It's all in your head.

Head-spinning surprises around menopause

Welcome to a new week!

Hope you had a fabulous week! They go by so fast, don’t they?

(NOTE: If you’d prefer to listen to this post, click on the voiceover above. This one was a longer one, so you might enjoy listening on the go. Plus, there’s always a bit of ad lib & entertaining background noise that you won’t find in the printed version).

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Welcome to The LIFT

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HEAD SPINNING

Let me tell you, this whole menopause transition thing is a wild ride! As someone in the throes of it, I can vouch for this firsthand. And, I’m sure many of you relate.

First - just the experience itself is wild. Physical. Mental. Emotional. I can literally feel my brain being re-wired right now. It’s so bizarre.

I don’t think I really understood the physical transformation that would take place during these years or how much it would impact all areas of my life going forward. I guess none of us did really.

That right there might be the wildest part - the fact that we know so little about menopause.

It’s 2024 and it’s not like menopause is something new. It’s not some weird modern disease. It’s a life transition that happens to all women who live long enough to experience it. Yet, here we are with so little knowledge or support.

Menopause has been one of the best-kept secrets in our society. We don’t talk about it. We don’t study it. We don’t educate about it. We don’t even celebrate or recognize it as the rite of passage it is.

Thankfully, that’s starting to change. Little by little.

By 2030, 1 billion women worldwide will have entered or will be about to enter menopause. That’s going to be hard to ignore.

And, given the fact that women my age could likely spend 40% of their lifetime on the other side of menopause - we simply can’t ignore women’s health at this stage of life any longer.

But, we have a lot of catching up to do.

Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

Here are some fun facts:

I was born in 1968. That was right around the time that the FDA made it standard practice to not allow women to be included in clinical trials.

Did you know that?

The FDA made it standard practice to deny women of childbearing potential access to experimental drugs and clinical trials, claiming that doing so avoided any potential adverse effects on the fetuses. The phrase ‘woman of childbearing potential’, however, was taken to mean “any woman capable of becoming pregnant,” not solely those who were.

This woman-wide ban was enforced well into the nineties. (Dr. Lisa Mosconi)

Both of my daughters were born in the 90’s.

All of that time, nearly all medical research was based on male-only samples. And, to this day, many of the drugs on the market have never actually been tested on women.

In fact these drugs often haven’t been tested even on female animals. The vast majority of preclinical studies still use only male animals, arguing that variability in sex hormones may “confound empirical findings.” (Dr. Lisa Mosconi)

That’s a little mindblowing to learn.

What’s super interesting though is that the risk of certain health conditions (heart, bone, brain) for women go up significantly after menopause.

Meanwhile, our health concerns are routinely downplayed at this stage when we seek medical care. Any woman over 40 can vouch for that experience.

Just last weekend, I was chatting with some female friends - one in her 40s, one in her 50s, one in her 60s - and each of them had a story to share from their recent attempts to get support for health concerns that left them feeling dismissed and no closer to a solution. And, we just so happen to sit in the middle of a medical mecca of sorts here in San Diego, California.

It was also interesting because one of them was talking about a hormonal issue, the other a bone issue and the other a heart issue. So, it’s women’s health across the board. And, when you combine cultural stereotypes together with the very real gaps in research and data - well, it’s easy to see how we got here. The trick is how do we get out?

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MENOPAUSE BRAIN

I mentioned earlier that I can literally feel my brain being re-wired right now. Turns out - that’s because it is!

One of the most interesting areas of science related to menopause right now is around the brain. Now that we are studying it, we are learning that menopause impacts the brain just as much as it impacts the ovaries. In fact, many of the most common menopause symptoms start in the brain, not the ovaries.

It’s like a complete remodel happens during this window of time. And, much like during pregnancy, you have to take special care of yourself and navigate potential vulnerabilities to ensure healthy outcomes during the menopause transition.

Sadly, most women don’t really know this - nor do most of our doctors.

What we DO know is that after menopause women are:

• Twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression

• Twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease

• Three times more likely to develop an autoimmune disorder

• Four times more likely to suffer from headaches and migraines

• More likely to be killed by a stroke

(The Menopause Brain)

It’s not that menopause is causing these things, it’s that the hormonal changes during this time impact so many organs - including the brain. When left ignored, it can end up triggering symptoms like the ones so many women struggle with at this stage.

And, when that happens, they are not getting the support they need to address the symptoms. 75% of women who seek care for menopause symptoms end up not receiving treatment. It’s nuts!

Most women don’t even have perimenopause on their radar until they experience a more ‘classic’ symptom like night sweats, hot flash or skipped period because we think of menopause as something that doesn’t happen until your 50’s.

