Perimenopause Power: Navigating your hormones on the journey to menopause

Product Information

I thought perimenopause was just the run-up to the menopause and not a treacherous passage in itself. I had no idea it would make me so furious – or give me surprise periods like tsunamis. In the kitchen at various times during my deranged perimenopausal mood swings I threw: 1) a butternut squash, 2) Nigella Christmas, 3) broccoli, 4) a full butter dish, and 5) blue poster paint at the wall. No one was injured. Indeed, the missiles actually released family tension – and at least the dog began to treat me with more respect. I had no idea that progesterone and oestrogen drained erratically but inexorably away over the course of years in perimenopause, and that symptoms could be mental as well as physical. Perimenopause is the timeframe before menopause when you still experience a cycle but are starting to notice a difference in terms of length, experience and symptoms. It can be a hugely challenging time, but it is a window of opportunity to look at your health, life, and to make powerful decisions about what you want and need. Have you ever wondered what perimenopause is and how to know if you're experiencing it? If so, today's episode is for you. In 1993, as the menopause was becoming a hot topic, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a national, long-term study on the possible benefits of hormone treatment for postmenopausal women, was launched in the US. But, in July 2002, the premature termination of the oestrogen-progesterone part of the study was announced. The reason given was an apparent rise in the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer. Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. These symptoms can start years before your periods stop and carry on afterwards.

Perimenopause: What is it and what can you do? - BBC

Aside from the embarrassment, we are getting less help than we should from our doctors. A 2013 Johns Hopkins survey found that only one in five American obstetrics and gynaecology residents had received formal training in menopause medicine. That’s 20% of gynaecologists. Forget about general practitioners. You know,” said JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of the North American Menopause Society (Nams), “we tell people who are grieving not to make major changes for a year. I don’t think anybody’s ever said: ‘Don’t make a major decision when you’re perimenopausal.’” An empowering manual to guide women through how to make all stages of the menopause a more positive experience Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a big impact on your life, including relationships and work.And you might be surprised to hear that I plan on taking it when it becomes appropriate for me to. My mum had osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease runs in both family lines. And hormones have a huge influence on conditions like these. So I’m up for taking it in addition to other nutrition and lifestyle measures. I also find that the research that’s been done around brain function and conditions like Alzheimer’s to be very convincing. So I’m up for taking it. Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. It usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier. Other blood tests or scans may be undertaken in some women, especially if they do not have symptoms which are typical of the menopause and other causes of their symptoms need to be considered. Hill herself says that many of us dismiss the idea of the menopause as something that will “happen in our fifties”, but knowledge is power, and understanding your body and its hormones can pay dividends when the perimenopause (the lead up to the menopause), starts. “The average age of menopause in the UK is 51, and it’s sometimes called a second puberty,” Hill says. Second puberty? All the more reason to understand it ahead of time. Menopause is actually just a single day Treating hot flushes can help alleviate some of the sleep disturbances. Having a slightly cooler room to sleep in often helps. Turn the radiator setting lower, or let in some cooler air through the window before bedtime. Otherwise following good sleep hygiene advice is sensible. Use a lubricant

Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill | Waterstones

It's not a book to read cover to cover, as I did, but in doing so I found myself increasingly bothered by inconsistencies in the writing style and the incursion of personal biases on the author's part. Much of the content is presented factually and clearly in a popular science style, but these sections are interspersed with profanities (f**king is liberally used, quite unnecessarily - there are far more effective ways of creating emphasis), infantilised language (e.g. wee and poo instead of urine/urinate and faeces/defecate - seriously, what are we, 5 years old?) and little feminist diatribes against the patriarchy. While the last may be justified as a sentiment, it's not what I wanted from the book, which is subtitled 'Navigating your hormones on the journey to menopause'. I found it detracted from the strength of the book for me. The author is vastly in favour of going with a natural cycle and I found it odd that someone so pro MHT/HRT is so anti hormonal contraception - I didn't really see a good reason for this, other than an unreferenced statement that 'having a menstrual cycle is good for the heart, bone and breast health, and has many other benefits too'. Perimenopause Power is a book that every woman should read! I really wanted to learn more about perimenopause as I am a woman in her early forties and all of my friends seem to be discussing it endlessly. There is so much misinformation out there and GPs don't seem to be particularly helpful about the subject. I was really pleased that I given access to Maisie Hill's book and immediately sat down to read through it. And to be honest with you, that’s exactly how I feel about the main pieces of research around HRT which were done over 20 years ago now but which newspaper headlines are still largely based on. What a load of nonsense. So the whole HRT is dangerous, I’m saying that’s false. Lubricants (lube) will make sex less uncomfortable if you feel dry in the vaginal area. However, this area often requires oestrogen therapy, which is given as vaginal oestrogen treatment - cream or pessaries. Oestrogen cream (as GINA®) can now also be bought from the pharmacy. Consider medication if needed

Maisie Hill’s toolkit for peri- and postmenopause

The are many aspects of female/non-male biology that are still in their infancy in terms of our understanding, but Perimenopause Power does provide a lot of information from what IS currently known. Fluctuating oestrogen levels may be partly to blame for the weight gain that often happens, particularly around the tummy and bottom areas. Headaches Instead, NICE guidelines say perimenopause should be diagnosed ‘based on vasomotor symptoms [hot flashes, sweating and heart palpitations] and irregular periods’. ‘Which is why it’s so important to go to your GP with an awareness of what’s going on with your cycle. If someone was to have HRT, that will point to what specific formulations would work well. Ideally it’s an ongoing conversation – as hormone levels change and you maybe go from having plenty of oestrogen to not much oestrogen, then your prescription will shift.’ A healthcare professional can usually diagnose the menopause by the typical symptoms. Hormone blood tests are not usually needed to confirm that you are going through the perimenopause. However, they may be helpful in some cases - for example, in younger women - where perimenopausal symptoms might not be expected. Why are young girls and women still shamed about periods? Why are older women shamed about menopause? And why is a uterectomy still referred to as a hysterectomy? It's about time all of this stigma was broken down, and society changed. After all, anything you can do, we can do bleeding.