Experts: understanding menopause helps working women cope better

Jet, Feb 19, 1996

When many middle-aged, working women begin to experience hot flashes, sleeplessness and memory loss, they attribute it to a number of things. Usually, it's just the onset of menopause.

"They blame the business, blame the marriage, change the place they live," Lila Nachtigall, director of the Woman's Wellness Division at New York University Medical School, said in USA Today.

"They blame everything but menopause. Or they come in thinking they have some dread disease, a brain tumor. Once we make the diagnosis, even if they are not treated (with hormones), they can get on with life," Nachtigall said.

Menopause, the complete cessation of menstrual cycles, is brought on by the gradual decline in estrogen and progesterone in a woman's body.

The median age for reaching menopause is 51, but it can occur anytime between 43 and 57. The symptoms, sometimes called premenopausal, can begin two to four years before that. According to American Demographics, 19 million women will be in the prime menopausal age span in the year 2000. And many of these women have a lack of understanding about menopause and are unprepared for the experience.

Experts say understanding menopause and its symptoms are extremely important, especially for working women.

"Women who are really under the gun already, with lives filled with appointments of a personal and professional nature, can be more likely to be more sensitive to menopausal symptoms," said Patricia Allen, gynecologist and attending physician at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

Being educated about the effects of menopause includes knowing that everyone's experience is different and not all menopausal experiences are terrible. In fact, many of the symptoms that include mood swings, insomnia, chills, pins and needles down the arms, and sudden, unexplained feelings of extreme restlessness or listlessness can be reduced with certain lifestyle changes or hormone replacement therapy.

"Many of the symptoms are simply nuisances, but for women in power symptoms such as great variations in energy can be very disturbing as can forgetfulness or lack of focus," Allen said.

Experts advise women to visit their doctor when premenopausal symptoms occur because some symptoms could indicate other health problems. They also advise them to keep menopause in perspective, realizing it is just a natural progression universal to all women.