STORIES
menopause
Poise Fab 5 • Menopause Parties • Spa Days
contents Caution, Joy of Menopause in Progress Is it HOT in Here, or is it Just You? Girls’ Night In My Menopause Story Making Time for a 2nd Talk During Sisterpalooza Learning from the Poise Fab 5 Gals Poise Feminine Wellness Products Menopause Awareness Month Having the Second Talk My Joyful Menopause Story Pampering Ourselves It’s OK to Use the “M” Word Happy Menopause Our Menopause Party A Menopause Chat Welcome to Perimenopause the bloggers
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publication design & layout by:
cover story~Barb Webb
Caution, Joy of Menopause in Progress
P
eeople talk about the “joys” of menopause but lately, my personal zone is feeling more like this: Between sizzling unexpected hot flashes, annoying mood swings, and
less-than-comfortable changes occurring during peri-menopause...there are times I’d like to put up caution tape and hide behind it. I’m certainly not afraid of going through menopause and I do embrace this new chapter in my life, but let’s face it, the body changes can be a real pain! So, until I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I covet the chance to find a little remedy to alleviate the harshness of some of the symptoms of menopause. Like the cooling relief that Poise Roll-On Cooling Gel offers when I am heated up.
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Valerie Loftin
Is it HOT in Here, or is it Just You?
I
attended BlogHER this summer in New York where I first heard about the new line of Poise products being introduced to the women in the over 40 crowd.
On the night of our Menopause party my girlfriends and I swapped stories about our hot flashes and shared tips on what we do to help ourselves out during our “private summers.”
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We love the roll on cooling gel and the body cooling towelettes
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Cyn Gagen
Girls’ Night In
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first encountered the new Poise Feminine Wellness products when I attended the BlogHer 12 blogging conference this past August. In fact, I spent 45 minutes in their booth talking
with one of their reps because once they told me about their new 2nd Talk campaign, I was hooked! If only these products and the information they’re sharing on their website had been available to me about 15 years ago! It’s called the 2nd Talk because the first one is about girls getting their periods. So, when I was given the opportunity to host a Poise Menopause Party featuring the Poise Fab 5 products, I was very excited! You see, early menopause tends to run in my family. I, however, had very very early menopause. I held a “Girls’ Night In: Take a MenoPause Party” for some of my family and friends. The ages of this group ranged from 24 to 79. The 24 year old was my daughter and although, of course, she’s too young to be even going through perimenopause, it was important to me to include her. That’s one of the things I love about this new program from Poise – the idea is to get the information out to younger women, not just those who are already going through menopause. Perhaps if that had been done with me, I wouldn’t have gone through so much worry and so many medical tests! I don’t want my daughter to repeat my experience so I included her so that she could be ready for it when it does happen.
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Kay Maher
My Menopause Story
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up one night to go to the bathroom and then coming back to find a freezing cold bed, with very damp sheets.
So, what do you do when you finally realize that menopause is upon you? First, go to the Poise website and check out the information (and print coupons for the products). If you are like eight out of ten women, you will agree that it’s time to change the way we think about menopause. You can read stories from women who have the same problems you may be having... leaking, hot flashes, and dryness. You can also read advice from several experts in the field, and you can join the conversation. Read about the Poise Feminine Wellness products, print your coupons, and then go try them out!
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’m not sure quite when it started. I just remember waking
These products have really made a difference in my life in just a few days!
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Janet Krugel
Making Time for a 2nd Talk During Sisterpalooza
M
y older sister and I shopped at Walmart this weekend and I needed a way to “break the ice” for the 2nd Talk; so I told her about the Poise Feminine Wellness
products and she was as excited as I was to learn more. We found four of the five products – Feminine Wash, Personal Lubricant, Roll-On Cooling Gel, and Body Cooling Towelettes. I will be 36 in March 2013. I will be in the age range that my mom and older sister were when some of the menopause symptoms started for them. I’m sort of freaking out that I won’t get to have as many children as I initially wanted. I am 35 and I had my first child a month before my 31st birthday. While I don’t consider this “later”, it suddenly has become “later” since my husband and I have been trying for two years to have our second child. I’m experiencing other issues that have caused me to call upon Poise products in the past and now that I have looked into the Poise Feminine Wellness products, I am definitely keeping a couple of them in my purse now…just in case…
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April Decheine
Learning from the Poise Fab 5 Gals
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ave you had the 2nd Talk with your girlfriends? I love life, I love learning new things, I love trying new things and I embrace getting older. With age come changes in our
bodies, in our minds and in our soul. Did you know my friends, that September is Menopause Awareness Month? I am 46 and am experiencing some of the changes that occur when our bodies go through menopause. Walmart has this fabulous campaign going on with the Poise Fab 5 (five different women introducing themselves to us and explaining the symptoms that are affecting them). The videos are great and really make you aware of this special time in a women’s life. My major problem is the Hot Flashes. Sometimes I have sweat dripping down my back. Menopause means growth and change to me. I am beautiful, strong and sexual in my late 40’s and plan to continue this through my 50’s and 60’s. The Poise Feminine Wellness products help with Hot Flash discomfort, Daily Freshness and Intimacy.
