
Game-o-pause
Convalescing, part one
So menopause…yeah. Yes, I know, not a topic traditionally talked about in gaming but f&%k it, it’s my blog and I’ll talk about OG gamer girl issues if I wanna. Hey, women my age are the fastest growing demographic in video gaming. So let’s talk about The Change.
In my last post, I mentioned my impending hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy which has since come to pass. I also talked about all the time to game the recovery would afford me. Ahhhh, best laid schemes.
Okay, so the first few days of misery, I expected. Surgery sucks, there’s no way around that. Pieces of my body were cut out. That’s gonna hurt. I had reconciled myself to the first few days languishing in bed. Two weeks later…I feel better, not great, but better. Some of it is still the incisions and stitches. But wait! There’s more!
Small bio lesson here: see the human body has three major reproductive hormones: progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen. I won’t go too much into what they all do, but they are all important to a person’s overall health and well-being. Right now, since I had both ovaries removed, my body isn’t producing much of those hormones and I’m miserable. No, that should be Miserable with a capital M. Actually, it should be MISERABLE, all caps. And yes, I’m shouting.
Now usually when misery comes to visit, I game. I play for hours on end, day after day after day. But without those essential chemical messengers coursing through my veins, I can’t focus, I have no energy, I can’t sleep and I’m on the verge of a serious depression. And now I’m missing one of the tools that helps me cope.
I’ve tried to force myself to play. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s mostly been Netflix and chill. And no, not in the colloquial sense, lol. Let’s put it this way, fifteen seasons of Supernatural might not be enough to last till I go back to work. The term “binge-watching” doesn’t scratch the surface. It’s more like mainlining TV. A wide open IV of mindless entertainment replete with a heparin flush to keep the needle from clogging.
Okay, I took that metaphor too far as I am wont to do. My point being: all this Netflix watching is not healthy. Not that no-lifing a game is, but at least gaming keeps the brain active. Encourages persistent optimism. Leads to strong social bonds. Not to mention burns 250 calories per hour.
When I decided to kiss my sickly female parts goodbye, I expected hot flashes, night sweats, forgetfulness, mood swings, insomnia, dry skin, and just a general sense of feeling like crap. I didn’t expect my love of gaming to go down the fallopian tubes. (See…see what I did there? I’m so clever 🤭 lol) Menopause, I can deal with, but game-o-pause? Oh hell no!
I’m just gonna say it, Mother Nature is raging b!tch. All the bull$h!t she puts women though? And now this? But that’s fine cuz I got science on my side. This week I start that good-good. That sticky-icky HRT (hormone replacement therapy). In a couple weeks, I’ll should be right as rain, gripping my controller tight. Till death do us part!
Author’s note: I started this blog post a couple weeks ago and just now had the mental energy to finish it. To all my lady gamers who are suffering due to menopause (or even worse, game-o-pause), please allow me to quote Jessica Tandy’s character from Fried Green Tomatoes, “You get yourself some hormones…”
I’m not a paid blogger…yet! Your support can help me reach that goal. Please feel leave your thoughts, subscribe to my blog or hit me up on Twitter @cindyjacks. If you’d like to buy me a coffee or leave a tip you can do so at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/grownupgamergirl or cash app $cindyjacksbooks. All donations to my online content are much appreciated, but definitely not required to keep coming back to visit! Game on, my friends!