Flashes in the night

Now I can really have empathy for all those women who have gone through the big "change in life" - menopause. And I can say that so far parts of it really SUCK! For those of you that aren't familiar with all the nitty-gritty details of cancer, chemotherapy causes most premenopausal women to go into early menopause also known as "chemopause." Sometimes this lovely side effect is temporary and for other women, it's permanent. Obviously, I hope I'll be in the former group. The worst part of chemopause for me has been the god awful hot flashes that come out of it nowhere through out the day. They feel like someone has shoved me in the broiler and then turned it on full blast. Of course, it doesn't help that Austin, TX is hotter than hades right now - 100 degrees and sunny - with no relief in sight. My hot flashes are at their worst when I get into bed at night as my body temperature in completely out of whack. At first my body, particularly my bald head, is cold because of the central AC and the ceiling fan whirling above me. Usually I put on my cute pink cotton cap. Just as I'm feeling sleepy, the AC goes cycle goes off and my internal thermostat starts heating up, causing me to get clammy and overheated as I throw off my cotton cap and all the bed covers waking me up again. This craziness happens repeatedly until I finally fall asleep.

The hubby would probably say that my frequent irritableness is the worst symptom of chemopause. But then who's asking him? Besides, I do have a genuine physical and mental reason to be moody and impatient. Trust me, if men had to go through the change of life, either they would die off very soon afterwards or act like the biggest jerks ever!