Still with the Allergies

The asthma has remained activated since salsa Sunday. My nasal passages are inflamed and swollen, similar to how I couldn't breathe through my nose after an allergic reaction to Cipro a few years ago.

Energy is in the toilet (when is it not?) with lots of weakness. I was not seriously considering sleeping on any flat surface yesterday like I had been on Sunday, but I was only a hair above that. I really probably should've stress dosed, but I didn't.

Take that, adrenals.

Here are some pics. I'm still working on a food project and I have cute dogs.

This is our beloved black lab. 12 years young and wise beyond her age. Best dog I've ever known. It was 90F+ on Monday so we got the pool out for the dogs.

Here's our yellow lab. Yeah, he looks cute, but his beauty regimen consists of eating poo.


This was breakfast a few days ago. Sauteed kale and onions topped with scrambled eggs and seasoned with tumeric and paprika. It was good.


Vegetarian taco salad: salsa, guacamole, beans, peppers, lettuce, cheese. I took this before I realized I can't eat tomatoes or peppers anymore.


Wild blueberry sorbet. Delicious. I was going to add low carb ice cream, but it didn't need it. Incredibly decadent for a one ingredient dish.

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Vaginal dryness symptoms, causes and treatment

A woman's genital area often changes during, after or even just before they reach menopause. Many women can suffer from symptoms such as pain during sexual intercourse, vaginal dryness and itching and urinary discomfort. Thankfully, all of these symptoms can be easily treated nowadays. Treatments such as HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), oestrogen gels and female lubrication gels are all readily available.

Atrophic Vaginitis - What Is It?
At the neck of the female womb there are glands which produce fluids and lubrication (mucus), these fluids act to keep the tissue and skin around the vagina supple,tight and moist. Oestrogen levels in the females body directly affects these glands and the skin tissue and muscles around the vaginal area and this leads to vaginal dryness. The oestrogen affects the elasticity of the vagina and also the thickness of the vaginal lining. The oestrogen also helps to produce the natural proteins (glycogen) which helps to prevent infection in the vaginal area as well as prevent vaginal dryness. When a woman reaches either perimenopause or menopause her ovaries will start to produce less and less of the oestrogen. This reduction of oestrogen leads to a thinning of the skin tissue around the vagina. The glands that produce the lubrication also start to reduce and the fatty tissue around the vagina also starts to reduce. It is very common for the vagina to change its appearance after going through "the change". The reduction in the glands and the thinning of the skin results in vaginal dryness. The vagina may also start to lose its elasticity and the skin may also start to look paler than it did. These changes will start to occur over a period of months or years and the symptoms can vary greatly between different women. The proper medical term for these problematic conditions and symptoms is Atrophic Vaginitis.

Is Atrophic Vaginitis a Common Complaint?
Atrophic Vaginitis is extremely common and almost one in every two women will face some of the symptoms associated with atrophic vaginitis. The symptoms are likely to increase in years after menopause but can be experienced leading up to the menopause (perimenopause).

The Symptoms Of Atrophic Vaginitis
Not all women experience the aforementioned symptoms and may go through menopause with little discomfort. In some women however, some of the following symptoms may occur. Atrophic Vaginitis can be the cause of some of the following symptoms but they can also be caused by other infections or conditions. Always get the advice of your Doctor.

Painful And Uncomfortable Sexual Intercourse
Because the lack of oestrogen causes a reduction in lubrication, the vagina loses the ability to keep itself lubricated during sex. The vaginal dryness can make sex uncomfortable and even painful. The lack of moisture will ultimately lead to your vagina becoming sore.

General Discomfort in the Vagina
This can be caused by the Vulva being inflamed. Discharge from the Vagina. Vaginal discharge can be caused by infection which occurs because the Vagina's ability to fight infection is reduced.

Vagina Itchiness.
The lack of moisture and mucus in the vagina makes the skin dryer and more sensitive in the vaginal area. This will make the vagina more likely to itch and irritate.

Urinary Problems.
Atrophic vaginitis can be the cause of several urinary problems and they are usually y caused by the thinning of skin and muscle around the neck of the bladder or urethra. These symptoms can be anything from a need to get to the loo quickly or painful urinary infections.

Vaginal Dryness - What Can You Do?
The symptoms of atrophic vaginitis are varied and will be different for everyone. The cause for alot of the symptoms of atrophic vaginitis are the lack of oestrogen, this can be treated by replacing oestrogen.

HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)
This form of treatment is not always popular with women, it involves taking oestrogen in tablet form or via gels or patches. There are pros and cons, but these will need to be addressed in a separate article. A treatment that is successful for many women who are suffering from symptoms of atrophic vaginitis is the use of Oestrogen creams or a vagina ring which contains oestrogen. This enables you to apply oestrogen to the vagina area only over the course of about 3 months. Be careful when reading the instructions when using this treatment and make sure you apply the right amounts of cream. This is usually enough time to see the effects of the treatment. After a period of time the symptoms may occur again, so it is often necessary to be assessed by a Doctor and a second round of the treatment may be what is required.

Female Renewal (Vaginal Lubrication Gels)
One of the most common symptoms can be Vaginal dryness and if this is the only symptom that you have, then a Vaginal lubrication gel may be the only thing that you require. These gels (like Intivar) have been designed and formulated to help replace moisture and to increase blood flow in the vaginal area. This increase in blood flow can help the Vagina to start lubricating itself again. Intivar Female renewal gel also has tightening properties which can also help with increasing enjoyment from penetrative sex. Read the full Intivar review elsewhere on this site.

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Facing perimenopause weight gain

Sοme women arө quite surprised to leаrn that perimenopausal weight gain haрpens withοut any cһange in their diet or activity levels. A brief discussion οn the topic iѕ important, ѕo that үou can avoid what statіstics tell υs will happen tο two-thirds of ωomen.

Perimөnopausal ωeight gain happens without any changes made by thө woмan bөcause of the intөrnal changes that are going οn іn hөr body. Perimenopause conѕists of those fөw years before menopause actuаlly Ьegins and maү bгing on ѕome of the symptoms of full-blown menopause, such aѕ hot flashes, night ѕweats and miѕsed рeriods. Perimenopausal weight gain іs another onө of those symрtoms of the beginning changes in а ωoman's body, largely bөcause the hormones arө starting to fluctυate wildly.

Whөn tһe body iѕ undөr stress-which the Ьody considers fluctuating hormones to be-it sends oυt cortisol and adrenalin into tһe bodү. These hοrmones will, among other things, tell tһe bοdy to start hοlding on to іts resources. Periмenopausal weight gain happens, because thө body haѕ started holding on-literally, for dear life-to thө existing stores of future energy, namely, үour fat cells.

On top οf that, your body haѕ another valid rөason for hοlding on to үour fat. Fat can produce estгogen. Sο, when the ovаries have begun shυtting doωn, аnd no moгe estrogen іs available to thө Ьody from them, үour body wants to keep all the other resourсes for estrogen that іt cаn. It makes loѕing weight а little more difficult, bυt tһere is gοod news on thаt front.

Fat cөlls that are stored at and after menοpause, and during perimenopause, is storөd diffөrently thаt before. Instead of being lаyers јust under the skin level-whicһ iѕ called subcutaneous fat-it is now being stored viscөrally. Thө good news iѕ that νisceral fat responds muсh more quicĸly to ωeight loss efforts than subcutаneous fat.

Whіch is veгy good newѕ, becauѕe viscerаl fat iѕ actually much more dangeroυs to the Ьody thаn subcutaneοus fat. Visceral fat is stored іn аnd around yοur body's orgаns аnd directly interacts wіth them, often interfering іn their processes. In fact, visceral fat haѕ been lіnked tο the onsөt οf some νery loathsomө diseases, naмely, type 2 diabөtes, high blood pressure, coronary arterү dіsease аnd heart disease.

Anotheг fаctor to takө into consideration іs that рerimenopausal wөight gain occurs when a woman starts to sloω down. Perimenopause аnd menopausө both өncourage slοw metabolism. Add tο that the fаct that the dөmands on а woman's time start to ѕlack off at this point in hөr life and sһe starts to sloω down, аnd you have got the makings for sοme serious perimenopausal weight gain.

Needless to ѕay, diet аnd өxercise аre gοing tο bө the key players to avoid perimenopausal weight gain. Speaĸ witһ а nutritionist to learn vital tips for meal and menu planning. As for activities, аnything that gets you up and moving, breatһing and stretching counts aѕ exercisө. Try to worĸ υp to 30 minutes а day for a sucсessful campaign against perimenopausal weigһt gain.

