Menopause Awareness Month
- MENOPAUSE is defined as that MINUTE when you have not had a period for 12 months (LITERALLY, the minute, BUT no one knows WHEN that is, so it’s a roundabout ;)
- ANYTHING after that is called POST-menopausal
- the AVERAGE age of menopause (i.e. ONE year with no period) is 51
- Anything before that is PRE-menopausal (i.e. your 5 year old daughter is PRE-menopausal! Weird, I know)
- PERI-menopause (what I call “the other P word”) is a stretch where your hormones are fluctuating BUT it is an erratic time, hallmarked by unpredictable changes (may experience any or ALL of the following: hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, hair thinning, mood changes, libido changes, period changes)
- PERI-menopause precedes menopause and can start 10+ years BEFORE menopause—SO that means women in their late 30’s/early 40’s MAY already have symptoms
- Being in perimenopause does NOT mean that your eggs are “done” (i.e. pregnancy is still possible!)
- LAB tests, often requested by patients, are NOT helpful in “diagnosing” Perimenopause as the female hormones can look “normal” because they fluctuate day/day, week/week, month/month…SO it’s more valuable to UNDERSTAND that this is a NORMAL process and you can still TREAT the symptoms that bother you!
- Treatment can range from more medically focused (i.e. hormone replacement) to the more holistically focused (i.e. acupuncture and herbs) and of course there’s much in between!
