| Dear Minnie:
I just love your site. It is so informative!!!
Yes, I'm there....age 51 and sometimes miserable. I think I have every
symptom (or almost all of them) and then some!
I was on HRT until last July when the 'scare'
came out. But, I'm going back on them. There's a new one out
now which is derived from plants rather than horses urine (yuk).
I know it starts with an "A". There goes my memory lapse!!!
My only concern about all this menopause
stuff is my feeling that I have every disease in the book!
I get a sore throat and I immediately think I have throat cancer.
I know this is stupid of me and I'm dealing with it the best I can....humorously!
Well, thanks so much for your website,
it's made this whole nonsense bearable.
A fan!
Dear Fan:
You
really have to stop adding extra worries to your daily life so that you'll
be strong to handle the sometimes confusing and even complicated changes
you're going through! I've had many women tell me that they also think
the worst about every little thing, so it doesn't make you stupid.....you're
very normal. The idea is to try to change your thought process so it becomes
a habit to recognize that you're worrying unnecessarily and be able to
separate the facts (headache, cold, etc)from your imagination, then be
able to let go of the part you're imagining (cancer, tumor, etc). You've
got a great start by using humor to make it all less fearful......it's
very hard to laugh and worry at the same time! :)
Sincerely,
Minnie |
Dear Minnie:
I love your site, its been
quite a relief to find all this stuff. Im going through some crazies
regarding this issue. I stayed home from work today, because of feeling
so crummy. get hot flashes, palpitations, had hip pain, (which came and
went,) insomnia, anxiety, etc. I wanted to ask you...is it
common, to have "imaginery illnesses".....or "phantom pains"
The other day..i had gas, and thought I was having a heart attack.
Another day, i had a back pain, and was terrified all day, thinking it
was my kidneys. Then that disappeared. Knee pain another
day. I feel like im losing my mind. Is it normal, to get "mysterious"
pains with menopause?? Linda (see Linda's addition to "Minnie
Moments" too!)
Dear Linda:
It's
kind of related to the panic/anxiety symptoms that a lot of us experience
and the best thing you can do is to recognize it for what it is and allow
the feeling to pass without compounding it with the added fear and stress
of your "imagined illness". You can learn to control your thoughts so you
can block out the negative ones and replace them with reason and positive,
happy ones. I call it physical therapy for the mind. It does take a concentrated
effort, but it's well worth it when you can stop those negative thoughts
and find yourself feeling happy again!
Here's
one place that has helped me to learn how to use positive thinking in my
life:
http://www.motivation-and-self-motivation.com/
And
another:
Besides
healing illnesses, positive attitudes help one to withstand troubles and
problems, make correct decisions, and overcome obstacles. Do not focus
on negative events; try to discover a positive perspective.
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Nudel6.html
So,
just put yourself on a mission to tackle this with new enthusiasm and use
every tool you can find to bring everything into balance! And laugh, laugh,
laugh, ok? :)
You'll make it!
Minnie |
