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Don’t Go Through Menopause Alone: Create Your Own Goddess Group

By on May 15, 2013 in Menopause in Community
Hibiscus family © lynette sheppard

Hibiscus family © lynette sheppard

With all the wonderful remedies and helps we have found to help us on the Menopause journey, the singular most important one is girlfriends. A group of like-minded, like-afflicted women can share humor, heart, and help with one another. I can’t imagine dealing with the Big M without the goddesses.

On a whim, Theresa-Venus and I asked a group of women to attend a long weekend to discuss Menopause and ultimately the Second Act of our lives. It turned out to be one of the most important things we have ever done. Over 10 years later, and the Venuses still meet annually. We come from all over the country, so once a year is all we can manage with our busy lives. And we share and cover so much that it lasts us an entire year.

If you don’t have girlfriends who are going through the same changes as you are, we urge you to start your own Menopause Goddess Group. And so you don’t have to re-invent the wheel, here is how you do it!

In answer to those who have written wanting to know how to begin their own menopause goddess group, we offer this little nuts-and-bolts guide based on our experience with the Venuses.

Getting The Right Mix
Theresa-Venus and I started by asking one another “Are there any others out there like us, who are wondering just what the @#&* is going on with this crazy time of life?” We subsequently invited women we knew (in turn having them ask one or two of their friends) to join us for a weekend slumber party with a focus.

First, and foremost, we didn’t try to overcontrol the makeup of the group. Whether blessed or naive, we simply trusted that the right women would come together for our first gathering. Naturally, we did avoid asking women who routinely seem to suck the oxygen out of any room they occupy. Thankfully we know few of them. (Although it seems like everyone knows at least one!)

Begin Before The First Gathering
Again, looking back, we see how important it was to start working before we came together initially. We devised and sent out a questionnaire to all our potential attendees, as well as to some women who were interested in the questions for themselves once they heard about what we’d planned. (These women were satellite Venuses and contributed their thoughts and feelings in the spirit of helping us all.) The questionnaire was to be completed and returned prior to our first meeting. It was also meant to weed out anyone who wasn’t serious about working on these issues and questions together. Interestingly enough, no one opted out and most spent a great deal of time and soul searching in their answering.

Theresa-Venus and I also thought that our questionnaire might serve as a focusing tool and general icebreaker when we did come together. Little did we suspect that it would serve as much more. The process of looking at our attitudes and feelings, past and present, fostered a level of self-awareness that propelled Meeting One forward. Our questions and answers also helped inform our group as a whole. Personal information gleaned was as new to each individual goddess as it was to our sisters. Yet universal themes emerged and we knew we were on the right track. For a pdf copy of our questionnaire click the following link:  questionnaire_for_blog.  (Pdf files require Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free – click here.)

Enough for today, goddesses. Stay tuned for part Two in the next blog post. If you have burning questions about starting your own Venus group, comment or write us by clicking on Contact Us on the left side of the homepage.

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Is There A Doctor In The House? Yes, At Health Tap!

By on April 16, 2013 in Menopause

Htap2

Did you ever just wish you could learn health information from the best physicians without an appointment or flying halfway around the country to visit them? Would you like a central clearing house for medical and health knowledge? Would you like to ask questions of the best physicians and get solid answers online? For Free???? Sounds like a pipe dream, I know. And yet…

I’m so excited to share with you the launch of a new web resource called Health Tap. It features health tips, updates on the latest findings, info that includes complementary and integrative medicine, healthy living, Q&A with physicians on all health topics, even daily tips for your complete health.

As a launch partner, I got to experience it before it went live generally – and to quote Steven Tyler, it is just crazy good. I was very impressed with the quality of information, and the range of expertise. And my own personal bias of including integrative health info along with standard allopathy (translation: alternative medicine along with “regular”) was  amply met.

Here’s Health Tap’s press release where they explain the features better than I can. They explain their top doctor competition where the winners are chosen by both their peers and consumers. Kind of like an Angie’s list for physicians. Read it below and hop on over to the site and/or download the apps for your mobile device.


