Dearest:    My special guest tonight in Power Surge is the international 
best selling author . . .  G A I L     S H E E H Y 

Gail is  best known for her landmark work, , "Passages." Published in 1976, 
"Passages" was named by the Library of Congress one of the most 
influential books of our time.  It remained on the New York Times 
bestseller list for 3 years and was published in 28 languages.

Ms. Sheehy has been tracking the stages of adult development for the last 
twenty years. Her "Passages" books are almost a genre of their own :)

In her "The Silent Passage:Menopause," of special interest to us Surgettes, 
Gail Sheehy opened a national discussion of the previously taboo subject of 
menopause and de-mystified the medical and psychological issues of 
menopause, placing this passage in the context of the life cycle as 
"the gateway to a Second Adulthood." Gotta love that woman :)

Her most recent bestseller,  "New Passages" maps your life across time,
seven years in preparation, exposing a revolution in the adult life cycle. 
She traces radical changes in the earlier stages and discovers and maps 
out the new frontier for both men and women -- a "second adulthood" in 
the middle years.

As a literary journalist, Gail Sheehy was one of the original contributors to 
New York magazine.  A contributing editor of Vanity Fair since 1986, she has 
established a new genre of political writing. Her in-depth character portraits of 
national and world leaders won her the 1991 Washington Journalism Review 
Award for Best Magazine Writer in America.

Clearly, Gail Sheehy's list of accomplishments goes on ad infinitum :) ... but 
if I know you all, I know you're all anxious to say hello and ask your many 
questions!  

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Power Surge and America 
Online, Gail  :)


Gail Sheehy:             It's a thrill to be here. 


Dearest:  Postrain, you have the first question.


Postrain:               Your books have had a profound effect on my 
life and many others. How do you stay on top of it? 


Gail Sheehy:     It's writing them that's hard -- this is the 
easy part. 


Sage:               How did you get involved in this field of 
research, Gail?  I remember reading your first book years ago.


Gail Sheehy:             I was writing a book about ages and stages of 
couples  when I was involved in a life and death incident in 
Northern Ireland -- at age 35.    But when I came home I realized 
my reactions were similar others in early midlife -- feeling 
time running out -- hurry up feeling -- first fears of mortality 
and that got me started researching and interviewing people 
re life stages.


SuHarris 1:     Do you believe in taking hormones during menopause? 


Gail Sheehy:     No one answer -- meno is as individual as a 
thumbprint.  But I will say that recent studies are convincing
on the long-term impact on death from all causes.  Women who 
take estrogen replacement for over 17 yrs. were found to have 
46 percent lower death rate from all causes than women of 
comparable age (mean 77) who never took hormone replacement 
therapy. 


POjai2:                 I have been taking Estratest for 4 wks now. I 
was told it may help with the old sex drive. So far no good...
any ideas? 


Gail Sheehy:             POjai2: small amounts of testosterone are now 
commonly added to the HRT regimen and usually revive flagging sex 
drive -- Watch out younger men! 


Nancy2Nyc:      How is "New Passages" different from "Silent 
Passages"

 
Gail Sheehy:             To Nancy2NYC: New Passages is a description 
of a revolution in the adult life cycle.


Nancy2Nyc:              How is "New Passages" different from "Silent Passage?"


Gail Sheehy:             It's about all the stages of adulthood for 
men and women...but concentrates on the New Middle -- 45 to 65 
the most mystifying and potential satisfying stage of life 
today.


Dearest:        Gail, you speak so confidently about this 
Second Adulthood, but what about those of us who feel somewhat 
insecure about aging?


Gail Sheehy:             To Dearest:  We are ALL insecure about aging. 
Best idea -- make friends with some zesty women in 50s and 60s. 
You'll be inspired by all their creativity & confidence - and it 
will make you look forward to the time when you can direct your 
own destiny -- and have so much more time to do the things you 
love.


Dearest:        Thank you for that wonderful answer, Gail.
CAJHART, go ahead, please :)


CAJHART:        Dr says must take provera if taking estrogen-
no provera, no estrogen?  Is this normal?  Any alternatives? 


