By Tracy Shulsinger
•
30 Oct, 2023
The next several blogs will be presenting a series of information about menopause. This topic is SO immense that it will take many months to share...besides menopause is a journey! This series will open with presenting an article, “Women Have Been Mislead About Menopause” in the New York Times that was published in February 2023. I tremendously appreciate this article due to the blend of compassion and sensitivity regarding women who suffer through menopause and the scientific reporting from many excellent sources including large and small studies and experts in the field. Menopause is a topic that I am very passionate about. It affects every single woman and despite this wide reach, there is still a high amount of reported confusion, distress and poor impacts to quality of life and global health reported by women during per-menopause and menopause. One healthcare topic that affects half of the population in the world is worth giving lots of attention! But yet there is tremendous controversy about this topic and many women report difficulty having a satisfying conversation w/ their providers about menopause- one where they feel well informed of benefits and not just risks, lack of judgment and a sensitivity to their experience. Here are some important take-aways from this article regarding the many signs and symptoms women can experience: About 85% of women experience symptoms during menopause Hot flash’s are too often all that is discussed and understood by women as menopause symptoms. In fact there are whole body, systemic changes as well. The severity and experiences vary woman to women but here is a more complete list of signs and symptoms: Brain: Vascular effects, cognitive changes/impairments, poor word finding, forgetfulness, short term memory disturbances. Mental/Emotional Health- Insomnia, depression, anxiety, irritability, reduced libido Skin/Mucous Membranes- Dryness to skin, mouth, eyes; accelerated skin aging in appearance and loss of elasticity Cardiovascular- Increased cholesterol Gastrointestinal- Digestive disturbances Genitourinary/Vaginal- urinary leakage/incontinence, dryness, painful intercourse, atrophic vaginitis, increase in infections such as “BV” (bacterial vaginitis) and yeast infections, excessive vaginal bleeding, unpredictable menstrual cycles, shortening or lengthening of menstrual cycle. Musculoskeletal- joint pain, bone density loss that can lead to Osteopenia and further to Osteoporosis Metabolic- weight gain and body composition changes including reduction in muscle mass and increase in belly fat