Hi all.

I've done journalling forever.  I have filled up a series of notebooks.  I write to express myself, work through issues, or just to capture the moment.  I think journalling in a book, or on the Menopause Journal forum here is helpful in expressing ourselves.  The forum also gives the possibility of feedback.  This is a special modern type of journalling!

Lots of us struggle with inadequete support - from our doctors, from our community, from ourselves.  We are sick and we don't know fully understand why or what to do, or may not even remember exactly what has happened and when.   At times I have struggled to set up a "health plan" of what to do and stick to it.  Also, if I go to the doctor it would be nice to have a little summary of what I have tried and what symptoms I have had handy.   I am thinking of a compact separate medical journal to help us to keep notes and reminders in.  Can we brain-storm together in this thread on what would be a practical and useful way of collecting our own medical histories, so that we can be our own advocates for getting better help care and more public awareness of what some women are going through in perimenopause and menopause.Am I a dreamer? LOL   Any RNs out there who can suggest a good format for keeping notes in?

Hope you have a great day all, and best wishes for a long healthy. happy life.

Journaling is vital to my well being.  It gives me a history of how I felt and what was happening, and when it happened, that has proved to be invaluable.   Since I began journaling in 1998, I have 3 full journals and am just starting my 4th.  I don't journal every day, but when something significant happens - either feeling really good or really bad, and what was going on in my life at the time.  I find it comforting to go back and re-read these entries and see that there no matter how badly I may be feeling, in the past there were horrible days that I survived . - and I will again.

Keeping a journal is a great idea!  Something we should all do, really!

Hi everyone! I have *completely* gone off of writing in my main journal. I worry about the privacy of my journals. I have started carrying a small book with me to write down my symptoms, and any pertinent health info I can think of. I also use it to record the names of people I meet because I have never been good at remembering names, and now I forget them almost immediately! LOL Now to my question. Has anyone read Susan M. Lark's book about Menopause Self Help? I have her PMS self help book and she has a section in it about recording the symptoms, so maybe the meno. book has a section like that too?

I haven't read her book, but she was a guest in Power Surge Live! Her transcript may have something like that in it. The transcript is in the Power Surge Transcript Library along with hundreds of others.