I'm hot, hot, hot !

NOT!

I once thought that I would never experience hot flashes. I work out daily and eat healthily every day, I told myself. Hot flashes are for oooold ladies only. It just won't happen to me, I thought. But it did, and it is...

I remember Dr. Hiuga, my GYN, telling me a few years ago that the average female starts the hot flash thing at about 53 or 54. Well, I'm average then. And he was right-on. They're happening more often than I care to admit. Okay. I'll tell you: Like two or three times a day.  Such.a.bummer.

I've tried blaming it on the fact it's wintertime, and the heater just came on. Wait. There's no heater outside in the Rite-Aid parking lot. Darn. That doesn't work. I've tried blaming it on a flu bug that is going around. Wait. I have zero nausea, and I could eat a horse right now. It's not the flu.

Two weeks ago, as I was taking a deposition, I felt soooo very hot. I asked the attorneys, "Is it hot in here?" They took one look at me, and at that moment, I knew that they knew. "Oh, yeah, it is! Right, Mark? Let's take a break and get some fresh air." Thanks guys.

And my husband -- who has not a clue of what is going on with me -- finally gets it! Sorta. While asleep in the middle of the night recently, he nudged me gently. "Gip? Gip?" (That's what he calls me. Don't ask.) "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I drowsily replied. "Why?"

"Because you are on fire! I think you have a fever".

As I kicked the blankets off of me, I told him I was fine, that it was a hot flash, that it would pass, to go back to sleep. "Wow!" was all he could say.

In our wakeful moments together the next morning, I went into more detail about my newly-acquired "fire from within." I still don't think he gets it. And I told him he now has his own personal, free Bunsen burner to keep him warm on a cold winter night. I think he gets that.

So, I've made an appointment to see Dr. Hiuga next month. Am I a candidate for low-dosage Estrogen? Will it help? Does this mean I am officially menopausal...or peri-menopausal...or very-peri-menopausal? Is it normal and okay for me to be quasi-depressed just talking about this? Stay tuned.