Through history, women have shared their experiences and solutions to pass along information they didn’t get anywhere else. Now with a boost from the Internet, we honor this tradition by compiling a collection of menopause stories, updated every week. If you’d like to tell us about your menopause experience, please answer eight questions here and include a photo of yourself. 

When did you go into menopause?

At 50, but thankfully I didn’t have an issue with turning 50 or the fact that I no longer was menstruating!

What did you know about menopause before you hit it?

That absolutely no one I knew had actually gone through menopause. Every, and I mean every, female friend or family member at that time had had a hysterectomy. Which of course they all promoted to me but I refused.

What do you wish you had known?

That I should’ve sought a healthy alternative immediately, instead of just accepting all of my symptoms and thinking I was doomed and also possibly losing my mind.

Most vexing symptom?

The irrational mood swings and emotional outbursts. I felt like I was losing my mind.

Best part?

Most memorable menopause story?

I hadn’t had a period in 11 months and we were in the midst of cross-country road trip and I had been talking all the way home off and on about how I was determined to get the things we were both coping with, due to my peri-menopause taken care of. Only to go to the restroom at truck stop to see a lot of blood. I spent the rest of the trip totally freaked out, thinking that something bad was wrong with me, possibly even the “C” word. Thankfully, after going to my doctor upon our return, I was fine. It was “normal,” but my year started all over again. Which became my last year of no period. I guess my monthly visitor for 38 years just wanted to go out with a bang. LOL.

Three words to describe your menopause experience?

Frustrating, enlightening and comforting