Age is a number too many people get hung up on. It’s not the number of years you pass on this earth that’s important — it’s how you choose to spend that time.
Getting older is only a problem when it starts affecting your daily life. Or, as we’ll discuss, your sex life.
Women, aging and sex
Women do experience a gradual decline in sexual responsiveness as we age. The production of hormones diminishes which can affect sex drive. In addition, these physiological changes take place:
- vaginal walls become more thin and rigid
- the vagina produces less lubrication
Both these changes can cause discomfort during intercourse (so be sure to choose a good, effective lube).
Here’s the good news: a woman’s capacity to achieve orgasm remains unchanged well into her senior years. (It may take longer to achieve orgasm, however.)
Menopause is associated with the end of fertility, menstruation and the production of eggs. Traditionally, menopause has been considered the end of a woman’s sex life. People who thought this also thought that the only reason women engage in sex is to have children. But recent studies have demonstrated that many women enjoy sex more after menopause! Their fears of unwanted pregnancies are completely ended. So, instead of being the end of your sex life, menopause can be a new beginning!
Age-related changes in a man’s sex life
The story behind the effects of age on a man’s sexual function is a little more grim. You’ve heard the often-repeated claim that a man’s peak sexual age is 18? Unfortunately, this is true. It’s a shame that most men are at their pinnacle of sexual capabilities at an age when they don’t know how to use them.
Every year after this sexual peak, a man’s steriod hormone (including testosterone) levels gradually decline. This decrease is measurable by the age of 30. Lower hormone levels mean two things:
reduced speed of physiological reactions (you get aroused more slowly)
increased refractory period (time after orgasm that it takes to achieve a second erection)
The former shortcoming is okay and can be overcome with sufficient foreplay. The second is more troublesome — like most women, I really really like round 2. Fortunately a friend of mine has found a solution that helps men get ready for round 2 faster: this product, he says, makes orgasms stronger as well as helping him get back in action.
After age 40, the urgency of sexual desire or “horniness” decreases. Men over 40 are harder to turn on and generally speaking don’t perform as well as younger men. (Don’t get your feelings hurt! There are exceptions.) This decline continues through the 50s.
Another effect of age that sets in around age 40 is a periodic inability to get an erection. It’s not that you’re not aroused — it’s just that you cannot get an erection. Many men are extremely anxious about this. Even worse, many women don’t understand this phenomenon and think that a lack of erection is a lack of excitement, arousal, and sometimes even a sign of ambivalence. That’s why pharmaceuticals that promise instant erections are so popular among men with anxieties and low self-esteem.
Despite these changes in a man’s body, recent studies have indicated that healthy men enjoy fulfilling sex lives into old, old age. Men are also fertile their entire lives, so age need not diminish one’s ability to father children.
Sex and age — the bottom line
All studies that have been done lately has indicated that many of our ideas about sex and age are just plain wrong. Women don’t lose interest in sex when they go through menopause. Men don’t lose interest in sex after 40 — they just need more enticement to get excited.
The best thing you can do for your sexual health is to be fit. Eat healthy foods in moderation and go to the gym. Avoid stress, or, if you can’t, learn to deal with it in a healthy manner. Above all else, talk to your partner about your concerns. Keep the lines of communication open.
And remember — you can enjoy a healthy, fulfilling sex life for as long as you want!
Some women begin to have problems with their bladder and experience overactive bladder (gotta go, gotta go right now) and urinary incontinence or loss of urine at inopportune times at the time or shortly after menopause.
Does Menopause Affect Bladder Control?
Yes. Some women have bladder control problems after they stop having periods (menopause or change of life). If you are going through menopause, talk to your health care team.
After your periods end, your body stops making the female hormone estrogen. Estrogen may help keep the lining of the bladder and urethra healthy. A lack of estrogen could contribute to weakness of the bladder control muscles.
Pressure from coughing, sneezing or lifting can push urine through the weakened muscle. This kind of leakage is called stress incontinence.
Although there is no evidence that taking estrogen improves bladder control in women who have gone through menopause, small does may help thicken the bladder lining and decrease the incontinence. Your doctor can suggest many other possible treatments to improve bladder control.
What Else Causes Bladder Control Problems in Older Women?Sometimes bladder control problems are caused by other medical conditions. These problems include:
Infections
Nerve damage from diabetes or stroke
Heart problems
Medicines
Feeling depressed
Difficulty walking or moving
A very common kind of bladder control problem for older women is urge incontinence. This means the bladder muscles squeeze at the wrong time and cause leaks.
If you have this problem, your doctor can prescribe medication that can certainly alleviate that problem.
What Treatments Can Help You Regain Bladder Control?Your doctor may recommend limiting foods or fluids, such as caffeine, which are bladder irritants and increase the desire to go the rest room.
There are also pelvic exercises that can strengthen the muscles in the urethra and the vagina. Life’s events, like childbirth and being overweight, can weaken the pelvic muscles.
Pelvic floor muscles are just like other muscles. Exercise can make them stronger. Women with bladder control problems can regain control through pelvic muscle exercises, also called Kegel exercises.
Exercising your pelvic floor muscles for just five minutes, three times a day can make a big difference to your bladder control. Exercise strengthens muscles that hold the bladder and many other organs in place.
Two pelvic muscles do most of the work. The biggest one stretches like a hammock. The other is shaped like a triangle. Both muscles prevent leaking of urine and stool.
Pelvic exercises begin with contracting the two major muscles that stretch across your pelvic floor. There are three methods to check for the correct muscles.
1. Try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on the toilet. If you can do it, you are using the right muscles.
2. Imagine that you are trying to stop passing gas. Squeeze those same muscles you would use.
3. Lie down and put your index finger inside your vagina. Squeeze as if you were trying to stop urine from coming out. If you feel tightness on your finger, you are squeezing the right pelvic muscle.
Do your pelvic exercises at least three times a day. You can exercise while lying on the floor, sitting at a desk or standing in the kitchen.
Be patient. Don’t give up. It’s just five minutes, three times a day. You may not feel your bladder control improve until after three to six weeks. Still, most women do notice an improvement after a few weeks.
