WUNRN
North American Menopause Society
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Menopause
Awareness Month |
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Menopause Basics |
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Sept 1 |
Menopause is defined as the final menstrual period and
is usually confirmed when |
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Sept 2 |
Over 6,000 |
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Sept 3 |
The average age at menopause in the Western world is
around 51, and data suggest most women experience menopause between ages 40
and 58. |
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Sept 4 |
Physical signs of menopause begin many
years before the final menstrual period. This menopause transition phase is
called perimenopause. It begins with changes in the length of time between
periods and ends 1 year after the final menstrual period. |
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Sept 5 |
Women can experience several years of
menstrual cycle changes (most often irregular periods) before they reach
menopause and their periods are gone for good. |
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Sept 6 |
In contrast to natural menopause, induced menopause is when
a woman’s menstrual periods end due to a medical intervention, particularly
surgery to remove both ovaries or cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or
pelvic radiation. |
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Sept 7 |
Smoking and genetics are two factors that
can influence the timing of natural menopause. Smokers reach menopause about
2 years earlier than nonsmokers. |
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Sept 8 |
Hot flashes are reported by as many as 75%
of perimenopausal women in the |
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Sept 9 |
A single hot flash typically lasts 1 to 5
minutes. |
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Sept 10 |
Sleep disturbances are common complaints
during perimenopause and are often related to hot flashes and night sweats.
Nearly half of midlife |
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Menopause Mythbusting |
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Myth: Menopause is a disease
or medical condition. Fact:
Menopause is a normal, natural event that all women experience if they live
long enough. Each woman experiences menopause in a unique way, with some
women having troubling hot flashes and other symptoms while others experience
few or no symptoms at all. |
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Myth: Perimenopausal women
can’t get pregnant. Fact:
Perimenopausal women are not totally protected from an unplanned pregnancy
until they reach menopause (1 year after their last period), so those who
don’t want to become pregnant must choose an effective method of birth
control. |
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Myth: Most of the body changes
women experience at midlife are due to menopause. |
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Myth: Saliva testing is effective for
determining if a midlife woman has the “right” levels of hormones. Fact: Saliva testing for
hormone levels has not been proven accurate or reliable. |
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Myth: Custom-compounded
bioidentical hormones are safer and more effective than FDA-approved forms of
hormone therapy. Fact:
Custom-compounded hormones have not been tested to prove that they are
absorbed appropriately or provide predictable levels in blood and tissue. And
there’s no scientific evidence about the effects of these hormones on the
body, either good or bad. Preparation methods vary from one pharmacist or
pharmacy to another, so patients may not receive consistent amounts of
medication. |
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Myth: There’s not much I can
do to prevent osteoporosis. Fact:
Weight-bearing exercise, such as fast walking or working with weights to
build muscle, can delay or prevent bone loss. Early in life, weight-bearing
exercise boosts bone mass; later in life, it can modestly slow bone loss. |
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Myth: Menopause will sap my
mental abilities. Fact:
Memory and other mental abilities change throughout life. Aging is associated
with a trend of declining performance, but there’s no firm evidence that
memory or other mental skills actually decline because of natural menopause.
Remaining physically, socially, and mentally active can help prevent memory
loss. |
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Myth: Menopause causes urinary
incontinence. Fact:
Although many midlife women have urinary incontinence, it’s not directly
associated with menopause but rather with factors such as age, loss of pelvic
muscle tone, weight gain, history of childbirth and the number of babies
delivered, and certain medical conditions. |
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