In wading through the sea of choices for menopause relief, we have just a couple more guidelines for all our goddess sisters to keep in mind. Remember to check in with your health care practitioners and your girlfriends for solutions, but monitor your own individual response. You are the only real expert on your body and your menopause process – in other words, you’re in charge of your own treatment. Yeah, we know it sucks. Right now, we’d really just like someone else to make it all better, because we’re hot, we can’t think, and our emotions are causing us more ups and downs than the stock market. But turning over responsibility for our bodies is a slippery slope to possible unnecessary hysterectomy and/or hormone therapy. Remember, we are essentially in uncharted waters here. Okay, on with the continuation of our guidelines.

#4 Beware of Panaceas or Silver Bullets
Any remedy that claims to be the magical solution for menopause is simply another piece in the baffling puzzle of menopause treatment. In medical jargon,we health professionals often declare that there is “no silver bullet” for a given syndrome or disease entity. In saying that, we mean that there is no one answer or therapy that will work on a complicated, multifactorial condition. When any source claims that they have the definitive solution to the sufferings of menopausal women, they are simply full of bunk. All women are different and each of us has our own unique version of menopause. Answers? Heck, we’re still discovering the questions!

#5 Herbs Are Drugs Too
Our first drugs came from plants. Herbs are drugs too, with side effects, potential for overdosage, and interaction with anything else you are taking. You MUST research all medications and herbal supplements carefully and inform your health care practitioner/partner about every little thing that you are ingesting. Otherwise, you may be playing with fire, instead of quenching it.

#6 This Too Shall Pass
This may be the most important rule of all. Remember this one when the roller coaster ride seems like one long horrifying descent. As debilitating and disconcerting as all the changes may be, they will ease at some point. Sure part of our metamorphosis is permanent. We won’t be having periods again. (Except for an 80 year old woman we know, who was prescribed HRT, which actually caused her to experience an artificial period each month – how crazy is that!?!) Aging is not reversible, though we can soften the blow somewhat. Eventually the various physical, emotional, and mental manifestations DO reach an equilibrium that we can live with.
(adapted from our upcoming book “Venus Comes of Age”)