Menopause.
Growing up I had no real concept of menopause.
If it was talked about at all it was in hushed tones and never in public.
And definitely not discussed with men.
By early adulthood, my view of menopause was that it was something all women went through; an end to periods and a few hot flushes.
No big deal.
How wrong I was!
A year ago I was flung in to an immediate menopause after my second chemo.
Boom!
No more periods, immediate hot flushes.
And fatigue...oh my goodness, the fatigue!
Two months later I started on Tamoxifen, which just cemented this sudden menopause.
No gradual decline of oestrogen over time, this was instant!
Now, the hot flushes and fatigue were joined by intermittent back pain, weight gain, disturbed sleep, and aching joints.
There is a definite roundness around my middle.
It has expanded alarmingly.
I find myself oohing and aahing as I unfold myself in bed in the morning.
Or getting up from a chair.
And brain fog.
Finding myself mid sentence, only to get distracted and forget what I was saying.
Concentration is not one of my strengths.
Menopause is not for the faint hearted.
Whatever I had expected, it isn't this.
My new must have/can't leave the house without item is a folding fan.
I go through one a month before it starts to fall apart from overuse.
Duvets....oooft!
It's a 4.5 tog duvet or nothing these days.
And an open window.
My whole wardrobe has had to have an overhaul.
As a former freezer I have a cupboard full of sweaters.
However, within minutes of wearing one I'm having to wrestle it over my head as the hot flush hits.
I now live in summer dresses all year round.
And the icing on the cake?
These symptoms could last a decade or more!
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