“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway
As summer winds down hopefully, you found time to read a good summer book, bonus if it was beside a beach or lake. With an influx of books on menopause I always like to recommend a few good ones written by colleagues. Dr. Jocelyn Wittenstein who is an orthopedic surgeon wrote The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan which focuses on musculoskeletal health – arthritis, osteoporosis and how to prevent and treat injuries. For those nonfiction lovers out there, I loved the In Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick which recounts the tragedy of the Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship.
Practice updates:
We have an exciting upcoming event!
Wednesday September 10th 6-7 PM Midlife Muscles and Macros.
Join our virtual discussion of how to understand and optimize your menopausal muscles and separate fact from fiction with expert and health coach Deb. Click here to sign up!
Dr. DeSapri in the news:
Reviewing the evidence on Pilates and bone health
Joining a local Chicago podcast called Hiya Gorgeous for some menopause talk.
Midlife must know… perimenopause
What we know:
Move over menopause, the topic of perimenopause is gaining attention. This is being fueled by the knowledge that menopause is more than hot flashes and cessation of menstrual cycles. The waning and varying hormone levels that start in early perimenopause can contribute to symptoms that are the same ones we find in menopause; such as sleep disturbance, mood and cognitive changes, bowel and bladder changes (urinary urgency), body composition changes. Of course, we still need to contend with menstrual bleeding which may become heavier or more frequent cycles. And never forget that pregnancy is possible, so contraception is never to be forgotten until menopause is confirmed.
Perimenopause may last 4-7 years and based on our reproductive guidelines is divided into early and late perimenopause. When menstrual cycles start to space out more than 2 months (and not being on contraceptives) this is general hallmark of late perimenopause.
What’s good to know?
A google search of “I don’t feel like myself” and “perimenopause” yielded 5.3 million results. There is even an acronym NFLM (not feeling like myself).One of the leading contributors to NFLM is fatigue and a very common underlying cause of fatigue is heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in the perimenopause. In fact, 1/3 of women report HMB during perimenopause. Using the SWAN data, a recent study of more than 2,000 women aged 42 to 52 years shows that women reporting three or more episodes of HMB in the prior 6 months was positively associated with feeling tired (odds ratio [OR] = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.11 to 2.38) and being worn out (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 0.98 to 2.13), whereas three or more episodes of prolonged bleeding in the prior 6-month window was negatively associated with being full of pep (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.49 to 0.95).
In this study heavy bleeding was defined as needing to change sanitary product every 1-2 hours for more than 4 hours during the day and heavy bleeding for 3 or more days. Prolonged bleeding was defined as episodes that lasted more than 8 days.
This has implications on quality of life, can cause anemia and other health consequences and may impact sleep and exercise. We all are searching for good energy and to feel well. Fortunately, there are SO many solutions for HMB- hormonal contraceptives, IUDs, non-hormonal options, procedures and surgeries.
What does this mean for me?
Many women report not feeling like themselves during perimenopause, we might be juggling kids, families, careers and all life’s extracurricular activities and don’t stop of acknowledge changes in your own health.
Thankfully the menopause movement is allowing women to identify symptoms, signs and bring awareness to midlife women’s health to make more informed choices before the final menstrual period. We look forward to seeing you in the office and at our upcoming events. Please share our newsletter with women in your community and lives who may benefit.
Enjoy the last sips of summer with a good book!
See You Soon!
Dr. Kristi Tough DeSapri