Hot and Bothered - What No One Tells You About Menopause and How to Feel Like Yourself

Informationen zum Autor Jancee Dunn Klappentext "From the New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids comes a deeply researched and incredibly entertaining guide to navigating the still-taboo topic of menopause"-- Leseprobe CHAPTER 1 What to Expect When You’re No Longer Expecting Menopause is a condition shared by half the population – so why isn’t anyone sharing any information about it? "In my adult life, I don’t recall one serious conversation with another woman about what to expect." —Oprah Winfrey[i] "I’m hot, because I have a very rare medical condition called menopause. It’s only about one in one woman who experience it, so it’s a little bit under the radar at the moment. Nobody really knows anything about it, because it’s not something that happens to men, so there’s no data or research."  — English comedian Bridget Christie[ii] In the summer of my 45th year, I suddenly found myself lurching awake at 3 a.m. with the sort of instant alertness that meant hours of sleeplessness lay ahead. Staring into the darkness during what author Samantha Irby has called "menopause o’clock,"[iii] I would attempt all the soothing, borderline-monotonous mind tricks I’d recommended as a longtime health writer: progressive stretching exercises, reciting state capitals, planning weekly meals. None of these worked. In the daytime, I stumbled around, fuzzy and fatigued, trying to keep pace with my toddler. One supposedly effective trick to bring on slumber is to take a mental tour of your childhood home. And so, on one sleepless night, I visited my former house in Pittsburgh, last seen in 1975. Here was the avocado-colored fridge in the kitchen, there was the brown plaid couch that sagged in the middle. By the couch sat a fake-wood side table, which contained an embedded metal ashtray. When my parents finished huffing a Kool, they could push a button on top of the ashtray, which spun the ashes and butts into a mottled collection bin below, where the smoky mulch remained for months. Why didn’t my parents empty the reeking table ashtray? I wondered one night. Maybe they were comforted by the smell of old cigarette butts? The ashtrays in our Buick LeSabre were always filled to overflowing, too. When did cars start phasing out ashtrays and cigarette lighters? My meandering thoughts were narcotizing enough, yet I still couldn’t drop off. What the hell was wrong with me? I had never had sleep problems in my life. I turned over, careful not wake my husband, or jostle my boobs, which had been sore lately. I froze. My boobs, which had been sore lately . Hold up. When was my last period? I calculated backwards. Two months. I had gone off the pill, but we practiced the horribly named "rhythm method," in which we avoided sex during my supposedly fertile times. My blood chilled further as I realized I was bloated, too. "Tom," I whispered. It was nearly dawn, anyway, and our two-year-old daughter would be awake soon. He opened his eyes blearily; as I told him my suspicions, he abruptly sat up. We had always wanted one child, and we were happy with our choice. We had never even considered another. Nor was I young: I’d had Sylvie the week before my 43rd birthday, after a so-called "geriatric pregnancy." I did not envision myself as a 45 (soon to be 46) year old parent to another newborn. I had already developed lower back problems from lifting our kid. Tom and I sat quietly on the bed, our heads whirling with the emotional, financial, and logistical complications of having another child. Finally, he reached over and squeezed my hand. "If this turns out to be a pregnancy, well, then…" He broke off, then gathered himself. "Well, then, we’ll make it work." I covered his hand with mine. "I was thinking the same th...

Product details

• Authors: Jancee Dunn
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 02.05.2023
• EAN: 9780593542569
• ISBN: 978-0-593-54256-9
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 235 mm x 25 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Guides > Health