HealthTap brings the Full Spectrum of Doctors’ Knowledge to Mobile Health

Leading mobile health platform unveils results of nationwide Top Doctor Competition, and announces new ways to interact with winning doctors and their insights.

Palo Alto, CA – April 15, 2013 – HealthTap, the only place to immediately connect with 36,000 top U.S. doctors for free, today announced an even easier, more reliable way to find the top and best doctor for you.

HealthTap unlocks the full spectrum of doctor knowledge by providing unparalleled insights into some of the country’s best medical minds through these doctors’ answers to health questions, healthy tips,and health related updates and articles.

Furthermore, on HealthTap medical help experts identify the very best doctors, through a national Top Doctor competition spanning 128 specialties in over 3,100 cities across the United States.

Today’s announcement of the winners of the HealthTap 2013 Winter Top Doctor Competition
recognizes some of the world’s best and most helpful online and mobile medical experts. Tens of thousands of doctors competed for the prestigious awards, which include: Top Doctor, Top Specialist, Most Influential Doctor, and Thought Leader Awards. Doctors judged peers based on their demonstrated medical knowledge and expertise, and consumers rated doctors on qualitative factors, such as bedside manner and personality.

Winners from the competition include:
Dr. Michael Sparacino, a Family Medicine doctor from Saint Peter, MN who won the National TopDoctor Award for helping over 29 million people!

Dr. George Klauber, a Pediatric Urologist from Boston, MA who won the Thought Leader in
Massachusetts Award for guiding the most people to helpful answers through his comments and peer review.

Dr. Colin Kopes-Kerr, a Family Medicine doctor from Marysville, CA who won the Most Influential Doctor in the Nation Award for connecting with both patients and doctors and providing valuable education and support.

Dr. Maritza Baez, a Family Doctor in Buffalo, NY who won the Top Family Doctor in New York for helping millions with her knowledge and care.

Dr. James W. Ferguson, a Pediatrician in Waco, TX who won the Top Pediatrician in the Nation Award for helping the most parents help their children live healthier happier lives.

Users on HealthTap can easily see what makes these doctors winners, connect with them, and learn from them for free. Through the all new HealthTap Spectrum, now a part of all HealthTap’s apps on mobile devices and online, people can find highly trusted, doctor-created and rated content, including:

• Concise doctor updates on the latest health findings
• Daily health tips created by doctors in more than 100 topics
• Quick, personalized doctor answers to health questions
• Deep Health posts where doctor share their opinions and insights
• Transparent doctor-doctor consults and dialogues

“HealthTap is putting care and trust back into healthcare by placing the doctor and patient relationship back at the center of the healthcare experience,” says HealthTap Founder and CEO Ron Gutman. “By giving top doctors a simple way to share their knowledge and opinions and get recognized by their colleagues for their expertise, and by users for their bedside manner and care, we’re creating a healthy competition that motivates the best doctors to stand out and help millions everywhere. In a world where we expect to get immediate, reliable and deep insights on movies and restaurants on our mobile devices anytime anywhere, it’s high time we have an easy way to get the same when it comes to our health and well being. With the new HealthTap Spectrum we’re leading the way to comprehensive, caring, trustworthy and high quality mobile health.”

About HealthTap
HealthTap is the best way to connect with the most trusted health information and doctors. With toprated web and mobile apps, HealthTap offers immediate and free access to personalized, reliable, and trusted health answers and tips from a network of over 36,000 U.S.-licensed doctors. Sign up today and download HealthTap’s free app for iPhone, iPad or Android at www.healthtap.com.

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The Goddess-Like Way to Discipline Menopause Hot Flashes

By on March 14, 2013 in Menopause
Inner Wave © lynette sheppard

Inner Wave © lynette sheppard

This latest guest blog post features cooling relief you can hold in the palm of your hand. Sure wish I’d had this when I was going through the worst of the hot flash hell. Check it out:

When you’re a Goddess, being cool when you are the wrong kind of hot is important. The image of a goddess can vanish quickly as you turn into the “Glistening one”, with beads of sweat running down your face. The image of a calm, cool, collected goddess is hard to maintain if I seek relief through overt, aggressive fanning motions; although, some nicely styled hand fans do allow some degree of grace and style.

