Menopause: The Not-so musical

Yo! Happy October to you. October is the month of many things from Halloween to Breast Cancer Awareness, and also Menopause awareness month. This topic resonates with me not only because I’m a nurse but am currently going through some symptoms that would fall under perimenopause. I have been having hot flashes and temperature fluctuations coming every 20 min or so (like contractions lol), cycle changes, hair loss, and more. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re losing your mind. And poor Mike (hubby) doesn’t know whether to turn the air conditioner on or off cause one minute I’m burning up and the next I’m grabbing a sweater and blanket.

Menopause is a milestone that has not historically been a high priority. I’ve heard physicians say to me “oh you could be in Perimenopause” or “sounds like Menopause, have a good weekend”. This would leave me with a cliffhanger of “ok what do I do next? What all does it entail?”. Even as a nurse, I don’t recall much nursing school content being focused on managing menopause outside of “avoid HRT if possible” and “monitor for signs of osteoporosis”. There are such great programs supporting Puberty, Pregnancy, and even in recent days, Postpartum support. But rarely do you hear about Menopause support. It has been the topic of the year and even Oprah Winfrey conducted a special segment on this milestone and its impact on women.

I remember when my OB-GYN doctor confirmed my first pregnancy, they gave me a diaper bag filled with goodies like formula, diaper samples, resource info, a welcome to pregnancy guide, and coupons. I feel like Perimenopause and Menopause should be treated with similar regard. A few ideas that could be helpful and make this experience a little more “special” are: (1) To provide a guide of “What to Expect during Menopause” that would detail symptoms, how to treat them, highlighting what’s abnormal and worth seeking medical attention for or ways to treat them at home, as the entire menopause journey has historically been looked at as “normal” or “just life”. Then you subsequently hear about females who have silently suffered from heart conditions, thyroid disorders, or other conditions that resulted from hormone imbalance that could have been prevented if given a little more attention and care; (2) A list of support groups and wellness programs that target women encountering this special journey that focuses on strength, diet and nutrition. During this period, women are more susceptible to the start of losing some essential vitamins that impact a variety of health symptoms. For this wellness support, Heart-healthy recipes would be beneficial; Quarterly labwork to monitor hormone levels and serum levels of Iron, Calcium, Vitamin D, K, and the rest of the vitamin alphabet would be essential in partnering with an endocrinologist. (3) Pelvic health is also important and should be a covered benefit to be able to receive unlimited pelvic therapy sessions. I had pelvic therapy after my third child and have resumed therapy recently which is working wonders. This may be TMI but I suffer from IBS with chronic constipation, occasional abdominal pain, and back & hip tightness. These therapeutic techniques that I am learning to incorporate are already making positive changes and results. Did you know there are different pain points in your pelvic floor muscles that could impact other areas of the body? For example, my therapist pushed on one area of the pelvic floor and I felt pain in my leg, another spot reflected pain in my abdomen and so on. She then showed me how to breathe and stretch that pain away as it reflected how tight or constructed things were.   10/10 highly recommend! (4) In lieu of a diaper bag, an option could be a receive a fancy Fanny pack or tote bag filled with cooling pajamas and a handheld digital A/C fan. (5) Mental health support is essential as we notice our bodies changing, re-evaluate life’s achievements or lack there of which may resort in a midlife crisis, feeling alone during this time as one may feel like nobody understands what we’re going through or how to help, and especially with hot flashes, night sweats, and freezing, one may feel like your mind and body are out of control. Does anyone else experience times where it may seem challenging to focus at times? This could impact work productivity, completing tasks at home, and finishing goals that you had planned. Sometimes when the hot flashes pop-up, I’m focused on finding a way to cool down and my ears turn off so I may ask folks to repeat themselves or just miss something that was said for those few moments. If employers offered Menopause wellness days as apart of benefits that could provide a few extra days or hours off for restoration or brief sabbatical. I’m excited to see that companies are expanded their benefits and consideration for pregnancy, birth, family planning, and adoption services. So there’s hope that there could eventually be programs designed to support other life milestones like menopause as well.

What are your thoughts about this topic? Do you agree that the suggested support would be helpful?

With love (& a fan),

Yo! Mama Mesh

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