Hot Flashes, Anyone???

Summer has definitely arrived where we live here in the Midwest.  Growing up on the East Coast, my parents had the air conditioning on for about six months or so out of the year. The hubby grew up in Cleveland and his parents lived in a much older home without central air conditioning.  Between my husband and I, there have been many a battle about when to put the "air" on in our house. It started getting pretty warm here towards the end of last week, so I decided it was time for it to come on. The projected temperature for the beginning of this week is supposed to be downright toasty.  Last night, a few hours after dinner, the hubby out of the blue said, "hey, how about we turn the air conditioning off?"  My response back was, "excuse me, but have you ever experienced premenopause or menopause?"  His response, "well, no."  I continued, "I have something called an internal heater that is always on!"  I went on to tell him, "unless you want a really cranky wife that will wake you up at 3 a.m. because she's too hot, you'll keep it on."  Back in June of 2010, I had a hysterectomy because based on my symptoms and inconclusive biopsies,  it was a good possibility that I had some form of reproductive cancer.  Before I went into surgery, my doctor told me she didn't know what she would find and based on how invasive my surgery was, I might go into early menopause. She was asking me if that was okay.  I remember telling her, "do whatever it is you need to do."  When I woke up from my surgery, I was told that I didn't have cancer and I would go into menopause naturally.  At one of my follow-up appointments a year or so after my surgery, I asked the doctor if there was a test to see if I was in menopause yet.  She said, "why does it matter?"  I said, "because I want to be able to tell my family if I'm moody or cranky, that's the reason!" I don't remember if she laughed at me or not, but I thought it was a little funny :)  When you are pregnant and give birth, your hormones are kind of all over the place.  It's kind of the same with premenopause and menopause. Hot flashes, anyone?? night sweats? insomnia?  Those are the symptoms I get the most. Oh, good grief, how could I possibly forget the  MOOD SWINGS!?!?!?!?!  The poor hubby got a good dose of that when he asked me if the "air" should be turned off last night :)  Some lucky women never experience the signs of menopause, others get them all.  Just like with pregnancies, some women feel like a million bucks the whole nine months, while others have morning sickness every day of the nine months.  If you have already been through menopause, I hope it was a smooth transition and you didn't experience too many problems (if any).  If you are heading towards it, hang on tight, it could be a roller coaster of emotions and symptoms!!