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I Welcome Menopause!! I am empowered for change!
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Bonny Sallee
Poise Feminine Wellness Products
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nre you going through menopause or do you know somebody who is? Many of my friends and I are! So I thought it would be awesome to throw a party and talk about menopause. We
exchanged tips that would help us through menopause. We had “The 2nd Talk!” I found some awesome products to tell you about, which will help all of us fabulous women through menopause! They are the Poise Fab 5!
My Meno-Pause Party My guests and I talked about all of these fabulous products and everybody tried the Roll-On Cooling Gel and the Body Cooling Towelettes! They loved them! Here are some of the great tips: • Wear layers of clothing, so if you get a hot flash you can simply take something off. • Deep breathing shortens a hot flash. • Certain foods will trigger a hot flash, so keep a diary to figure out what they are. • Flax seeds help out hot flashes. • Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.
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Linette Gerlach
Menopause Awareness Month
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iid you know that September is Menopause Awareness Month? I didn’t until a couple of days ago! I didn’t even know much at all about menopause until a couple of years ago. I started feeling
the symptoms of menopause about two- three years ago. I think I’m in what they call perimenopause. I still have my monthly cycle, but it’s much lighter than it used to be. I also used to have a very regular cycle I could count on every 28 days like clockwork. Now my cycle might be up to a week early, or late. It’s very unpredictable! Sometimes I’m tortured with mood swings and bloating for a week or two before my period will start. Not fun at all! I really want to go through all this gracefully, but I don’t know if I can. I guess I have to think of it like a butterfly; we all have to go through changes. I was excited to hear about the new Poise products for menopause. Anything to help make the process go more gracefully sounds good to me. I heard about the Fab Five, and the videos these great women are sharing at Walmart.com on the Poise Brand Page. So I went to check them out. While I was there I grabbed a $1 off coupon for Poise products. It’s good to see others going through the menopause process, and it helped me know what to expect over the next couple of years.
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If you have a positive attitude, you’ve won more than half the battle
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Mimi Baker
Having the Second Talk
M
y co-worker and friend, Cindy, and I were recently talking about menopause because she’s going through it right now.
Cindy and I met up and I drove us to an Aveda salon I’ve been to before. They had actually remodeled the store since the last time I was there a couple of years ago. It was SO nice. We were taken to the spa waiting room and that’s where we started talking about menopause. The first thing that came out of her mouth was that attitude is everything. Yes, you may have crappy days.You may wake up naked as a jaybird because you were having night sweats, but if you have a positive attitude, you’ve won more than half the battle! We ordered our lunches and I gave Cindy her goodie bag. I had her pick out a product from the salon, but I also snuck in the nail polish she had put on her toes. Inside the bag were all 5 Poise Feminine Wellness products.
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Rebecca E. Parsons
My Joyful Menopause Story
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look on my brilliantly glorious life as a giant canvas on which I am splattering as much paint as I possibly can!!! Being of a certain age, I have earned the right to speak my mind.
Speaking my mind is not something I often do, but listening {oh yeah} that’s my game. I embrace this one wild, wonderful life I have been gifted and ALL that it has to offer and teach me! I look at menopause as a beautiful rite of passage…my birthright so to speak. This is when one becomes a wise elder of the tribe called women. A rite of passage, which marks a time when a person reaches a new and significant change in his/her life, can be meaningful and pleasant or something to be endured. Embracing it or going through it kicking and screaming…either way it is a choice one makes on how to transition through…and it is always memorable. BTW, the Poise website, is loaded with great information and education from experts and other women just like us. They want us to approach menopause in a Whole New Way! This year at BlogHER, I was introduced the Poise Fab Five Feminine Wellness products. I don’t leave home without my Roll-On Cooling Gel and Body Cooling Towelettes! EVER.