Other treatments include inserting a device, a pessary, directly into the vagina to lift the urethra and the base of the bladder to its proper position behind the pubic bone. And finally, if the conservative methods of medication, exercises, and dietary modification don’t work, then you should talk to your doctor about one of the surgical procedures that can lift the bladder into the proper position to prevent leakage
Bottom Line: No one needs to suffer the embarrassment of urinary incontinence.
Dr. Neil Baum is a physician at Touro Infirmary and can be reached at (504) 891-8454 or through his website, www.neilbaum.com
My brother called from Washington today. He and Magenta =shudder= set the date. I told him that the devil had some good deals, and if he wanted to sell his soul, he should really make sure he’s getting his money’s worth.
Anyhoo, right after I got off the phone with him, I started having hot flashes. At first I thought it was because I was so mad at my brother, but then I realized it was a sign of my deteriorating health! So I checked the roommate’s health book (she called about that the other day, by the way), and I came to the startling conclusion …
I’m suffering from menopause.
No, seriously. Hot flashes are one of the leading signs of menopause. That and lack of sexual interest (Although there’s plenty of interest on MY part… ahem). Another sign is being unsuccessful at getting pregnant for more than a year (You know, I’ve been trying and trying to think about getting pregnant, but the whole no-sex thing is making this unsuccessful).
Also, there’s this thing called premature menopause, which fits me perfectly (I always knew I was mature for my age, but sheesh!). Now this is possible if one’s mother or sister has experienced premature menopause (which I think is fact, because my sister has the worst kind of mood swings, and I’m pretty sure my Mom hasn’t had sex since 1992 … she is the worst kind of prude … shriveled and … wait, that’s a prune. What’s a prude? Oh well, the word still applies).
So, because of my menopause, I get to look forward to all those fun, old-people diseases. Like osteoporosis, tooth decay, ovarian cancer and smelling like talcum powder (I know that last one isn’t a disease, but really, someone should do something about it).
So now I have to schedule to have my blood tested so I can prove to my mother that I have premature menopause, and that I got it from her, and how it’s all her fault that I’ll never give her any grandchildren, and she should really tell my brother not to marry Magenta =shudder= to compensate for it.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, but because men have higher rates of heart disease it has long been assumed that estrogen is what creates that difference. Heart disease is more prevalent in post-menopausal women than pre-menopausal women, so this has also helped fuel the myth that estrogen has something to do with heart problems. Actually it is probably just due to the fact that post-menopausal women are older.
There has been a clear relationship established between amounts of natural estrogen and breast cancer, osteoporosis and endometrial cancer. The longer you have natural estrogen in you because of early menstruation, drinking alcohol, or certain medications the greater the risk of breast cancer and the lower risk of osteoporosis. However, no clear relationship has been established between natural estrogen and heart disease.
So what does put a woman at risk for heart disease? A family history of heart disease. Levels of lipids, the most common one is known as cholesterol, are also a factor. High levels of an amino acid called Homocysteine have also been shown to increase risk. (Good news is that can be lowered with vitamin B and folic acid.) High levels of C Reactive Protein produced during periods of inflammation increases heart disease risk and this protein is also increased by estrogen. Other factors that increase the risk for heart disease include personality type, diabetes, smoking, being overweight, having high blood pressure and having blood that clots easily.
In terms of Estrogen therapy and heart disease, this means that even though studies have shown that HRT reduces the risk of heart disease in women, the studies have been more observational in nature. Because the studies are observational they really have not yet answered the question if the issue is that estrogen lowers the instance of heart disease or if the instance of heart disease is lower because women who are healthy tend to be on estrogen in the first place. None of the studies done so far have been random controlled blind studies. All the women were of higher social and economic status, highly educated, thinner, non-smokers and also were more likely to have had a hysterectomy. They were more likely to have insurance coverage, therefore more likely to go to a doctor regularly and have had preventive healthcare, lowering their risk of heart disease anyway.
All in all, the evidence showing that HRT can lower the risk of heart disease is circumstantial and considering the recent studies showing links to Breast Cancer and HRT, it would seem that whatever unproven benefit of HRT does not outweigh the risk of taking it. And the American Heart Association recommends the same thing – women with heart disease should not be given HRT to prevent further occurrence and women already on HRT that have heart disease should only continue to take it if the have an additional reason to take it besides heart disease.
There are additional ways to prevent heart disease besides HRT than you can do, like lifestyle changes and drugs that can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure so if the only reason you are considering HRT is for heart disease, it’s probably best to pursue those other options first.
As we explore the 35 symptoms of Menopause together, I’m going to be taking them out of order. Why? Because that’s how they take me.
Symptom Number Three–IRRITABILITY
Normally, I am very kind to telemarketers. Hey, they are just doing their job, right? Trying to carve out a living. Like me. I get that. But lately…I don’t know…I find myself somewhat irritated by them. Probably because of symptoms #5 Trouble Sleeping Through the Night and #9 Crashing Fatigue.
Anyway, early this morning, the phone rings. Right off the bat, symptom 3 rears its ugly head. Caller ID says “MSL PROMO’ (402) 982-0420. Huh? “Hello?”
Silence.
Symptom 3 ramps up. “HELLO?”
After another 3 seconds I hear a heavily accented voice say, “Hull-oo?”
“Hi, uh, listen, I don’t do business over the phone, so take me off you list, huh? Thank you.” Feeling good about my patient demeanor, loving my neighbor and all that, I hang up and roll back over for some much-needed sleep.
“Yes! Please! I don’t do business over the phone. Take me off your list! Thank you!” I hang up and try to sleep.
Ring.
I answer. “WHAT?”
“Uhh… ees dis… Calr… Colin…C”
“Do not call here again.”
“Haas my cumpony call you more than woonce?”
“As of this morning, THREE TIMES! BUZZ OFF!”
Ring, Ring…
This is where Symptom #3 possessed me like a scene from the Exorcist. I picked up the phone and screamed until I was hoarse.
Ring, Ring… (I’m not kidding). This time, I imagine my caller gathering his telemarketer buddies around the phone, all eager to see what I’ll do next. It was early. I had little time to prepare a show, so I improvised with another blood curdling scream. Loud and long and window rattling. The dogs dove under the bed.
