Character Confession: The Heat is On and So is the Central Air

It’s my Character Confession day! I tell you how I’m really feeling and hopefully it is an encouragement or smile to someone who can relate.

I’ve made no secret about it so in case you missed it, I’m 41 and in full blown menopause. I’ve had hormonal issues since puberty and I can tolerate quite a bit of discomfort and pain. I’ve been there and done that.

Menopause can be a ruthless competitor.  Sleep for 10 minutes at a clip? Bring it.  Starving, I mean STARVING nearly all the time? I’m holding my own. Crying Sobbing over everything? Exhausting but I can take it.  The heat?  That’s where I wave the white flag of surrender.

And then put my arms down because the smell has to be bad.

In the last month my hot flashes have morphed into full body water works. I can walk from my bedroom upstairs to the coffee maker downstairs and have not just a little heat but a full body blush that even makes the back of my hair sweat. My face turns not just pink but tomato red and then stays that way. For hours. I’m getting looks from people who must be wondering how out of shape am I to just take a few steps and be in a complete sweat?

This is such a huge switch because my husband married someone whose teeth chattered without mercy when it was below 50. These days I’m turning on fans, hanging out windows and freezing my hotblooded man out of the bedroom. I not only have the ceiling fan on, I also have an industrial fan on that sounds like a jet ready to take off. I know without a doubt with weather this weekend heading to the nineties I’ll have the central air on before noon.

My doctor is on it and Tuesday we meet again to discuss. He’s doubled my medicine and although that relieved a lot of symptoms, the heat is still on.

I’ve been through enough that I’m pretty blunt with my family telling them what’s going on instead of hiding in shame like I used to. If I see someone looking at my red face and layers of perspiration I’ll be clear what’s going on. I carry deodrant and perfume with me.

And I laugh.

Because if you’re dealing with this too, laughing is so much better than tears.  It’s a change of life, not death, and I refuse to let this own me.

How about you?

Please Follow & Like