Not feeling like yourself? It could be perimenopause
Many women in their 30s and 40s are noticing perimenopausal changes like fatigue and irritability, but doctors often dismiss their complaints
By Rachel Zimmerman
Thank you to Rachel Zimmerman for highlighting the research we recently presented at The Menopause Society’s 2023 annual meeting in Philadelphia and our paper about what happens when we seek healthcare in perimenopause.
Below I share some key points from the article. Scroll to the bottom for A FREE GIFT link to the article.
Excerpts
On “Not Feeling Like Myself”, as heard by healthcare providers who care for midlife patients:
Boston-area gynecologist Marcie Richardson routinely sees women in their late 30s and 40s who use the same or similar four words: “not feeling like myself.”
Often they are experiencing irritability, trouble sleeping and anxiety, yet their symptoms have largely been dismissed by their doctors. These patients are often surprised to learn their symptoms could be the earliest signs of perimenopause, an understudied and under-the-radar phase in life, said Richardson.
— Marcie Richardson, MD, GYN
Founder and Director of The Menopause Clinic, Atrius Health
Asst Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School
On what some women come up against in perimenopause:
“They used to be go-get-’em, multitasking whirlwinds. And then they hit perimenopause, and they can barely get out of bed,” said Shen, who was not involved in the study. “They wonder what’s wrong with them, and think they should just pull themselves together. But it’s really hard.”
Shen noted that perimenopause is a time in life when women are particularly susceptible to depression and anxiety.
Said she hears the complaint — “not feeling like myself” — from her patients daily, and they often blame themselves for the changes.
— Wen Shen, MD, MPH, GYN
Co-director of the Women’s Wellness & Healthy Aging Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine
About a lack of women and health care providers’ knowledge about perimenopause:
Stephanie Faubion said [of] the new research “[it] validates the fact that women don’t feel like themselves at this time, and they don’t always connect it with the menopause transition.”
Many patients come to her confused and fearful about their symptoms. They’ve experienced “weight gain, trouble sleeping, poor mood, panic attacks, heart palpitations, joint pain and they think that something is terribly wrong — but don’t link what’s happening to menopause,” she said.
“We have a situation where both women and clinicians don’t always know what’s going on during this stage,” she said.
— Stephanie Faubion, MD, MBA
Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic
Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health
Medical Director, The Menopause Society
Highlight of Key Findings
- The phrase, “not feeling like myself” was strongly associated with symptoms of fatigue, feeling overwhelmed or less able to cope, low mood and anxiety.
- Notably, the phrase was not strongly correlated with two hallmark symptoms of menopause: hot flashes or vaginal dryness.
- These findings and other published research suggest that in many women, the menopausal transition may start earlier than traditionally believed.
