There are many of you who are proud to announce that you have “never had a symptom and found menopause to be a breeze”.  That’s true.  I hear it occasionally.  To add insult to injury most of you have never experienced an ounce of weight gain during your menopausal episode – and that’s when I really start to get cranky.  But to be fair you should feel good about escaping from the horrors that are visited on the many.

I myself was somewhere in the middle.  I did gain weight (and yea! You can lose it again!)  but was it caused by menopause?  I’m blaming it on that – at least partially.  In general I was very fortunate in the fact that my symptoms – although showcased to the fullest in previous blog posts – have been relatively mild compared to what many have suffered.

Now back to you bony assed banes of my existence.  Don’t be so smug ‘cause you may not be out of the woods.  I mean think about it – many of us have resorted to a variety of elixirs from natural tonics to bio-identical hormones, etc. to relieve some of the less pleasant symptoms – but relieving those embarrassing and inconvenient symptoms are frequently not the only important role that these products play.  Many of the offerings touted for their ability to improve various menopausal symptoms are also working on other less obvious concerns.  Case in point, the right dosage of bio-identical hormones will not only serve to reduce the hot flashes and dry up the emotional tears that plague so many of us –  it can also reduce the risk of heart attack and even various types of cancers.  So where is that extra protection for those of you who haven’t felt the need to avail yourselves of any of these varied types of relief?

Here’s the scary part.  While you bop through life wondering at your great good fortune in bypassing menopausal symptoms you’re still getting old and your parts are starting to show the signs of age.  Ok, yes, so are the rest of us who suffer those hard to ignore symptoms – but there’s a difference.  For those of us who have been forced to seek aid in getting through the ordeal we are also enjoying the more silent benefits of our magical elixirs – and maybe, to some degree, aging at a slightly slower pace than you.

Do I have solid, clinical proof of any of these life extending/improving phenomena – no.  But I think I’ve seen some compelling evidence.  And I’m pretty pleased about the course that I’ve chosen for myself.  Now I’m not saying run out and buy Black Cohosh and you’ll experience an instant and dramatic life improvement, or that fish oil pills will make you look 21 again – that ship has sailed.  But what I am saying is find someone who understands hormones, aging issues and natural alternatives and get your blood and/or saliva tested.  Find out what you’re missing.  Because by naturally replicating the systems of your body as they existed prior to menopause – to the extent that you can – you will very probably improve the gracefulness with which you age.