World Menopause Day 2023

Women are surrounded by noise about menopause:

Women are encouraged to consider every symptom they have could be peri-menopause and likewise told that all the symptoms are not due to menopause.   At one end of the spectrum, celebrity influencers are promoting risky high-dose HRT regimes where at the other end, other influencers tell women to “go natural” and to avoid HRT as long as possible because of harm. The multi-billion euro industry means that women are targeted with everythign from supplements to skin care to vitamins to alternative”bioidentical hormones.” Online home testing services sell women often unnecessary hormone blood tests.

For what it’s worth, here are some guidelines that I recommend to my own patients going through menopause:

1. Do not wait until menopause to look after your health. Though menopause is associated with increased health risks, healthy aging starts before aging!

2. Celebrities and people selling you products may not be the most reliable sources of health information.

3. One woman’s journey is not another woman’s journey.

4. The stuff that doesn’t come in a bottle or patch is as important – and often more important – than the stuff that does.   That is exercise, sleep, nutrition will all do much more for you than a powered or herbal supplement.

5. Yes, your symptoms could be menopause.  Yes, your symptoms may NOT be menopause.  Health  is complicated, so there is also a possibility that there is more than one thing going on:  see your doctor.  The options are more than just HRT or no HRT.

For #FactsNotFears and no-nonsense, I HIGHLY recommend “The Menopause Manifesto” by the amazing and fierce expert @drjengunter I also highly recommend giving her a follow on Instagram or checking out “The Vajenda” substack – I recommed starting with the article 10 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Menopause