Menopause

brmannoob · Post by **brmannoob** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:32 pm

OK. This should start some chatter. I've been wanting my wife to attend since year one, but she's always had (actual documentable unavoidable) conflicts. This year looks clear, but there's a new fish in the pot: menopause. We just got back from 2 weeks in Italy where she was constantly uncomfortable. She's concerned about how she'll do in the desert. I'll ask the men to step aside on this one. Opinions ladies? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:05 pm

my two cents. It's hot, you feel hot anyway. There are lots of camps with rest and fun activities geared towards people who are feeling too hot, so she will have lots of company. I'm thinking that the hot flash is an episode of contrast... so if you already are hot, how would a hot flash feel? I'm sorry, I had passed this phase by the time I got to the playa so I don't have any hard data on this. I do know that in the real world, spraying water and rubbing ice on yourself is not as easily done as it is at Burning Man. Plus the very low humidity will make the sweaty part dry faster. Just drink lots of water. I think it could work in her favor. Plus it is such a fun fun fun place to be... I'd rather be miserable there than miserable at home.

Post by **Savannah** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:13 pm

I don't have any experience with that yet, but this thread (among others) shows people discussing their strategies for dealing with the heat:
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40701

* Was it humid in Italy? If yes, that's one load off of your minds.

* Did she have benefit of a cooling vest, a battery-powered fan/squirt bottle, or similarly proactive strategies? People really go over the top to stay cool at Burning Man, and to do so frequently and in public with gusto in a way that might not occur to a person in Italy. They also wear fewer clothes than one would on most vacations, and Black Rock City never closes. So if she wants to wear a sarong all day, or nap from 10am to 2 every day, this is a perfectly acceptable use of time.

You almost protest too much--"(actual documentable unavoidable) conflicts", for example. That may be so, but are you sure she wants to try this? . . . If she does, here's something you could talk about: if she goes, and doesn't like it, she agrees to try to sleep on it (unless she just cannot manage another second) and has an escape hatch in the form of a ride to Reno from you and a plane ticket out. Pricey possibility, but comforting.

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:32 pm

She can do this. I am waiting for full menopause myself, even though I'm older than average. I'll take hot flashes (yes I've had them on Tamoxifen) over periods out there any day.

gaminwench · Post by **gaminwench** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:05 am

^^ ain't that the truth!!

I'm peri, myself... mostly night sweats...

I bring extra sheets for my bedroll, and always carry a mister, bandanna (for wet around the neck), and water;

it's true that when you *need* to sit in the shade, there's always folks that are sympathetic and accommodating...
so much better than alone in your misery in defaultia...

She's going through a huge 'rite of passage'; why do it the 'normal', boring way???

elKay · Post by **elKay** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:19 pm

Menopause can suck so bad, for some of us it is like the end of all joy. Fuck the hot flashes- they were the easy part. But thanks to modern medicine and the miracle of bio-identical hormones, I am feeling great! Seriously, if she says that she feels like crap- believe her.

I have never taken any kind of pills. I would not go to the doctor- didn't immunize my kids and had my babies at home on my bed. But if living naturally meant feeling like I did - I would rather pass.. Now, with the doctors help, I feel like I am thirty years old. This will be my first burn, so I can not answer to how menopause would be on the playa- but there is more to menopause than hot flashes. And a good doctor can fix it.

MyDearFriend · Post by **MyDearFriend** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:45 pm

Here's the thing: menopause is different for everybody.

I have hot flashes, and yeah they feel worse in hot places than they do in cold ones. But the flashes do not raise your body temperature; they actually lower it, by causing you to shed heat. So she's perfectly safe to go to the desert, as long as she hydrates (like everybody should) and, as long as she doesn't piss and moan to the point where somebody strangles her.

The real question is: can she have fun when her hormones are flipping? If not, she should stay home until she sorts herself out.

I'm concerned that you say she was "constantly uncomfortable" in Italy. Do you mean that she was constantly complaining? If so then she should definitely stay home, regardless of hot flashes, because, gosh...

There will be plenty of things to complain about in BRC, if that's her preferred method of capturing your attention. Burning Man has been described as an "attention economy," so, the competition may be fierce.

yurtgirl · Post by **yurtgirl** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:43 pm

i solved the hot flashes by going on hormone replacement therapy. they were gone in a matter of days. I would have 20+ a day adn this period lasted about 8 months. Its not a long term solution, but works for me now. Having a hot flash when its hot is more than miserable (in Ohio humid summers). No wonder I was a class A bitch and my boyfriend was a afraid of me. But now my internal temp is controlled, my mood swings are not so swingy and I'm excited to be coming home next month.

Menopause

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