How will it feel going through a surgical menopause?
Cathy B., Ontario, Canada: We have all heard of the ‘hot flashes’ and irritability associated with natural menopause. Each women is unique in the way her body reacts to this time of life. It’s the same with a ‘fast-forwarding’ of menopause due to surgery or radiation, in my experience. I had night sweats and burning in my cheeks for several months, but, for me, it wasn’t unbearable. I found, however, my moods would change easily and my already short temper was even shorter. This subsided though and now it seems to have balanced itself out. I do think it has affected my memory – sometimes I struggle to remember names, numbers …. things like that. Also, my skin tends to be a bit dryer than it was prior to menopause. Karen, Alberta, Canada: When my ovaries stopped functioning at age thirty-four from radiation treatments, the main menopausal symptoms I had were hot flashes, vaginal dryness, moodiness, and “foggy brain”. Besides the hot flashes, which ceased once I started on estrogen, my
