Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Hot Mama!

No. Unfortunately, not THAT kind of hot mama...

It's more like this kind:

I suppose that at age 47, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I was kind of hoping for later though. The onslaught of hotflashes.

I have always been a little on the warm side (ironically, my temperature is usually lower than normal). I feel warm when everyone else is shivering. Living in Florida kind of exascerbated that phenomenon. Or maybe it's this extra layer of fat. I don't know... but in the last couple of months, it's gotten worse.

People walk through the halls at work in sweaters and rubbing their arms and I am mopping my brow. I run the fan in my office. This is the norm. I am dying to move somewhere north, perhaps above the arctic circle - especially in the summer.

But recently, oh. my. God. I can't sleep unless there's a fan going full blast on me. I drink ice water constantly. Ice to the top with water. I take cold showers and by the time I get dressed, I'm drenched again. Makeup is pointless - it slides right off again. My hair always looks plastered to my head.

When I was little, I thought all older women were shiny. They had a glow about them. They carried little handkerchiefs and dabbed at their necks and temples. They wore lots of powder and somehow still managed to look damp and dewy. Perhaps that's why I never understood why makeup companies seemed to love that "dewy" complexion look... give me matte makeup anyday!

And now, here I am. Damp and dewy. And hotter'n blazes. You might want to walk a few paces away from me.

To my co-workers: I appologize. You will be exposed to my bare, flabby, white, scarred arms. I cannot stand wearing more than a tank top at the moment. For both our sakes, I hope this passes soon!

10 comments:

Sandcastle Momma said...

I'm always cold and the other day hubby told me that he can't wait for me to reach that point so I'll turn the heat off. What he doesn't know is that the mood swings will probably be a LOT worse than me always wanting the heat on LOL
I'm only 2 years behind you so I guess it won't be long.
My MIL put those ice packs that you put in coolers in her bra and swore that helped a lot.

Anonymous said...

I had to have a total hysterectomy last year. I started getting hot flashes almost immediately. If it weren't for Enjuvia, I would have exploded months ago. :-)A pill a day is well worth getting rid of the sweats and being able to sleep a full night.

Jodi said...

Oh, I have been dreading that problem. I hope it takes at least another 10 years to arrive.


Next week's Fun Monday topic is up on my blog. Check it out.

J.

Living Life said...

LOL - you crack me up. I feel for you girl. Hot flashes in Florida is a hot topic! Hope your condition improves soon!

Janis said...

Sayre, I feel your pain..been there done that. All I can say is this too shall pass. When I was going through it, I learned how to dress in layers, so I could peel off some clothes when I got hot flashes (of course if you did that in Fl you would be nude..LOL) I took hormones for about 8 months and that did relieve my symptoms..but I developed weird looking spots in my breast, so I went off of them. I still to this day (and its been 13 yrs) get a mild flash around 6pm everyday. I found that taking.. natural herbs...Evening primrose and Black Cohash did help a little. Everybody is different however and I hope you can find some kind of relief, even if you have to step inside a meat locker to cool down. Good Luck my friend!

karisma said...

LOL! Lovely visuals my dear! (Karisma imagines a lovely cool water fall cascading over you!)

Mwah, hugs and smoochies xxxxx

karisma said...

LOL! Lovely visuals my dear! (Karisma imagines a lovely cool water fall cascading over you!)

Mwah, hugs and smoochies xxxxx

Pamela said...

I had anxiety attacks with mine, and you can't layer for that.

hugs ( but only after dipping my arms in ice water)

Sayre said...

Thanks, everybody...

Sandcastle Momma - This happens to everyone at different ages. My mom had a hysterectomy, so I don't know when she would have gone through it, and my grandmother didn't talk about those things - so I don't know if my family does it early or late or somewhere in between. So far, the moods haven't been too bad though.

Cher - I'm going to try to avoid taking pills if I can. I can't really afford any more prescriptions and I don't know how anything extra would interact with what I'm already taking.

HoosierGirl - I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get another 10 years!

Church Lady - A sense of humor seems to help.

Janis - I'm thinking that maybe eating tofu a few times a week might help. Supposedly estrogen-rich foods will calm things down a little. Don't know how long it takes to kick in, though.

Karisma - thanks for the waterfall! I feel better already!

Pamela - No anxiety yet. I do have some "help" for that should I need it, but I haven't needed "help" for about 6 months now.

margaret said...

I'm with Sandcastle Momma - my problem is that I am constantly cold. I've been sort of "anticipating" those hot flashes for that reason, but as SM says, the mood swings and other joys that come with it are offputting.

Isn't Mother Nature weird, the way she wires some of us one way and the rest another? *sigh* Here's hoping you get some relief! TGIF to you!