Navigating the Menopausal Maze

Knowing more about your body and the change can make the transition more manageable for you

AI Image created with Midjourney by the author

Ah, Perimenopause. That delightful phase of life where hot flashes become your new accessory, mood swings give you the emotional range of a Shakespearean actor, and sleep becomes an elusive lover.

Perimenopause and menopause can feel like navigating a maze without a map. Mainly because before it happens, you rarely think about it, and nobody seems to mention it.

One day, you’re happily living your life, and the next one, bam, you’re in the throes of perimenopausal symptoms.

And if you’re anything like me, you’re suddenly stranded in that maze of menopausal symptoms without a map.

Knowledge is power, and we should make sure that knowledge about the menopausal transition becomes as commonplace as knowledge about puberty.

The best way to get through this time is to acquire as much knowledge as possible. You can’t count on anyone else having it, not even your doctor.

Menopause is a natural part of aging, yet it often arrives with various symptoms that catch us off guard. Understanding the unbelievable range of symptoms that can come with menopause is the first step to navigating the maze and managing your symptoms more effectively.

For me, reading my first book on menopause research lifted the veil—literally—because I felt like I was separated from the world by a foggy veil. So here are a couple of book recommendations that might help you out.

• Dr. Mary Haver “The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power and the Facts”

This book started my journey to understanding what was wrong with me. This book explained why I felt as if I had developed depression, why I quit my job, why I lacked the motivation to do all the things I previously enjoyed and why I was angry all the time.

Dr. Havers is also the creator of the Galveston Diet, a diet tailored to help with menopausal weight gain. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t tell you if it works, but I’ve read some really good feedback.

• Louann Brizendine “The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond “

This was a recommendation by Helen Clare. Thank you, Helen. If you’re concerned about your brain health because you’re suffering from brain fog, lack of focus, and other cognitive issues, read this and feel better or at least seen.

• Dr. Lisa Mosconi “The Menopause Brain: The New Science Empowering Women to Navigate Midlife with Knowledge and Confidence”

Dr. Mosconi is one of the leading neurologists working on bringing light to the transformation that happens in women’s brains when estrogen levels change. There’s more information about her research in my recent piece on how menopause remodels your brain

If you’re currently in perimenopause and struggling with inexplicable symptoms. Changes in your body and mood that you can’t account for and never would have attributed to menopause. Start reading about what is really happening to you.

I assure you, you’ll be very surprised at what happens in your body once estrogen levels drop.

Hot flashes, weight gain and sleep disorders are the most well-known symptoms, but there are a host of symptoms you probably haven’t heard about. Frozen shoulder, cold flashes, burning hands and feet, dry eyes, I could go on, but I’d run out of time.

Safe to say information is your friend.

Even if the symptoms don’t vanish immediately, you feel better knowing they’re happening because of the change, not because there’s something wrong with you. It helped me feel less crazy and more hopeful that things can improve. It also gave me a range of tools to help me battle most of the issues I experienced.

If you have other book recommendations, do drop them in the comments.

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