Let's Talk the M Word

With many requests on talking about menopause, I feel that many now ready to know more about it against the taboo and all… and this makes me happy.

Menopause is as basic physiology as your first menstrual period and your pregnancy. Did you know that study or article about menopause in PubMed (the google search for doctors) is merely 10% of that about pregnancy? As if after we reach menopause we are less improtant?

Menopause is an important milestone in every woman's life, it should be celebrated as we did puberty and enjoyed as we did motherhood, it is played by literally the same hormones that are affecting physical and mental health throughout a woman’s life.

There are currently 1.1 billion post-menopausal women worldwide (1 in 4 have severe symptoms). 1 in 5 working women is post-menopausal globally with symptoms, like any other health issue, can have a significant impact on work performance.

Symptoms are related to decline oestrogens and because oestrogen receptors are everywhere in the body, that means literally each and every cells are affected by this oestrogen decline and every woman will experience menopause differently because of it.

There are up to 50 symptoms reported in peri and post-menopausal and one single woman can experience up to 7 symptoms at one time – NOT FUN. This long list of symptoms will only leave them confused and unsure of what to do. Let’s face it, who would have thought that becoming smelly, frozen shoulder, joint pain, burning tongue or ringing ears is due related to their perimenopause or menopause? Hot flush and night sweat, contrary to popular belief, are not the main symptoms of menopause.

Unsupported menopause symptoms drive up employer healthcare costs and cause $1.8 billion in the USA in missed workdays, not to mention the added costs of reduced productivity and early retirement. Midlife employees represent a large and growing percentage of today’s workforce and hold key positions in management and on the front lines.  

Lack of information and a safe environment to come out when we welcome menopause put fear in us instead of seeing it as an opportunity to embrace the last chapter of our lives on earth and finding magic at last…

Menopause is a one-day event, period! It’s the 12th month anniversary on a woman last menstrual period, but as every other aspect of a women life (you know what I mean Sisters), it is not that simple, we don’t go to sleep peri menopause and wake up the next morning post menopause. Life is not that fair:-)

Transition period from peri to post-menopausal is in 2-8 years on average 3-4 years. This transition is roller coaster for us, some of us are luckier to have a gentler ride, some of us are on rockier than Disneyland’s Space Mountain ride - dark with unexpected turn… In this period, our body doing its best to adapt with the up and down level of hormones everyday so we can function - it is hard and most of us would deemed moody, insensitive, hard to deal with, “have changed” and some other undignified labels. Some of us would end up in a shrink office where we should have been looking at our hormones levels instead.

A study of 70.000 peri and post-menopausal women in 2024 reported that the number one symptoms reported by women is weight gain followed by insomnia - these 2 would then spiral down to bad lifestyle choices and worsen the symptoms.

This insomnia would lead to bad lifestyle choices – let’s face it who wants to exercise after a bad night sleep? And who does not want a quick pick-up food/drink like coffee and high sugar food when you tired and depressed after a night sleep.

In terms of disease, the first to note when we are in perimenopausal is memory decline.

The most almost immediate once we reach post menopause is osteoporosis - in fact 1 in 2 post-menopausal women who do not take HRT will have osteoporosis, with 1 in 3 will have osteoporotic hip fracture - and cardiovascular issues.

Our wellness journey is personal so managing our menopausal juga personal dan customised. Think of it as time for recalibration or rewiring and navigate this path smartly. This is always my approach, I believe in innate intelligence of our body, so lifestyle should be our medicine. Study after study, prove that Nutrition and Exercise are best in alleviating menopausal symptoms as well as reducing risk.

Let’s make our menopause work… Let’s find magic in our menopause:-)

POV:

1.          Aim for smooth transition from pre to peri to post menopause - nutrition and movement are the key

2.          Menopause is a natural transition and as you wish to live long and prosper then you will experience it, so it is important to enrich your knowledge about it and open to talk about it - we are not alone ladies, there are 1.1 billions people in the world exactly like us… so talk big about menopause and find that magic in it

3.          Oh btw hormone therapy is safe IF you do it right. It reduces risk for Alzheimer’s, dementia and cardiovascular when taken during the first 5 years, and it will always support your bones as well as genitourinary system.

4.          And… to confirm universal question - NO, hormone therapy does not make you fat – Look at me:-)