Just like everything else in this world has gone through some kind of "evolution," I think menopause has as well. I can't imagine our mothers and grandmothers having gone through menopause to the extent and measure that some of us are going through it or else I'm sure we would have heard about it. I mean think about it, back in their day we lived in a more holistic culture. A culture that cared for and nurtured people with natural cures rather than medicine. Doctors used more natural approaches to healing. The only symptoms our foremothers had to complain about were the heat flashes and weepiness. That is probably the most complaint they had which is why that is all the doctors are familiar with and therefore all their medical textbooks refer to.
Now here we are in this day and age with a litany of symptoms that doctors are unfamiliar with which has them thinking we are crazy. They are going by old textbook information. There has been a great change in the way menopause behaves.
But what has caused this great paradigm shift in our symptoms? I think it has a great deal to do with the pollutants we're exposed to today, the chemical process our foods are manufactured with and even the medications a lot of us are on and if you factor in any other stresses in our lives then it's no wonder we are going through it so rough. I honestly believe if my mother or any of our foremothers we're going through it like this, we would've heard about it. This is definitely not our mothers' menopause.
I agree with you on this. Every person I have asked about this from the generation before and any remaining from before that have nothing to offer by way of advice because they simply did not suffer the list of symptoms that we are facing today. One lady in her 80s simply said that it was all over within a year for her, no years of symptoms before, no after symptoms, after menopause.
We are exposed to so many chemicals, in our foods, our cleaning products, even scented candles have been suggested as being oestrogenic. (that is not the correct term, but you get the idea!). Women did not previously have this much exposure to chemicals and it is messing us up.
I now have stopped using cleaning products and use white vinegar instead, no scented candles or air fresheners but unfortunately we have been exposed to it all for so long, and are we suffering for it, yes.
Hi sharcerv,
My mum's side of the family didn't really suffer many symptoms. I don't know why I'm so unlucky.
I think another reason we wouldn't have heard all these complaints from our elders is because a lot of women were given HRT then.
It was not until the WHI study (USA) in the 90s and the MWS (UK) 2000 to 2003 that the scares about HRT began, these studies saw GPs take their patients off and women gave it up in droves. There were 66% less women taking it by 2003.
You are right and it never really crossed my mind until I read your post. My mother didn't have a hard time neither did my grandmother. Mother in law the same - how odd x
You're right! We have been exposed to so much more then our moms and grandmoms. All the Gmo's, meats pumped with hormones and antibiotics, pesticides, artificial sweeteners and colors. Our bodies have a lot to try and breakdown and maybe its harder for it to absorb nutrition. Our daughters may have it even harder than us!
I was thinking the exact same thing! Our poor daughters and granddauaghters won't stand a chance!
All pharmaceutical intervention is sinister to me. That is why I am trying to take more herbs to treat things now.
Yes this is definitely a different world we are living in. The nextgeneration, the poor dears, don't stand a chance!
Hi Shar, so happy you raised this because I personally have been thinking about why in our era, these menopausal symptoms are so over the top and acute. I have to agree with you that if women were dealing with this years ago it seems very odd that we were not told in more detail about this, I have many, many older women in my family and I never heard a word about these types of symptoms, I also think as you said the stress, the meds, the chemicals in our food, and the issues we face, I have a very high stress life which my mother did not have as much.
You know Zig, you may be correct, do you remember the television show All in the Family???? Edith's menopause was seen as easily "fixed" with hormonal treatment. Ostensibly, Edith returned to normal after getting her pills. So, I think you are right essentially women were treated with tranquilizers, mood drugs, hormones, and other types of drugs so of course there wasnt much going on because they were medicated, most of us are NOT using medication to deal with this, so its hellish, however, I refuse to take pharmacueticals with their side effects to address this, although I understand the temptation.
Yeah I woke up this morning feeling crazy as usual and it hit me, our mothers couldn't have had it this bad! Then I started thinking about everything we're exposed to and how it may be impacting and worsening our symptoms. It was like an epiphany of some sort.
I spent a lot of time with both Grandmothers and ate my lunch most days at my great aunts. My great aunt didn't rate doctors or medicine, my dad's mum hated doctors too.
Mums mum had gall bladder and occasionally gout.
I do remember my mum having some shoulder problem, something I have had since September.
But I can't remember any of them being off their food always feeling sick like I have none had sleep problems and I don't think they had this fatigue. My mum was always out dancing every weekend. My great aunt stopped riding her bike when she turned 90!
See! That's what I mean they definitely had more stamina! We are hit with some hard stuff.
Shar, totally agree with you about herbals to treat this, I dont know where you are, but here in the U.S we are flooded with commercials for all types of medications and at the end of the commercial we hear about the numerous side effects of all these drugs and they are massive and horrendous side effects. I try very, very hard not to use them, I am diabetic so I have to take the metformin and my blood pressure pill because supposedly it protects the kidneys, but I wonder what problems it could be causing me too. I really agree with you that a major feature to the women of the older generation not experiencing the horror of all of this is they were not taking pharmacueticals and the enviormnment was better, cancer is like a plague especially in the West and I think its dietary and enviornmental.
Yeah I live in NYC. The commercials are horrendous. It perplexes me how easily people are getting sick with cancer too. There has to be something going on. I used to be really panicked about it. I still am bothered by those commercials. But I realized that I was being paranoid and don't let it bother me as much anymore. I think the powers that be are trying to kill us off. One of the major medical industries in the US is cancer. This division of medicine makes more money than most of the other areas combined. It's a money racket.
sha, nice discussion here - very true and apt. At least we have a place to come to and compare our notes !
the meno experience seems to affect certain women and in certain areas too ! even in this day and age - exposed to the same chemicals and hormones. I read the experience of meno is largely determined by an individuals reaction to it. i would imagine women with high EQ and sensitivity pay a bigger price.
this would say how much does the predisposition of a woman affect the way she experiences it ?
i feel like a bad joke has been played on me ! like ive been dragged into a well-designed program.
right now, im trying to get myself educated. education is the only way out of the trap.
Well I didn't know peri caused problems until after meno. I was so relieved because I thought I must be dying from some strange undiagnosed illness.
Apart from night sweats and heavy periods I seem to have had every symptom going over the last 10 years. As is being discussed elsewhere as my mum had sailed through it i expected to also and I really wasn't expecting to get any symptoms at all until after my periods had stopped.
I have to say though I was probably more in tune with my bodily functions than my mum.
Like I knew when I was ovulating because I'd get a dragging sensation and certain discharge. I also had all the symptoms heavy breasts slight back ache when my periods started missing. I was always quite surprised when one never showed up. This went on for 6 or so months after the period free year was up.
Well my hope and prayer is that I'm going through the worst of it now during peri. God help me if it gets worse after I stop seeing my periods! I still get them fairly regular. I haven't skipped any yet.
sha and zig, Menopause Matters discusses certain issues on FB and it divided the whole meno into four parts - early and later peri, and early and later meno and it has assigned a set of symptoms for each stage. Although i dont match with it completely, im waiting for the full onslaught of some symptoms which i dont have till now ( touch wood ) but i could trade some of my present ones if allowed the choice.