- (Possible TMI alert.) This weekend will mark exactly a year & a half since my last visit from Aunt Flo, i.e., six months out from crossing the rubicon into official menopause.
- So of course I'm spotting. :( Nothing dramatic. No real blood. No cramps. Just some bits of dark brown matter when I wipe myself, not every time, but several times in the past few days. And a vaguely unsettled feeling in my abdomen, although that could be my overactive imagination/anxiety.
- Dr. Google advises that it is most likely related to a thinning of the uterine/vaginal lining -- but also that any post-menopausal bleeding should not be ignored.
- I need to call our family doctor's office anyway to see about flu shots, and whether they are scheduling annual checkups yet. (We originally had checkups scheduled for May. Because of COVID-19, those appointments turned into phone consultations to renew our prescriptions. The checkups were rescheduled for August -- at which point we were told to check back in October to see if they were taking appointments for physicals yet.) So I will add this item to the list of things to ask about.
- Has this happened to any of you who are in the Menopause Club?
- COVID-19 case rates are skyrocketing hereabouts (in the province of Ontario, and the Toronto area in particular). :( They went from under 50 new daily cases in mid-August to just under 500 new cases on Sunday to more than 700 on Monday and back down to 550 today. (Woohoo?) More than 300 cases have been reported in public schools since classes restarted.
- The Ontario Hospital Association wants the province to revert back to Stage 2 (from the current Stage 3), which would mean shutting down indoor dining & drinking at bars & restaurants, again -- i.e., patio dining and takeout/delivery only. It will soon be too chilly here for patios, and many restaurants say they couldn't survive another shutdown.
- So far, all the province has done is lower the size of private gatherings (back down to 10 people), imposed earlier closing hours for bars and restaurants. Oh yeah, and closed strip clubs (!). Meanwhile, they allowed casinos to reopen on Monday (!).
- And so here we are...
- We made a trip to the bookstore this afternoon, and I picked up a card, some books (Sandra Boynton -- I adore her stuff!) and a soft stuffed toy for a Halloween goodie bag for Little Great-Nephew (he's still too young for candy -- although I may get dh to pick up a box of arrowroot cookies next time he's at the grocery store, lol). Also a card for his first birthday -- which is not until mid-November, but I figured I'd better stock up now while I can, just in case... If all else fails, some cash or a cheque in a card for his piggy bank will do just fine as a birthday gift, I'm sure. ;)
- The fabulous folks at The Full Stop podcast -- Michael, Sarah and Berenice -- have invited the childless-not-by-choice community to drop by for a Zoom based coffee (or any beverage!) and chat, every Saturday in October, starting this Saturday, Oct. 3rd, at 10 a.m. BST/GMT. They're looking at October as a trial run and will then continue if the chats are well supported. These are free to attend and unrecorded. Register once, on the events page of the Full Stop podcast website, and then drop in on any of the sessions after that.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Odds & ends
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Spotting is definitely worth getting checked out. It's probably nothing - but you need to know that!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the sky-rocketing cases in Ontario. At least when it comes to winter, you might feel more like hibernating. Though if you've been doing that all summer too, it must feel so frustrating.
At least when great-nephews turn 1, they don't know what is happening! It's more for the parents, isn't it? So sounds as if you're well prepared.
Phone consultation with my family doctor today (they're trying not to book appointments unless it's absolutely necessary). He agrees that because I'm post-menopausal (eyeroll) we shouldn't ignore this, and so I'm going for an ultrasound next week. Depending on the results of that, possibly a referral to a gynecologist & an endometrial biopsy. I had one during my infertility workup, 20 years ago. I remember it wasn't fun, but it was also quickly done.
DeleteI did have two ultrasounds done four years ago, one in April 2016, for some spotting & cramping between periods, and another that November, more for my peace of mind than anything else. The April u/s detected a small area where the lining seemed slightly thicker, or possibly a small fibroid, but it was not clear enough to be conclusive. The November one didn't turn anything up.
So I guess we'll see what happens...!