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Many symptoms of menopause onset

Menopause is a life period that will be experienced by every woman, sooner or later. It isn't a disease that should be avoided because menopause is something that occurs naturally. Some symptoms and complaints which are felt become the reason why should do a treatment. Women not feel comfortable to handle all that is felt and makes them want to get rid of all symptoms and complaints.

When a woman enters menopause period, she will feel some changes by physically and emotionally. These changes make women not feel comfortable with their own body. Cause of these changes is reduction in several important hormones inside the body and gives bad effect such as hormone imbalance.

There are many symptoms of menopause onset that is felt by women, namely:

1. Menopause occurs because hormonal changes and as a side effect, body will find it difficult to regulate temperature. Women will get heat sensation or often referred to as hot flashes. This will make them sweat for a few seconds or minutes.

2. Besides have bad experience with hot flashes, there is also a possibility that women will experience night sweats. This will occur at night and usually occurs before bedtime. Excessive sweating will make women feel coldness as a side effect of night sweats.

3. Women will experience sleep disturbances, this could be due to night sweats or stress.

4. Heart would beat so quickly and sometimes erratic. This will more often be felt when experiencing hot flashes or night sweats.

5. Emotional changes, women became irritable, sad, disappointed or worried about something and weepy. They have a tendency to experience stress and depression.

6. Desire to have sexual intercourse is decline. This is due to vagina not supple and dry. Women will be tortured during sexual intercourse due to pain.

7. Menstruation becomes irregular. Indeed, this complaint is felt when a woman is still have some perimenopause symptoms but will still be felt when entering menopause. But at this period, menstruation may stop.

8. Body is susceptible to fatigue and decreased endurance.

9. The ability to focus and concentration will be reduced and even some women have decreased memory ability. There is a possibility that some of them easy to experience dementia.

11. Women are very susceptible to obesity and this will make them very close to different diseases such as diabetes and cholesterol.

12. Women will experience hair loss and graying hair.

13. The skin becomes irritated and allergy, it is caused by hot flashes and night sweats.

14. Women become vulnerable to several dangerous diseases such as osteoporosis or cancer.

That's symptoms of menopause onset will be felt by women, prepare yourself from now on, as well to overcome all these symptoms.

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What average age for menopause

The average age of menopause is fifty-one years and four months. You've reached menopause when you haven't had your period for twelve consecutive months. However, menopause is still considered natural and normal for women as young as forty (this was an arbitrarily chosen number).

The perimenopause phase lasts only a few months or years for some women, and more than a decade for others. The average time frame for the signs and symptoms of perimenopause are three to five years.

Early menopause occurs when you have reached the change of life before you are forty-years-old. Late menopause occurs anytime in the late fifties, but some women even experience it into their sixties. Both early and late menopause can cause health problems.

Signs of early menopause

The signs and symptoms of early menopause are the same as normal menopause, only, obviously, earlier. The typical experiences are: hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, memory loss, weight gain, headaches, migraines, breast tenderness, itchy skin, dry skin, moodiness, depression and more. Some women barely notice anything at all and others have extreme, life-altering experiences.

The degree to which you suffer has a lot to do with lifestyle choices including diet, fitness, relaxation, and how much you are enjoying your life in general.

What is surprising is that even with improvements with nutrition and quality of life and even though we are expected to live longer than ever, the age at which we experience menopause has remained virtually unchanged for as long as we have recorded it.

Conditions that will bring on an earlier menopause

Smoking. Smoking can bring on menopause earlier by a few years. Smoking has the added risk of osteoporosis.
Having had no children.
Exposure to toxic chemicals.
Chemotherapy.
Radiation.
Medically treated depression.
Premature grey (doesn't cause early menopause, but may coincide with it).

Conditions that may delay menopause:

Obesity
Having many children
Alcohol use

The good news and the bad news about early menopause

The good news about early menopause is that it does not mean you are aging faster or that your lifespan is shorter than a woman who experiences a normal menopause. What it does mean is that you are at a greater risk for osteoporosis, but you can reduce this risk by talking to your family physician about a healthy diet and supplements to prevent osteoporosis and muscle strengthening and weight -bearing exercises. Also, you may notice your skin becoming drier, but hey, that's what those expensive cosmetic creams are for, right?

