What you need to know about menopause

Golden Valley, Minnesota — Guys, we talk about everything, right? We chat with friends about everything: births, babies, periods and more.

Well, not all.

When it comes to menopause, we tend to keep it to ourselves. It can be hard to admit that you’re “a certain age,” but you don’t have to. Menopause is natural. All women go through it, and we can help each other by sharing our experiences.

But to be fair, most of us don’t really know or understand what’s going on with our bodies. So, let’s start with the biology class.

What is menopause? It’s the moment you go through a calendar year without a period – your period. It can occur at any age between 45 and 55, but the average age is 51.

But this is a big “but”, peri-menopause is a period when hormones, estrogen and progesterone start to fluctuate. It can happen up to 10 years before menopause, and that’s where the fun begins, folks. Just ask Christel Barber and Shannon Rolfes.

“Have either of you experienced mood or irritability issues?” asked KARE 11’s Lena Sarygianopoulos.

The two smiled as if they understood.

“Oh yes, sure,” they said.

“You feel like your emotions are always on the edge, you’re always on the verge of tipping over, that’s for sure. Mood swings, mood swings, mood extremes. I think you can say that,” Christel said.

“Because sometimes I feel like, ‘Oh my God, I feel so out of control.’ It feels terrible,” Shannon said.

These two brave, vibrant and beautiful women talk about their menopause journey. Kristel has been on this path for about 14 years. She’s now exercising for bone health and she’s willing to help me because she thinks she’d like other women to understand this issue before she does. shared their story with us.

“I didn’t even have enough information to know that I was going through menopause. And I had these symptoms that gradually got stronger and stronger. That’s when I started asking questions,” Christel said.

Shannon is just beginning to connect the dots. All the symptoms she suffers from in silence are actually related to her peri-menopause.

“If I talk to my kids, they’ll say, ‘You’ve said it five times already.’ And I’ll say, ‘Did you do it?’ I just can’t find it.My brain feels like it’s in slow motion,” Shannon said.

That’s the problem. Most people think hot flashes are the only sign of menopause. Well, fans, please wait.

“Lack of sleep, mood, irritability, night sweats, irregular menstruation” Diane Ferrer CNM and Menopause Specialist Park Nicollette.

“What used to be premenstrual PMS symptoms now occur for a good portion of the month. is,” she said.

Ferrer has the following certifications: North American Menopause Society. She said 85% of women experience symptoms in the peri-menopausal period, and women of color tend to experience more severe symptoms over a longer period of time.

These include headaches, memory problems, weight gain, sleep disturbances and mood swings. The list goes on, but no one is connecting the dots for us.

“There’s a lot of information out there about things like childbirth and birth control when women are young, but at this point it’s still not out there,” Feller said.

That’s why Serene Yeager started a podcast.Press play instead of pause.”

“In one Mayo Clinic survey, only 7 percent of residents, including obstetricians and gynecologists, were ready or felt ready to talk to women about menopause. It’s very big,” Yeager said.

Yeager is a health and fitness writer, athlete, and woman who knows a lot about menopause through her own experience. On her podcast, she interviews all sorts of people on the subject of menopause, from training as an athlete to her sex life and everything in between.

“We talk about sex, vaginal health, urinary incontinence, and all kinds of other things, just offering positive ways to deal with them and keep living your best life,” she said.

Yeager suggests making a list of your symptoms and seeking help.
why? Because this is just the beginning, not the end.

“If you start in your early 40s (although some start in peri-menopause), you can easily spend 40 years of your life through this transition and beyond,” Yeager said.

“Instead of looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Oh, I can’t.’ I can’t.’ It’s like looking ahead and saying, ‘What can I do?’ Because there’s so much you can do and you still have so much life left,” she said.

please think about it. Most of us will spend many years at work after menopause, but the lack of help can not only make us feel miserable, but it can also make us less productive.

According to recent research, mayo clinic Researchers have found that menopause costs American women an estimated $1.8 billion in lost work hours annually. This includes women who reduce their hours or miss work entirely because of menopausal symptoms. And it was even worse for women of color.

But what does help look like? A study done in 2002 cast hormone replacement therapy in the wrong direction, but since then there have been several studies claiming otherwise.

“If you’re within 10 years of menopause and before the age of 60, it’s largely safe and a great opportunity for many women to benefit,” Yeager said.

“If women can get estrogen, it can help our bones. And new research shows it supports the heart and blood vessels when taken before and after menopause. ”

That said, hormone replacement is not safe for everyone and should be discussed with a doctor. However, restricting diet, exercise, alcohol, and smoking can also help reduce symptoms.

Kristel said she was finally able to be herself and get back to doing what she loves.

“I feel great when it comes to mental clarity. I feel great when it comes to sleep, and I want to keep it going right now. I think,” she said.

“And I want to go to that place,” added Shannon. “These are our bodies. I don’t want it to go away.”

And because we don’t tend to tell friends about it or share our stories with others, it makes us an easy target for predatory marketing. You will see all sorts of advertisements claiming that you will lose weight and feel younger. So Serene Yeager suggests that if it sounds too good, it probably is. There is still no substitute for good old-fashioned exercise.

“Resistance training is non-negotiable. Just in peri-menopause, you can lose 10% of your muscle mass in your extremities. That’s your arms and legs,” Yeager said. “It doesn’t take long, twice a week. Seriously, it helps you. You feel better, you look better…everything is better.”

And if you still don’t feel comfortable talking about it, remember one thing, she said. No matter how embarrassing it is for you, someone else has been there and done it.

“You are not alone. Whatever you are going through, you are not alone,” she said.

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