Menopause!

[JulieSherris]

Pregnant? No!

But if I am, I will start believing in the bible & the immaculate conception..... and then I'll sue the doctors who tied my tubes...... haha!
Anyway, Gail would never forgive me & Nikki would move over here to be with her 'new brother that she's always wanted'.... and I'd run away!!

[snapdragon]

oops lol well at least a happy ending

Julie - the cravings are similar to being pregnant, in the same way it may be worth looking at the vitamin content of the cornflakes and peas and seeing if there's something else that gives you the vitamins in the same quantities - maybe your craving is a body requirement for those things and there could be something else that will give it.

[shell]

i`m in the end of my menopause now,but the good thing is i go round in sleevless t-shirts even today when its a bit nippy,(i`m told )yet in the summer i had to keep throwing on my cardigan as i got hot and cold withing minutes,but now the erratic monthly has gone,was every 2 weeks even had test for ovarian cancer,no big deal ,just blood test,havnt had monthly for at least 5 months now,and i dont miss it one bit,probally because i went out of broodiness with a big bang,TRIPLETS. and my cycle was getting very heavy so much so i had the merina coil put in by my doc who thought it would do the job and it did reduce the heaviness but not the frequency, today i feel i`m back too my old happy self,no mood swings ,tiredness,weepyness,
there is an end to it, although last year i couldnt believe that,
and if i can reduce my heating bills as well

[Millymollymandy]

Having a good giggle here cos my initial reaction to Julie's posting was - you're pregnant!

My periods arrive whenever they feel like it these days but also started off suddenly having 2 every 2 weeks. Now they can be anything from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 weeks and no such bloody luck as missing any. And always 3 days of painful misery (well I always had that anyway, but if they are more frequent it's even less fun than normal!)

No hot flushes yet though, though I'd really appreciate them in winter!

[Gulumpah]

I think I'm starting on the hectic hormones trail too.

I'm 48 and my periods are completely irregular (less than 2 weeks apart sometimes). I'm very much looking forward to starting skipping them I can tell you, that can't come soon enough! I'm a bit spotty too and as for the brain fog ... er what was I saying? What a delectable portrait I'm painting

I haven't experienced hot flushes or food cravings yet - but hey ho early days, I've read this process can take years and years and years

I remember being very dissmissive about the menopause when I was in my 20s - I was convinced I'd sail through it with no problems - pride cometh before a fall!

[JulieSherris]

Snapdragon - I also thought along those lines as well.... 2 weeks ago, I started back on my multi-vits & have added extra iron, vit C & vit B complex tablets as well.... so far after 2 weeks, I still want cornflakes!! Actually, the preferred choice would be the peas, but my head has finally understood that I have to wait for next year now...

I have just sorted the bed plans for next year & got the seed box in order..... WHY have I got 8 packets of pea seeds???
Oh, it has to be my subconscious working overtime, especially as I'm now thinking that I could knock a few more beds together for all these seeds.... just in case they don't keep for planting the year after....

[snapdragon]

Julie, I found a pea plant complete with some pods on (not planted just in a pot hidden behind the toms that have all gone nasty) shall I send them?
next year maybe you could succession plant them to get a longer pea crunching time, no idea what variety this is

[JulieSherris]

Snapdragon, it's a really kind offer... but I'm afraid of what would happen when they're gone!!
I had a week of almost withdrawal symptoms.... I then tried some sugar snap peas from the local shop - well, that took the edge off, but it wasn't quite right... so I tried some birds eye 'field fresh' peas.... but then realised that they still blanched those, so that wasn't right either... grr!!
My head has been quite strong this past week, probably because I know that I can't have them and the cornflakes are doing quite well so far!

I asked hubby what he wanted for dinner yesterday.... he answered 'anything you like - except cornflakes!!' Haha, I made him a steak & mushroom pie

I have also found today that hard boiled egg mixed with salad cream sort of does the trick as well.... not tooooo much, but it will help with the veritable egg pile that I've somehow acquired

Hopefully, these cravings will have passed by next year... but in case they haven't, I will defnitely be staggering the planting in each bed to give me the longest season - and the new polytunnels will help as well

[snapdragon]

.....
I have also found today that hard boiled egg mixed with salad cream sort of does the trick as well.... not tooooo much, but it will help with the veritable egg pile that I've somehow acquired
.....

lol hardboiled eggs (still warm) with mayonnaise and lettuce was one of my pregnancy 'must haves'

[JulieSherris]

Ooooo!! Yes! The eggs must be still warm when mixed & eaten - that goes without saying!

When I was pregnant with Gail, my big craving was satsumas... and even now, 27 yrs later, she stops me from buying them - I used to buy them by the bag full.... but I can't bring myself to eat them anymore!
Goodness knows how many I've bought over the years, but they always look so good in the shop.... haha!

[RamaCaida]

Milly, there are several natural herbs that you should start using now, to replace and balance hormones that are going to be disrupted by approaching menopause. I had all the unpleasant symptoms of menopause until I started to use Maca - an herbal remedy from Peru that provides a pseudo-estrogen. This is a root vegetable which looks like a radish and it is totally safe to use. Peruvian women have Maca in their daily diet, and have no problems with menopause. The symptoms (hot flashes, weight gain, fatigue, etc. ) disappeared after three weeks of using Maca. Also, put a thermometer on your nightstand and start taking your morning temperature to see if it is low - even one or two degrees below normal. This indicates an underactive thyroid (another thing that makes you feel very fatigued and depressed at menopause). This can be corrected with Fucus, a natural seaweed, which I take in liquid form mixed with water first thing in the morning. It stimulates the thyroid naturally, and helps with skin and hair problems, too. Hope you can find these two helpful organic remedies in your part of the world.

[JulieSherris]

Ok, so I think I've sort of cracked the craving thingy..... and it's NOT peas or cornflakes... it's dry crunch!

So, I have now added to my diet: raw cabbage - stalks & all, raw carrot, cream crackers, bread sticks (not that they are easy to get over here)...... can anyone think of anything else?

I don't want anything that has 'too much flavour', if that makes sense.... bland, dry & crispy is the order of the day.

I even emailed Kelloggs, well, I thought seeing as how I'm getting through 1.5 kilo a week.... just got a snotty email back saying that while they are glad I am enjoying their product, if I have any concerns, I should consult a doc.... yeah right, to pay 50 euros for a doc to tell me that it will probably pass soon enough... haha!!
And not even a free sample in sight!!

[Millymollymandy]

Can you get those dry toast things that we have here in France called biscottes? I'm sure you can get them in England.... I think. That'd be just the thing.

I hope I don't get odd food cravings!

[MuddyWitch]

Julie,

What about making your own crutons? (sp?) bunge 'em in your Stan. Just a thunk.

MW

[JulieSherris]

Thankyou, MMM & Davey - I shall certainly try to find some biscottes - although they think bread sticks are exotic around here.... And croutons, yeah, I'll have a bash at those too - jeez, I never thought I'd be a finicky eater, and it's really frustrating!!

I cook dinner for us both & then sit down... can't eat it
I hope this doesn't last toooo long, although I could probably win a cream cracker eating comp right about now!!