Well, I am entering a new period of my life, I think. I haven't been feeling quite like myself recently. Some of my complaints include extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, mood swings, headaches, weight gain, increase in allergies, some loss of balance, and night sweats/clammy feeling/hot flashes. If those of you under 40 have not figured it out yet, I'm sure any readers over 50 know exactly what I am going through. Yep, it seems like I have hit menopause. For some reason this didn't even occur to me. The main give-away is not available for me to use as a guide. I had a partial hysterectomy five years ago, and when they take your uterus out, no more menstrual cycle. But, the rest of your reproductive system is there, functioning as it always has, So when you get to that point in time, there is nothing to reference it to, no dead giveaway, no less frequent monthly visitor to point you in the right direction to the correct diagnosis. Actually, figuring out that my symptoms are probably menopause is somewhat comforting. At least I know that I'm not just crazy, deathly anemic or losing my mind. I don't have to worry about a brain tumor causing my forgetfulness, loss of balance or headaches. I'm not dying from some energy-eating condition or creature (like in a Star Trek episode). And see, I told you long ago that the weight gain is not my fault! That is quite a relief. Now, comes the figuring out how to deal with these changes. The main thing that is bothering me is the fatigue and the difficulty concentrating. I used to read constantly, but now I just don't have patience or concentration needed to read for an extended period of time. And the thing is, I see books that look terribly interesting, buy them, then they sit there, waiting to be read. Magazines are a little easier to read, because the articles come in small portions, and I don't have to concentrate for any great amount of time. The fatigue is terrible, because there are things that I would love to do, but I just can't get the energy up to do them. Every action seems to wear me out. I worry about losing friendships, because I cannot always manage to get the energy up to go out. I worry that my wife will get tired of my naps and headaches, mood swings and being "jumpy" all of the time. I worry that I might not being doing my best job at school. I worry that I might not be such a good mother, because I can't listen and concentrate on what our son is telling me. But, I'm going to research this, find out what I can do to help the symptoms, and concentrate on getting back to my old self. Every woman goes through this at some point in time, so I'm going to ask around, talk with women who have been through this already, get some insight. Then hopefully, I will have enough energy to do what I need to do to get back on track. And I also hope that my family and friends will stick with me until I get things all balanced out. So if you see a woman who has lost her energy and seems particularly jumpy (and sweaty), it may be me. Just be patient with me until I get things under control. Yes, I know that I'm not the first woman to experience these symptoms, and I won't be the last (note to my beautiful wife, who is 9 years younger than I am: get ready sweetheart!). Women have been going through this for as long as they have been on this earth, and I'm sure that I will get through it just as they have always done (hopefully with my dignity and life as I know it intact). Wish me luck! And if anyone has any advice, please share it!