As a professional business woman, being the only one in the room that was in the middle of a heat wave did not appeal to my preferred image. I actually started trying to avoid face-toface meetings. The challenge of trying to appear collected and cool when I’m hot was helped when I discovered the new BlowMeCool mini-fan.

This little fan does just what the name suggests, it blows me cool. It’s always with me in my purse or a pocket – it’s my new best friend. As a handheld fan, it has no exposed propellers or blades, so it can operate while largely hidden in my hand, and it’s quiet and light weight. It pushes enough air to provide me a soothing flow of air and instant hot flash relief.

Also, I like the fact that my new best friend is also environmentally friendly, it’s rechargeable battery means that I’m not regularly increasing the number of hazardous waste batteries in the world.

I’m glad that today our menopausal sisterhood allows us to share our discoveries, and expand our awareness of the growing number of ways to manage our individual hot flash hell. We can now utilize many layers of ways to gain relief from annoying menopause issues. We are lucky, years ago no one seemed to care – women simply endured alone – let’s hear it for blogs.

Susan

BlowMeCool Inc.

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Menopause and Varicose Veins: How Are They Connected?

By on March 6, 2013 in Physical Menopause Symptoms
Varicose Vines © lynette sheppard

Varicose Vines © lynette sheppard

In The Big M book (Becoming A Menopause Goddess e-book), I bemoaned all the weird “marks” that appeared on my body with Menopause. I noted that my legs were patterned with blue highways to the golden years – yep, spider veins and varicosities seemed to appear overnight. (Along with brown spots, moles, and a host of other fun dermal puzzles.) Was I imagining that Menopause was to blame?

Our friends at DoctorQA.com have some answers for Menopause Goddesses in this guest post. So glad to know I wasn’t crazy – there really is a connection. And some simple things that we can do to help.

Menopause and Varicose Veins: How Are They Connected?

Women approaching menopause can be glad to live in an era when discussion of the process and its accompanying changes is no longer hush-hush and taboo. Any biologically based changes in one’s body will be accepted and responded to better when accompanied by information and education. Since it occurs naturally, some do not consider menopause to be a medical condition per se. However it does have practical ramifications for women’s health, especially for bones and cardiovascular health.

There are many hormonal changes that accompany menopause, primary of these being decreased production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone by the ovaries. There are also increased levels of two hormones of the pituitary gland – luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone – that usually stimulate estrogen production by the ovaries in the pre-menopausal years. Other tissues in a menopausal woman’s body continue to produce estrogen, and the adrenal glands make some progesterone, but the overall levels of the two hormones become much lower during and after menopause. This brings on the familiar symptoms of hot flashes, loss of bone density and otherwise unexplained episodes of fatigue or depression.

Less well known is the fact that estrogen and progesterone have positive effects on all of the circulatory system, not just the heart. Veins of the leg in particular are known to express receptors for progesterone – even in men! (There are low levels of all the sex hormones in both men and women.) Therefore some doctors believe the decreased levels of progesterone during and after menopause may contribute to the development of varicose veins, which women are more predisposed to than men. The drop in hormone levels may also contribute to the weakening of the valves that veins contain, which is known to be important in the development of varicose veins.

Menopause of course can’t be prevented, but the negative symptoms are often treated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Whether HRT reduces a woman’s chance of developing varicose veins has not been studied directly. However, most HRT preparations include both estrogen and progesterone – the combination seems safer than estrogen alone – and progesterone is predicted to be necessary for healthy veins, based on the presence of its receptors there.

Menopausal women concerned about varicose or spider veins can do a number of things in addition to HRT to reduce the likelihood of their appearance. Perhaps the most powerful preventative is regular exercise for the legs – walking, running, biking and swimming all stimulate circulation in the legs. Good circulation is key to preventing the pooling of blood in veins that causes them to become varicose. One can also avoid some of the common risk factors for developing varicose veins, such as smoking, becoming diabetic and a sedentary lifestyle.

