Perimenopause Awareness Month

The annual month dedicated to us!

Perry and the National Menopause Foundation have teamed up to host Perimenopause Awareness Month throughout September. They’ve also deemed September 22 World Perimenopause Day!

Together, they are hosting free virtual events throughout the month that provide information, resources, and introductions to trustworthy experts. Click the pink link above for more details and to register for all of these live sessions.

My amazing urologist, Dr. Fenwa Milhouse from Down There Urology, is one of the featured speakers, along with Dr. Lauren Streicher. Both are pioneers in their fields.

Announcement: There will be no article the week of Sept 9th as I will be attending The Menopause Society Annual Meeting. Follow me on Threads for live Threading from the event.

The Periprofessional’s Perimenopause Awareness Campaign

I’m all about perimenopause awareness and education 365 days, but I really want to help promote this month and initiate discussions. Last month, I released a perimenopause awareness campaign survey to anyone interested in participating.

The results are in! I was impressed with the variety of experiences shared, the laugh-out-loud humor, and the tear-jerking heartache of living with the unexpected. The thoughtfulness of all the answers humbled me. Thank you to all who took the time to share their story.

All in all, I received 35 responses which I’ll be featuring throughout the month here and on my social media channels. The survey is still available if you’d like to complete it and be promoted (or anonymous). I’ll continue to share responses beyond September, so the more, the merrier!

Survey Results

35 responses were received. I promoted the survey on Threads and Substack. Thank you to those who helped me get the word out!

Menstrual Cycle Status

20% of responders were menopausal
80% of responders were perimenopausal

Anonymity

40% of responders wished to remain anonymous
60% of responders allowed me to use their name

Social Media

65% of responders included their Threads handle
75% of responders included their Instagram handle
35% of responders included their Substack handle or publication

Demographics

11.43% were bloggers
0% were health coaches
2.86% were yoga/fitness instructors
8.57% were a doctor or healthcare professional
77.14% were individuals with an interest in participating

Some Responses

When social media handles, blogs, or Substacks were shared, I included the links below. I’m not here to censor anyone’s responses, but I did clean up any swear words in case little eyes were peering over shoulders.

These are your peri peeps! They are open to talking about perimenopause and sharing their experience. All quotes used with permission.

Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island while perimenopausal (either alone or with friends/family), what 3 things would you want with you? There is plenty of food & water & cool breezes on the island.

• A journal & pen, art supplies, a bikini - Anonymous

• Running shoes, snorkeling gear, Dotti patches to last the whole time I’m there - Amber

• Lots of books, a damn good pillow, pens of all colors and the journals to use them in - Erin (erin.o.green on Threads)

• My dog, books, and pain killers - Anonymous

• Kindle/book, HRT, pen/notebook - Nicola Bal, author of the blog Welcome to Menopause, Me and ADHD - More Than Words, and the Substack publication, More Than Words.

• A comfortable bed with cooling sheets, a perimenopausal friend to vent with, HRT - Tricia

• NO bottoms. That way I would stop unexpectedly messing up underwear.

  Music I could dance and scream-sing to

  A pile of note books and endless ink cartridges for my pen -

  Karin Schimke
  and her Substack, Love Letter

Question: What advice would you give to your best friend if she was 10 years younger than you and not yet perimenopausal?

• Prepare her for what’s coming. Make her aware of the symptoms she could begin seeing. Educate educate educate yourself. Find a supportive doctor. - Anonymous

• Perimenopause is when your body starts speaking really loud. All the sh*t it put up with in your younger years, it will start complaining really loudly about. It will feel at times like it's your enemy, but actually your body's is always on your side. When you start living in alignment with its needs, listening to its wisdom and its NO, and treating it with the utmost respect, many of those symptoms will dissolve. It will force you to face yourself, to dig deep and to delve into any unresolved issues in your life, but it will 100% be worth it. - Dr. Vicki Connop on Substack, writer of the Substack, The Therapy Room.

• Stock up on whatever settles you and makes you less homicidal! Also make sure you have an ALONE hobby. - Anonymous

• Listen to your body and show yourself grace this could be a wild ride or you could get through it unscathed. Either way the better you take care of yourself the better it will be. - Dianne Williams on Instagram and Threads and Substack.

• Lower your cortisol NOW. Change your lifestyle to reduce stress. This means movement practices that suit you and chill you out and also making good food choices to support your adrenals and hormones. Start to acknowledge and work with old trauma because if you don't do it now mindfully, you will do it with anger and tears when the hormones change. Ask yourself regularly if you are neglecting your needs, hopes, dreams, passions, because whatever is unresolved will come roaring out later. - Michelle Dixon, PhD, writer of the Substack publication Trauma, Growing Up, Waking Up

• Appreciate the time you’re in. Start adopting heathy habits, unless you already have, such as: exercise, getting out in nature, hydration, probiotics, etc…. Learn how to handle stress and find your joy - Jacquie on Threads

• Don't be silent about your problem like me, don't procrastinate, listen to yourself and no one else on how you feel. - Christine on Threads