Throat is raw and bloody. But I’m feeling good about the way I handled it. By now, I was awake enough to call the National Do Not Call Number to register my phone. 888-382-1222. Call ‘em. It’ll save your vocal cords. And your sleep.
So I got a hold of my OBGYN today to explain the dilemma with the wonder drug that has been discontinued. Apparently, there was no acceptable alternative to her. She referred me to a pharmacy that would blend a medication just for me. Turns out they don’t submit to insurance and it would be anywhere from $75-$150 a month for me to have my medications. Now I don’t know about you guys out there, but I don’t have an extra $75-$150 a month because I am paying for insurance that is supposed to help with this kind of expense. *sigh* Thankfully, this pharmacy did some research and found a few alternatives (after I blubbered on the phone about having no money and that I feel I was robbed of my vitality, GAWD I am hormonal). So, we are going to try those. Good news, It was about $20 less than the Estratest! WOOHOO!! So hopefully this will work out! And hopefully that “sexual healing” will continue…. I am still impatiently waiting for a woman’s version of “the little blue pill”.
Now if we can just get the other stuff straight, we will be good. Did I mention my other doctor just got my blood work back, and it was CRAZY!? I have to go in for a 2 hour blood sugar test, and they are re-submitting my blood for further review of my thyroid function and iron levels. *sigh* I hate going to the doctor. I swear once I get healthy I am not going back. Anyone out there who is on the brink of being obese…..PUT THE CHOCOLATE DOWN!!! PUT THE FRIED CHICKEN DOWN!!!! GET UP OFF YOUR BUTT AND TAKE A WALK AROUND THE BLOCK!!! EAT A CARROT OR SOMETHING!!! Being fat IS NOT worth going through this kind of crap! Having that serving of homemade macaroni or those enchiladas is not worth risking your life. Because essentially, that is what you are doing (as I type while sitting on my 283 lb ass). I am trying to change my perception. I haven’t been successful yet ( I want chocolate or something really fattening SO BAD), but what do they say “Try Try Try again!” I will be successful it is just harder and going to take longer than I was hoping. But ultimately, I have no choice. My family is worth the world to me and I need to be healthy for them.
I took the day off to spend some needed time with my youngest child today. We had a blast (when I wasn’t blubbering about my medical crap). We even took a nap together. He paints an awesome volcano! The laundry still isn’t done, and it still looks like a bomb went off in my house, but I don’t mind. I wouldn’t give up my day with him for that stuff anyway! AND my 8-year-old had an AWESOME week! She is FINALLY not grounded anymore! PRAISE GOD! I am SO proud of all her hard work. I have been getting her cards. You have seen the commercials for Hallmark with the cards made just to cheer kids on. Well, I will have to say that I have bought a few, and on the days I gave those to her, she had a great day. She told me tonight that the cards really help. AND you can get one FREE at your local Hallmark! I am a BIG fan of free!
Oy, I am so crabby I can’t stand myself. The dogs are hiding in their kennels, the cats have disappeared and poor Hubby will be home soon. I just don’t feel like making soup today so I am cheating, I am taking chicken and ramen noodles and maybe some vegetables and going to call it soup. I was going to make some sweet potato soup from a Rachel Ray recipe but I need to empty and wash the pot I used to make chili last week. But I don’t want to. Because I am crabby!
Did you know that a can of diet pepsi can spray your walls and everything within a few feet and take forever to soak up, clean up and dry? Well it does. I don’t know how the damn thing fell either, I was working on my business plan and all of a sudden it spilled. Must have ghosts or something. It wasn’t very nice of them if they are the ones that did it. GRRRRRRRR, more crabbiness. So now my living room is messy because I had to throw everything out from the wall to get it dry. Crabby, crabby, crabby.
I got pink highlights put in my hair on Tuesday. So of course I have to go to a funeral next week. Isn’t that the way it usually works? But my uncle would have just given me grief over it and that would have been the end of it. So me and my crabby self will just head down there and enjoy seeing everyone, have a good cry because it is sad that my uncle is gone, and talk about how it just really sucks that we only get to see each other these days when someone dies. Adds to my crabbiness today.
Someday menopause will come. And hopefully the crabbiness will go. Sometimes it is worse than being a teenager and just getting it. The mood swings just suck. Suck, suck, suck! More crabbiness.
Happy freakin thoughts for a happy freakin day! So there.
Do you often feel under the weather, sluggish and mentally drained?
Your body may be overloaded with harmful toxins and you may not even know it!
In order to help our bodies naturally return to a healthy, balanced state there are several actions we can take.
In this Detox Guide Dr Jari Bertlik discuss these options and show you how with the help of two excellent Akuna products, you can jumpstart your way a healthier and happier you.
1. Learn how to read the signs of toxicity in your body
2. Learn about the 7 main perpetrators that cause our detoxification system to overload
3. Learn how to get your internal detoxification system from running on overdrive
4. Learn how to get your body functioning properly
This is a common concern in women aged 40 years and over is a matter of menopause, because they believe in having sex, their partner is not satisfied anymore because they dry vagina.
The most effective way to treat the symptoms of menopause, estrogen is given treatment. This treatment is also called hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT can be used for: treatment of hot flashes and night sweats disturbing, problem cycle, vaginal dryness urinary complaints and grievances. Sometimes used for prevention of osteoporosis
and the development of cardiovascular disease. HRT can be given in various ways, such as the pill, patch, nasal spray, gel and implants.
The level of discomfort of menopause symptoms and the expected improvement with therapy play a role in determining whether or not to use HRT. Doctors can only give this advice: women should eventually make their own decisions.
The basic principles of hormone replacement
Estrogen can be given in various ways. If only the symptoms of bladder or vagina, will be chosen for local (local) administration. In general, symptoms (hot flashes), it is important that the hormones in the blood (systemic therapy), this example with pills or patches. In general, the route of administration is not important.
Under the influence of estrogen the endometrium grows. Continuous use of estrogen alone, mucosal derail growth. This can make the bleeding worse and may increase the risk of cervical cancer. This slip can be prevented with estrogen in combination with a progestogen to be taken. This will be given every month for sequential progestogen 10-14. After stopping the progestogen rather than follow the “period”.
Side effects hormone replacement
In the local (vaginal) treatment with hormones, such as vaginal dryness urinary complaints or symptoms without any obvious side effects. There is the possibility that the vagina slightly increased.