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Liza Coulter
Pampering Ourselves
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Surviving Perimenopause and Menopause with a spa day!
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ave you had The 2nd Talk? The 2nd Talk is all about menopause, and Poise would like to see 1 million women join the conversation before October 18th, which is World Menopause Day.
A pedicure and Poise Fab 5 products–a great way to cope with menopause
A couple of weeks ago my in-laws were visiting and my Mother-in-Law mentioned how her hot flashes were really very frustrating. I knew just how she felt and so I thought it would be nice if we could do something to rejuvenate our spirits and reduce our stress. For me, when I think stress relief, I think spa day. So I invited my MIL to have a day of pampering with me.
While we were getting our pedicures, Tammy the nail tech asked if we were there for a special occasion. I explained that we were taking a day off from our perimenopause and menopause symptoms and enjoying a day of relaxation. She immediately said that she could relate: she was in her mid-40s and had been diagnosed by her doctor as being perimenopausal. Pretty soon the entire pedicure area was buzzing with the 2nd Talk and people were sharing stories and symptoms. Here’s my MIL after our spa day. See how happy and relaxed she looks with that pretty manicure peeking out from behind her gift bag of Poise goodies?
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Christy Gossett
It’s OK to Use the “M” Word
T
he facts might just surprise you: Perimenopause, or menopause
transition, is a stage of a woman’s life that starts several years before Menopause when the ovaries gradually begin to produce
less estrogen. It generally starts in a woman’s 40’s but can start in a woman’s 30’s...OR EARLIER! The average length of perimenopause is usually four years but can last as little as three months, or continue for up to ten years. Perimenopause ends one year after a woman has gone twelve months without a period, at which time a woman officially enters Menopause. And thanks to the great people at Poise, I got the awesome opportunity to have the 2nd talk with someone on the “cusp”. I live in my computer and I have so many friends in here. I was excited that I got to meet one of these friends in real life last weekend at Bloggy Boot Camp. Kristi Reddell from Moms Confession is so much fun and we had an immediate connection. She’s only 32, and I’m older than that; so when Poise said I could bring anyone I wanted to a spa for the 2nd talk, I knew I wanted to bring Kristi. We’d already had the talk in Dallas. She knows she’s not too young to think about this and I think she’s prepared! It was time to celebrate our new friendship! We met up at Zen Salon and Laser Spa for a little relaxation. We had very different things in mind. Kristi was going to relax with a full-body massage, and I was going to get a consult on my face. You see, once you hit Menopause, there is little you can do about the progression of age on your face. I’m vain. Shush...we all are. I wanted to find out if they could help!
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Patsy Smith
Happy Menopause
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eptember is Menopause Awareness Month and being in that age group of women I can readily identify with the need to address the issues that women face as they grow older and
their bodies are changing. Let’s face it, when we women reach a “certain age” we are beset with lots of shall we say, uncomfortable and aggravating problems. Hot flashes, bladder leakage, body odors and dryness can make our lives miserable. My biggest problems with this menopause thing has been hot flashes and bladder leakage, but fortunately for me and every other woman out there experiencing these and other symptoms, help is available in the way of information and products. The first place I went was the Poise website for expert advice about the symptoms of menopause. I gained a lot of information on why I was experiencing hot flashes and other symptoms. This is where I learned about the Roll-on Cooling Gel (my fave) and the four other Poise Wellness products: Panty Fresheners, Personal Lubricant, Feminine Wash and Body Cooling Towelettes.
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Laura Kromer
Our Menopause Party
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enopause parties seem to be all the rage these days! It’s a great way to have fun with your girlfriends and discuss the menopause symptoms that many women
over 40 are experiencing. I threw a Menopause party over the weekend for some of my favorite girlfriends over the age of 40, who are feeling a lot like me…hot, tired, irregular, and confused over menopause. It’s high time we start talking about menopause and learn how to better survive it; with the help of friends, good times, lots of laughs, and the new Poise Feminine Wellness Products. At my local Walmart I was able to get four of the five new Poise Products: Body Cooling Towelettes, Roll-On Cooling Gel, Feminine Wash, and Personal Lubricant. We had a great time catching up, swapping menopause horror stories and learning about the new Poise Body Cooling Towelettes, Roll-On Cooling Gel, Feminine Wash, Panty Fresheners and Personal Lubricant. I have to admit that after opening the second bottle of wine, the girls started to get a little silly. We had a lot of fun testing out the new Poise Personal Wellness Products and taking goofy pictures of each other.
