Menopause Mystery Series - Waiting it out
My name is Kandiss Inman and this will be the first post in a series covering some of the myths associated with menopause. I have come across many of these misunderstandings as a provider, offering women’s health care services over the past 12 years. My goal with this blog series is to take out some of the mystery and stigma of menopause by exposing some common misconceptions.
Why don’t we talk about this? Why did you not get any education or information about this turbulence that women experience? Can you imagine not having any information about starting puberty?
As estrogen levels decline in women as they age, there are more risk factors for things like: anxiety and depressive symptoms, weight gain in the mid-section, sleep disturbances, and brain fog. These symptoms can be emotionally draining. These symptoms also start happening at a very inconvenient time and in sequence with many mid-life stresses.
Let’s take a little journey.
Presume just for a moment you are the mother of 3. You have spent the better part of the last 20 years as the primary caregiver to these children. You have also progressed in your career, dedicating your time to doing a good job at work and being rewarded. You work hard and you progress in your experience and profession, and you now have more responsibilities at work. Kids are beginning to go away to college and things are going well. Out of nowhere strange things begin happening. You are beginning to have trouble sleeping, it is becoming harder to concentrate at work, and you’re gaining weight. By this point, haven’t you been through enough? Of course not, what would life be like without a little roller coaster ride every now and then. . . Is this the new normal? Things are off… this takes us to Myth Number 1.
Myth Number 1 – Wait it out - your symptoms aren’t bad enough for a provider visit
You have scheduled an appointment with your provider and were told that this is normal, “you are just getting older” and nothing needs to be done. You begin to feel as if there are no options other than to wait it out and struggle through these changes. However, you have options and there are people that can help you with your menopausal symptoms. You don’t have to wait things out and you don’t need to navigate this alone.
Despite having multiple symptoms associated with menopause, women do not always discuss them with their provider. Especially if they feel rushed or their provider does not bring them up.
Given these symptoms, hormones are among the most common treatments for women experiencing menopause. Hormones are generally used to treat the significant symptoms associated with menopause. There is one problem with using treatment in only extreme circumstances. Suffering is relative, and how are hormones only for “significant symptoms”? What does “significant” mean to you? How do we collectively standardize the term “significant?” I may sound facetious when asking this question, but I am trained in menopause and often I am even unable to answer the question. It is different for everyone and my definition of significant may vary from what you feel. What are all the symptoms? If they're bothersome and are impacting your quality of life, then they should be addressed. Many women have been made to feel that they should just be able to tough this out. This is far from the case. When you allow your quality of life to decline from menopause, it creates a snowball effect. Untreated menopausal symptoms could lead to sleeping problems that leads to anxiety and depression that leads to weight gain that leads to more anxiety and depression that leads to more sleeping problems.
There is no award for sticking this out! There is nobody to congratulate you on the other side of this struggle. In fact, there are some risks associated with waiting things out and not doing anything. While it is true there are risks with some of the treatment options, the risk for many women of not doing anything outweighs many of risks of treatment and a reason to see a certified menopause provider if you are experiencing menopausal symptoms. Stay tuned for a future blog post on risks. This is not a struggle you have to go through alone. Even if you can’t or don’t want to come see me, I would encourage you to find a NAMS certified menopause provider to help with your menopause management. https://www.menopause.org/for-women/whats-an-ncmp. You owe it to yourself to have your questions and symptoms addressed.