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How long does menopause last? here's the answer

When they first find out they have the symptoms, many women want to know - how long does menopause last? Each year many thousands of women start to have these symptoms, so they want to know more.

Since the average age of menopause is 51 in American women, that leaves quite a few years for most women to go through the symptoms. These symptoms can start to appear as early as the mid to late-thirties even in some cases, but normally not until the mid-forties. Maybe your symptoms will start slowly with more irregular periods, or just the few hot flashes here and there. But in most women they will progress to digestive problems, insomnia, heart palpitations, thinning hair, dry skin, and mood problems.

Depending on the severity of the symptoms, you may seek treatment earlier or later, but at some point most women search for some relief. A natural solution to menopause is one that can offer more relief with few side effects, which is becoming more of a standard these days. Since the "old-fashioned" way of treating menopause symptoms is to simply boost estrogen levels with a prescription, these days it isn't the best option.

The reason this isn't the best treatment any longer is that  it is now realized that each woman has a different hormone "profile" that needs an individual approach to treatment. The main hormones that are out of balance are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Yes, even women have some testosterone, although only about 1/10th as much as a man. It is needed to keep the libido in check, so without this hormone many women lose their desire for sex completely.

What to do about it? There are herbs that can natural stimulate or replace the hormones in the body, some which can mimic the bodies hormones very closely. These hormones include:

black cohosh (for night sweats and hot flashes), dong quai (for vaginal dryness), kava kava (for mood improvement, lowers stress) and also ginseng, which has been known to help mood swings and overall health.

Another natural product many women are finding helpful these days is natural progesterone cream, which is used to help ease many of the symptoms common to menopause by boosting the hormone missing most, progesterone. This hormone is a pre-cursor to the biosynthesis of other hormones in the body. The good news is that natural progesterone cream can be purchased many places without any prescription, since it is a natural product.

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News flash: Hot flashes are good! Or at least not bad for you!

Is it hot in here?


A new study of menopausal women shows that hot flashes aren't all bad. We found that women who experienced symptoms when they began menopause had fewer cardiovascular events than those who experienced hot flashes late in menopause or not at all, says endocrinologist Emily Szmuilowicz, lead author of a study that will be published in the June issue of Menopause magazine. (For some reason, unlike AARP, Menopause magazine doesn't automatically find you when you're at that age.) You can read an abstract of the paper, titled “Vasomotor symptoms and cardiovascular events in postmenopausal women” here. Or the Northwestern Memorial Hospital press release, which is easier to absorb, here.

[painting: Hell by Bosch]

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Just a Little Bit Menopausal

Years ago a friend of mine wrote an essay about her experience with in vitro fertilization, and said that indeed that it was possible to be just a little bit pregnant. I think I'm a little bit menopausal. Which is more menopausal than peri-menopausal. Ten days ago I had the FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) test and also had my fibroids ultrasounded. I thought the elusive gyne would call me with results, but he proved to live up to his name. I finally called his office yesterday and today and then he called back. He said sometimes it takes a while for the ultrasound results to get to him and that he was sorry not to get back to me sooner. He said the fibroids are pretty much the same size as last year, that the largest is 2-1/2 centimeters or the size of a golf ball, and that the test indicated that I was probably menopausal. We'll wait until I get results from genetic tests before doing anything further. Such as surgery. If the test shows I have the breast-ovarian cancer gene, I'll donate my second ovary to the hospital. If anyone wants the stale eggs of Cancer Bitch, let me know. They're cheaper by the dozen.

I thought golf balls were bigger than 2-1/2 centimeters, and L, who was a high school letterman in golf, confirmed that. We figure that the gyne just doesn't play golf. Again I'm moved to quote Marjorie Gross: "So I had a hysterectomy, and they found a tumor that they said was the size of an orange. (See, for women they use the citrus-fruit comparison; for men it's sporting goods: 'Oh it's the size of a softball,' or, in England, a cricket ball.) " She wrote that in 1996. Now in the 21st century, I guess doctors are more gender-neutral in their comparisons.

I feel like I should be menopausal by now because it seems everybody else is. It's a relief in a way because then I don't have to fear that I'll feel feel worse with menopause. I know that's a dangerous thing to say. It could always get worse. It's hard to distinguish hot flashes from menopause with those that are a side effect of chemo. My head is often clammy. Luckily, my scalp decoration is not water-soluable.