We are not prepared for the dozens of other symptoms or health concerns that might stem from hormonal changes during perimenopause - things like: anxiety, depression, fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, hair loss, weight gain, dry skin, itchy ears, frozen shoulder - to name a few.

And, when women DO suspect perimenopause, they assume there is some sort of test to determine if they are in perimenopause so they can ‘balance out’ their hormones - so they pay good money to get blood tests that may not be covered by their insurance and that ultimately don’t lead to any sort of resolution.

Most women are also a little shocked to learn that less than 1 in 5 OB/GYN residents receive any training in menopause medicine…and it’s only a few hours of training at that.

Even if you DO have a good doctor, have you tried to book an appointment with your OB/GYN lately? For many, it can be 8+ months to get an appointment.

It’s all crazy, right? I sound ridiculous spouting off these facts. Hey, that’s what happens when you are perimenopausal. Your tolerance for nonsense goes WAY down. lol.

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STOP SPINNING

Okay, The LIFT is supposed to be a positive, uplifting moment in your week. Not a head-spinning rant of terrifying facts. So, let’s get back to that for a moment.

Because of my 20-year obsession with menopause and women’s health, I am blessed to have a wealth of education and context behind my experience at this stage. I am also blessed to have access to good medical care - both traditional and naturopathic.

Even so, I have to live with the limited and often misconstrued information out there related to menopause and health at this stage of life. We all are on equal grounds there.

Maybe you’re like me with all of the resources you need (for the most part) to navigate your health at this stage of life.

Maybe you’re not and you’re completely lost out there. Not knowing who to trust and shooting from the hip in trying to find solutions.

Maybe you feel more informed than your medical team.

Maybe you’re just suffering through thinking, ‘This will pass’.

Wherever you sit on that spectrum, we need to stop the madness and support each other through it. There is no reason women should have to suffer osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s or a host of other health conditions just because we didn’t know how to take care of ourselves during the menopause transition. We can do better.

And yes, it’s complicated because of the lack of research, the way our medical system is set up, our cultural gender biases and our overall disregard for the value of aging.

It’s a mess. But, you don’t clean up a mess by ignoring it. You clean it up one little piece at a time.

I’d like to offer up a few things you can do right now to be part of that clean up so we can help each other out and also so we can make things better for our daughters, granddaughters and many generations to come.

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YOUR MISSION:

I have a BIG mission for you this week. Here’s your challenge:

Two new books are out that I think EVERY woman should read right now. I don’t care whether you are pre/peri/post menopause. This stuff applies to all of us and it’s stuff we can share with other women.

• The Menopause Brain | Dr. Lisa Mosconi This book is full of new research and information on the brain and menopause. Dr. Mosconi presents it in a way that is easy to understand and so fascinating. It will help you know your body better and help you protect your brain health going forward.

• Grown Woman Talk | Sharon Malone M.D. This book will help you be more informed about women’s health issues and more empowered when you do seek care.

If you can’t read the books for some reason, at least follow these two women on social media. They are out there spreading the word on podcasts and interviews right now as they promote their new books. You will pick up important pieces of information just by listening to those conversations.

Speaking of conversations - make sure you are starting conversations in your own circle of influence about women’s health, aging and menopause. Share resources like these books with other women. Bring these conversations forward so women know they can talk about their concerns and that they are not alone.

When you do start conversations - don’t spread misinformation or fear-mongering. We women have enough to worry about! Be careful about your sources before you share them. And don’t ever speak in absolutes when it comes to women’s health because the truth is, we don’t really know enough to be absolute about anything. In fact, be very cautious (if not suspicious) about anyone who IS out there preaching about women’s health in absolutes. Don’t help spread those platforms.

Speaking of platforms - pay attention to new legislation supporting women’s health. There are some big initiatives on the table right now like the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Contact your local representatives to let them know you value protecting women’s health and research. And, make sure you know where your elected officials and candidates stand on these issues so you can make wise decisions at the polls.

Last, but certainly not least, I really wish we could establish more inclusive language around gender because clearly ‘women’s health’ is bigger than those two words. We need better ways to talk about things like menopause and women’s health without leaving people affected by them out of the conversation. I don’t know what the solution is, but we can all at least be sensitive to the complexities of gender across the board.

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IN SUMMARY:

Okay, that was a lot. I know. But, I hope it gives you something to chew on. Meanwhile, please don’t sweep your health issues under the rug. Address them while they are small so you don’t have to experience the added stress of desperation. And, if you’ve been putting something off, book that appointment this week - even if it takes 8 months to get in!

See you next week?

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Meanwhile, reach out to me anytime!

Karen Friend Smith
Certified Health Coach & Environmental Health Specialist
Specializing in Perimenopause & Menopause 

karen@itmaybemenopause.com
www.itMayBeMenopause.com
Instagram: @itmaybemenopause

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