I feel just the opposite. Its so refreshing to know I'm not the only one who feels this way and wishes society would stop loading expectations about what is "normal". It's like an introvert finally being told it's perfectly okay to want to stay home alone and read books on a Friday night.

me too - on both statements.

and with iPhone/android and a Twitter account.

I never did. It seemed like a slow steady decline. My drive seemed to rise an fall with my ovulation cycle too. Now it doesn't seem to do that, even though I know I'm ovulating (I can feel it - and I'm still getting periods). I'm 52, I wish it would stop already...but that's a different subject. :)

me too.

Seriously! That is exactly what I think anytime I see those commercials. Although, I am convinced that 'normal" sex drive is probably not the right phrase. My body is finishing up having babies... it's wondering what all the fuss is about doing something that creates babies. It's not really needed anymore, from an evolutionary standpoint. KWIM?? But, our modern sex-crazed society (and men) seem to think it's not "normal" to be less interested when you're menopausal. Sigh. sorry, soap box issue for me.

similar to me, although I did do some college. I quit college because of financial reasons when I was 20ish. Got married at 21 and promptly went back to school fulltime.. but an unexpected and difficult pregnancy ended that. Had our first when I was 23 and life just moved on quickly. Now I'm in my 50s and slowly working towards some degree. I need to figure out a major, but I'm so undecided. I mainly want to do it for me. I regret not finishing my degree, but I have no desire to get the one I was working toward back then (Early Ed). After homeschooling my interests have become wide and varied.

We also enjoyed "Crossing Lines". We like: "River" - gotta love Stellen Skarsgard - love him. "Longmire" "Battle Creek" - light fun "Awake" - don't know if the premise will hold up though "Dark Matter" "Lilyhammer" "Fringe" - the first 3 seasons were very good

This gives me hope. Maybe things are changing - albeit at a glacial rate.

His sentence is very sad. My only hope is that since he was convicted that he will be on a sex offender's list for the rest of his life.

Yes, I have hoped and prayed for something that it affected me physically. Praying you find the relief you need. I hope it works out for you.

why not do the iron when you're menopausal? I'm also going through menopause.

yes, I do that too. I don't think it's its enough since I have a long soaking tub and I don't want to put in a whole bag of epsom.

oh yes, I totally get it. It affects my arms as well, although in the middle of the night it's just my legs. I hate to tell you this, but I used to only get it when pregnant. I hope it stays that way for you.

interesting. I just got blood work done and it came back that I was anemic.

Help!! My RLS has been out of control lately. Most nights I get a few hours of sleep, am up for an hour or two, and then fall back to sleep until the alarm. It's not my typical insomnia, it's definitely my legs. I can't take any more magnesium or my gut is just too upset. Warm showers or baths are not helping. I've tried the magnesium oil spray...nope. Anyone have something else that might help along with the magnesium.

oh no... what a bummer. We'll miss you.

Totally thread-jacking... but what was your intuition telling you that you wish you'd listened to? How would that have saved all the heartache?

I think this advice is good, except I would talk to your friend after the GWL trip. That way it doesn't look like you're hunting for an invitation. And really it isn't about not going, it is the way it was handled. Was it your friend who invited the person next to you or the other lady? This is important. If it was the other lady, then perhaps your friend was embarrassed but didn't know how to handle it. Anyway, hugs. I hate stuff like that.

I know. Who owns the computer??!! Mine did it a week ago. Fortunately, it's a new laptop so the change was not that drastic.. but still. It's my computer. I don't like the change to tablet style apps on my laptop either.

How awful. Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl.

Sparkly - they didn't put you under local when they did that as a kid? :ohmy: I had something similar done to me as a small child and I was always put under. It was still outpatient (even back in the 60s/70s), but at least I didn't know what was happening. I actually don't know what was wrong with me as I was pretty young at the time (under 10), but it sounds like the same procedure that was described to me. I do not have any experience with UD. hoping all the best for you.

I'm having trouble finding a lot of these books because no author was given. There's more than one option for several of these titles.

oh gosh... great question...hard to answer. I am a Christian so there's a lot left off the list but here it goes: "How We Die" by Nuland - I'd definitely put this one the "everybody should read this book" list. "A Wrinkle in Time" it was the first book I read that got me. I was a late bloomer for reading and discovered this book and the genre at about 13-14. Fell in love. "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.. discovered in late high school. Another one of those books that "got me". The above two because I came from a family with women who liked to read, but they only read romance novels... that's all I knew... and I didn't like them. If it weren't for those above and CS Lewis' books, I probably wouldn't be much of a reader today.

This sounds very similar to the set up we had when my parents lived with us. However, they had a basement apartment with a full kitchen. My parents were in the 60s and pretty self-sufficient at that time. I would personally have a hard time with a parent living and eating with me every day/all day unless they were very frail and sick. Laura, I think you need to set up some ground rules. Maybe give you mom some heads up that you'd like to discuss expectations with the living arrangements so she can also get some time to think about what she wants. You mentioned how she is basically unhappy, so she may want to be by herself too. Also, commit to re-evaluating again after 3-6 months in case something isn't working.