Systemic administration of estrogen (estrogen administration via blood) is more susceptible to side effects. In the short term primarily means that the chest pain and vaginal bleeding. When combined HRT (estrogen and progestin) can create a feeling bloated. In particular, long-term use of combined HRT increases the risk of breast cancer. The risk of developing gallstones and the occurrence of thrombosis is slightly increased (less than 1 per 100 women).
Treatment of menstrual disorders
In the irregular menstrual cycle is a good way as regular contraceptive pill first choice. Regular weather cycles and reduces blood loss. The pills made three of four weeks for enough hormones for menopausal symptoms yet. Can stop for a week or complaints arise, in this case will be transferred to the HST-pill.
I know that Love & Logic parenting is all the rage. With due respect to its creators and many adherents, ARE ANY OF YOU FREAKING MENOPAUSAL????
Give me a moment; I’ll take my estrogen and explain…
When I got in the shower this morning, I discovered that, once again, my daughter has been “making potions” during bath time. The making of potions a la Libbi entails dumping all of my body wash, body scrubs, conditioning gels, lotions and liquids (absolutely essential to avoid that “mature” alligator-with-eczema look) into the bath water and then making her own sludgy combos to refill the containers. (She puts them all back very neatly, gotta give her that. I never know she’s done it until I wash my hair with bath salt.)
Now, I have previously explained that this situation is not acceptable and determined the “logical,” “loving” course of action–a shower instead of a bath for her, which would be a tragedy and probably effective. IF I COULD REMEMBER TO ENFORCE IT.
You see, Love & Logic parenting requires two things the menopausal mother of a young child does not have in adequate supply: patience and a memory.
Am I really supposed to remember at six p.m. the thing that pissed me off that morning? Not gonna happen. I consider that one of the perks of menopause.
I tried 1-2-3 Magic, which I liked when my daughter was younger, but now, with menopause-induced ADD, I’m onto another topic by the time I get to 3.
So, I propose a more satisfying, more effective way for a menopausal mother make her point: The next time I get into my shower only to find that my expensive cream rinse has been diluted to drool, I am going to scream “WHICH ONE OF YOU YAHOOS IS MESSING WITH MY STUFF AGAIN???? WHOEVER IT IS , YOU ARE IN SO. MUCH. TROUBLE!!!” at the top of my lungs. I think that’s going to work. And at least I won’t have to try to remember where I put my Love & Logic book.
THE ANTIOXIDANT ANTIAGING CHIEF HUMAN HORMONE MELATONIN DELAYS / LESSENS MENOPAUSE, PARKINSONS, GALLSTONES, HYPERTENSION, HEADACHE, SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER, AGING, ALZHEIMERS, CANCER, INSOMNIA; ONLY EXCESS LOWERS MOOD AND LIBIDO. .
Since melatonin improves sleep & serotonin level, it not surprisingly lowers LH luteotropic hormone and thus libido in the pharmacological doses marketed (3mg) .
Surprisingly, there are only 8 papers on melatonin and aging human sexual activity on Pubmed search..But is it a surprise that there are 162 papers on Pubmed since 1992? including many on a designer melatonin agonist agomelatine- of which one of the latest – Prescrire a month ago- concludes: “agomelaline new drug. Adverse effects and no proven efficacy;.. Very high doeses of agomelatine are oncogenic in animals. The risk in humans is not known. Dizziness, gastrointestinal and cutaneous disorders have been observed. Agomelatine is probably hepatotoxic“.
PHYSIOLOGICAL HORMONE BALANCE VERSUS SYNTHETIC DESIGNER SUBSTITUTES:
But there are lots of self-reports on Google confriming what physiology tells us, that hormone balance is what matters.
Doctors (and hence patients) choose at their peril to ignore physiology – what nature teaches us about optimal function- solely at the behest of Big Pharma. Big pharma made a killing before WW2 with the isolation, patenting and mass sales of natural supplements eg hormones starting with thyroid. But these soon run out of patent, so Big Pharma has zealously employed massive armies of researchers and lobbyists to develop and promote synthetics cribbed from natural products ie synthetic designer drugs. Industry has not yet succeeded in generating a synthetic designer form of thyroid hormone to exploit the millions with thyroid deficiency, nor a substitute for the human heart-made hormone digoxin, which has never been surpassed as the foxglove digitalis extract .
Big Pharma wants us to forget that all modern drugs for chronic use were based on ancient endogenous and mineral/plant based drugs .
The chief brain antidepressant HORMONES serotonin ie its precursors (5H)tryptophan and other natural antidepressant like St John’s wort; and the chief brain anxiolytics GABA and progesterone and harmless plant anxiolytics like valerian , were soon supplanted by synthetic antidepressants, and barbiturate-benzodiazebine – like designer drugs. Industry has exploited the growing dialysis market by promoting grossly costly designer synthetic- not human- erythropoeitin analogues.
These designer drugs have been so cleverly marketed by Big Pharma – and thus politicians, governments which Big Pharma massively funds directly and via taxes and job promises – that for chronic use let alone acute illness they have almost wiped out the use of highly effective remedies used for millennia. eg lithium and metformin were ignored by the FDA for 25 years despite being the gold standard elsewhere for bipolar and type 2 diabetes respectively. For common hypertension, rauwolfia-reserpine is still the goldstandard bedrock treatment in a dose of less than 0.1mg/day combined with the also-suppressed perfect synthetic (saluretic, potassium-magnesium conserving) vasodilator amiloretic amilozide in low dose.
And melatonin output is inverse to bloodpressure , it reduces both hypertension, and nicotine-related vascullopathy.
The Chinese already were using gender-specific sex human hormones derived from the ’sublimation’ of youthful human urine to treat gender-specific diseases and deficiencies. But since the extraction of sex hormones from the urine of humans in this age of viral and prion plagues (let alone the aesthetic and logistic problematic matter of buying billions of gallons of human urine each year) is not on, Wyeth – with the increasing monopolistic complicity of the FDA-USA government- simply substituted human hormones by xenohormones- horse estrogens (from the mass farming of tethered catheterized mares) and synthetic progestins- for both contraception and HRT in men and women. Hence the catastrophe for older women of the Womens’ Health Initiative.
