SAFETY, COMFORT, AND VALUE:

Change is the only constant in life. However, some types of change can be overly difficult, especially when it comes to moving a parent from a place that has been their home for years.

Choices must be made, and above all, a parent must feel safe and comfortable in his or her new environment. Of course, moving your loved one to a safer space can be quite expensive.

In and around The Villages, a basic 400-square-foot apartment can start at over $36,000 per year. Additionally, a living space with two rooms and a kitchenette with all the amenities may cost more than $60,000 a year. Even those who have adequately planned for retirement may find this expense unbearable.

Fortunately, there is another option being offered by Hometown Builders, a local Certified General Contractor based in Wildwood. Multigenerational is the term used to describe these specialized living spaces that can accommodate your mom or dad, your son or daughter who’s just getting started in life, or just old friends and neighbors from back home that love to visit any time of the year. Its living area that is close enough for you to check in on your loved one with ease but private enough where everyone enjoys their own space.

general contractor. “Where through design that special heirloom fits perfectly and above all safety has been considered in every detail.”

Designs offered by Hometown Builders are flexible. Whether you’re just taking the space within your home that was two bedrooms and a bath and redesigning it into a second master suite including a fully equipped ADA( The Americans with Disabilities Act) walk-in curbless shower with built -n bench seat or adding on a semi-detached apartment with a kitchenette, Hometown Builders has the team for you.

“Our goal is to design and build a space where your mom or dad will get excited about moving to,” says Elisa Adams-Rae, certified

Our designer, Lisa Malloy, has spent years looking at how best to get the most livable space out of every square foot. “Anyone can design a house given enough square footage and money,” she says. “It’s finding the right mix of necessities along with those special touches that make it an affordable addition. I always keep in mind how the space I design can be used in the future when situations change. Guest quarters, pool house or just a place for those hobbies, you can always use the space.”

Hometown Builders can determine with a simple click of the mouse whether your lot is large enough for an addition of one of our floor plans. Give us a call today and see why our independent living spaces are a Suite Place. Hometown Builders, “Where we’re small enough to listen but big enough to deliver.”

OTHER SERVICES OFFERED:

Residential home construction and remodeling, commercial and specialty retail build-out remodeling, kitchen and bath replacement, room additions, lanai’s, and outoor entertainment areas.

Hormones 101

Painful cramps, heavy bleeding, and mood swings are what numerous women deal with each month, and doctors say it shouldn’t be kept in the dark.

WRITER: THERESA CAMPBELL

Three local women, Alex, 22, Becca, 23, and Olivia, 24 (whose first names were changed), lead active lives until that time of the month when they experience tender breasts, fatigue, mood swings, depression, irritability, food cravings, headaches, insomnia, muscle or joint pain, and poor concentration.

“I get really emotional over unimportant things the day before I start my period,” Becca says. “I don’t know why until the next day—the day ‘Aunt Flo’ comes.”

For centuries, many women have bemoaned their menstrual cycle as “the curse”—a description Alex finds fitting.

“I have very bad periods every other month,” Alex says. “It’s superfrustrating. I could have really bad, painful cramps one month, and the next month it will be very light with no cramps.”

Alex didn’t start menstruating until she was 17.

“It was a concern. I asked my doctor and she says it was because I was very athletic and, most of the time, athletes don’t start until a later time,” she says.

Adding to her stress was being diagnosed at 18 with Factor V Leiden, which makes some forms of contraception too risky in regulating her periods.

“Women with this have an increase of developing blood clots during pregnancy or when taking the hormone estrogen,” Alex says. “They did come out with a birth control that I can take. Now I feel a little more regulated with the birth control, but it’s still not extremely regulated.”

She is happy, however, that she doesn’t have the painful cramps like before.

“But the mood swings with this birth control are crazier than ever,” Alex says. “I can go from being happy one second to just, like, truly frustrated or angry. One little thing or stress, and I can go through the roof!”

During stressed-out moments, she reminds herself what’s happening and also strives to make her boyfriend aware that he is not causing her mood swings.

“I would tell other young women and girls dealing with heavy cramps with their periods to get checked,” Alex says.

Olivia also believes it’s important to talk to medical professionals about hormonal concerns, and for those who wish to prevent pregnancy to learn the best forms of contraception for them.

“If you’re epileptic, such as myself, then some medications completely deplete the effectiveness of birth control,” Olivia says. “I’m very worried about it. My doctor told me to go see the pharmacist to doublecheck what will work with my other medications.”

A regular monthly menstrual cycle, anywhere from 21 to 36 days, is a sign of hormones in balance, yet about 80 percent of women reportedly experience symptoms of being imbalanced, which can lead to worsening symptoms and feelings of fatigue.

“For a lot of women, there is a misconception that this is something they have to deal with, which is not true, because we do have options and things to do to help them. Things can be done to regulate the hormones better,” says Pamela Cook, a nurse practitioner at Renew Me MD in The Villages, which provides gynecology services, annual female exams, birth control, and related services.

“Sometimes we use oral contraceptives to regulate hormones, and there are medicines that can make the symptoms better and more tolerable, and there are herbs to help with the breast tenderness,” Pamela says.

Dr. Alfred H. Moffett, of Lake OB-GYN Associates of Mid-Florida, which has locations in Leesburg and The Villages, says girls just starting their periods are routinely irregular, but in time, they usually regulate themselves.

He encourages young women to seek gynecological services when they become sexually active, if they have problems with pain, heavy bleeding, or anxiety, or when they turn 18.

“We like to see them before they go off to college, and it gives us a chance to chat with them about contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, about healthy living, healthy diet, sleep patterns, and it gives us a chance to tell them that they have someone they can call in an emergency,” Dr. Moffett says.

He also talks to women interested in pregnancy about how to prepare for it, such as maintaining a good diet, not using drugs, and avoiding stress, and he discusses hormonal issues with women during perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.

Dr. Moffett, who is pleased to have treated some of his female patients for 45 years, encourages women to be open about their health concerns.

“I can’t fix it if I don’t know about it,” he says. “You are going to find that we are not accusatory, we’re not going to be judgmental. We are going to try to be your best friend with a medical degree to help you get in the right mode of management so we can get you better.”