About hormones, women and menopause!

Ok, it is happening right now. I am in the age of a woman where we have to talk about the wired thing called menopause. 

This is my warning: it could be that there are some little signs of sarcasm, irony or exaggeration on some points. I could play with some of those typical stereotypes too. ;-) 

To enter the phase of menopause isn't easy for many or most of women. It is a life changing time and although it is mentioned by World Health Organisation (WHO) as an important health issue, it's a theme we mostly don't talk about very much. It is uncomfortable, stressful and it seems to be a bit scary for most of us. 

I was grown up in a society of many taboos. "We don't talk about this" was one of the sentences I heard very often as I asked things about my monthly period, taking the anti baby pill and the other stuff around being a woman. It was and still is for some an uncomfortable theme and yes, it is not nice all the time.  It's pain- and stressful, not just for the women, also for their families, friends and also for the society and the economy. But, many women keep the silence about their symptoms or questions, they think it is embarrassing although it is a part of our lives. It is nature or destiny of women. 

To be frank, to keep silence is not healthy or an option. It is stressful to suffer in silence with that menopause thing. It is a strain. 

I feel lost for a long while now, because of this silence and, additionally, I miss support programs. Of course I can go to my doctors and ask for help but how to live with it. But this is like to live with MS, a doctor can give you advice and recommendation, but this is different to live your daily live with the disease. This can be done much better by specific support programs designed with the ladies who live with Menopause coming from organisation or from other ladies. But this is hard to find. 

Additionally,  there is one thing what is not respected properly: I am a woman living with menopause and MS. It feels that I belong now to a forgotten group now. 

While most of the people working in the area of healthcare and MS of course love to discuss the future of young people, including family planing and pregnancy for young women, women in their 40s are not included in that discussions. It is important to inform the young women about family planing and it is done very well. But we, the "older ones" moving forward to the "Menopause Valley" have to live with a small offer of information although our bodies, Hormones and biorhythm is changing constantly. We are progressing, not just with our MS, with our complete "body system". 

So why isn't there proper research and information available? 

To be honest, as I started to learn more about MS and Menopause, this was a negative experience. There was almost nothing available. Just the info about hormones replacement therapy and its risks, what sounded horrible. Thank god I know now, that it isn't horrible when you go with your doctor, I learned. 

I read about the symptoms like heat waves, the change of mood and the fact, that I will not be able to have children in my future. Ok, this is my smallest problem, this theme is done since years. But what's with the other things? My mood, my body, my hormones? My MS? Will I end as an old grumpy lady filled with bitterness? 

Is there a connection between MS and Menopause? 

Well, there is not enough research done. We know that some symptoms of MS like bladder problems, insomnia or mental health problems or heat flares can be also a symptom of the Menopause. 

But it isn't clear yet if Menopause can have a bad impact on my MS. In the year of 2022 we don't know that much about us Ladies living with that issue. But we should. There are some assumptions of course, that there can be a connection between MS and Menopause but details? Are not really known. 

We have a clear unmet need: Too less info available. To less research done and I would love to know what the reason is for this. 

Because lots of women experienced that over the generations again and again. Now it is my generation to experience that health issue and we want to know more. We are there. We live and we want to keep our quality of life as good as possible. But to do this, we need support, good care and programs to learn. OI also did a research in the patient organization area around MS, the only information I found on many websites is: We don't know enough because of missing research, so nothing new. 

The British MS Society has an article on their website discussing the issue a bit more deeper and seems to be updated regularly: Article MS and Menopause

There was and is not as much as we could expect. It seems, I am talking here about the forgotten group of ladies living with MS. 

So could someone help? 

Here is my offer: I am ready to discuss the needs and find out more. But this needs a great working group.

Nevertheless I found something about my hormones, I also found some books, like "Everything you need to know about the Menopause (but were afraid to ask)" by Kate Muir. A fantastic book about the Menopause, very fun to read but serious in its messages and also full with new learnings. I found Davina McCall, a British moderator and actress, who is talking about menopause very open in a documentary and her instagram account. 

Discussion needed! 

We should have an open conversation about this. Yes it can be embarrassing, but this is part of the life of a woman and I am will not stop talking about it. Because this is my life and I have to find ways to navigate thru it because I am here. Now! I don't want to end up forgotten from the people, wearing menopause beige clothes with a very useful short hair cut and a very timeless ladylike nude beige lipstick. Ok, people who know me, know that this will never happen, because I love my red lipstick, my boyfriend cut jeans and my sneakers. :-) 

Not to receive help and information in this special phase of a life of a woman and for the special case life with MS is not acceptable. Perimenopause and Postmenopause are a live changing event. And we deserve better care!  We live with MS mostly for a long time and the new player in our game, the Menopause and its impact on our lives is something new. We have to learn again and therefore we need to be informed. Its like an upgrade for our famous "Patient Journey" (I hope you feel my sarcasm here, because it is not a lovely trip, this is a life!) the next phase between progression of MS and entering a new stage of our lives. 

Approx. 70% of People living with MS are Women. That means, a lot of ladies with a lot of issues, questions and need of information about heat waves, cognitive function problems, cog fog, loosing diverse abilities, a higher risk of having a comorbidity and a lot more. And MS. Additionally, the Babyboomers are entering that phase of live too and they are many.

We have to know the differences between "Oh, this is MS" and "Wow, this is Menopause". We want and have to know what to do, what steps are helpful and what not. We need more and understandable information, we need support and we shouldn't be forced to be loud to receive it. 

We need better care for Women living with MS and coming into the Menopause and the different phases of menopause. Now. Because a study says very clear: almost 30% of the current MS population consists of peri- or postmenopausal women. (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8017266/)

October was the Menopause Awareness Month, October 18th was "Menopause Awareness Day". There were some action going on, but not enough. We should start to take this challenge to help and support Women living with MS and coming into the Menopause. Support from Woman to woman. To find better ways, know more and be able to find helpful strategies for women who come into this to cope better with this situation. 

I am ready to go for it. Who is in too? 

Birgit 

Text: Birgit Bauer / Manufaktur für Antworten UG 

Bilder: Birgit Bauer - Fotostudio Traum Augenblicke Abensberg

Rest: Pixabay.com