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Power-Surge.com
Please, come on in. The tea cups and biscuits are on the table.
Give me your coats. Gosh, winter is really here isn’t it?
I will only be a minute to start the tea. Yes, I wish this old house
had a fireplace but the kerosene heater keeps things pretty cozy.
There goes the whistle. Isn’t steamy mint tea wonderful? Be
careful, it’s hot. You sisters won’t believe what I
heard on National Public Radio yesterday. Rolling through South
Carolina on my way back from Mom’s, the Graedons of People’s
Pharmacy were hosting Dr. Dean Edell. Dr. Edell was fielding questions
as well as touting his new book, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit
of Healthiness." I thought he was doing quite well with his
trademark, "take two aspirins and call me in the morning"
style until a lady called in with a hormone question. "Is it
true that during menopause…?"
The good doctor commenced rather solidly, answering the specifics
in a clipped clinical manner, until he veered off into this anecdotal
abyss, "You know, in countries where women don’t suffer
nearly the level of negative symptoms as they do in the U.S., studies
found that when we gave out information to those foreign women on
menopause describing negative symptoms, their complaints increased."
Don’t choke on that cookie please. Now I have no problem with
the male species making educated guesses on the female state as
long as they reserve a large folder of doubt. The belief that severe
menopausal symptoms are somehow psychosomatic belongs somewhere
in the category with, "It has nothing to do with your hormones."
Dr. Edell, with all due respect, what you need is a strong dose
of Power-Surge.com.
Power-Surge.com, now in its 10th year online, is a dynamic and caring
support community for women at midlife and in menopause. The "Chief
cook and bottle washer," as she describes herself is Alice
Lotto Stamm, a freelance writer from New York City. In the early
90’s Alice found herself unprepared for all the strange new
physical and emotional feelings knocking at the door, Frustrated
by the limited information available, Alice sought out other women
to discuss and learn more about perimenopause.
"At no other time in a woman's life does she need as much support
as she does now," says Alice…The media is finally paying
attention to menopause now that the largest segment of society,
the first-wave baby boomers, are hovering around the '50' mark.
Yet, it boggles the mind how many physicians are still lacking in
knowledge of, and often insensitive to, the subject of menopause…You
will invariably come across those who gloss over menopause as "another
life experience." "It's natural," they say. "Snap
out of it," remark others. Yes, it's natural and it often feels
like hell. For those women who've been fortunate enough to sail
through an easy menopause, fine. For many women, however, it's one
of the most, if not THE most grueling, emotionally, spiritually
and physically debilitating 5-15 years of our life. The first thing
perimenopaual women need to remind themselves is that after years
of demonstrating to the immediate world that they're superwomen,
it's okay to shed that costume, to express the fears and confusion
they're feeling. Political correctness is the last thing…to
be concerned about."
If friends help friends, then this site lives up to it’s reputation.
It is a powerhouse of information on every subject touching menopause
including hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, estrogen, progesterone,
hormone replacement, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Dr.
Edell might find it interesting to discover that a correlation between
lowered menopausal symptoms in Asian women and their increased intake
of soy has been documented. In fact, an excellent soy product that
has helped many women, Revival, is based right here in North Carolina.
It is easy to see why in 2001 Forbes Magazine honored Power-Surge
as one of the top sites on the Internet and Health Magazine tapped
it as one of the best 25 sites for women. That is quite an achievement
in crowded cyberspace.
However, even with Power-Surge’s extensive library and stellar
gathering of experts, I think the most valuable part of this site
is the message boards. Here, under the protection of anonymity,
women are benefiting each other by sharing their personal agonies
and triumphs. They are empowering one another to find solutions
and solutions exist. For the first time, the Internet and Alice
Stamm have made it possible for women to share their knowledge and
to validate the real effects of hormone storms. It is amazing how
many of their stories share similar experiences. Without a doubt
these message boards should be required reading for all physicians.
I agree with Alice when she says, "The time has finally come
for menopause discussions to be taken from the closet into the living
room for intelligent discourse. Good grief, this is the new millennium!"
Good Grief, it’s time for more tea.
To my readers: If you ever wonder if I get
comments on these columns, I do occasionally. What are your thoughts
on the matter?
Email
Eva
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opinions stated in this page are those of Ms. Eva Ritchey and do
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