• The advice I would give would be to say that "what you will be going through might feel like you are going crazy at times cause you don't know what the hell is happening to your body, your emotions, but just know that you are not alone and what you are experiencing is real and valid. These changes are messy and not fun but will eventually get better. If you need a 2nd, 3rd or 4th opinion because you aren't being heard then damn straight get those opinions. - Denise on Threads

• 1. You will bleed like a slaughtered animal out of the blue and at the oddest times. Know this and be prepared every second of every day for about five years.
  2. If you're a cuddler, cuddle now and get it done – there'll be years where you'd rather chew light bulbs than have anyone touch you.
  3. Everything that's wrong with you in ten years' time will because of perimenopause. Everything. It's sometimes so terrible you could scream. So you do. Righteous, arrogant men are excellent targets. Scream at them. It is the BEST part of it and almost worth all the other sh*t.

  Karin Schimke
  and her Substack, Love Letter
  

Question: If there was a perimenopause exam in order to graduate to menopause, what topics would you ace?

• Night Sweats: How to change in the dark, over and over and get back into the cold wet bed
  Social Anxiety in Premenstrum: Overthinking what everyone else is thinking about what I just said
  Binge Watching Masterpiece Theater: So that I have something to cry about
  The Endocrine system: Terms and definitions of all the hormones I am losing
  All the herbs for all the things: Hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, period cramps, insomnia
  Tracking: Knowing exactly when I went perimenopausal - Jess Mujica writes the Substack, Go With the Flow: Women’s Cycle Awareness

• Hot flashes, night sweats, rage, sick of everyone’s sh*t, Shining Elevator periods, random ass fatigue and pain, weird body bits suddenly crapping out. I’m sure I can go on. - Anonymous

• Brain Fog 101
  Back Fat, Bra Overhang, and Muffin Tops
  You’re Not a B^tch, You’re Just Direct
  Hips, Knees, and Ankles: You’re Not Breaking, You’re Just Perimenopausal - Amanda on Threads

• How to contain your rage and not get a conviction.
  How to dress in a variety of layers to manage your body experiencing all four seasons in a day. - Anonymous

• I know about sleep changes, skin changes, energy changes., and serious brain fog I also know how anxiety becomes a new feeling out of the blue - panic attacks! - Jen

• Mood swings/crying jags/irritability/anger/depression/cycles worse in all ways/etc. - Anonymous

Question: If you were being interviewed for a podcast and had 30 seconds to tell your story about your perimenopause or menopause experience, what would you say?

• Aging women have been relegated to the back of the room for far too long, and we’re starting to realize that it’s by design. We’ve raised children, held careers, loved, lost, and overcome, and just as we are becoming the strongest, wisest, and most powerful we have ever been, along comes the anti-aging industry telling us we’re irrelevant unless we remain young. When it comes to perimenopause, the male-dominated medical community seems to have bought into that trope until very recently, telling us that menopause is “natural” and that we just have to suffer through it. We don’t. - Amanda on Instagram

• I own a nail salon, all day long I speak to perimenopausal and menopausal women and not one of us can get a full sentence or complete thought out ‍♀️ - Jillian on Instagram, Owner of The Parlour at Chat Noir.

• I feel like a crazy person, yes that woman talking to herself at the bus shelter who looks unhinged, sweaty, her shirts in inside outside, half her makeup done, she's crying and laughing and clutching something she thinks is precious which could be a bag of pasta and you can see one giant chin hair. - Chantelle

• Believe yourself. You are not going crazy. Listen to your body, your needs, your intelligence. (This is my self talk. ) - Kaylah

• Anxiety is real during perimenopause.. had it when i was 44 just a month before turning 45. It was somehow related to having a high blood pressure which made me so anxious about what I eat though my blood tests was all at normal levels. - Kathleen on Threads

• It’s easier to manage symptoms when you can identify them. Be prepared to advocate for yourself and don’t back down. - Anonymous

• It started much sooner than I expected, and I didn't recognize any of the symptoms until an older friend was talking about what she went through. My mom had a hysterectomy and didn't go through peri, so she couldn't give me advice, and I certainly didn't hear about any of it elsewhere! Nobody talks about this stuff. - Anonymous

• If one more health professional asks me for the date of my last period, I will lose it. 5 MONTHS? 5 WEEKS? 5 DAYS? I'M A HORMONAL RAGING LUNATIC AND I HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE ANYMORE. - Jennifer on Threads

Question: Finish this sentence: I’m looking forward to menopause because…

I can hopefully return to my true self. - Anonymous

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Want more quotes? I’ll be featuring different ones and different people on my social media channels throughout the month on Threads and Instagram.

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If you’ve been feeling alone in your struggles and feel like other people, even other women, don’t understand what you’re going through, I hope reading other’s quotes has given you a bit of comfort and connection. You’re not alone!

The greatest things that have helped me through my perimenopause experience are education and connection. And, I’ll add being of service now that I can be.

Be well, stay cool…

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