It is now June and as I live in Johannesburg, South Africa, winter has descended on us with a bang with temperatures ranging from 0 to 18 degrees Celsius daily.  The tress are bare, the grass is dry and there is dust everywhere.  It is still dark when I get up at 5am in the morning and it is a real struggle getting out of bed in the morning when my body is telling me it is still night time.


Some 6 months ago I was complaining about the heat.  It was the hottest summer I had ever experienced.  Or so I thought….


It suddenly dawned on me in February that I was the only person experiencing the intense heat.  I was walking around with an ice-pack I was so hot.  Hubby jokingly accused me of being menopausal.  I spent a few weeks in denial, but then I had to accept the fact that maybe, just maybe, I was menopausal.  


So off I went to see my Gynecologist who confirmed by deepest darkest fear.  At the age of 45, I was going through menopause.  He recommended I take a soy extract supplement each day called Phytopause.  I don’t need a script for it and I can vouch for the fact that it has made me feel like a whole new person.  I no longer feel like I am living in a furnace.

Night times are a different story though.  As I take my tablet first thing in the morning, it tends to wear off at some point during the late evening.  I find myself struggling with the heat in bed at night. So this has become a little bit of a situation between hubby and I.  Hubby is cold at night and he wants the underfloor heating on and of course the duvets have come out of the cupboard as well.  I am sweating my ass off and am sleeping with no covers on and I would be naked if it wasn’t for the fact that I have a house full of boys to contend with.


So we have both had to compromise a little – the underfloor heating is set to around 21 degrees and I make sure I wear something light to bed and shove the duvet over to his side of the bed.  


I suppose I could take another pill at night but somehow that is like admitting defeat.