The Minnie Pauz Blog

The Goals of "Minnie Pauz"

1. To help relieve the feeling of "being alone" in what we're going through by easing the day to day stress with smiles, laughter and giggles.
2. To try to coordinate and sort through the (confusing) information that is available to us, but not easily found, by gathering links and articles from a variety of reliable sources and passing them on.
3. To educate health care professionals and companies on what we need from them ( including everything from a new bedside manner to treatments that are going to really help us) by giving a voice to the thousands of women who are needing to be heard.
4. To find new and better ways to distribute reliable, up to date information by using polls, newsletters, seminars and women's events to make sure more women can access the info they need.
5. To create a world where our daughters and granddaughters know what to expect as they reach this time in their own lives. Again we are blazing a trail for the next generations and they will be able to prepare and live life to the fullest, no matter what age they are!

"I am slowly but surely climbing up the wall what with hot flushes, swelling ankles, aches and pains and that is on a good day. I needed something to put a smile on my face and this site is it. Thanks so much from a desperate wife and mother in England".......Beth

24 March 2014

Did You Have Your Hug Today?

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Hugs just don't get enough credit!

Did You Have Your Hug Today?
Hugs just don't get enough credit! I was thinking about this recently as Valentine's Day came and went with no hug (or kiss or card) from a sweetheart. When you've been single for a long time, you tend to forget how important a simple hug can be. I have listed all the different kinds of hugs I could think of below. Maybe you can think of more.

17 March 2014

Babyboomers Taking Care of Parents

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Babyboomers Taking Care of Parents

Are you one of the 13 million babyboomers who are taking care of elderly and ailing parents? According to a 2005 survey from Campbell-Ewald Health, 25% of them are living in the same household as their parents. Many of you who get this newsletter help your parents in various ways so you might want to talk with others doing the same thing on our message board.

10 March 2014

Finding Our Balance

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Finding Our Balance

For those of us in some stage of hormonal change (before, during & after), we are constantly searching for BALANCE in our lives. I want to offer you some of the ways I've managed to find my balance over the years and my goals for the future. I certainly don't have all the answers, but feel a responsibility to share my discoveries with you and hope that some of my comments will help in some small way to make your life a little happier, easier, more organized and together.

25 February 2014

Menopause February Newsletter

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Menopause February Newsletter
 
Dear Minnie Pauz Fans,
This is one of the first cartoons I did (maybe 20 yrs ago?) and it is still SO relevant! I still feel so resentful about HAVING to exercise! I wish it was involuntary like some of the other bodily functions that we have no control over! For instance, what if we were a few pounds over and our body forced us to head for the gym or our personal workout space just like we are forced to head to the bathroom when we have to pee?
 
 
 

12 September 2013

September is Menopause Awareness Month

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menopause-awareness-month
Menopause Awareness Month

Dear Minnie Pauz Fans,

Sometimes we forget that there are still PLENTY of women who are experiencing the first signs of peri-menopause because so many of us have "been there, done that" and have had many years of thousands of pages of information on the internet, not to mention tv shows, podcasts and videos all discussing symptoms, treatments and hormones in general.

When I started the Minnie Pauz website (about 18 years ago), there wasn't anyone talking about it except for one other wonderful site called Power Surge. There's been so much information that we are sometimes overloaded  and still don't know where to turn. My point is this, now that most of you have learned the ropes and have your favorite sources of information, maybe you could use this month to help the women who are overwhelmed with TOO much info and are getting dizzy with all the contradictions in the news and advertisements! 

 

29 August 2013

Bio-identical hormones. Are they really?

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Bio-identical hormones. Are they really?
We have Oprah, Suzanne Somers, Christiane Northrup and even Dr. Phil's wife, Robin McGraw on the bio-identical bandwagon, but we're still as confused as ever and I personally feel there is still pressure to sell us (middle-aged women) some very expensive drugs that are being hyped as the fountain of youth!

29 August 2013

Celebrity Menopause

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 Celebrity Menopause
I have done a lot of research to find out who is doing what about menopause, including women's health groups, the government and the major pharmaceutical companies (and their advertising companies). What I find over and over is the consistent attempt to get our attention and sell us their products by using celebrities as spokespersons.

