Why You Can’t Cure Peri/menopause
Because it’s not an illness
Most of us are used to the idea that when it comes to our health, something goes wrong, we go to the doctor. They give us something that fixes it and then we’re back to normal.
It doesn’t tend to work like that for perimenopause and menopause. Because they’re not an illness. It’s a transition and then a permanent change to our bodies and brains that has health implications.
HRT is a Treatment Not A Cure
It’s easy to think that the answer is just take HRT and you’ll get back to normal. That belief does no favours to those of us for whom HRT turns out to be complicated and for those of us who is turns out to be helpful, but not a complete fix.
It’s often progesterone that turns out to be the sticking point. Some forms, including the micronised progesterone which has the lowest risk profile, aren’t always great at managing the womb lining and stopping bleeding. Many people also find progesterone has devastating effects on their mood and their health. It can be a long journey to find a form that works.
To use myself as an example, I’ve spent three years dealing with bleeding on HRT. I’ve had two lot of endometrial polyps removed. I’ve tried different forms of progesterone — one of which led to suicidal thoughts. I’ve had a coil which caused a massive pelvic infection and needed to be removed. In the meantime I’m on another waiting list — last time it took 18 months, which is why there was a second crop of endometrial polyps needing to be removed.
I might be very unlucky. But with 700,000 women on gynaecology waiting lists, possibly not.
For others absorption of oestrogen can be tricky and it can take experimenting with different doses and forms. Again this means battling to get doctors appointments and sitting on very long lists to see a menopause specialist.
Menopause isn’t over in a jiffy
Unless we’re familiar with chronic illness, usually when we talk about illness we’re thinking of something that’s over in weeks. The menopausal transition takes many years. The health issues associated with it can show up in many different ways over that time as oestrogen first fluctuates (often intermittently climbing quite high) and then falls.
While HRT can fill in some of those peaks and troughs, our levels of hormones will not be as they were. So even with HRT things are not ‘fixed’. They are usually being managed with a range of medical interventions and lifestyle changes.
Sometimes there’s a range of symptoms to deal with
The transition could take a decade. Of course other health problems are going to arise. All of those health problems are going to intersect with the hormonal transition our body and brain are undergoing.
And as we know, those changing hormone levels can impact on every single organ and system in the body — in different ways for us all.
That often means looking for symptomatic support with a wide range of issues. It may be that we’re having physiotherapy for joint issues. Or working with our dentist to deal with gum issues. Or looking for additional mental health support as our mood is affected.
We often have to change the way we live
Perimenopause is a transition that might last a decade. We will be managing a post-menopausal body for the rest of our lives. Things that worked before, in terms of diet, exercise, sleep habits, stress management, and life organisation may not work so well as things change. We often have to find ways of living that work for this changed body, this different brain.
If we’re honest we’ve always done that as we’ve grown up and grown older — but those changes have often been slow and adjustments made gradually. Perimenopause can be a bit more of a jolt — and mean we have to make conscious changes.
What we’re looking for here is not a cure — but a collection of strategies for being as well as we possibly can, however perimenopause or menopause are showing up.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
