Women's Issues Midlife And Beyond
Have you ever gone to a wedding and had a feeling that the couple was doomed to a short-lived romance? I have. And while I won’t give dates or names, more often than not my premonitions came true. Happily, I have also been to weddings where the couple was so obviously in love that time was only going to enhance,… Read More
I’ll share a quick story about a woman who is thirty years old. She recently told me she has yet to have a good experience with a doctor in her adult life. Like me, she has had a long history of irregular periods. I’ve suggested she have a hormone panel taken to see if there is any obvious cause. She… Read More
Congratulations to Liz for winning June’s silk scarf of the month. Â With intriguing shades of purple, blue, and white, she is sure to add a pop of color to many outfits. If you haven’t signed up for my website yet, and would like a chance to win July’s scarf, now is your chance! Â This month’s scarf, an 8 x 72… Read More
Sigh. Â Summer is such a fleeting moment in Minnesota. Â It’s hard not to get giddy with each phase. Â There’s the first 70 degree day, the first 80 degree day, the first why-did-I-want-this? 90 degree day, and the dreaded humid, too hot to breathe, slather my body in ice cream day. But I digress. Along with the rising temperatures, plants are… Read More
Over the past year I’ve had increasing hot flashes despite working with my practitioner and my compounding pharmacist. When I first started taking the bio-identical hormones six years ago my blood tests said I was in estrogen dominance while having very low progesterone and testosterone levels.  This is very common. After a discussion with my midwife practitioner I began taking progesterone and… Read More
My arms were almost elbow deep in dishwater suds.  “Why do I have to do this when I have a dishwasher?” I wondered.  Nonetheless, scrubbing the non-dishwater friendly object gave me a moment to appreciate all the items that do go in the dishwater, and a chance to gaze outside the window on a busy day.  It was  sunny, windy, and… Read More
As I just mentioned last week, the ebbs and flows of hormones embody menopause. Almost daily there is a new mystery, emotion, or awareness about this midlife phase.  And just as my journey into puberty was most likely different than yours, the menopausal experience is also as individual as the women undergoing the changes. The debate between using hormone replacements– or… Read More
Letting go of expectations, permission, and cultural detritus can leave menopausal women struggling for an identity. Do they continue as before—shrouded in a persona that tends to no longer fit—or do they allow themselves to revisit and explore aspects of themselves considered too self-serving during the childbearing years? As Dr. Northrup (2003) explains, “Caring for others and pursuing unexplored personal… Read More
The smell of coffee. The sound of bacon crankily snapping in the pan. WCCO on the radio. Dad is home.  I loved those weekend markers. My father worked as a construction foreman, which meant he was not home Monday through Friday.  Mom, in her independence, kept the farm running and my siblings and I herded. She didn’t drink coffee, and… Read More
I write it down and then lose the list. I put tasks and appointments on my computer calendar and then forget to back up my iPhone so I can’t/don’t get the reminders. ARGH! Life is so busy that I spend more time creating reminders to do the things I need to do than actually getting the jobs done. How is… Read More