Gail Sheehy:     To CAJHART:  If you have a uterus, you need to 
protect it with progesterone, but you don't have to be limited 
to that nasty provera (although it doesn't react badly for most 
women if they use the continuous regimen -- 2 mg. a day every 
day, instead of the whammy of 10 mg for 10 days).  Much more 
popular now is natural micronized progesterone.  Micronized 
means tiny particles -- it's the only way the body can absorb 
the natural hormone.


Dearest:     Thanks, Gail. Klove, go ahead, please :)  


Klove543:      Approximately how long is menopause, from start to finish? 
And is it a life time of HRT?


Gail Sheehy:             Again, it's as variable as a thumbprint  -- 
ranges from a year to ten years of symptoms -- but that 
symptomatic period is really perimenopause" -- the lead up to 
the end of periods.  And perimenopause usually lasts today about 
4 yrs.


Cle1:             Gail, why are you being snubbed by the 
psychology field? Is it because of your success? 


Gail Sheehy:             I don't feel snubbed.  I often make lectures 
and always ask that some local gynecologists join me to answer 
questions from audience... because I want the community to have 
some hip informed empathic docs ready to treat them after I 
finish my one-night stand.


Rewhfuy378:        I am a DES daughter have had 3 children am now 
44.  What do you know about DES Meno?


Gail Sheehy:             Sorry, nothing.


MMccar8355:     Do you suggest some sort of celebration of the 
"14th moon" next stage and if so how?


Gail Sheehy:             Yes. I like to suggest gathering women of 50ish the 
smartest, most unusual women in your community and holding a 
WIT group -- Wisewomen In Training.


Softie3:                Have you found that a couples "Passages" have 
changed since you first wrote that book? Is it different in the 
tech age? 


Gail Sheehy:             To Softie3: Yes. The main thing that's changed 
is the ages when we go through the passages.  50 is now what 40 
used to be.  60 is what 50 used to be.  And healthy educated 
people aren't feeling middle-aged until they're into their 60s.  
"Old" used to be 65 -- now it may not correctly define a woman 
until she's 80 plus.- Remember, a healthy woman who reaches age 
50 today and remains free of cancer and heart disease] can expect 
to see her 92nd birthday!


Linda Lou5:             I'm 46 peri-meno have 2 young kids - will have 
to care for Mom soon.  I feel out of synch. Ideas?


Gail Sheehy:             To LInda Lou5: You are  right where you should 
expect to be.  Sandwich time.  You need help -- husband?


Linda Lou5:             No husband


Gail Sheehy:             If not, spend whatever you can to get careers 
to spell you especially because you may have perimenopause 
symptoms to deal with, too, and you CANNOT let your own health 
suffer.  Need to protect your energies. 

  
Dearest:   You can obtain your own copy of Gail Sheehy's wonderful
book about ... "The Silent Passage : Menopause
             

Dearest:                Gail, wonderful answers! 


CurtinCawl:             You recommend acupuncture in your book. Have 
you ever tried it yourself? 
        

Gail Sheehy:             CurtinCAwl: Yes. I found if very helpful for 
relief of hot Flashes and that jumpy, overstressed sensation 
that comes from depleted hormones, early in perimeno. 


LSorrent:       Sometimes when I'm sitting quietly I have what 
I can only describe as a creepy feeling come over me not a flash 
but creepy is that what you mean by jumpy--is that normal?

                
Gail Sheehy:             To LSorrent: Normal. All sorts of variations 
on this symptom are normal, caused by vaso-dilating blood vessels 
when your brain is not sending through the pituitary the right 
signals for temperature regulation.  Some people get migraines 
for the first time.  Others feel cold and clammy -- it's all 
temporary, though. 



RoMaGraves:     'To use HRT or not to use HRT'--I've noticed a 
distressing moral tone - kinda like "natural" childbirth was.  
Have you noticed this?


Gail Sheehy:             To RoMa:   Yes. There's a certain feminist 
claque that says taking HRT is for sissies and un-feminists.  They 
prefer embracing the Crone model.  But it's the bossy, imperious 
model that our mothers or great-grandmothers were limited to, if 
they wanted to remain center of attention.  I think the decision 
to take HRT is as personal as who one sleeps with.  Forget about 
the moralists. 


