Carol Roach

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Menarche is the first occurrence of menstruation at the onset of puberty. There are many statistics giving different age ranges its occurrence, but basically it can happen between the ages of 8 and 16.

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I remember how I used to be impatient for this wonder of life to occur. Menstruation would mean that I was a woman. ? To my nine-year-old mind, I would be oh so grown up. ? ? When I began to menstruate, it wasn??™t fun. It was inconvenient and sometimes very painful.

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There were times as the years moved forward, when I used it for an excuse; pretending to be indisposed during swimming class. We girls loved swimming in high school; we just did not like to swim with the boys. I managed to finagle my way out of two of the four swimming classes a month, and I did not feel guilty. The boys played rough, swam rough, and even touched you in inappropriate places; claiming it was an accident.

Later, menstruation served a very important function and I looked forward to it. After I had my son, several times I thought that I might be pregnant again, despite taking birth control. It was a very trying period in my life. I did not want a second child given the situation going on in my marriage at the time. Finally after several visits to the doctor, it was determined that I had an unusual cycle after the birth of my son. My cycle was a 50-day-cycle. It took many years before it reverted back to my original 28-day cycle.

The cessation of menstruation for at least a 12 month period is known as menopause. Fast forward twenty years and I am wishing the monthly flow would finally end. Pre-menopause is considered to occur seven to ten years prior to this event. Peri-menopause is the stage that I now fall into at this moment in time.

Everyone recognizes the symptoms of hot flashes, night swears and missed periods associated with this phase of female development. But there are about 35 different symptoms most woman are not even aware of, including depression, loss of sleep, and hair loss. I am doing research now into the symptoms and the medications proscribed to alleviate them.

Am I candidate for hormone replacement therapy? Some research indicates that estrogen replacement can cause cancer. Should I take a progesterone supplement etc? Can I avoid medication altogether?

I cannot wait until even this part of my biological processes end as well, but not before some personal reflection.

Though I looked at menstruation as a necessary nuisance, it was a part of womanhood; a part of our identities as childbearing females. Now that the end is near, I am wondering how do I really feel?

I will still be happy for the cessation of the menstrual flow and I know now it will come soon enough, but at the same time, the greatest part of my life is over. I will no longer be a woman of childbearing years.

Some woman cannot get past that fact and determine their lives to be useless from that point onward. I chose to look towards to my later years as being the best years of my life. My child is grown up and although he will always be my child, I am free to live my life the way I see fit. I am not obliged to factor his needs into the equation. I can work, taking shifts that would not have been possible when he was a child, or I can travel, or just plain come and go as I please.

Some women may find menopause to be restricting, I look ahead and find it liberating.

Carol Roach

winterose@videotron.ca

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A Native of Montreal, Quebec, Carol is a graduate of Concordia, and McGill University.?  She holds a bachelor in psychology and a Masters in counselling psychology.?  Carol Roach is a published writer and newsletter editor.?  You can purchase her book: Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey at www.publishamerica.com, or www.amazon.com.?  You can also go to your local bookstore and order it there as well.?  Carol??™s second book: Angels Watching Over is currently looking for a home. Stay tuned for details. ? 

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If you are interested in other stories feel free to join her newsletter: Storytime Tapestry at: http://subs.zinester.com/98907 , or email her directly at winterose@videotron.ca and she will be glad to accommodate you.?  Carol enjoys email and responds to every inquiry.

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