If you are a woman (and probably true for you gentlemen), I know what you immediately thought upon reading this title: Menopause. And you would be correct. Yes, menopause is “the change” to which I refer. For me it began with a gradual change in body temperature. For over 40 years, I was always cold. My hubby used to say that if it was below 75 degrees or dark, I was cold. I remember with happy anticipation how much I looked forward to the promise of warmth my body would one day feel. How wonderful it would be to be warm! Silly me. Such is the naiveté of youth. But in my defense, how could I know that it would be possible for my feet and hands to still feel frozen while the rest of my body was soaked in sweat? That I would need to wear ankle socks to bed because my feet would feel so cold that the ache would keep me from falling or staying asleep, yet at the same time, I would wake up in a pool of sweat, my back so hot I could not stay in bed? If you are a “mature” woman, you know what I am talking about. It took me nearly 10 years (yep, this is the norm) from the start to finish of the menopause process, and I did get my wish. A great example of “be careful what you wish for!”
Having recently turned 60, I am happy to say that I am almost a decade beyond those menopausal hot flashes (a friend referred to hers as her personal summer) and I feel more comfortable today with a slightly warmer body temperature than in my youth—a change that has worked out well since I was not the only person in my house to experience temperature change. While I was gradually getting warmer, my husband gradually got cooler! We can attribute his change to blood pressure medicine, an aspirin a day, and becoming diabetic. (Or could we say he went through “womenopause”? OK, no.) Anyway, whatever the cause, we are now both pretty comfortable at a very similar temperature. Hallelujah! Will wonders never cease! I do still have to wear socks to bed.
Thinking back, I do remember hearing from older women in my family about the equalizing body temperatures in men and women. It is not just an old wives’ tale! Hooray for some benefit in the aging process!
Have a blessed day!