What they say: Power Surge, in its
10th year online, is a warm and caring support community for women at
midlife and in menopause. Says creator Alice Lotto Stamm on the Web site,
"At no other time in a woman's life does she need as much support as she
does now ... The issues we address are not limited to hot flashes, soy
isoflavones, estrogen, progesterone, herbs, insomnia, hormones, depression,
vitamin E and the dreaded night sweats, but the myriad changes endemic
to menopause – how menopause impacts every nuance of our lives."
Site highlights: Besides a really great
intro, there are live guest conferences with experts on women's health,
message boards, polls, newsletters and extensive articles covering everything
from hot flashes and menopause survival to the controversy over hormone
replacement therapy.
What we think: It's sleek. It's informative.
It's a site dedicated to a female problem. (Feel the Earth rumble as all
men flee.)
Let's face it, women get the short end of the biological
stick. The discomfort of menstruation. The excruciating pain of childbirth.
The agony and confusion of menopause.
And let me just say, before any men can chime in, that
we women NEVER bought the "Wow, you're so lucky to be able to bring a
human life into this world" envy. You wouldn't trade your least favorite
pair of shoes and a month-old stalk of broccoli rustled up from the back
of your fridge's crisper drawer to be in our position.
So given all that biology has thrown at us, isn't it
only fair that women going through "the change" have a well-designed,
highly informative Web site to guide them through this crucial stage in
life? The answer, men, is yes.
Besides up-to-date information from the world of science,
there are also great articles pertaining to love and sex, nutrition and
weight. Do not be fooled. This is not your ordinary health Web site aimed
strictly at menopause. What makes this site so great, besides its wealth
of information, is that it's so navigable and wisely skips the highly
technical terms that weigh down similar online resources. This is not
a site trying to sell you the latest drug to help alleviate the symptoms
of menopause. This is a big ol' support group for women.
The bottom line: You won't find menopause
collages created by a group of angry women. There are no live feeds of
women using interpretive dance to convey menopause. There are no graphics
of men being beheaded. This site is very accessible and could be recommended
to a husband or any other family member or friend who wants to know what
the lady in their life is going through. This can be a trying time, and
whether they say it or not, women need you. I wish I had this site as
a reference for when my own mother went through menopause. I could have
learned to help her cope, or could have better understood where she was
coming from. Or at least learned how to coax her into putting down that
boulder aimed at my head.
by Heather L. Connors
