I had an incredibly easy menopause. No hot flashes, though I did have night sweats a few times, and my blood pressure went up without the hormones (working with my doctor to get that under control). But I didn't expect to feel ... relief. It seems like no one ever talks about how wonderful it is, not to have to worry about getting pregnant.
Seems like women are supposed to be sad about it, or maybe society tells us to be sad about the end of our fertility, but that's not me. I felt more like celebrating. No more periods, no more PMS, no more cycle-related food cravings. No having to mess with contraceptives. I'm one of the lucky ones who didn't have periods with my IUD, so after my daughter was born, I got a new IUD every 5 years until a blood test showed my hormone levels had settled into a post-menopausal state, and I was able to avoid the long heavy and irregular periods my mother dealt with in perimenopause.
