Do you have those horrid sweats that are associated with menopause?
I remember them well.
As a person who absolutely loves heat and can tolerate a tremendous amount, I never imagined there would ever come a day when I couldn't take it. I mean, I could sit in the baking hot sun when it's 95 degrees out and barely break a sweat.
Then came the early signs of menopause.
The exact day and time has long faded, but the first hot flashes have not.
I remember the welling up of heat that spread throughout my body. I believed it was just stress and it would quickly ease. But it didn't. I just got hotter and hotter, to the point I actually thought I would go mad.
That's when I put two and two together and figured that this was far more than just anxiety. My mother's complaints suddenly made sense.
As a kid, I remember her constantly fanning herself and complaining about the heat and of her hot flashes. Coming from an entirely different perspective on heat I couldn't comprehend her problem. Now I understood completely.
The most common solution to the hot flashes of menopause seemed to be to take hormone replacement therapy. My mother did. I, on the other hand, prefer to do things "the natural way".
I suffered along with the sweats for a few months. In the beginning I must admit they weren't that unbearable, but over that period they gradually got more intense. One day I thought, "I can't take this. I'm going to have to go to the doctor and get something for it."
Then I stumbled on a solution that might or might not be valid. All I know is that it worked for me, every time. So I'm sharing it with you now so you can try it too and see if it helps you.
I discovered this little tip as I was going into another hot flash. Just as it was starting, I went to the fridge for something cold. Ah! Orange juice. That sounds good.
I pulled a glass and took a big gulp. Almost immediately, the hot flash began to subside. This was very unusual, because I'd taken water before and it hadn't done a darned thing. But the juice seemed to be the answer.
Wanting desperately for this to be the 'cure', I grabbed a glass of juice at the beginning of each hot flash after that. And every single time, the attack eased.
From that point on, I was able to continue through the next 8-10 months with only minor hot flashes and taking only cold orange juice.
For those of you who are just starting menopause, let me say that in my case the worst part was over in the first 6 months or so. Thereafter, I had hot flashes but they were quite bearable, although annoying.
As I say, I don't know if drinking cold orange juice at the onset of a hot flash really works, or whether it was psychological or coincidence. All I know is that it did seem to work for me. It might have been the cold suddenly being tossed down into my belly. It might have been the vitamins in the drink. Or it might have been something else entirely that made it work.
This isn't scientific evidence, but if you want to give it a try, it can't hurt. The key, I discovered, is to take it right at the very beginning of a hot flash. Once it gets going, it's too late and the juice doesn't seem to have any effect.
If you experience anxiety with your menopause, you can get for more information and tips about anxiety disorder, depression and other related issues on my anxiety relief blog at http://www.book-titles.ca/blog/ and on http://www.book-titles.ca/anxietycure.htm
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