Stevie Nicks Says This 1 Part of Her Career Helped Her Forget About Menopause
Stevie Nicks did not have time for menopause. She was too busy operating both her solo career as well as her frontwoman duties to Fleetwood Mac. Plus, there were her extracurricular activities, including helping out the USO, meeting the cast of Glee, and filming a cameo for American Horror Story: Coven, even though she hates acting. She also collaborated with a wide range of other musicians.
So getting hot flashes and other menopause symptoms don’t really help when you’re busy trying to be a rockstar. However, there was one part of Nicks’ career that helped her during this time.
Stevie Nicks said ‘rock and the menopause do not mix’
According to the Guardian, Nicks has said that “rock and the menopause do not mix” in the past. When asked about how menopause was going for her so far, she said it was horrible. Most women going through it would agree.
Some of the most common menopause symptoms are hot flashes, chills, mood changes, weight gain or slowed metabolism, night sweats, and sleeping problems. Right off the bat, we can identify which symptoms Nicks most likely didn’t enjoy and still doesn’t today.
Performing is already strenuous without having hot flashes added to the mix. Nicks doesn’t do herself any favors by wearing black either, even if she insists wearing the color to make her look thinner. The weight gain has been a struggle too, but she’s combated that with eating healthy and using her Power Plate. However, the night sweats and the sleeping problems more than likely didn’t affect her because she doesn’t sleep at night. She already has problems sleeping.
When the Guardian asked her in 2011, if her menopause was behind her, Nicks replied, “Well, kind of. My mom is 83 and she still has hot flushes. She just starts to sweat from the very top of her head. So there’s parts of it that I feel don’t ever go away. It’s a way of life and you learn to live with it.” Fortunately for Nicks, there was one aspect of her career that helped her through it all.
Nicks says performing helped her menopause
Despite saying rock and menopause don’t mix, it looks like rock helped Nicks through her menopause. When asked if her symptoms make it harder to go on stage, Nicks said performing actually helped.
“No, because when you’re on stage you have to forget about it,” Nicks told the Guardian. “There is no dizzies, there is no cramps, there is no menopause. All there is, is the audience and what you do. So you feel great for those two hours. And when I come offstage, then I can burst into tears.”
Nicks’ hot flashes are so bad that she has to carry a fan
Even though performing helped Nicks through menopause, she still got severe hot flashes to the point where she had to cut out drinking wine. FleetwoodMac.net writes that’s why the frontwoman tends to carry around a Japanese fan.
“I break out in hot flushes and I just have to sit down,” Nicks said. “That is when I get a big, fabulous Japanese fan and cool myself. I may as well be fabulous while I’m suffering.”
When Nicks was in her 60s, she said she didn’t use to care if menopause effected her looks because by then she wouldn’t care how she looked. However, she was wrong. “You think when you’re 50 it’s over,” she said. “You’re not going to care. But you will care. You realize it matters to look pretty. But your hormones go crazy and by then it’s even harder to lose weight.
“I fight [menopause] every day. It takes over your life. It makes you not feel good. I’ve heard women say menopause is wonderful, the ‘change’ is great, but it’s not. It sucks. It forces you to make a choice-whether you want to get old or you want to stay young.”
At least Nicks got to perform a lot when she was going through her changes. That’s not exactly something many women have to help them. Nicks very well could have stopped touring for a bit when menopause hit her, but that’s not the Nicks we know.