 

29 August 2013

Recipe for a New Year

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Recipe for a New Year

Well, another year is almost over and for some it may have been the hottest year on record (if this was when you started experiencing menopause symptoms)! December is a mixed bag of emotions for me as I take a moment to reflect on what has transpired over the past 12 months and start looking forward to what can develop in the year to come. 

29 August 2013

Why Oh Why didn't our doctors tell us?

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Why Oh Why didn't our doctors tell us?
No one seems to be talking about why our doctors were prescribing such powerful hormones on such a large scale.

How could they be so surprised at the results of the WHI study when the reports about dangers have been out since 1988? Could it be that they were relying on drug companies to provide them with credible information? Do physicians base their decisions on the following:

29 August 2013

Ongoing Encouragement

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Ongoing Encouragement
Well, Ladies.....as your emails have proven over the past 5 years, everyone has a different experience while dancing through yet another phase of hormonal changes. With the range of ages and symptoms, it's really tough to come up with a "group" solution, but we've certainly become more knowledgeable with the help of the internet where women are sharing their individual stories. This has helped more than all the medical studies/articles/reviews put together! We now have more control over our health and more confidence to trust our intuition.
Whether it's surgical menopause or natural menopause, it's going to happen at some point to every woman, but like snowflakes, no two experiences are exactly the same. All of the things we've read and heard are real and have to be dealt with on an individual basis, but as a group, we can all help each other by sharing.

29 August 2013

Memory & Menopause

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Memory & Menopause

Remember the first time you got your kids’ names mixed up? Oh no!! It’s finally happening to me, just like it happened to my Mother!  It seems to be a small thing and we tend to laugh about it when it happens, the first few times, but what about all the other signs that we’re losing our memory as we start through the menopausal journey? Is there anything we can do to improve this frustrating symptom?

29 August 2013

Empty Nest Conflict

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Empty Nest Conflict
I’ve always heard about the “Empty Nest Syndrome”, (when your kids leave home) but personally was looking forward to the freedom and renewal that  would be mine once the kids were out on their own. Being divorced and having to support myself didn’t allow much time to think about being lonely , so as much as I love my 3 kids, it was great to be able to concentrate on ME!

29 August 2013

Botox Cosmetics

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Botox Cosmetics
Yeah! I can finally get BOTOX!

Wait a minute! Isn't that stuff a terrible toxin or something??? They sure had me fooled for a minute with the ads on TV for "Botox Cosmetics".  Soft, soothing music, smiling faces......kind of like an Ivory Snow commercial, isn't it? NO WRINKLES! What they aren't saying is PARALYZED MUSCLES IN YOUR FACE! 

29 August 2013

The Woes of Hair!

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The Woes of Hair!
Why does HAIR have to be such a big part of who we are? Even at birth, the first words (except in breach births!) are, "wow, look at all the hair!" And throughout infancy and childhood there are comments and activities involving our hair.

29 August 2013

The JOY of Soy?

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"Beans, beans..good for the heart..."

The JOY of Soy?
Sometimes we'll try just about anything to get relief from what ails us! In this day and age, there seem to be too many choices. I wish there was a "menopause pill", but no, it could never be that simple! This is where your imagination comes into play!

Hot flashes seems to be the most aggravating symptom for the majority of women I talk to on the message boards and in the emails I receive. I'm so glad I work at home because I can get down to bare skin if need be! I'm careful to avoid mirrors though, because THAT brings on a severe panic attack!

29 August 2013

Me and My Thermostat

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Me and My Thermostat
I've been reflecting on how the weather seems to be such a major factor in my life these days. I'm sure it has influenced everyone on the planet at one time or another, but for the menopausal woman (and those close to her), TEMPERATURE has a whole new meaning on a daily basis.

 

24 September 2013

Bio Identical Hormone Therapy

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BHRT confusion
 
 
 
There is an article in the October 2013 issue of MORE magazine that is once again setting us up for confusion about taking what is called "bio-identical" homones or BHRT. I put that in quotes because just like everything else these days (organic, natural, free-range), nothing is really as clear or real as it sounds.
 
 

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