Both sitting and standing in one place for hours at a time increase the risk of varicose veins. Therefore those in jobs requiring long hours of sitting or standing in place should take frequent but very short breaks, just to walk around a bit. Any additional exercise after work hours will only help. Wearing of support stockings is generally good for the veins of the leg and can also help prevent the onset of varicose veins. Lastly, keeping the legs and feet elevated when sitting is helpful – and it feels great, too!

DoctorQA.com helps spider and varicose veins sufferers find information and connect with local vein care specialists.

 

 

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Hot Flash Humor: A Male Perspective

By on February 22, 2013 in Hot Flashes
Halema`uma`u Volcanic Vent

Halema`uma`u Volcanic Vent

I’ve been getting more and more mail from men who are accompanying their mates on the Menopause journey. The latest note from James Lawson cracked me up. He has graciously given me permission to post his blog entry about hot flashes from a man’s point of view. You can visit his blog here: Uniting People, through motivation, inspiration, and humor.

She Might Be Having A Hot Flash!

My wife has been having hot flashes for over 8 years now, and believe me we’ve had many laughs over the predicaments she’s been in.

There’s not much written about hot flashes from a male’s point of view so… Here’s a list of ten scenarios I’ve witnessed over the years. Chuckle and enjoy, then share yours!

1. At the grocery store, you see a woman with her head stuck in the freezer. You think she must be serious about reading the box’s ingredient list.

Or

She might be having a hot flash.

2. When you’re outside on a beautiful day, you notice a grandmother snatch a freeze pop from her grandchild. You assume she must be concerned about the amount of sugar that child has consumed.
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

3. At the gym, you look over to see a woman open up her water bottle full throttle and let the water pour out of the corners of her mouth. You figure she must have been doing an intense routine.
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

4. Your wife rushes in the door and strips off all her clothes. You think, “Hey, I’m going to get lucky!”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

5. During an important office meeting, you notice a female drops her pen on the floor. As she darts under the table with a washcloth in her hand you think she must have a germ phobia.
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

6. You awaken in the night and catch your wife with her hand in a cooler of ice near her side of the bed. You think, “She must have buried a midnight snack beneath that ice.”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

7. The woman driver ahead of you is swerving in and out of her lane while flailing her arms. You say, “I think that lady’s drunk!”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

8. You’re driving along on a cold winter day. Your wife suddenly rolls down her window. You think, “There must be a spider in the car.”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

9. In a hardware store, you see a woman testing out an industrial fan blowing on high, you think, “She must have water in her basement.”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

10. Your wife has water glasses placed strategically throughout the house. You think, “She must be getting ready to water the plants.”
Or
She might be having a hot flash.

So men, never judge that menopausal woman you see who may be acting a bit strangely. She just might be having a hot flash.

James would love for you to share you favorite  hot flash moments on his Blog. He’s aiming for a list of 100!

 

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Best Health Blog Vote, Rejuvenair Fan Sale, and Meno Movies

By on January 13, 2013 in Menopause
Amaryllis © lynette sheppard

Amaryllis © lynette sheppard

Wow. Menopause Goddess Blog has been nominated by Healthline for Best Health Blog of 2012. That is why you’ll find a large red button that says Vote For Me on the right column of this site. I know, I know, you are as tired of elections as I am, but it’s for a good cause! Namely, the more exposure we have, the more women have a place to get wisdom from their sister goddesses. Oh yes, there’s a cash prize too, which would be appreciated to defray website costs, but that’s not the biggest reason. So please, vote. And share it with your friends.

Speaking of Healthline, they recently put together a collection of the best online videos relating to Menopause. You’ve got to see these: Best Menopause Videos. Good for a laugh, a ponder, and maybe even a a good cry. These folks “get it”.

To celebrate the New Year, Dr. Klein is offering her Rejuvenair fan for only 29.99. (List price is 49.99, so if you want one, get it now.) No coupon or special code is needed – just visit their website at rejuvenairfan.com.

