GenXers have reached that moment—gulp—the so-called ‘midlife’ years, complete with the dreaded menopause. Ugh! A lot of us hit these years fully unprepared for what was coming. We heard about the hot flashes, but even that wasn't named correctly to explain the actual misfiring of your temperature regulation. It feels like an electrical short in a lamp wire, sending sparks flying, causing temps to both jump but also to instantly plummet, only to rebound within seconds. The (very, very, VERY) dry symptoms to the haywire emotions & mood swings, it's all extraordinarily confusing, especially for us feral, completely self-reliant GenXers, who weren't at all prepared for this transition. We mostly raised ourselves & our parents certainly weren't talking about Menopause at the dinner table, or to us at all, leaving us guessing what we were in for. We can talk about how to manage the changes & challenges of midlife, especially with a lack of prior knowledge or understanding of options for symptom management.