We Can't Delay Menopause (Yet)

And other key takeaways from the menopause conference

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I recently returned from the 4-day The Menopause Society Annual Meeting. I’m going to try to recreate the experience for you. You’ve excitedly been awaiting attending - your conference ticket was purchased months ago before they sold out, your hotel is reserved, and your flight is ready to board.

It’s time to head to Chicago and pick up your conference badge!

This annual scientific conference shares the latest research on menopause and menopause issues. Medical guidelines, trends in menopause care management, innovative treatments, and conditions that arise in menopause and women’s health are also discussed. And, of course, perimenopause is included in all of this!

Who is The Menopause Society?

The Menopause Society is a professional organization with the mission of:

• Being the premier resource for menopause research

• Continued clinical education

• Health practitioner training and menopause-care certification

• Establishment of evidence-based guidelines for medical care

They were formerly called The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

The Menopause Society is an evidence-based organization, which means it adheres to the strictest guidelines for menopause care. Its clinical care guidelines are based on substantial evidence, ensuring the highest level of care.¹

Please don’t confuse the term “evidence-based,” which is a scientific term, with what marketers are calling “evidence-based” to sell products. Same word, but it’s being used incorrectly by companies promoting products. Just because some research has shown something doesn’t make it “evidence-based.”

Attendees

The first thing I noticed after getting my conference badge and heading into the crowd was that everyone looked so familiar to me. I’ve never had this sensation before. I’ve been paying attention to the health industry and its leaders for a long time, yet feeling like I knew everybody when I didn’t was strange.

I saw several well-known menopause care MD doctors in attendance. You may be familiar with some of them from Instagram, podcasts, webinars, and other online channels.

Dr. Mary Jane Minkin – She’s as friendly in person as she seems online. We were washing our hands together at the sink in the bathroom, and I told her I was a fan. She spent a few minutes chatting with me. She is delightful! Visit her at www.madameovary.org.

Dr. Barbara Taylor (“Menopause Taylor”) – Author of Menopause: Your Management Your Way… Now and for the Rest of Your Life and on Instagram.

Dr. Corinne Menn – An OB/GYN frequently on Instagram.

Dr. Lauren Streicher – Founding Medical Director of The Northwestern Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause.

Dr. Kelly Casperson – a down-to-earth urologist and expert on female sexual wellness.

Dr. Jen Gunter – A crusader against misinformation and most vocal supporter of evidence-based medicine. I didn’t see her personally, but I knew she was there because she posted on social media that she was.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion – Medical Director of The Menopause Society and author of the book, The New Rules of Menopause: A Mayo Clinic Guide to Perimenopause and Beyond.

Cool Innovations

Most presentations were research presentations, heavy on science and medical applications, which I enjoyed learning about. Although I did see some pretty gross pictures of diseases, procedures, and conditions.

Below are some innovations that were discussed or presented. AI was a big topic and is gaining rapid momentum in medicine.

• Ambient Technology allows you to sit face-to-face with your practitioner while an AI scribe takes notes on the conversation instead of the doctor having to face the computer and type while you talk. (currently available)

• AI that uses your voice as a biomarker of health. A biomarker is a measurement that can be used to identify diseases and other conditions. Blood pressure is an example of a biomarker. (currently available)

• An air conditioner that is linked to a smartwatch to adjust the temperature based on hot flashes (this was mentioned, but there’s no science to back up this claim)

• EEG (electroencephalogram) records brain activity and is typically a diagnostic tool, is being used to predict the best options for treatment-resistant depression. (currently available)

• Virtual reality experiences via headsets can be used as therapy and to help manage menopause hot flashes. Look up https://xaia.health.

• Scientists are figuring out how to delay menopause by delaying ovarian aging. One method involves removing ovarian tissue and follicles for cryopreservation (freezing) when you’re younger and re-implanting them before reaching perimenopause. Currently, this technique is being used for fertility preservation. However, the purpose of delaying menopause is not to extend reproduction but to try to increase healthspan (our healthy living years). Pharmacological agents are also being studied. For now, we cannot delay menopause. However, poor lifestyles and smoking, in particular, have been known to age ovaries faster and bring on menopause sooner.