And a team of MBA students at Washington University in St. Louis are studying the education level of women regarding Menopause (great idea, if you ask me.) They  have created a survey to gather data from real women regarding their experiences and would love if we would participate. (And it could be of so much help to pre and peri Menopause Goddesses.) Ideally, we’d share the survey with pre-menopausal women to see if the level of education is better than when we started the Pause.  Here’s the link:  http://olinbusiness.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2ttGBQw7Q9Ux54x

And they’ve promised to share the results of the final study with us.

And if you like Menopause Goddess Blog, cast your vote for us. Women sharing wisdom – that’s what we’re all about. That and laughter and girlfriends and chocolate.

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Holiday Deals for Menopause Goddesses (And Those Who Love Them)

By on December 11, 2012 in Menopause

Christmas in Paradise © lynette sheppard

Menopause Goddess Lana Abrams is offering a special 25% off holiday sale on her wonderful mulberry silk products for our readers. I have one of her light and warm comforters and I love it! Mulberry silk is the perfect temperature control fabric for menopausal women – it’s cool and warm – whatever you need when you need it. (Like the Stanley thermos that keeps hot things hot and cold things cold – how do it know?) Here’s your link to the holiday sale: Mulberry Silk Sale. Happy Shopping!

Hyalo GYN vaginal moisturizer was recently spotlighted on our blog. If you read that post, you know how highly I think of this. My hubby applauds it too. The Hyalo GYN folks are now offering a discount code for Menopause Goddess Blog readers: visit their site, enter HYALODeal5 at checkout on www.hyalogyn.com and receive $5 off a full order. Have a romantic holiday this year.

Cool-jams wicking sleepwear has a cool new product that I can’t wait to try:  wicking smart panties that are supposed to be the most comfy panties ever. They are also  offering free shipping through December 31, 2012 and a free gift with purchase when they gift wrap your order. Visit Cool-jams.com to order and/or  learn more.

So finish your shopping for girlfriends of a certain vintage with a few well placed mouse clicks, pour a glass of your favorite libation, curl up with a good book or movie, and toast yourself on a job well done.

 

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Cool Christmas Gifts For Menopause Goddesses

By on November 16, 2012 in Menopause Relief & Treatment

Is It Christmas Yet? © lynette sheppard


Only 39 more shopping days until Christmas. With that in mind, here are some wonderful possibilities to consider when shopping for the Menopause Goddess in your life. Or as a gift for yourself, Santa won’t mind.

Hot Flash / Night Sweats Relief
Rejuvenair Fan

Dr. Lorrie Klein, a Menopause Goddess who has suffered her own nocturnal hot flashes created the RejuvenAir Fan specifically to provide relief from this sleep stealing symptom. The cooling fan is designed with timed intervals of 2.5, 5 or 10 minutes, which coincide with the usual durations of these episodes.

Highlighted on the Dr. Oz show, this great remedy is user friendly, effective, and free of side effects. I don’t have as many hot flashes as I used to, however, whenever I make my semiannual migration back to Hawaii from the cool alpine air of Tahoe, I am revisited by those annoying bursts of heat. And most of them happen at night!

I was sent a RejuvenAir fan to try and I’ve got to say that it worked like a charm, making my transition to the tropics sooooooo much easier. And the 39.99 price tag is very affordable. (heck I’ve paid more than that for a plain fan.)

Listen to Dr. Klein describe the fan in her own words.

For more info and/or ordering, visit the website at Rejuvenairfan.com.

Cool Clothing

Dry Babe
Menopause Goddess Wendy Collett created her own line of sleepwear to address the problem of drenched nighties and bedclothes. I’ll let her describe her product in her own words:

“I developed Dry Babe out of desperation for a good night’s sleep.  I started having night sweats the minute I turned 40 – I am now 45. I researched night sweats and found out that I most likely had a long future ahead of me in the “moisture” department (10 years or more!) and that was a very scary thought.

Not finding any relief from the clothing, lotions, supplements, etc. already on the marketplace, I dived in and started testing fabric to find one that worked. Once I found the solution, I could not keep it to myself, so despite no previous intention to become an entrepreneur, that is exactly what I did. (After a long corporate career, I had just completed a Master’s Degree in Counseling and was in the process of transitioning to working with kids).

