids.

I sure don’t want to have a hysterectomy, even though I don’t want children. You know I was just thinking I may not even be going through menopause, it could be because I have no body fat, like those runners in Africa.

Although I know my BMI doesn’t come for exercise. That is one thing that’s not on list of things to do.

I am a woman and now in my early 50’s and thankfully all symptoms have passed. It all started with erratic periods that got heavier, more painful, and very irregular.

Next came insomnia swiftly followed by nausea and hot flushes.

All in all not a good year as you can imagine.

I am of a generation that was brought up not to ‘ bother ‘ the doctor about such things , in fact I only found out that I had been peri-menopausal for about a year prior to the year of the Big M last year.

Almost 5 years after the event. It was just not the sort of thing that I was brought up to talk openly about.

It would have been looked upon as not being ‘quite nice’ .

This I think made the whole thing much more difficult than it needed to be.

It was such a relief to talk to the pharmacist, who also gave me some literature to take home, even though I found it highly embarrassing.

It also helped that she was a woman of about my own age. I am so glad to have all off that behind me.

Some women say they feel less feminine once their periods finish, not me.

No more monthly bleeding, no more fear of embarrassing leaks, no limitations on when I can go swimming, all in all I feel liberated by it .

I am female and I’m sure menopause is female too.

A bitchy, hairy, moody, overweight ,old female that is. She has brought periods that drain me of so much blood I should actually lose weight from the loss.

Is this a regular occurrence? Oh no, it’s a really neat game that only she knows. Is it here? Will it come on time?

Maybe I’m pregnant because it’s been so long between… Oh no, that’s right, you have to be young and having sex to get pregnant. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

Hmmm what to wear today. Am I cold or hot? Well at this moment I am, no wait, now I’m cold – oh wait – now I’m sweating – flushed – cold – shivering.

Maybe I should just go naked and carry an easy to remove poncho! Have I searched for help?

Far and wide – I actually found the end of the internet one day. I tried to telepathically communicate with beings from other planets to see if their creator has visited this wonderful “change of life” on them and what they do but to no avail.

I’ve asked my doctor (and friends, and recently complete strangers on the street) to remove any and all organs below my navel that appear to be unneeded at this point.

Ah, but insurance says no. I’d like to meet insurance and ask him who gave him the right to see that I live the next five, 10, 15 years bleeding like a stuck pig, hair growing on places that only old men should have hair, and screaming at innocent young children and crying for the state of the world the next.

Finally, did I manage to feel better? Yes, by writing this!

I have had one period in the span of one year, and that seemed to be due to incredible stress in my life at the time.

Things calmed down, no period since. It was not as hard as I had feared it would be, though.

Night sweats we hell, but, not constant. Mood swings, well they were no more severe than normal life.

I have had two miscarriages since my signs of menopause started. The doctor explained that my eggs were too old to give birth.

I do not miss my child bearing years, I welcome the title crone.

I hope I made the 300m word limit… Oh, no meds have been taken during the past 9 years of menopause.

I do not like the side effects, and the latest findings on hormone replacement therapy.

That emotional issue is probably the worst with the realization that time is passing and none of us will live forever. As time went on, periods were skipped and finally stopped altogether at about 53.

Seeking advice from my physician early on, he prescribed hormone pills and exercise to ease the discomfort. In addition to the medication, however, I did manage to feel much better when I learned from friends and online searches that my symptoms were mild to nonexistent when compared to others.

On the bright side, no more worry about accidentally messing up your clothes, no more worries of pregnancy, no more fluid retention or loose clothing for bloated days, no more overly sensitive feelings, no more blemishes, and to top it all off, I actually lost a few pounds since I no longer had the overpowering sugar cravings that pack on the pounds at that time of the month.

It’s been about ten years now and I don’t miss having periods at all. As for having more children, I have found that grandchildren are even more fun than being a young mom and you find that your relationship with your own grown children grows as they become peers and friends.

The biological clock ticks through the phases of adulthood just as nature intends with the healthiest beings bearing offspring at the times in their lives when they have the most energy.