@lisalucier- Good morning. Like Connect I loved the openness, honesty and science backed information. There's nothing like a female doctor discussing the facts about women's issues. And on top of that, someone who has experienced menopause! What a breath of fresh air!
What surprised me about what happens before menopause were the hormones that regulated each phase. I had no idea that progesterone was for babies and not moms! What interested me about what happens after menopause, both in my life and in the video was how long it takes for the body to adjust to all of the physical losses that these hormones cause when you go through menopause.
Lisa you said that you might not get menopause because you had to have a hysterectomy. As Dr. Taylor pointed out in this video it's not the uterus that determines menopause but your ovaries. Although you no longer have a period you still have all those hormones! You also mentioned that you might not recognize if and when you have a hot flash. I can reassure you that you will know! It's like a furnace is turned on high inside of you, you get red or blushed colored in your face and chest. I wanted to carry a fan around and a water spritzer with me, strip and run through a sprinkler. Winter was a blessing because I'd just step outside, in the snow, barefooted.
I had a horrible time with night sweats, day sweats, every time I moved sweats. I would be drenched form head to toe. And one Christmas my husband bought me a flannel night gown to keep me warm during the winter! I finally went on an antidepressant that stopped both my hot flashes and depression. By the time I switched antidepressants to my current one I had "outgrown" hot flashes. Sometimes it takes 10 years to go through it all. Mine didn't waste a minute of the 10 years. But please, everyone, be assured there are wonderful help aids if this is the path that you chose. And not everyone experiences the severity that I did.
I'm curious to know if anyone had a much easier time.