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Deb Thompson
A Menopause Chat
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etting older has benefits, but if you are a girl, there is also a bit of a downside as well. I’m going to be 43 soon and I’m kind of starting to dread the
M word. You know the one, right?? Menopause, yeah, THAT M word. I was SHOCKED to learn that my mom started menopause at 42–holy crap!!! That is my age. I hope that doesn’t mean that I’ll be dealing with it any time soon. We discussed other ailments that accompany menopause, and I have to admit, it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. I told Mom I was stocking up on Poise Cooling Cloths and Poise Cooling Gel that I found at Walmart. These are found at Walmart in the feminine products aisle. I’m hoping that my friends and I go through menopause at the same time so that we can have a nice support system. I’m not anticipating it to be awful, but it’s nice to have friends that understand.
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Connie Ott
Welcome to Perimenopause
M
enopause is not a dirty word. If you’re a woman, you’ll likely experience the symptoms of perimenopause at some point – it’s a natural part in our aging process. September
is Menopause Awareness Month so what better time to have “the second talk?” We talk to our girls about having their first period – but it is amazing how few talk about the other end – when menses end. After my sister and I chatted and had “the second talk,” I decided to put together a little menopause kit for her. I first visited the Poise Fab Five page on the Walmart website to print coupons for the products I’d be purchasing. Poise offers five different products so you can pick and choose the products for your specific symptoms. I headed to my local Walmart determined to put together a menopause kit that would be fun and useful. I went first to the feminine hygiene aisle to look for the Poise products. There I was able to locate four of the five products I went for and I popped them into my cart. I picked up a cute bag, a gift tag, and some chocolate to complete my gift. I think now a bottle of wine would have been a great thing to include as well and perhaps a candle or two – reaching menopause doesn’t mean your life is over. My sister is young and vibrant and I dare anyone call her old to her face!
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the bloggers Blogger
Blog Post Link
Bonny Sallee
http://www.quicktattletails.com/2012/09/poise-fab-five-products-and-meno-pause.html
Barb Webb
http://webbwise.blogspot.com/2012/09/caution-joy-of-menopause-in-progress.html
Valerie Loftin
http://seasonallyaffectedmom.com/is-it-hot-in-here-or-is-it-just-you/
Kay Maher
http://www.moreismerrier.com/2012/09/menopause-stories-with-poise-products.html
Janet Krugel
http://goingcrazywannago.com/2012/09/making-time-2nd-talk-sisterpalooza-poisefab5-cbias
April Decheine
http://www.aprilslifestyleshow.com/2012/09/learning-from-poisefab5-gals-about.html
Linette Gerlach
http://homeandgardencafe.com/september-is-menopause-awareness-month-with-poise-fab-five-poisefab5/
Connie Ott
http://www.miscfinds4u.com/blog/2012/09/17/poise-menopause/
Mimi Baker
http://www.wovenbywords.com/2012/09/having-2nd-talk-thanks-to-poisefab5-and.html
Rebecca E. Parsons
http://cre8tivecompass.com/mag/2012/09/21/my-joyful-menopause-storymenopause-awareness-month-poisefab5/
Liza Coulter
http://viewsfromtheville.com/2012/09/22/pampering-ourselves-to-cope-with-perimenopause-and-menopause-symptoms/
Christy Gossett
http://www.insanityisnotanoption.com/2012/09/its-ok-to-use-m-word-if-you-have.html#
Laura Kromer
http://www.aboutamom.com/2012/09/poise-feminine-wellness-products-and-our-meno-pause-party-poisefab5-cbias.html
Patsy Smith
http://www.consumerqueen.com/lang/en-us/misc-deals/poisefab5#axzz26qWUjsro
Deb Thompson
http://justshortofcrazy.com/2012/09/spa-day-and-menopause-chat.html
Cyn Gagen
http://creativecynchronicity.com/2012/10/take-a-menopause-and-have-a-party/
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