Perimenopause
Perimenopause
When you hear that word, what comes to mind? Do you remember when you first heard the term? I am currently leading a book group in the community on the book, “The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver.
Roller coaster
In reading the book, my sense is that perimenopause is like a roller coaster, full of unpredictable ups and downs. A roller coaster that is a different ride for every individual that hops on. Some have intense symptoms, some mild, some have long lasting symptoms, some brief, some have many different symptoms, some a few, the timing of symptomatology varies significantly also.
Pay attention
A takeaway for me is the importance of paying attention to changes we notice in ourselves because it may be related to perimenopause. And even many doctors may not catch this due to their lack of training based on current educational standards. There is story after story of women being sent to all kinds of specialists or just offered an antidepressant. The book contains helpful lists of related symptoms which is a good resource to peek at when we notice a change in our health.
Unnecessary specialist appointments
I have rage on behalf of the women being sent to all kinds of specialists because of the time, energy and money that involves. I get annoyed at having to go to the dentist so I can’t imagine having to schedule all of these specialist appointments, only to find out they were actually unnecessary. Doctors are of course doing their best, but they are limited by their education, training and experience and many are not equipped for dialogue about menopause.
Did you know menopause is just one day?!
Ok, I am a woman and have been a woman for decades and I had no idea that menopause is ONE day. It is the day that you have not had a menstrual cycle for a year. That is your day of menopause, every day with symptoms before is perimenopause and every day after is post menopause. I mean, people, how do we not know these things? We talk about menopause like it’s a phase, but the reality is, that “phase” is perimenopause or postmenopause. Who knew?!
Hormone replacement therapy
If you’ve had questions about hormone replacement therapy this book does a good job breaking down lots of information about it. It shares the reality of previously reported news stories about the medication, identifies risks to taking it and benefits to many key areas of health. She breaks down health factors to consider, questions to ask your provider and is a helpful guide for making decisions about treatment.
Menopause’s impact on other areas of health
I had no idea that menopause can negatively impact other areas of our health; our heart, bone density, inflammation, insulin levels, cognition and more. The author shares how important estrogen is to our body and as it decreases during perimenopause many health areas are affected. These are broken down and discussed in the book and shares how hormone replacement therapy has the potential to also protect against these risks
History of menopause
Way back when, our menstrual cycle was seen as a way to release “toxins” from our body and therefore when the cycle stopped in perimenopause, the thought was the toxins could not be released. The belief and fear was that then the toxins would stay in the body and cause the woman to act in a concerning manner. Thoughts on that? Ek.
Menopause is a concern when it impacts how much sex men are getting
“Femine forever” is a book from the 60’s, mentioned in this book, which discussed menopause and made it a point to highlight that a woman of any age can have a fulfilling sex life. So, what a relief to all women men out there. Menopause becomes a point of discussion, concern and attention when it impacts the sex lives of men. No doubt, I want women to have fulfilling sex lives, full of delight and pleasure, but I wonder if that’s the main concern of most women experiencing perimenopause?
Purpose of menopause
The author, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, shares early on in the book, her opinion on the purpose of menopause. She shares it is our bodies way of communicating that we are a priority now, an invitation to bring the focus back to ourselves, after for many, a long stretch of caregiving for others; children, a partner, parents. Our body may be saying, hey, you are important too, let’s imagine what this next chapter could look like together.
There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s not all in your head
Like Emily Nagoski points out in the book on female sexuality, there’s nothing wrong with you. We have just not received accurate education about these topics. Surround yourself with people and providers who get it and support you throughout this transition.