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18 October: World Menopause Day

The 18th of October every year is World Menopause Day. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. 

The theme for World Menopause Day 2022 is Cognition and Mood

The October print issue of Climacteric includes Brain fog in menopause: a health-care professional’s guide for decision-making and counseling on cognitionIMS White Paper 2022 Brain fog in menopause1.26 MB.

The paper is also available via Climacteric online with free access here

From the paper:

Introduction

Cognitive complaints are frequent in midlife women and are associated with decreased quality of life [1]. These cognitive complaints are reliably validated and documented across the menopause transition (MT). Basic and clinical studies show a role for estradiol (E2) in mediating menopause-related changes in cognition [2]. In addition, menopause symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms (VMS), sleep disturbances and mood changes contribute to cognitive difficulties at midlife [3], but there are critical gaps in the data as to whether this period of cognitive dysfunction predicts dementia risk, and whether menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is protective against late-onset dementia or increases the risk. The theme for the 2022 World Menopause Day is Cognition and Mood, and the goal of this International Menopause Society-commissioned White Paper on cognition is to provide menopause practitioners with an overview of data informing clinical care of menopausal women and a framework for clinical counseling and decision-making for their patients.

The key sections focus on questions commonly raised in clinical care and include the following:

Read full paper here

Videos for General Public

Prof. Pauline Maki – What women should know about menopause and brain fog.

Dr. Nicole Jaff How to protect your brain health at menopause and beyond.

Videos for Health Professionals

Prof. Pauline Maki – What providers should know about menopause and fog | INTERVIEW SERIES

Dr. Nicole Jaff – What providers should know about protecting brain health at menopause and beyond

Content created October 2022: Source Australasian Menopause Society

Menopause is something that almost all women go through — so why the silence?

“But menopause also occurs while a woman is aging, so it’s equally important not to brush off every symptom as hormone-related. It’s important that women know about menopause but everything that is menopause adjacent, so they can understand what is happening to their own bodies and advocate for care when indicated.”

Dr. Jen Gunter The Menopause Manifesto. 

Here is an interesting link to a reader study. Obviously, as such, it lacks the rigour of peer review and scientific method, but there was a large response so it’s something worth considering.

And it’s encouraging to see more public figures start to be more open about menopause.

I formally hit menopause a month ago. Whilst I blogged about it then, there are a few things I would like to repeat.

Warning: post menopausal bleeding

This is important, so I’m going to put it right here so that hopefully, more people see it.

If you have any vaginal bleeding post menopause you need to follow up with a doctor promptly. If your doctor doesn’t take you seriously, go to another doctor.

Bleeding after menopause can be disconcerting, but the good news is, more than 90% of the time it’s not caused by a serious condition, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. That said, the study also reinforces the idea that postmenopausal bleeding should always be checked out by your doctor to rule out endometrial cancer, a cancer of the uterine lining.

Dr. Ross Berkowitz, William H. Baker Professor of Gynecology at Harvard Medical School

Everyone goes through changes as they age, and there is a huge taboo around it.

Yes, I said “everyone”; male menopause is a reality, although calling it that is a bit of a misnomer. It’s not my personal lived experience and it’s not in my wheelhouse of professional expertise, so I’m not going to attempt a deeper dive on that.

However, here are two links (more links at the end of the blog).

Male ‘menopause’

I would be super interested in any blog posts from male bloggers talking about their experience with hormonal changes. If you know any, have written any, or care to share your experience – drop a comment.

Menopause is defined as 12 months from your last menstrual period.

The average age for women hitting menopause in Australia is 51.

The seven or so years leading up to menopause is called perimenopause, a time of hormonal transition.

For 10 per cent of women the perimenopause stage can be symptomless but 90 per cent of women will get some symptoms.

Kim Berry and Kayte Murphy Podcast “The Hot Flush”

Myths and facts

Stages

This is the thing I didn’t know about until I started getting migraines – perimenopause.

Peri, post, or just plain meno – here’s the lowdown on your stage of the ‘pause’

Perimenopause is the period before menopause – you are still getting your periods, but your hormonal levels are starting to change. I kind of think of it as ‘reverse puberty’. A lot of what I experienced through puberty, I experienced again through perimenopause.

Since getting my head wrapped around it when I started perimenopause towards the end of 2018, I’ve talked to several women about it. I have found that women don’t know anything about perimenopause. They know menopause will happen, and there’s a whole genre of comedy based around it, but there’s not a lot of understanding about the process or stages of menopause.

That would be that taboo aspect kicking in. The taboo starts with puberty, and menstruation, and continues through to menopause, and it is a tragedy because so many women do suffer alone and it impacts every aspect of their lives.

“My central message is: menopause is the last taboo because it is still hidden and it only affects women and it only affects older women. It’s ageism, it’s sexism, all rolled into one.”

Conservative MP Rachel Maclean
House of Commons UK

In conclusion

I’m super interested in anything that people might be interested in sharing around their own lived experiences. Please feel free to comment or share links in the comments.

I’ve also included links to articles that I have found valuable around perimenopause and menopause. If you have any that you would like to share, drop them in the comments.

Perimenopause

Menopause

Talk to your GP, and talk to your Beloveds.

Self-checks

Ensure that you are vigilant around your self-examination. Train yourself to check your breasts/testicles routinely, and monitor your bowel habits and your urine output. These are our body’s early warning signs, and we don’t have a lot of awareness of them.

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