Scientific Program

HRT – The new and preferred term is hormone therapy (HT) or menopause hormone therapy (MHT), but of course, you are free to use whatever term you prefer, The Menopause Society won’t come after you, they promised.

HT dosing is highly individualized. This is why we can’t compare our friend’s dose to what we get. Doctors use many factors and preferences to determine the proper dose and delivery method. The Menopause Society believes a person should be on the right dose for the right amount of time, as decided between you and your physician.

This is a reminder that hormone therapy is not birth control.

Not taking HRT? You’re in the majority by A LOT. At its highest before the WHI study, 40% of women were on hormone therapy (aged 40+). In 2007, after the WHI study was released in 2002, it was 4.6%. Even though it seems like everyone and their mother are on HRT, that isn’t the whole picture. In 2023, HRT use fell to 1.8%. These numbers are according to a medical claims review of over 200 million enrollees.²

Also, I’ll be writing the definitive article on hormone replacement soon, but it will only be for free subscribers when it’s published, so please consider subscribing if you aren’t already.

Sleep – If sleep hygiene does not help and you’ve tried everything to sleep, you may be dealing with Insomnia Disorder, which is a medical condition that should be evaluated by a physician. One sign of Insomnia Disorder is that you are physically unable to nap. Insomnia Disorder is a state of being hyperaroused in your nervous system that prevents sleep from happening.

Weight Gain – In perimenopause and menopause, our caloric needs are reduced by an average of 250 – 300 calories per day. The book Burn by Herman Pontzer, PhD, was recommended reading.

Cognition – Verbal memory and verbal learning are most affected during perimenopause. Can’t remember words or retain information? That’s why. Social activity and challenging your brain (like reading my articles) positively affect your brain health.

Hot Flashes - FDA-Approved HRT is the standard for hot flash management. There is a new non-hormonal FDA-approved drug for hot flashes, but it hasn’t been approved for perimenopause and would be considered off-label use for us. Please discuss with your physician if you are considering this as an option. Hypnotism is an approved The Menopause Society option for hot flashes. The Menopause Society doesn’t approve of using supplements for managing hot flashes/menopause symptoms - no supplement is “evidence-based” (see my note on the term “evidence-based” above).

Perimenopause – We know this; perimenopause is a challenging time for us and our providers. The biggest challenges for providers are the diagnosis and management of abnormal bleeding, sleep disorders, new onset or worsening of mood & anxiety, iron deficiency (especially in the heavy bleeding crowd), hot flashes, and birth control options.

Perimenopause is a great window through which bone health can still be built, but the earlier, the better.

Special mention goes to Dr. William Catherino, who presented to practitioners how to be good listeners and best support perimenopausal women. Role-playing with Ms. Sateria Venable, Founder & CEO of The Fibroid Foundation, was useful for clinicians to see what happens at a “typical” appointment vs. what happens at a compassionate one.

Bone Health - Estradiol estrogen deficiency is the main cause of osteoporosis. Estradiol FDA-approved hormone therapy is approved for the prevention of osteoporosis (US). Weight-bearing exercises (aka strength training) are also evidence-based.

Hair Loss – Women are affected by female pattern hair loss (old name: androgenetic alopecia), which means hair loss starts from the front of the scalp. According to the dermatologist who gave this presentation, you don’t need to collect your hair in a bag and bring it to your doctor. They can diagnose you by looking at the hair on your head, follicles, and scalp.

Research Studies

There were 147 abstracts approved to be presented at the poster session. This was where researchers displayed their research on, you guessed it, a poster.

Why should you care about this? ALL of them were researching issues in perimenopause and menopause. That’s a lot of research!

I spent a lot of time in this room to read through the posters. Here’s a list of just a few that interested me:

• PH80 Nasal Spray for Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms (Hot Flashes) Associated with Menopause presented by RA Baker. (They have estrogen nasal spray in France!)

• A Portfolio Analysis of NIH-funded Awards for the Study of the Menopausal Transition and Menopause Symptoms presented by Annina Burns, PhD of the NIH, Office of Research on Women’s Health.

