‘The Change’ – it ain’t no joke

Yep, that’s right  – I’m talking about it, because menopause ain’t no joke. Since forever, it’s been that mysterious ’thing’ that nobody talks about. Hell, I used to think it only affected REALLY old ladies Even now, women both young and old know next to nothing about it, never mind have a conversation about it. We ladies have been conditioned throughout our lives to suffer in silence.  Suffer, sometimes I do – silence, that’s not a part of my reality with menopause or just about anything else. 

The time in a woman’s life when she ceases to have a menstrual period is the start of menopause. It’s the official end of child-bearing years. During this time, estrogen levels drop and the body starts to play tricks on you. Due to some symptoms, many women even  start to question their sanity.  Hot flashes are one of the most common symptoms of menopause - we hear about it, many times as a joke from someone going through it or from someone who remembers.  Other symptoms can be irritability, mood swings, vaginal dryness (my gyne said that your va-jay-jay actually starts to atrophy – yikes!), osteoporosis, weight gain, bloating, loss of memory, dementia and the list goes on. Take right now, for instance. I feel a warming sensation on my back, slowly winding its way ’round my torso, working its way up my neck, around my ears and straight up to the top of my head - voila’- my own private summer!

Why is no one talking about menopause? I figure, if it were a male issue (manopause), it would be THE main topic on all the talk shows and there would be billions of dollars in scientific studies done, with solutions swiftly delivered so that no man would ever suffer manopausal symptoms again…..you think??

Back in the olden days (the 1970′s actually), when HRT (hormone replacement therapy) was queen, women were being encouraged to use it to treat many symptoms of menopause. During the latter part of that same decade, the WHI (Women’s health initiative) conducted a study of HRT using post-menopausal women as test subjects. Results of this tightly controlled study showed that HRT caused breast and ovarian cancers and increased the risk of heart disease in all women taking HRT. These findings were published with no input from scientists and women’s health care professionals. All women who were taking HRT, no matter their age or history of success in using HRT, were advised to steer clear of it. Needless to say, this caused mass panic and almost total rejection of HRT. Women were scared sh—less! The message was, “Take HRT and die”!!  There were a few brave souls who refused to give up their HRT, but for the most part, women went back to suffering menopause in silence and wondering if they weren’t going crazy.

I’m here to say, Ladies educate yourselves. Menopause will affect you eventually and if you’re well-informed, you will know that you are not losing your mind and be able to make  educated decisions that will be right for you. There are young women who, unfortunately go through early menopause due to health issues or family history, so it is not necessarily an old woman’s concern.  Then there are the women who go through it at the expected time of life. Whatever your age, just know that it’s a natural phase in life that you don’t need to hide nor be ashamed to talk about.

 I recently saw the documentary ‘Hot Flash Havoc’, which explored the whole concept of menopause. Afterward, I had the chance to listen to and ask questions of a panel of menopausal experts.  After this experience, I was gobsmacked about the fact that I had known so little about all that my body would be going through. I decided to do more research into menopause and HRT. I have come to the conclusion that what we women need is information and more information.  I made decisions for myself based on information I learned and deciphered, and I urge you to do the same. There is no cookie-cutter solution for everyone, but we don’t have to suffer in silence.