SuHarris 1:             Gail, what are the symptoms of perimenopause?  
My friend almost passed out the other day, she's 46, and she was 
in bed all day and part of the next before she could go back to 
work.  So you say this is temporary, but how does one go one 
with day to day life?  Her Dr. said she has perimeno. 


Gail Sheehy:             To SuHarris:  First thing to know -- this is 
not going to last forever.  It's like a long bout with the flu.  
And it comes and goes.  It may be overwhelming at the start - 
before you begin understanding the symptoms and experimenting 
with herbs, acupuncture, rest periods, etc. and/or HRT to deal 
with the symptoms.  The most important thing you can do to help 
yourself through that early, scary phase is to get as much sleep 
as possible.  

Interrupted sleep is very common -- night 
sweats robs many women of that good REM sleep that refreshes the 
brain - so they suffer the symptoms of sleep-deprivation on top 
of everything else.  Naps are a privilege you can demand during 
early menopause. 


BLewis6882:             Hi, Gail. Wisdom for me in mid-40's going back 
to college?  Surrounded by generation X, but I'm really a baby 
boomer!!!


Gail Sheehy:             To BLewis: One million women over 40 are 
Enrolled in college in US today.  You're joining a great club! 


Nancy2Nyc:              Do you enjoy writing? Are you working on 
another book now? 


Gail Sheehy:             To Nancy@Nyc:  Love writing. Working right now 
on a  TV special based on New Passages -- will air on ABC Aug 26. 


Klove543:               Are there any other reasons for the hot flashes, 
HRT 3 yrs now... I want to be cold again


Gail Sheehy:             To Klove:    Have you tried Menopautonic?  Herbal 
stuff, you can take as much as you want.  Or go to a Chinese 
medicine specialist and have a brew customized for you.  Stay 
cool! 


Gail Sheehy:             Rumslav:    I wrote about a woman of 65 who 
Started a rock band with a great name  -- Guns 'n Geezers.  She's 
loving jamming with a bunch of Generation Xer's -- so keep up 
your band.


Ms Maria B:             I'm 49, facing hysterectomy where oopherectomy 
is recommended but final decision mine. Advice on impact? 


Gail Sheehy:             Consult more than one, maybe even three, 
doctors.  So many unnecessary hysterectomies are performed.  Run 
through all the questions I tried to lay out in "Silent Passage" 
with your doctors.  Then decide. 


Barbi7757:      Thank you, my question has been answered. I 
would like to say I think this session is great! 
 

LIFE143:                I have high blood pressure and my Dr will not 
put me on hrt.  What should I do?


Gail Sheehy:             I can't second guess your doctor, but I would 
get a 2nd opinion.  Estrogen is a great vaso-dilator, and protects 
against heart attacks and stroke, so I haven't heard that high 
blood pressure is a contraindication for HRT. 


BFahs2:                 Are we having worse meno's than our moms? Do 
you think all the BC pills we took affect our meno?


Gail Sheehy:             To BF:    No and yes. Our Moms were ignorant 
about meno - and often junked, sent off to have a "nervous breakdown," 
etc.  But the stress on today's working women - who still often 
have youngish children while fighting their own kids middlescence 
is an extra strain.  And docs notice women are having symptoms 
of perimenopause earlier and for longer.  We have been monkeying 
with our hormonal systems for years before meno.  My greatest 
fear is that women who wait till their 40's to try to conceive
and then go through multiple fertility treatments will be risking 
dangerous levels of estrogen before they get into meno and may 
want HRT. 


MMccar8355:     How would you describe the "Crone" model you 
mentioned earlier?


Gail Sheehy:             The positive definition is a wise woman. One 
who doesn't depend on her looks anymore.  But others insist the 
Crone model means for swearing sex in order to claim the eerie 
authority is missing of the crone.  I think that's nonsense.


Dearest:   You can obtain your own copy of Gail Sheehy's wonderful
book about ... "The Silent Passage : Menopause 


RbR272:          Am 46, heavy periods menopause sym first cyclic premarin, 
progesterone, now continuous. Is this normal?