And industry attempts to keep a stranglehold on the vast diabetes market by continually synthetising new depot forms of human insulin; and synthetic alternatives to the gold standard and only plant-derived antidiabetic prohormone (- metformin, in use for well over 50 years, the only drug ever that has been tested in a 20year randomized controlled trial, and proven to be the only prescription drug that reduces all major diseases and thus deaths by almost 50% -) by continually bombarding the market with largely unnecessary synthetic designer drugs to discourage use of metformin, diet and lifestyle change - new sulphonylureas, acarbose, glitazones and now gliptins, none of which have undergone longterm trials, and which uniformly prove (unlike established old drugs) to have major adverse effects even at registered doses. Like amphetamines, orlistat and rimonabant have had to be progressively restricted- sibutramine is the latest to be cancelled last week in Europe. due to adverse effects that the suppliers finally failed to prevent becoming common knowledge. Is it surprizing that the USA FDA – which runs the FDA on the massive funding of and input from Big Pharma- has still not suspended sibutramine use there?
And surprise surprise- Wikipedia dismissed metformin for weight loss with one reference, although there as scores of trials including major 3-5year trials on three continents that show that metformin use in the overweight BEFORE diabete occurs produces both significant fat loss and approximate halving in new diabetes and new cancer.
And wiki confirms that while the human hormones leptin, amylin and gliptins-incretins- work in synergy with all other hormones, micronutients to potently regulate optimal sugar and fat and energy metabolism, none of them have been marketed as the natural forms- that is the last thing that Big Pharma – the FDA- Uncle Sam wants when with some effort they can already market designer adaptations to produce more golden $billion raincheques.
This despite the fact that Turek’s 2010 USA transcontinental trial showed recently in rodents that combination of the natural hormones amylin and leptin injection decreased food intake (by 26%) and reduced body weight (by 15%) and epididymal fat (by 78%). 15% of 100kg body mass is 15kg weight loss.. A year before, Ravussin ea published the 6 month trial of the designer derivatives of leptin and amylin confirming that the patented combination in obese humans indeed lowered body weight by 12.7%.But the common adverse effect of the injection was nausea.
This farcical commercial merrygoround - which puts patients at grave risk- is despite the fact that there are dozens of safe proven natural ie unpatentable antidiabetic insulin sensitizers/ obesity-reversing supplements freely available, from garlic and fenugreek to galega officinalis, gymnema, coleus, calcium, chromium, zinc and vitamin D3.
MELATONIN DOSE:
Hypnotics promote sleep, not sex- hence melatonin works best after sleep rest ie well after midnight, early morning. But designer synthetic hypnotics have dangerous side-effects and addiction problems, without any longterm benefits.
Clearly for anyone not in an institution or at risk of cancer, melatonin dose should be kept as low as is prudent to optimize sleep- not sedate.
This dose may be as low as 0.05mg/night- hence dose should be titrated upwards from a pinch to the average optimal of 0.25mg/night, but as high as is well tolerated without hangover/daytime drowsiness.
So for the hyperanxious-anxiety-panic disorders, melatonin may well best be taken in the morning at low dose, and early evening to unwind
That low dose reverses impotence in rats is not surprising- 10 to 100mcg/kg as used in rodents equates to between 1-10mcg/kg in humans ie 0.05 to 1mg in adults.
Studies show that the right dose for sleep in humans is about 0.1 to 0.3mg – not the 3mg caps/pills that are foolishly marketed.
Melatonin in excess can worsen depression and cognition; and even be arousing.
but since it improves sleep and growth and reproduction and energy balance and immunity and bloodpressure and cancer control and anorexia – fragility reversal,
it should equally clearly be supplemented at night in physiological dose ie 0.05 – 1mg- combined with especially vitamin D3, and during the day or for an hour before sleep with bright (sunshine or artificial light) exposure, which dramatically improves Parkinsons disease..
LEVELS OF MELATONIN AND LIGHT:
The recent Bronowski Institute study shows how bright fluorescent light (does a TV or computer screen count? – surely?) should be encouraged for an hour before bedtime since it markedly reduces Parkinsons; but in older people should then be followed by a melatonin supplement dose of melatonin for all the antiaging reasons. As Rabbi Michoel Gourarie writes in Personal Growth, turning on a light in the dark- even the one small candle of ancient times- can do as much to cheer up one or a host of people.
So especially in institutions sleep should be preceded by bright light for an hour before lights out.
The most most important aspect for us all is sequential light (both via stimulation and via vitamin D from sunlight) and and then darkness for sleep’s melatonin value in insomnia & fatigue especially autism, ADHD, against cancer, hypertension, diabetes (insulin sensitizer ), & especially for retarding menopause ie infertility.
The recent trials data increases greatly the potential of melatonin against premature aging ie against cancer as well as against gonadopause that was already widely promoted 15 yrs ago by Regelson, Colman and Pierpaoli - In 1995 Pierpaoli in The Melatonin Miracle summed up how melatonin given to aging mice maintained youthful size gonads, significantly higher sex hormones, and extended their healthspan and lifespan by 30% ie to a century in human terms.
The first 7.5year case followup of melatonin benefits in delaying menopause came from Poland 2 years ago; but already in 2005 an Italian team Bellipanni ea showed in a 6month study that melatonin 3mg/day “abrogates hormonal, menopause-related neurovegetative disturbances and restores menstrual cyclicity and fertility in perimenopausal or menopausal women. At present we assert that the six-month treatment with MEL produced a remarkable and highly significant improvement of thyroid function, positive changes of gonadotropins towards more juvenile levels, and abrogation of menopause-related depression.”
Previously in 1992, Sandyk ea in New York proposed that “There is evidence that pineal melatonin is an anti-aging hormone and that the menopause is associated with a substantial decline in melatonin secretion and an increased rate of pineal calcification.” . And in 1984 Aleem ea had shown “Suppression of basal luteinizing hormone concentrations by melatonin in postmenopausal women.” ie that supplemental melatonin can suppress rising LH – although the primary cause of menopause is gonadal aging- exhaustion,- which in both men and women leads to the compensatory rise in LH if the pineal and pituitary glands are themselves still capable of responding to feedback. The primary cause of hot flashes is due largely to falling estrogen level, with all other menopause symptoms being caused by gonadal hormone exhaustion. But Bellipanni’s 2005 study showed that melatonin supplement could produce better gonadal and thyroid hormone output.
