Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Menopause and weight gain, identity loss, as-if acting Not everyone shares this sentiment, I realize, but, for me, menopause was great news.My menstruation was as rough at forty-four as it was at thirteen.For thirty-two years, I spent a day of every month in pain or on painkillers.At a younger age than I had expected, I suddenly enjoyed a year in which I had no excruciating cramps, no backache that felt like it was splitting me in two, no radiating pain down my thighs.It was fantastic.Some late night hot flashes and a little weight gain were a light price to pay for freedom from monthly debilitation.For long stretches, I forgot that periods even existed.I used to wonder what it would be like to be a man and not have periods.Now I think I know the answer, at least for some men: you forget that anyone experiences this!It's like it never happens.It's amazing how much you don't think about it.When I was most of the way through my menstruation free year, I met with my doctor to confirm that it was, in fact, menopause I was experiencing and not something more mysterious.When my mother was my age, she developed large, benign, fibroid tumors in her uterus, and I wanted official word that the same was not happening to me.The doctor agreed that an ultrasound could be performed but assured me that the sorts of tumors my mother had were usually accompanied by more bleeding, not less.Instead, he said, it was a greater concern that I was a bit young for menopause, and at higher risk for osteoporosis.
Author: Kathryn J. Norlock
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2529443333