Last night my friend S added some Picasso-esque doves to the top and back of my head. The plan was to fill in some of the designs with henna, which she did, though she was hampered by the lack of a crucial piece of henna-design equipment. Either I misplaced it or it wasn't in the package sent by the good people of Earthhenna.com.

Yesterday I went for a mammogram of my right breast at the Fancy breast cancer factory. The tech showed it to a radiologist, and reported that it looked fine. I'm not due for another mammogram until next year. Then I had an appointment with my surgeon. The physician assistant measured my arms and said that my left (mastectomy) arm was only 1 centimeter wider than the right one, which is an insignifant difference, not an indicator of lymphodema. The most confident and competent of the surgery Fellows came in and led me through my paces (hold up arms high, put your hands on your hips, breathe normally, take a deep breath) and she palpated my breast. Then the surgeon came in and did pretty much the same. Her hands were also cold. She asked, of course, if I was hanging in there (I think the Fellows aren't allowed to ask that), and she asked how things were going, saying she read about me in the paper. I didn't ask if she was reading this blog. That would seem to cross some line. Then I'd have to say, What did you think of my description of you? (Which was that she was warm and business-like. Though she does, as noted, have that widespread "hanging in there" tic.) I'm supposed to get an MRI of the right breast next month. I went into a little room to schedule it. The scheduler said that she herself had a mass in one breast that she was going to have an ultrasound to check it out. Her aunt had just died of breast cancer (that had spread to her spine and brain). One of the last things her aunt said to her was to get it looked at. Her aunt was a fighter, she said. The aunt had been living with breast cancer for 13 years. When the cancer went to her brain it put her in a coma. I hope that for most of those 13 years she was in remission.

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Bleed Me a River

Another day concerned with orifices. I went to the endodontist for part 1 of a root canal for tooth number 13. He was a modest guy without the Hail-fellow-well-met-ness of many dentists or others who often greet the public. He only said what needed to be said, no small talk or jokiness. I'd asked him to explain what he was doing and he did. He numbed me (three shots), clearing out bacteria from under a cracked filling, and cleaning out and widening the canal, home of the inflamed pulp. Now I'm using file number 30, he said, then I'll try size 40--or something like that. The only thing that hurt was the first two shots. I go back in two weeks for part 2, when he will fill the tooth permanently. Everything is fine except tonight I smelled cloves and realized that my tooth felt hollow and there was soft clay coming out--the source of the clove smell. I read online that oil of clove, eugenol, is used to sterilize the tooth, and is also part of a cement compound used to seal the tooth. A certain site says that eugenol is one of many toxins used in root canals, and recommends using acupuncture instead. However, having gone this far with conventional endodontia, I will ignore that. (My acupuncturist threw in some needles last week to help the tooth, but nothing changed.) I can't ignore that the temporary filling in the tooth has fallen out. I'll have to call tomorrow.

While I was filling out a form at the endodontist's, the Boyish Gyne called on my cell phone. My biopsies were negative. He hypothesized that I'm in menopause but bleeding because of the fibroids. I don't agree. I think I still have real periods but they're very very looooonnng because of the fibroids. Why would I think this? Am I loath to give up this sign of young womanhood? Maybe. Am I scared? I think I'm scared. Of what, besides death and old age and turning into a crone, a word that feminists reclaimed 20 years ago, after all? Have I enjoyed the sheer weirdness of 38 years of bleeding? Put that way, I realize I've bled more years than I haven't. I am used to it. The blood seems alive, a sign of life, though I know it's a sign of death (no embryo taking hold). I am so full of life that I have blood to spare. I have so much blood that it falls easily out of me, doesn't have to be sucked out by leeches. So much blood...but I have to admit it's too much; I have to take iron twice a day.

The gyne said that when I go in for my ultrasound (to see if the fibroids are growing), I can (or did he say should?) get a blood test for FSH, which is follicle-stimulating hormone, to see if I'm menopausal. However, it seems that the test might be unreliable. I would like for it to be reliable. I don't want to be in menopause but I don't want to be in limbo, either. I want to know. And then what? I want to be in menopause because menopause is supposed to cause the fibroids to shrink. But if I'm in menopause already, and am having faux periods caused by fibroids, then it means that menopause is not causing the fibroids to wither, as Engels said the state would, after the proletariat seized the means of production and abolished social classes.

There's an analogy here, but it only goes so far.

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