Meet puberty’s older sister

Carolyne Mitchell
Nov 4 · 3 min read

The menopause. The change of life. Auntie Flo’s retirement. Whatever you want to call it, it isn’t fun for either the woman or those around her.

My first symptoms appeared a few years ago with night sweats the week before my period. The sweats themselves weren’t too bad. I could have just about slept through them if I hadn’t been rudely awakened by my slick right knee sliding violently off my equally slick left knee in the middle of the night. Who knew the sides of knees could sweat that much? My internal thermostat seemed to reset itself during a trip to humid South East Asia where I spent most of my time hot and sweaty but on my return the night sweats had miraculously disappeared.

Every little niggle now seems to be down to the menopause and, comparing notes with girlfriends I am not alone. Dealing with each thing on its own wouldn’t be too bad but put them all together and they wear you down. Add to that the worry that your minor symptom may have nothing to do with the menopause and be something more sinister and before you know it you’re that stereotypical hysterical middle-aged woman you vowed you’d never be.

I don’t like taking conventional medicine or even supplements unless my quality of life depends on it. So I went along to a menopause awareness session, run by an NHS nurse at my work and was quietly surprised to discover that she thinks the same way. There was a lot of chat about herbs, diet, exercise, aromatherapy and mindfulness, all of which made me remember a time in my life — in my 20s and pre-children — when I had time on my hands. I did a 6-month massage course followed by an aromatherapy course. Somehow I’d got out of the way of using this knowledge, other than the odd dab of lavender or tea tree oils for burns and cuts.

I have now dug out all of my books and will be using the combined wisdom of Chrissie Wildwood, Shirley Price and Dr Alfred Vogel, to name but a few.

My most annoying symptom at the moment is itchy skin, particularly on my legs. I have made up a moisturiser with a base cream made from oat extract with added bergamot and lavender oils — if you live in sunnier climes than me an expose your skin to the sun I would replace the bergamot with peppermint. So far so good — the itching is subsiding. If you’re new to aromatherapy I would advise seeing a qualified aromatherapist first and do a patch test before you slabber it everywhere and make things worse.

Aromatherapy bottles
Aromatherapy bottles
Photo by @kellysikkema on Unsplash

I have also dug out what few crystals I have and am currently wearing a clear quartz to help with the brain fog. The rose and smoky quartzes are hanging up catching the sun and moonlight and I intend buying some moonstone, amethyst, blue lace agate, carnelian and Tiger’s Eye for good measure. Some people might think its hokum but even if it is they are beautiful placebos.

The only other symptom I have at the moment is the blinding fury I sometimes wake up with, for absolutely no reason. Luckily I am aware of it from the minute my eyes open so for this I am trying some yoga stretches, deep breathing and then I belt out My Favourite Things from the Sound Of Music. It seems to be working, although I don’t think it would work for everyone. In fact the show tunes seem to transfer the fury onto my husband.

Anyway this is the first in a series of posts about my menopause experience. I’ll keep you posted.

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