Menopause Oasis
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The Community Leaders of the Menopause Board (cl-coldfingers and cl-klrambo) welcome you to this website. We want you to know that we are rather proud of our board at iVillage.
 
We like to think of it as a meeting place of warm and caring women who are dealing with the challenges of having now entered one of the most 'exciting' cycles of a woman's life. That wonderful time known as Peri-menopause (that was said tongue-in-cheek!).
 
If you have not been to our board, please come by for a visit at ...   The Menopause and Peri-Menopause Board

Our Mission:     We want you to know that whether it is called 'pre-menopause', 'peri-menopause', 'the climacteric', 'post-menopause' or just plain 'menopause' - it does exist and you need not face it alone!!
 
Often it is difficult to find a doctor who understands this, so we hope to provide here the ways and means of helping you convince your doctor that you *do* know what you are talking about, even if you don't call it the same name he uses!
 
To that end we present here those informative links and lists that are so difficult to provide on our board.
 

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1. Hot flashes, flushes

2. Night sweats (often accompanied by cold feet!)

3. Cold flashes, clammy feeling

4. Bouts of rapid heart beat (Palpitations)

5. Chest pain on exertion

6. Shortness of breath (at rest or upon exertion)

7. Vaginal Dryness

8. Unusual vaginal discharge

9. Changes in the physical look of the labia
10. Loss of pubic hair

11. Bladder Control Problems

12. Recurring Urinary Tract Infections

13. Recurring vaginitis (yeast infection symptoms)

14. Breast tenderness and/or sagging

15. Sore, stiff, achy joints

16. Muscle soreness (muscle cramps, muscle weakness)

17. Backaches

18. Headache (increase or decrease in frequency or pain)

19. Weight Gain (especially around your waist and abdomen)

20. Inability to lose weight

21. Change in appetite (increase in or loss of)

22. Irritability and mood swings

23. Irregular Periods (changes in frequency, duration, skipped periods, phantom periods etc.)

24. Clotting of menstrual blood

25. Loss of libido

26. Insomnia / Disrupted Sleep / Fatigue

27. Unreasonable fatigue / lack of energy

28. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom

29. Depression

30. Anxiety or Panic attacks

31. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion

32. Increased memory lapses

33. Tingling or itchy skin.

34. Gastrointestinal distress (including indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea, diarrhea or constipation)

35. Exacerbation of existing conditions

36. Increase in allergies

37. Hair loss or thinning (anywhere on the body)

38. Increase in facial hair

39. Dizziness

40. Light-headedness

41. Loss of balance

42. Changes in body odor (anywhere on the body)

43. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head

44. "Buzzing" in your head

45. Ringing in ears (Tinnitus)

46. Tingling in the extremities

47. Dry Mouth

48. Oral Symptoms (gum bleeding, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor, sore tongue, sensitivity to heat or cold, sore throat)

49. Changes in fingernails (softer, crack, split or break easily)

50. Skin Changes (dryness, thinning look, acne, age spots)

51. Dry, itchy, puffy eyes

52. Water retention

53. Bloating (swollen ankles or feet or elsewhere in the body)

54. Osteoporosis (bone loss)

55. Blood sugar imbalance

56. Fibrocystic breasts

57. Uterine fibroids

58. Hypothyroidism

59. Infertility

Click here for a printer friendly version of this list. (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to use this.)

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  Page contents (in brief)    Meno related....  

A discussion about one of the 'unmentionalble' symptoms of peri-menopause; what causes it and what we can do about it!
A list of several excellent books regarding Menopause...with a brief description of each book.
Lists of symptoms that accompany...
  Too little / too much Estrogen
  Too little / too much Progesterone
  Too little / too much Testosterone
  Too little / too much Thyroid Hormone
  Too little / too much Insulin
Also information about the various 'hormone tests' that your doctor may run and explanation about the results from those tests.
Information about both hot flashes and night sweats. What they are, how they occur, what can cause them, and how to deal with them!
Links to tools that will help you determine if HRT is right for you.
Links to various medical and news articles and reports regarding the controversy over using HRT.
Are you preparing to have a hysterectomy? Here are some tips to help you get ready and be comfortable after your surgery.
Information about the possible causes of insomnia and suggestions on how to battle it and maybe even win!
"Does the male 'Mid-Life Crisis' really exist?"
"Menopause Manners for Men"
(for you OR your significant other!)
Book list for men about menopause
Learn which glands, body parts and hormones govern our monthly menstrual cycle.
A listing of the various remedies (vitamins & supplements) we either use or have read about, and felt you might be interested in!
A brief overview and links to other informative sites concerning Premature Ovarian Failure.
Links to iVillage articles & other iVillage boards that are relevant to Menopausal concerns.
Terms you may see used on our board regarding menopausal symptoms and procedures.
Lean about the possible causes for vaginal dryness and the options available to you to help alleviate it.
Explore the whys of peri-menopausal weight gain.
Learn what Menopause (Peri-menopause) is and how/why it happens.

