Menopause and me

I'd like to get a little on the personal side for a bit. This may also gross out any males who may decide to read this post. My apologies in advance to those men, and to the women who may be offended by a guy discussing this topic.
I'm talking about menopause.
My wife is currently going through what has so quaintly been called "the change". It started a couple of years ago, rather ahead of schedule, or so I thought. It's been a subtle change, the occasional hot flash with some attendant mood swings. She gets angry occasionally.
I should point out here that most guys would take that moodiness and complain about it. Frankly, I think Sandra has been down-playing the way she is feeling. By all rights, she should blow up once in while. Lord knows, I do enough stupid things to deserve a tongue lashing. She could use that as a release. Which isn't licence to be a harpy, but at least it would be better if she acknowledged her mood swings externally. I'm not made of porcelain, I can take it.
Men in general just aren't paying enough attention to the way that their spouses feel.
When my wife has cramps and tenderness, I want to know about it. Most of the men I know cringe at just the sight of a pad, and that's while it is still wrapped! I worry if my wife is feeling any extra pain, or if her period is irregular for an extended period.
At one point, my wife was experiencing problems, and I took her to the hospital. Where as most husbands would sit in the waiting room, trying to avoid the details, I went in with her. Pelvic exams are not the most attractive of sights, but my wife was nervous. Where else should I have been? I have trouble picturing my father or my sister's ex in that same position. Don't even get me started on my late father-in-law!
I started writing with the intention of discussing the difficulties of dealing with the "change of wife", but what it comes down to is how men deal with female medical issues. I think if we told fewer jokes and just tried to be a little more supportive, maybe our wives wouldn't get quite so angry with us when their hormones go out of whack.