My apologies for not blogging for the last few days. I decided to have a day of silence for each year I’m ahead of schedule for experiencing menopause. If I’ve done my math right, since the average age is 51, I’m about nine years ahead of schedule. Thus, I’ve had nine days of anxious, irritable, sleepless, hot, cold, and sweaty silence – or, as some may say, nine days of the silent treatment. Not wanting to get bogged down with negatives – like the fact that I’m at greater risk for osteoporosis, cataracts, colon and ovarian cancer, gum disease and tooth loss – I’ll focus on the two positives – I don’t have a period and I’m not pregnant.
When my doctor and I discussed options for improving my outcomes and reducing my risks I informed her I would prefer to try a homeopathic approach. “You will need to get at least 1500 mg of calcium a day. How much milk, cheese and yogurt do you consume daily?” “I have cream in my coffee,”I replied. “Not enough,” she advised. “I try to eat yogurt every morning and I love cheese with my wine,” I told her. “Increase your consumption,” she advised. “More wine and cheese, I can totally do that!” I replied and asked, “What about that topical cream you and I discussed previously?” “You’ve got a couple more years before you need to worry about that,” she said and reminded me, “1500 mg of calcium a day. You also need to do some form of exercise for your bones – running, weights, etc. Enjoy your weekend.”
After our conversation, I ate my yogurt, ran to the store (that’s the kind of running she meant, right?) to purchase a half gallon of chocolate milk and, on my way home, grabbed two frozen yogurts for dinner.