  Page contents (in brief)    Not meno related....  

A rather complete list of Acronyms that you may see used on the iVillage Boards
Many valuable hints on maneuvering the boards at iVillage!  Including some easy keyboard shortcuts.
A few fun things to lighten the subject!
Some hints on how to "cut, copy, and paste" from one document to another or within the same document, explanations of each of those terms - and much more.

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Just a reminder:   When you became a member of iVillage, you signed an agreement to follow the Board Rules of Play and TOS.  Here are links to both of those documents, just in case .....
 

Some Words of Caution:

We feel that iVillage does an incredible job of providing a safe place for us all. But there are those out there on the internet who would misuse our sense of security. So please, do not post your last name, address, or phone number on the board. If you wish to have someone contact you by email, ask that they do so at the link you have provided in your iVillage profile - and be sure you have actually established one! You can exchange private e-addresses via that email. Please, never, ever, post an e-address that belongs to anyone else!

People shouting at the world over megaphones; Size=240 pixels wide
Coming together for a united cause!

Help fund free mammograms.
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Link to Breast Cancer site.

Internet links that we find most useful!

This is one of our favorite sites.  It was "missing" for a brief while but it is back on line now!!  This site will answer your questions about "early" menopause and provide you with great information on the various medications that are often used in combating the symptoms of menopause - at any age!

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Here is a great site that presents various natural treatments rather even handedly without necessarily indorsing any particular one.

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This is an extremely informative site that is backed by 'Third Age'. Here you can find information about alternative and medical remedies alike!

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Here is a great site that provides a light-hearted look at this time of our life - for both us women and our men! Many good books are listed as are links to many other very good sites.

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The next site was developed by the 'North American Menopause Society'. Are you are in need of a new doctor? Here you will find a listing of doctors throughout the United States that specialize in menopause.
 
This site comes to us from 'down under'. While it was developed by The Australasian Menopause Society and is intended mostly for use by medical professionals it has many features and much information that we lay-people will find quite useful! If you go to the 'Educational Resources' section you will find links to some very interesting 'questionaires' and many on-line pamphlets for your reading pleasure!

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This site was developed by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Here you will find a list of doctors that are affiliated with the ACOG. It also offers free pamphlets on range of women's health issues from menopause to hysterectomies to osteoporosis and more -- that can be ordered on-line.

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Next is an excellent site that talks about menopause and the role of estrogens; lists the short and long-term effects of (peri)-menopause; and discusses both HRT and 'natural' treatments - all from a medical point of view.

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Next is a site that bills itself as "the leading nonprofit breast cancer website." This site link delves specifically into all areas of medically induced peri-menopause, both from chemotherapy and surgery - and not from just breast cancer treatment.  Very interesting and informative.

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Next is an interesting site that claims to provide: "Alternative Approaches, Home Remedies, and Herbs for Women". It does provide some very interesting reading and humor.

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Here is a site that provides excellent information on herbs and vitamins. It is a bit complicated to follow, but well worth the effort (IMHO!).

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Here is an extremely complex site about Medications: Birth Control, HRT and many more. It does provide some excellent information if you are willing to dig for it!

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This is an extremely good site for those who have come to menopause or peri-menopause by way of a hysterectomy. 

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This is a site created by a doctor who is more than willing to promote his services! However, it is also one of the most informative sites I have come across. It deals with both 'natural' and 'surgical' peri-menopause. Do take a look!

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Thinking about taking an herbal supplement? Wonder which herbs are supposed to be good for what. Do you have a concern (and you should!) about how the herbs you are taking are interacting with other herbs and with drugs and possibly with foods you are eating? Here are some sites that provide incredibly good information for your use!

Herbs at a Glance  from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Herbs for Health

Mayo Clinic

Sloan Kettering - Herbs

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Many of us have concerns about the types of vitamins and minerals we should be taking (if any!).

We question:
  ·  how much is enough
  ·  how much is too much
  ·  which ones help with what
  ·  which ones should be taken with something else
  ·  which ones should not be taken with what else

Here are some sites that may help you with those decisions:

ChiroFind: A chiropractic site

RealTime reference guide to Vitamins

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Here are a couple of really good sites to visit if you are wondering what foods you should avoid while taking certain medications.
 

Colorado State University - Nutrient-Drug Interactions and Food

U.S. Food & Drug Admin - Food & Drug Interactions

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Webmistress:  K. L. Rambo