In Dry Babe’s first year, which we just celebrated on July 16, we have made strong inroads within the market.  Our customers (and physicians) love us and sing our praises. We were featured this year in www.thehuffingtonpost.com, www.oprah.com,  and www.vibrantnation.com,  to name just some of our press.  The reason for that is that Dry Babe actually works and is point for point different from its competitors:

- 1. Our garments are made of mostly absorbent cotton – with a little poly for stretch a lightness.  All other night sweat sleepwear are all or mostly poly.

- 2. Our garments use “absorbing technology” as opposed to “wicking technology” due to the fact that we have found that air circulation is required for wicking to work well – which is why it it used so often in athletic wear. (I don’t have much air circulation under my covers as I am sure most people don’t :) .

  – 3. Our garments can be easily washed/dried with your regular laundry. All other night sweat sleepwear loses its wicking ability when any bit of fabric softener/dryer sheets are used or if the dryer is too hot.

- 4. Our garments are styled for real women in missy and plus sizes in styles that are fun and a little bit flirty.  My experience with other brands is that they are styled for great grandmothers.

5. Our price points are quite reasonable while all others tend to be quite pricey.”

I haven’t ordered my pj’s yet, but I will. They are really attractive and not grandmotherly as Wendy points out. As most of you know, I am a cooling sleepwear junkie of sorts. Visit the Dry Babe website at drybabe.com

Speaking of which, another company, New Zealand Nature offers a cool alternative to wicking sleepwear made from – wait for it – Bamboo!

That’s right – bamboo. Apparently, this natural fabric is cooling and a godsend for those of us who suffer night sweats or nocturnal hot flashes. I haven’t ordered mine yet, but they look stylish too. Merry Christmas to me, merry Christmas to me.

Here’s a testimonial from a Menopause Goddess in Australia. Women sharing wisdom – that’s the way we find out what works.

“I’ve had a couple of pairs of your bamboo pajamas for a month now and I am happy to say I’ve had the best month of sleep than I have had in a year. Menopause is kicking in with a vengance, which is for me night sweats waking me up to 3 times a night. I looked into all sorts of ideas, drinking ice water before bed, cooling the rooms (in winter no less) sleeping without covers but nothing worked – I have to be warm to get to sleep but was always waking. 

I looked into sports fabrics but they’re too expensive and pajamas marketed for menopausal women are upwards of $100 and I just couldn’t justify the cost on a “I hope it works” Then I heard about bamboo and found your store as I was looking for pajamas I could afford.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m sleeping well again, not snapping at everybody, not exhausted. You guys have saved lives – well almost ;) Can’t imagine life without you NZ Nature, or your bamboo pj’s!”

Even though they are based in New Zealand, they are a world internet store so you can order over the web or scroll down to the bottom of the web page for the toll free number to call in your country.
And speaking of web page, here’s the link to New Zealand Nature. And if anyone gets their pj’s before I do, let us know what you think!

Vaginal Moisture Gel
Hyalo GYN

Dryness effects EVERYTHING during and after Menopause. Dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, and even dryness in the vaginal area afflict us. I can’t tell you how many Menopause Goddesses have complained to me privately of symptoms associated with vaginal dryness: pain during sex, vaginal infections, itching and irritation. Since I got off my HRT, I’ve had my own problems with this annoying malady. How to get the moisture back?

Hyalo GYN is a hormone free gel that contains a long lasting derivative of hyaluronic acid which helps create the moist environment of our pre-menopausal vagina. Because it lasts so long, it only needs to be reapplied every 3 days.

It’s definitely made a difference to me. I prefer to apply it at night so that I don’t lose any of the gel to gravity. Probably the only instance of gravity being my friend.

Visit their website and get a free trial: hyalogyn.com

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Cool Off With Menopause Aid: The Hot Flash Pillow

By on November 2, 2012 in Hot Flashes, Menopause

Snowy Bells © lynette sheppard

Whew. I just “finished” my semi-annual migration from Tahoe to Hawaii. When I left Tahoe it was a chilly 32 degrees – ideal for a Menopause Goddess. Now I’m back in the land of eternal summer and while I am not flashing, I am generally pretty freaking hot.