So all aging folk should take the combined hormones vitamin D3 about 5000iu/day, and melatonin, building slowly to perhaps 1 - 3mg at night, from age 30yrs if not earlier; but with cancer, under medical supervision, building to vit D3 10 00 to 50 000iu/day ( monitoring the serum calcium) and melatonin to perhaps 40mg/d – plus a titrated dose of the anticancer prohormone metfornin. .
Last week, I told my symptoms — insomnia, a creepy-crawling feeling on my skin, waking up sweaty in the middle of the night, a period that’s been missing for three months — to a nurse/midwife. She concluded that it was menopause. I had been waiting for that news since 1972. If I hadn’t been tired and suffering from a cold, I would done cartwheels out of the clinic.
Ahh. . .the news every childfree woman wants to hear. The door is permanently closed to parenthood, and hopefully, there will be an end to annoying questions from others concerning having kids. It’s the pleasure of knowing that one day, worrying about birth control won’t be an issue. One day, I will no longer have to spend money on tampons and sanitary napkins. It’s all good.
Chelsea Handler made fun of the the Duggars on her show recently. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar made the cover of People magazine, along with their 19th kid, who was born with complications. I never watch the reality TV show they have; there’s nothing fascinating about people who have hordes of kids. Plenty of people do. Why do some families deserve to get the face time on camera over others?
I signed up for a free People subscription, and sure enough, the first issue I received was the one with the Duggars on the cover. Medical experts are quoted saying they think the couple has too many kids, and the lack of emotional and financial resources available to give to so many children. Michelle Duggar had been diagnosed with preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) before the latest kid was born prematurely. Michelle is 43 years old. If she and her husband insist to continue having more kids, because they believe all children are gifts of God, then she’s going to be in for some bad medical problems.
Doctors have stated for years that there are risks for women having kids after age 35, but a lot of people still don’t believe it. I learned that having more than four kids, regardless of how old the mother is, causes health problems. The older siblings, who often find themselves helping to care for younger siblings, suffer emotional problems. There is a reason why some women — myself included — who were put in the position of playing “second mama” while they were growing up, don’t have children. We’ve already done the motherhood thing. We don’t want to play mama again as adults.
I shook my head as I read the article. Jim Bob Duggar stated, “All of our children are thankful to be here.” Uh, they didn’t ask for or had a say so in being born, anymore than I or ol’ Jim Bob and Michelle did. I wonder if he really asked the kids how they felt, or did he just assume that.
…is something we all strive for. Who on earth wouldn’t? There’s absolutely nothing else like being immersed in someone else’s skin.
You know what I’m talking about. First you flirt, or ogle if that’s your style. Then you feel that little tingle start somewhere deep inside. Your toes start to curl up, and then suddenly your body’s on fire. You’re entire being is pulsating like a giant time bomb. The anticipation of a good orgasm keeps you in the moment. You start the countdown 10, 9, 8…
You’re just about there when all of a sudden your mind wanders and you wonder whether or not you switched the laundry from the washer to the dryer…
Crap!
Hot sex to me is when I accidentally burn my finger cooking dinner and I start hopping around the kitchen screaming ‘fuck me, fuck me’ while I dash to the sink to run cold water over it.
Of course this could actually lead to hot sex because if hubby’s in the house and he here’s this gut wrenching scream, the next thing you know I hear him sprinting through the house to get to me. I’ve seen him actually breaks a sweat after maneuvering the furniture in the living room, running hurdle over the dining room chairs, where upon entering the kitchen I can see he’s already got his pants undone, and yep, there it is, the boner. Unfortunately, there are just some fuck me’s that cannot be resolved with anything short of cold water.
Now don’t get me wrong here. I am uber-grateful that after more than thirty-one years of marriage he still wants to jump my bones! He’s forever grabbing my ass at the most unpredictable times, and while this is all well and good, I often times wonder whether this is a sex thing or is he just checking to see if I’ve been working out or not.
Sometimes he’ll rub my shoulders only to let his hand wander down the front of my shirt. Sometimes I stop him and sometimes I don’t, it all depends on whether or not those little stray nipple hairs have been removed or not. It is not cool to have more hair on your chest than your husband. But all in all–it’s all good!
Yes, in my world, hot sex is something that happens when the air conditioner is not working. Oh there’s plenty of steam and sweat but I can’t actually say it’s caused by body movement.
There have been times when we’re engaged in ‘you know’ and I get caught up listening to my spine cracking every time I move. Yes, at my age, it seems like all my bones are a little cranky when put to the test. My hip bones doth protest on occasion too and I wonder if I’ll be stuck in that god awful position forever. I do not want to walk around looking like I just got off a horse after a day of riding bronco bulls.
I got an e-mail in my in-box the other day. You know the kind. The ones that randomly show up and peak your curiosity. Well I clicked on the link and low and behold I got schooled on how long a man can have an erection. Forty-eight to seventy-two hours is what they claim.
WTF?
Are there really men out there willing to walk around like that for two or three days in a row? Is this stuff safe? Does it come with a side order of nitro glycerin for your heart? I’ve seen all those televised ads for Cialis and Viagra and they always have a warning about “if you have an erection longer than four hours” you should contact your doctor. With this product if your doctor is not female and horny, what’s the point of seeing her?
What makes their ad particularly appealing to many consumers out there is that you can get absolutely shit-faced drunk and this stuff, ‘ViagPURE’, will still have the desired effect, and better yet it claims it can save a failing marriage and can make your sperm shoot farther and with more precision than an arrow leaving a spear gun.
Hellooooo! Is the distance sperm can shoot something we give a lot of thought to? Mmmmmmmm! I guess I may have to ponder on whether there are actually any benefits to this.
Now unless you’re a famous golfer claiming ‘hole in ones‘ all the time I don’t see the point. Or maybe, just once, for two or three days I would ‘get’ the point and then wonder what’s the point.
It’s already bad enough that I don’t get enough sleep. I can’t imagine staying up for that many hours in a row just to wreak the benefits of this man enhancer, nor would I want to.
