Karen Giblin is hot. But that's not a physical description. It's a thermal one.
Giblin is founder and president of Red Hot Mamas, a menopause education program, and hot flashes are only one of the topics she tackles as an authority on the subject.
When it comes to "the change," Giblin believes the best way to deal with it is to be as knowledgeable as you can and outsmart it. That's why she started Red Hot Mamas in 1991. The program is now offered in more than 200 hospitals throughout the United States and Canada. Last year, Chesapeake General Hospital brought it onboard.
An event held at the Lifestyle Center on Jan. 22 featured Giblin, a national speaker, with 162 people in attendance.
"I see we have a lot of red hot mamas in the house," said Heather Murphy, nurse manager of the women's unit, who got a conga line going around the room before introducing Giblin. "That was really hot."
Giblin, who lives in New Jersey, focused on her cookbook, "Eat to Defeat Menopause: The Essential Nutrition Guide for a Healthy Midlife," but her talk covered the gamut as far as offering advice - and plenty of humor - for attendees.
Menopause, said Giblin, can last as long as a fixed mortgage rate. "It doesn't seem to end," she said.
She encourages women to be as well-versed as possible in what she refers to as their "hormonally challenged years." Menopause typically begins around 51 years old, give or take five years.
"Hot has a different meaning in our 40s than it did in our 30s and 20s, when you're really hot," Giblin said.
"Six thousand women a day enter menopause, and every women will experience it if she lives long enough," Giblin said, noting that menopause is a girls' only club.
But, that didn't seem to bother Allen Pace, one of two men who attended.
"I'm here to support my wife," said Pace, who has been married to Erika for 23 years.
Giblin explained the most common symptoms - hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood swings, skin changes and others - and how best to deal with them, including the use of prescription treatments, hormone therapy, natural remedies, dietary strategies and exercise.
"It just doesn't happen overnight, unless you've had surgery," explained Giblin who didn't have much time to prepare for menopause. Hers came on following an emergency hysterectomy.
That's why Pam White, 54, of Great Bridge, attended. "I'm at that point in my life where I have hot flashes," White said. "If something as simple as modifying my diet will help, I'm interested in that."
It was the first time Great Bridge resident Ann Marie Myers, 48, attended a Red Hot Mamas event, but it won't be her last.
"I want to learn for future planning and combat it before it happens," Myers said.
That's just the kind of thinking that Giblin hopes for.
"Menopause is not a disease; it's a normal biological transition. Make it the best years of your life," she said. "Take charge of menopause before it takes charge of you and keep a twinkle in your wrinkle."
Sandra J. Pennecke, pennecke@cox.net
Want to go?
What: Upcoming Red Hot Mamas Seminars
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 26 – Hysterectomy: Everything You Need to Know; March 26 – Colorectal Cancer; April 23 – Women and Osteoarthritis; May 18th – Depression: The Menopausal Blues; and June 25 – Hot Flashes at Menopause: Turning Up the Heat.
Where: The Lifestyle Center at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, 800 N. Battlefield Blvd.
Cost: Free
Reservations: Call 312-5144 or e-mail marketing@chesapeakeregional.com.
Info: Visit www.redhotmamas.org.