• Menopause and Covid-19 among Women Living with HIV presented by EM Cherenack, PhD of the University of Miami

• Associations Between Self-Silencing and Inflammation in Midlife Women presented by Alicia Cole

• Treatments for Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause: A Systematic Review of Hormonal Interventions and Vaginal Moisturizer presented by E Danan

The Menopause Society Annual Update

• Record membership growth this past year

• Sold out conference

• New initiatives include a workplace initiative to educate employers on how to better support their employees with perimenopause and menopause symptoms. Here is the newly released The Menopause Society Workplace Employer Guide

• They encouraged all of their certified practitioners to uphold the society's mission, values, and guidelines.

• New clinician member lecture series to educate on the issues in menopause care.

• A better physician and practitioner search feature is coming soon.

• Their mission is to be the definitive source for pre-peri-meno-post menopause medical care and information.

• They are pushing for the inclusion of menopause education into medical school curriculums.

Exhibit Hall

I love a good exhibit hall! The conference program didn’t have dedicated exhibit hall hours, so I wasn’t able to spend too much time here because I wanted to review every single scientific poster in the poster session and attend all of the meetings instead. But I did spend an hour here, and this is a list of who I spoke with.

MyMenopauseRX – This is an alternative to companies like Midi Health, where they match you with a practitioner to discuss your perimenopause/menopause symptoms and can prescribe hormone therapy. It’s not easy to impress me, but I was impressed by this company and I spoke with them at length. They have agreements with many of the major health insurers, but have reasonable rates if you’re self-pay. Many of their providers are certified by The Menopause Society practitioners, and all of their providers are members of The Menopause Society. The company was founded by Dr. Barbra Hanna (board-certified OB/GYN).

The HRT Club—This is a membership club that provides lower-cost hormone therapy. If you don’t have health insurance coverage for hormone replacement or if it's too expensive even with your insurance, your prescribing doctor can submit your prescription here. They will fill the prescription and ship it directly to you. They assured me that they have a full stock of patches despite a shortage for some time.

Facial cream – One booth was selling facial cream that legit made my undereye wrinkles disappear for about 8 hours. I didn’t buy it as it was $299 (show special) with a regular price of $600.

Crotch serum – One booth was selling hormone growth factor vaginal serum that claimed to repair vaginal tissue and increase pleasure sensations. They were promoting this as an alternative to vaginal estrogen cream. He said it was going to make my vagina feel like a 20-year old’s! I was standing in my professional wear with a lively stranger (male) telling me how this was going to improve my sex life. They had a $50 show special (the regular price was $175). Someone had to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, so I purchased it. But I’m a little afraid to put human growth hormones on my hoohah. I need to research this first.

AZO – If you’ve been fortunate enough to live a life without urinary problems, you may not be familiar with AZO. They make products that they claim help support urinary and vaginal issues. Here’s a funny story – my husband’s cousin’s daughter was working at the AZO booth. I had just seen her at a family event a few weeks before. Neither of us was expecting each other to be there!

After Dinner Drinks

If you’re looking for the inside scoop on the after-parties and how menopause experts like to spend their free time, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Being perimenopausal meant I had to manage my energy efficiently throughout the day. I decided skipping evening activities in order to rest and prepare for the next full day was in my best interest.

Sitting in a windowless ballroom for hours and days on end takes a lot out of a person.

Heading Home

It was a whirlwind four days! It was nice to be with people who all had the same interests as me, and we were all in the same place.

I hope you enjoyed my takeaways from the conference. The message is clear…. more research, interest, innovations, and funding are coming! We just need to be patient a little bit longer.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it with a friend or online!

Be well, stay cool…

Disclaimer, Content Use Policy, Privacy Policy

1. Besides my membership in the society, I have no additional affiliation with The Menopause Society. However, I hope to one day get involved when the opportunity presents itself.

2. This information was presented by Dr. Stephanie Faubion in her abstract presentation “Menopausal Hormone Therapy Utilization (2007 - 2023) Remains Stagnant in the United States.” This includes oral and transdermal FDA-approved hormone therapy and does not take into account non-FDA-approved hormones such as pellets.