And what about the kids? Don’t you think they’d wonder where we were for those three days even though we were home the whole time? And how would we explain the bags under our eyes and the fact that once we emerged from wherever we’d hidden away that we could no longer move? That we actually might need medical intervention.
I don’t know, call me old-fashioned. I like a good romp in the hay but I don’t think my gina would be as acceptable to participating in this kind of marathon sex any more. Of course this would all boil down to whether I gave in to one of those middle of the night commercial I told you about earlier. You know…for VD–vaginal dryness. Maybe this is where that old adage comes in–the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Now I’ve known a few men during my lifetime who proclaim they can go at it all night, but seventy-two hours under the best of circumstances seems, well, a little excessive to me–for anything.
I can’t help thinking that with all the blood running down there to keep that sinking ship alive, what the hell is keeping the rest of the boat floating? Doesn’t the rest of the body need some of that blood? But then again, women have always said that a man thinks with his dick so maybe the brain IS getting exactly all the blood it needs. I don’t know, call me crazy.
I say forget about a drug that keeps it up like the energizer bunny and instead just get one of those miniature life alert bracelets and attach it directly to the penis. You let your imagination run wild until a situation ‘arises’, the life alert goes off, and whammo.
“Oh honey….did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“It’s beeping.”
“Oh…I thought that was the oven timer.”
“No, it’s me, hurry up, turn off the oven. We’ve got about two minutes.”
“But it’s a souffle, it’ll deflate without the heat.”
“Yeah, well…so will this.”
Maybe I’m just old. I do not want to have sex for seventy-two hours in a row, nor do my hip bones.
Let’s be real hear.
If you have the ability to stay awake for several days in a row you’re probably still in your twenties and don’t need this shit anyway. If you’re an alcoholic in a failing marriage, hello, it’s probably not lack of sex that’s causing your marriage to fail.
As a result of today’s Thought For The Day, the poor Hub has just discovered he is middle-aged…I have had my first night sweat. It was like waking up in a fridge of watery vaseline (ah, that takes me back a few years). Unpleasant but bearable. Roll on hot flushes! I’m a man; I can take it.
One consequence of the onset of old age is that it has given me more empathy for my husband. In spite of being a man and younger than me, he has been suffering night sweats for the past fourteen years. Night sweats, day sweats, hot sweats, cold sweats (there’s a poem in there somewhere) – all have plagued him as symptoms of his CFS/ME. I have washed his sweaty clothes and sympathised but until yesterday I had never truly appreciated how horrible they are to experience.
I’m not great on empathy, I must admit; particularly when it comes to mothers mistreating – as I see it – their children. I never got the feminist position on Sylvia Plath, for example, that it was okay to commit suicide by gassing herself because she put food in the children’s cot and wet towels to seal the doors. How positively caring of her. Never mind that they might not have been found for days or they could have been accidentally blown up; and what about the long-term consequences of knowing that your mother preferred to kill herself than care for you? I know she suffered severe depression and I’m not knocking the effects of that awful illness, but I just cannot imagine any circumstance in which I would choose death over the well-being of my children.
Which brings me to the real issue of today’s blog, because I cannot avoid it any longer: the ‘not guilty’ verdict on Bridget Kathleen [Kay] Gilderdale, the mother who assisted in her daughter’s suicide. Her daughter Lynn had CFS/ME; was paralysed by it; had to be fed through a tube; and could only communicate by sign language. Mrs Gilderdale cared for her daughter round-the-clock for seventeen years and watched her waste away. I can’t begin to imagine how terrible that must have been for her. My husband has severe symptoms that are getting slowly but steadily worse, but he can still walk, eat and drive. He can talk to me, shout to me, rage at me and reach over to kiss me. Yes, he does it all in great pain and through gritted teeth (especially the kissing part, but that might be a consequence of my bad breath), and there are days and sometimes weeks when he can’t do any of those things and must stay in bed, but I cannot yet envision a time when he begs me for help to end his suffering.
Inevitably, the question must occur to those who live with people with long-term health issues: would I kill a person I love if they asked me to? My own answer is ‘no’ – at the moment. But I have not walked in Mrs Gliderdale’s shoes. What would I do if my husband was so incapacitated that he had to rely on me for everything? We have discussed it before and he would not want to live like that. Do I love my husband enough to kill him? I honestly don’t know. I hope so. I hope not. My faith tells me that murder is wrong; is mercy killing murder? The jury in this case say not; the jury last week in the case of Frances Inglis said it was. The law is undecided.
How much love Mrs Gliderdale must have for her daughter to take such a step, knowing that she would probably go to jail; but she could not refuse her daughter’s plea, no matter the cost to herself; and here I mean Lynn’s death. I cannot imagine anything worse happening in my life than the death of one of my children. I feel physically sick just writing about it. Think how it must feel knowing you caused it.
I never really understood the lyrics of a Jim Steinman song until now: I would do anything for love but I won’t do that. Am I selfish to put my own feelings first? I think I probably am. I can only sadly admire Mrs Gilderdale’s love and courage and pray that I never have to find out if I have it too.
What a week! And it wasn’t just me…. Several people I’ve talked with agree that something was definitely going on in the cosmos….
….it all started exactly one week ago…. As the webmeister of ‘FiveSistersLaughing.com’, I have discovered that I am actually quite anal, which is not a word I EVER would have used to describe myself in the past.. it’s quite amusing when, after 50 years you discover new aspects of your personality! I suppose it was always there, just never uncovered until now… when I had a project that I cared enough about to be anal over! Raising kids is a little different… I wouldn’t say that I was anal over my kids…(though they might say that!)… I think it’s just being a little over-protective… I’m trying really hard to let go, now that they’re 16 and 15…but it’s not that easy!
So anyway, last Sunday I was going over every page with a fine tooth comb, making slight changes here and there, and then realizing I had to change the layout of the pages to allow for links to other pages, so you’re not having to scroll all the way down a page to find something….(and this web design stuff is all new to me, by the way)… So very meticulously copied and pasted all the pages to my Word files until I had created the new pages….. after about 12 hours of continuous attention to this project, I was brain dead… and one by one deleted all the old pages, as they were no longer active on our site……It become evident very soon after, that I had deleted all my ‘365 Days To a New Me’ posts and there was no way I could get them back!