Gail Sheehy:             To RbR2: Not sure I understand your question. 
Continuous regimen is normal to deal with heavy flow in 
perimenopause. Is it working for you? 


Softie3:          Surgettes have asked my questions. So here's a 
comment: Love your books. Looking forward to next one :)


Gail Sheehy:  Thank you.


MHarris413:             Age 62, HRT, great job, feel great, bad bad 
sandwich... Must I give up my life for theirs?


LIFE143:                Am experiencing dry mouth with my hot flashes 
at nite.. any suggestions besides h2o? Thanks!


Gail Sheehy:      Chew gum -- it stimulates salivary glands.


SuHarris 1:             What is a sandwich? 


Gail Sheehy:             To SuHarris:  I meant Sandwich Generation - 
meaning  you're sandwiched between young children and aging parents -- 
and expected to carry the ball for all.


Rumslav:                At 50 am less patient with people who live the 
lives of the complacent living dead at 50


Postrain:               How do you find a doctor to work with you on 
this? I've been to 3, all into tranquilizers only. 


Gail Sheehy:     To Postrain: don't accept tranquilizers -- it's 
a copout. Bad.


Postrain:               But not sure Rumslav's question was answered or 
MHarris' either.


Rumslav:    I mean I thought age would make me more laid back?


Gail Sheehy:             Connect with other women your age group 
and pool names of docs who are educated - or at least educable.  Attend 
Women's Health Conferences -there are lots being given by 
hospitals and Women's Health Centers these days. When you do see 
a doctor, have a list of questions, to begin with: How many women 
in my age group do you treat?  Many ob-gyns are only interested 
in pregnant women.  But some are seeing the lucrative patient 
population entering meno, and specializing. They're the best. 


Rumslav:                Why are so many people living the lives of the 
Dead and why am I so impatient with them.  Other women my age 
seem to have given up.  Where can I find some live ones (that 
won't hit on me)


Gail Sheehy:     I don't see that many people living the lives 
of the dead.  Everybody becomes a little impatient as time grows 
shorter and more precious. 


Gail Sheehy:   Dearest, I'll take two more questions


Dearest:        Okay, Gail. Thanks :)


Gail Sheehy:             I have my precious daughter and about-to-be-
son-in-law with me for the weekend. 


RoMaGraves:             What do you think of small dose doxepin to help 
get REM sleep? Also have heard that may help CFS, too  


Gail Sheehy:             Sorry, dunno about doxepin.


Dearest:   You can obtain your own copy of Gail Sheehy's wonderful
book about ... "The Silent Passage : Menopause    Remcee, go ahead, please :)


Remcee:                 Is there a type of estrogen which is better for 
memory problems than another type? 


Gail Sheehy:             Not that I know of, but all estrogen is 
Extremely helpful in restoring short term memory lapses due to 
menopause.


Dearest:        CurtinCawl, go ahead, please :) Gail, you're doing great 
for your first online chat! Your answers have been wonderful


Gail Sheehy:  Dearest, so are your Surgettes!


Dearest:   Only because they have the knowledge from your 
exemplary books, Gail ;D


CurtinCawl:             You use terms-Flaming 50's, Serene 60's & Sage 
70's.  What do you call the 40's? 


Gail Sheehy:    To CurtinCAwl (appropriate name for last question)


Dearest:     Haha! How true :)


CurtinCawl:       :)


Gail Sheehy:    The Flourishing Forties -- hope you're in them and enjoying. 


Dearest:    Gail, you exceeded even our wildest and most wonderfully 
anticipated expectations .  Gail, on behalf of Power Surge and everyone 
attending this event,thanks SO much for spending this time answering 
our questions in your inimitable way. This has been a wonderfully 
enlightening evening, and we all thank you for joining us 
tonight.  Best of luck in your future literary endeavors, and a 
Happy Memorial Day to you and yours :)

You can obtain your own copy of "The Silent Passage: Menopause" at amazon.com .


Gail Sheehy:  Dearest, you promised a professional chat and you
delivered. This was far beyond my expectations. Thank you. 


Dearest:  Thank you, Gail and goodnight. Night, everyone. 
See you next time!



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Dearest
aka Alice Stamm
Power Surge
Founder, Facilitator, Host


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