Thanks to my new friend, Nancy Peardon, I’m acclimating nicely. Nancy sent me her wonderful creation, the Hot Flash Pillow.

You just throw it in the freezer, take it out a little later, place it around your neck, and Ahhhhhhhh. Blissful comfort. I am not longer thermically challenged.

I remember Menopause Goddess friends of mine who used bags of frozen peas and frozen chicken breasts to cool down. True stories. The Hot Flash Pillow not only lasts longer, it’s pretty. And you don’t have to cook it or refreeze it later. I know, you wonder why someone didn’t create it sooner. Doesn’t matter, it’s here now.

So say good-bye to night sweat discomfort, overheated insomnia, and hot flash hell. And congratulate yourself on choosing a remedy that delivers relief with no side effects. Check it out on the Hot Flash Pillow website.

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Celebrate World Menopause Day with Natural Hot Flash Relief – and a Giveaway!

By on October 18, 2012 in Hot Flashes, Menopause

Up up and away © lynette sheppard

It’s World Menopause Day (yes, I know that’s every day for many of us.) Still, we are delighted that consciousness is being raised. With that in mind, please enjoy this guest blog by Rebecca Hulem, certified menopause clinician, widely known as “The Menopause Expert”.

The International Menopause Society, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has designated today, October 18, as World Menopause Day. While there are a variety of symptoms associated with the onset of “the change,” one of the most common, negative symptoms women experience are hot flashes. Those exasperating hot flashes!

There are a variety of options for overcoming unpleasant hot flashes. While each woman can offer advice on relief, I’ve found that different treatments work for different women. But, one common ground many women find in their treatment plans is that we are looking for natural solutions. Natural remedies typically involve plants or habitual lifestyle changes that help alleviate hot flashes.

In honor of World Menopause Day, take a moment to make sure you’re aware of these effective options for natural hot flash relief:

Focus on Nutrition – The right kind of diet is full of fruits, vegetables and plant-based proteins such as beans, lentils, legumes and soy. For some women, certain foods trigger hot flashes. Common triggers include coffee, spicy foods or alcohol. I recommend avoiding caffeine or alcohol within three hours of bedtime to decrease the likelihood of night sweats interrupting sleep.

Exercise Regularly – Exercise has been shown to reduce hot flashes as well as a host of other menopause-related issues women face, including sleep disturbances. However, to reap the full benefits, it’s important to incorporate a variety of techniques including aerobic, weight-bearing, strength training and relaxation exercises like yoga.

Take a Supplement based on Nature – Supplements containing soy isoflavones rich in genistein, naturally-occurring compounds with a chemical structure similar to estrogen, have been scientifically proven to reduce the frequency and severity of menopausal hot flashes by approximately 20 to 30 percent. To make sure the supplement contains the right amount of soy isoflavones, just look for the green NovaSoy® brand leaf on the labels of over-the-counter supplements widely found in drug, grocery, and health & nutrition stores.

Nova Soy Shopping

Deflate Stress with Therapy – It’s been proven that lowering stress levels helps decrease menopausal hot flashes. There are many ways to alleviate stress, such as deep breathing, meditation and yoga exercises. Some women are turning to more creative therapies such as hypnotherapy, herbal therapy and aromatherapy.

It’s important to remember, though, that you should still consult your health care provider if you are using nature’s remedies. Discuss your symptoms, treatment plan and how it may impact your overall health.
Interested in discussing hot flash relief and your menopause journey with other women going through the same experience? Join the NovaSoy Facebook community!

Discussion topics include exercise inspirations, healthy recipes, and menopause blogs, videos and cartoons. There’s also an interactive symptom checker to let you know if you’re experiencing menopause. And if that’s not enough, you have until Noon CT Today (10/18/12) to enter to win a copy of my CD: 101 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Menopause! To enter, simply fill out this form.

As the saying goes, it truly is all about the journey. Let’s learn a little, share a little and experience the natural transition of menopause together.

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