I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and I felt like I had lost a part of me! I was sure that the web hosting company would be able to retrieve them, so decided not to lose sleep over it….until the next morning the email back to me said ‘sorry, no can do’!!
And then the rain started… and it rained and rained and rained! We actually had a tornado and wind gust up to 90 miles an hour… here in southern California… that’s almost unheard of! We lost power, my computer went down and didn’t start up again for over 2 days…. I discovered something else about myself during this wacky week…. I’m addicted to the internet!
I had felt uninspired and actually a little depressed all week over the loss of my posts, so didn’t feel like blogging at all, but when my laptop died and I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to buy a new one (which I don’t’ have the money for), and I couldn’t just log on whenever I wanted, I started wondering what to do with myself in the meantime! How pathetic! I did finish the Julie and Julia book… to be honest, the movie is much better…..the book is mostly about present day Julie… which wasn’t near as interesting as all the information about Julia Child and her beginnings as a cook and author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking…. And of course there’s no one quite like Meryl Streep!
So after a week, the rain stopped and my computer came back up! With no explanation of why it was down or what happened… I think it was an eye opener for me…it gave me a chance to pause and ponder…. but now that I’m online again….. it’s business as usual… the sun is shining and all feels right with the world…..I do feel like I lost something in the process though…and I started questioning everything about myself, this project and the website… what were we doing, who really cared…and why any of it matters…was the cosmos trying to tell me something?? but then I realized when you finally find something you enjoy doing, and you can’t wait to do it again…. It does matter… to you… and you should keep doing it as long as you are enjoying it… no matter what anyone says or thinks….it’s a piece of you, and THAT DEFINITELY MATTERS!
So… I’m back… after a brief rain-delay! Off to discover another new thing about myself!
I went into menopause very young at age 40. I wasn’t particularly troubled by hot flashes, but had one painful problem. When I would wake up in the morning, the bottom of my feet would hurt. I could hardly walk – I had to limp for a few minutes till the pain subsided. I looked like an old woman. When I told my gynecologist about the pain, she told me that that was my hormones and she put me on Hormone Replacement Therapy. Sure enough – that solved the problem. Years went by and I knew that HRTs were not the best to be on, so periodically, I would try to cut down my dose with my doctor’s involvement. But the main would come back and I would ask for the prescription to be put back up to the higher level. It was a catch 22 – either I took the consequences of long term HRTs or I suffered with pain in the bottom of my feet.
In September 2008 I joined Shaklee, just trying to improve my health. I started with Vita-Lea Gold which is the multi-vitamin/multi-mineral and Energizing Soy Protein which you mix up as a shake for breakfast. Within a few days I felt more energy, more satiated, and more even keel. I could hardly believe the improvement in how I felt. I was learning a lot about vitamins and minierals and the Shaklee’s new resveratrol product called Vivix. I kept hearing about testimonies of how Vivix had helped people so I decided to try Vivix and see if it would enable me to get off of my HRTs. I stopped my HRTs cold turkey and have never had the pain in the bottom of my feet since! I am amazed at how Vivix is helping me build my health. I recommend it highly.
I am on a quest for optimal health. I would love to hear what you are doing to improve your health. Watch for future posts on book reviews about great health tips for us.
I did write ‘2009′ in the title. Time goes by so quickly.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this year
Carole and I will have been together for 13 years
I will turn 48 years old
My daughter will turn 25
I will have been at my place of employment for 12 years
I’ll have two college graduate children
My high school class will have a 30th reunion
I’ll mark 26 years of sobriety
~I won’t reach menopause. That will have to wait until at last 2011.
These numbers seem huge to me and I can’t believe I’ve lived this long.
Today I took Carole to the doctor and this is a huge difference between us, which sometimes causes strife. I imagine there will be more frequent trips to the doctor as we continue to get older. I hate going and try to avoid it if humanly possible. I tend to think I’ll be alright. Carole goes all the time, for everything. And no, I’m not being judgmental about it.
Let me just say that when we made it to the doctor today, her diagnosis was a cut finger.
Wow! I had no idea how intense they could be! Don’t you just feel like you are going to “spontaneously combust”? I’m not one for doctors, or medicine, So after doing quite a bit of searching I found out that Copper is the culprit. Well, at least it seems to be. There is copper in certain foods and when you eat those foods it brings them on, and I’ve also learned that the copper also causes the brown spots on your hands and face, and where ever else they decide to appear. So here’s the list….. you’re probably not going to like it though. They’re all the wonderful foods that I love …except for the Liver of course.
As soon as I cut out these foods from my diet,“wallah”! It Immediately worked! No more Hot Flashes, but I sure do miss the chocolate, peanut butter, avocados and Oh, Lobster1
Almonds
Avocado
Baker’s Yeast
Bran flakes
Brazil nuts
Chocolate
Crab
Grapes
Liver
Lobster
Haddock
Herring
Mushrooms
Peanut Butter
Pecans
Sesame seeds
Shrimp
Sunflower Seeds
Trout
Walnuts
I just tried Amberlyn chocolate and it doesn’t seem to effect me “Yippie”! (it’s a healthy chocolate with no sugar, I found at our local health food store) So, You might want to try each one of these out separately, especially the ones that you can’t live without. Just in case, who knows, you might react differently.
Or you could use the Wild Yam cream (just rub a dab on your wrists). I got some just so I can have my Avocado and eat it too. I use the Derma Est Bio.design. Not sure why but It works.
It is my intention that these words of wisdom, and my experiences will help many other women who are tormented by these “exciting” episodes of life, called Hot Flashes.
Oy, I am so crabby I can’t stand myself. The dogs are hiding in their kennels, the cats have disappeared and poor Hubby will be home soon. I just don’t feel like making soup today so I am cheating, I am taking chicken and ramen noodles and maybe some vegetables and going to call it soup. I was going to make some sweet potato soup from a Rachel Ray recipe but I need to empty and wash the pot I used to make chili last week. But I don’t want to. Because I am crabby! 
This is a common concern in women aged 40 years and over is a matter of menopause, because they believe in having sex, their partner is not satisfied anymore because they dry vagina.
