Menopause Minute: 3 ways menopause can happen to you

Welcome to Issue No 1| MenopauseMinute

Menopause. Change of life. Whatever you want to call it…it’s a natural part of a woman’s life cycle.

Not unlike puberty.

In fact, so much like puberty that I’ve coined it “midlife (or second) puberty.”

I knew I would some day be in the menopause season, but I thought I would be further along in age before I got here.

What I didn’t anticipate is that I would get to menopause via breast cancer.

Now that I’m here, I’ve discovered the information and help available to women in menopause is limited.

Even female medical professionals seem lost when I approach the topic.

In my conversations with other women I’ve learned they feel discouraged. Some said, hopeless.

The reason for this is because the symptoms can be hard on the body and include body dis-morphia, low self-esteem and hair loss.

Most women in menopause opt for some sort of hormone replacement therapy to help them through the process. That’s easy to get.

But cancer survivors need to avoid those drugs, because they can lead to more cancer.

While there are some recognizable “experts” on the market, you have to be rich, famous or both to tap into them.

They don’t take insurance.

Sadly, this is becoming more and more of a trend in medicine.

So, I decided to use my journalistic background and personal experience with menopause to start the conversation, right here!

Every Monday you’ll find a new topic or interview related to menopause. Please feel free to chime in.

Now, let’s get started with the basics.

3 ways menopause can arrive

 

1. Medical menopause | Caused by chemotherapy or radiation 🙋🏻‍♀️ (that’s how I got my initiation).
2. Surgical menopause | Hysterectomy that includes taking your ovaries.
3. Natural menopause |As you approach your late 30s, your ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone — the hormones that regulate menstruation — and your fertility declines. With each year it continues to decline to post menopause.

Come back next Monday where I’ll talk about how menopause affects our ability to sleep, and propose some ways we can help our body find rest.

End of article

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