Just two years ago, September was declared Perimenopause Awareness Month, a groundbreaking initiative to be recognized annually, aimed to raise visibility and awareness of perimenopause.
Historically, women have been expected to navigate the changes of midlife without much information about what is happening to their bodies. For decades, they dealt with hormonal changes with little support, since reliable information was sparse and the medical community didn’t always take their symptoms seriously. Many were told ”it’s just something that happens as you age,” leaving them to seek relief on their own, while suffering through symptoms in silence.
In recent years, that has begun to change, with women having open discussions about perimenopause, menopause and hormone health. Women are speaking up, physicians are listening and more research is being done, showing that hormone health affects nearly every aspect of a woman’s well-being.
What is perimenopause?
This critical, yet often overlooked, stage in women’s lives is the transitional phase leading to menopause, involving a gradual decline of reproductive hormones in a woman’s body that can lead to life-disrupting symptoms.
During this time, ovaries gradually begin producing less estrogen and other reproductive hormones. It commonly begins when women are in their 40s, although it can begin earlier or later, and can last for several years. Hormone levels fluctuate during this time, which can lead to changes in menstrual cycles and a range of symptoms. Some women have occasional hot flashes, while others may experience night sweats, sleep problems, headaches, vaginal dryness or changes in sexual health. Others may have very few symptoms.
Perimenopause can also affect mood, energy, concentration and overall quality of life, yet many women are caught off guard when symptoms begin.
When does it become menopause?
Eventually, perimenopause leads to menopause, which is reached after a woman has gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. In the United States, the average age of menopause is 52 years old.
Menopause is a natural stage of life, but that does not mean women have to simply accept symptoms that interfere with their daily lives. It also does not mean every change a woman experiences in midlife should automatically be attributed to menopause.
Be your own health advocate
One of the most important steps women can take during this stage is establishing regular care with an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) and a primary care physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Being your own health advocate means paying attention to your body and asking questions rather than making assumptions. If your periods suddenly change, you are having hot flashes, you cannot sleep, your mood feels different or something else does not feel right, tell your healthcare clinician. Before your appointment, it is helpful to keep track of symptoms so you can note changes in your menstrual cycle, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep, mood, vaginal symptoms or anything else that seems different.
There are several ways your care team may help manage perimenopause and menopause symptoms. Depending on a woman’s individual health history and symptoms, they may recommend lifestyle changes or menopausal hormone therapy. Hormone therapy can involve estrogen alone for some women or estrogen combined with a progestogen. This approach is not right for everyone, which is why an individual conversation with your healthcare team is crucial.
Women’s healthcare at Northern Arizona Healthcare
Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) is committed to providing exceptional care to the community, and that includes expanding our services. NAH recently opened a new Women’s Health Clinic in the same facility as its Primary Care Clinic at 1895 N. Jasper Dr., Ste. 3 in Flagstaff. Gynecologist Phillip Williams, MD, has joined NAH to lead the service and provide compassionate care to women through every stage of life.
The clinic provides gynecology care, including wellness exams, preventive screenings and treatment for reproductive health conditions. Scheduling annual health exams gives women a safe and trusted space to talk openly so they can understand their options and make informed decisions. There is no symptom that is too odd to mention and no question that is too small to ask. There is no single approach that is right for every woman going through perimenopause or menopause, which is why an individualized conversation with your healthcare practitioner is so important.
Perimenopause Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to talk openly about a stage of life that affects millions of women, and more importantly, it gives women an opportunity to become better informed about their own health. It is our hope that women never feel they have to quietly endure changes they do not understand. The more you know about your health, the better prepared you are to advocate for yourself, make informed decisions and enter the next stage of life with confidence.
Community Health Matters column
To submit a question for NAH, please email it to [email protected]. We will choose one question per month and one of our experts will answer it in our Community Health Matters column in the Arizona Daily Sun. Please note: The Arizona Daily Sun requires a subscription to access its articles.