“Many women are afraid of menopause. They are afraid that they will get wrinkles, they will gain weight, they will stop being lustful towards their partner. I was looking forward to the time when I would finally be free from the hoarseness of my period: severe pain and handfuls of painkillers, frequent bleeding. My hopes turned out to be false. In the menopause, new trials awaited me: crying and nerves for no reason at all, awakenings in the middle of the night from sudden attacks, frequent visits to the toilet, libido in Tatars and, at the worst times, flirting with depression. My daily life sounds like a nightmare, but it’s not. The situation is struggling. It is enough to have supportive people around you who know that your unreasonable outbursts, bad mood or melancholy silence are mainly to blame for derailed dishonest estrogens … “Historian and author Eleftheria Kirimi she is fifty-four years old, and she describes what she has experienced in recent years, having crossed the threshold of “established menopause”, as in medical language, more than a twelve-month cessation of menstruation is called.

Considering that menopause sometimes begins after the age of forty, it becomes clear that most women spend at least a third of their lives in “postmenopause.” If you include the transition to menopause, then we are talking, in fact, about half of their lives. There are currently about 70 million women over the age of 45 in the United States alone, a corresponding number in excess of one billion worldwide. Given the aging of the world’s population due to insufficient fertility, the percentage of women going through perimenopause or postmenopause will constantly increase.

The culture of silence

A heavy veil of ignorance and prejudice covers this part of the female biology. The severity of symptoms is downplayed (“It’s your idea” or “Just be patient, they will pass”), as is their impact on health. Society doesn’t care for the most part, from family, friendships and professional environments to healthcare systems. OUR menopause remains a taboo topic. Cessation of fertility is considered a disease. Many – and many – consider it synonymous with old age, a prelude to death. Thus, the culture of silencing her, which has dominated over time in patriarchal societies, is still passed down from generation to generation.

In the third decade of the 21st century, there is still a huge gap between medical knowledge and the information available to women. Most of them don’t know what to expect, they don’t even know what is happening to their body and why. They are not informed in time about the symptoms they will face, and even when they appear, they usually have difficulty obtaining pharmaceuticals and other drugs that doctors may recommend to them due to financial costs. In most of them, they are not registered.

Yet menopause is not a disease, but a change programmed by nature, an evolutionary adaptation necessary for the survival of the species, like the onset of menstruation at puberty. In the same way that girls prepare for their first period, adults should be aware of menopause much earlier than being left alone with the painful symptoms of this phase and a lot of conflicting information. Because when we understand what exactly is happening in our body, we calmly evaluate it and ask for appropriate help. However, let’s go in order, focusing on the biological, psychological, social and economic aspects of menopause.

What happens to the body

Menopause occurs when there are no more ovulatory follicles in the ovaries, so there are no eggs. This occurs on average at the age of 50-52 years, sometimes much earlier. One of its characteristics is a dramatic drop in estrogen levels. Hormonal fluctuations that begin then can provoke various changes. Common problems run the gamut from hot flashes, night sweats, joint pain, sleep disturbances, decreased sex drive and anxiety to temporary cognitive changes (confusion, difficulty concentrating), depression, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis , urinary tract. infections.

Many women have mild symptoms, some are moderate, some are severe. They are influenced by a number of factors: age, comorbidities, exercise, dietary habits, and others. Usually they are temporary, but sometimes they persist, becoming long-term. Menopause-related cardiovascular disease in particular is responsible for almost 400,000 deaths in the US each year, and 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year. The question is not which disease to consider less or more “bad”, but to have a clear picture of all the diseases that affect women so that we can more correctly assess them.

Age at menopause is largely genetically determined; according to studies, from 30% to 85%. If a mother’s last menstrual period was 45 or younger, or 54 or older, her daughter’s chances of menopause increase equally sooner or later. Impaired health in general, as well as some medical conditions (eg, autoimmune diseases, HIV infection) are associated with earlier age at menopause. At the age of 40-45, it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Symptoms and their intensity depend on many factors: age, comorbidities, exercise, dietary habits, and others.

According to a recently published Mayo Clinic study of 4,400 women aged 45 to 60, menopause costs American women about $1.8 billion in lost work hours each year. In addition to the impact on productivity, the medical costs of the health problems it creates are far from negligible: $25 billion, always in the US, where women aged 45 to 54 make up 20% of the total workforce. The study does not include costs associated with changing or losing a job or forced early retirement.

Weakness and fear

“If Menopause was on Trip-Advisor, it would only have one star: “This place has temperature control issues.” Sometimes you explode from the heat, and sometimes you shiver from the cold. This is contrary to the laws of thermodynamics. Absolutely do not recommend!” says Canadian Jen Gander, a 25-year-old gynecologist, columnist (The New York Times, The Cut, USA Today, The Hill, Self) and author of The Menopause Bible, which is published in Greek language by Metaihmio publishing house. Of course, the topic is not a joke at all. “The silence around menopause deprives women of the information they need, which robs them of their strength, instills fear and prevents them from playing an active role in demanding the quality care they deserve.”

“As a result, many endure symptoms or fail important examinations and treatments because if they talk about the problems they are facing, they will be hit by a wall of general statements such as: “Ah! That’s what women get” or “It’s not that bad.” The problem with menopause is not limited to lack of information and medical ignorance. Women tell me what a lonely experience it is, that there are no relevant narratives or traditions, so there is not even an informal women’s information network to fill the void left by medicine. Nothing will console them,” Gander continues.

This is what the radiotherapist – oncologist Maria Sinodinu – Menegaki felt, lonely and helpless, who was very worried about the symptoms of menopause: “The hardest thing was when I was at work, in the hospital. I felt strange, I felt embarrassed, ashamed. I was looking for solutions. I was offered hormone therapy, but I refused it. I was afraid of breast cancer. Almost six years have passed like this, badly. I was surprised. Despite the fact that I am a doctor, I was not prepared for what I would have to face. For my generation, menopause was a taboo subject. My friends and I did not even talk about it. This should finally change.”

Update then. Alpha and omega in menopause. Because, as Jen Gander points out, “Accurate information will bring order to chaos and uncertainty. Knowledge has the power to entertain fears and offer options for overcoming. Even if a woman decides not to do anything, it will also be an “act” from a position of strength, a manifestation of self-determination.”

instead of an epilogue.

In many nations, as can be seen from the Menopause Bible, the word “menopause” is not used. In Dutch there is overgang, i.e. transition, in Finnish vaihdevuodet, a change of year, in Japanese konenki, a change of phase in life. It turned out that in countries with a different culture, women suffer less from menopausal symptoms …

In the 16th century, the first mention

Symptoms of menopause have been recorded in Western medicine since the 16th century. The first official treatise was published in 1710, and its content is summarized as follows: “Last menstruation, beginning of illness.” The “father” of the term was the French physician Charles de Garden, who in 1812 used the word “ménespausie” (from the Greek ménos + pausis) in a book devoid of information and medical knowledge, but overflowing with patriarchy. In it, he described menopause as a particularly dangerous period, accompanied by women’s loss of both “utility” and femininity, and heralding the end of their social lives. Deprived of the opportunity to experience motherhood and the ability to charm men, postmenopausal women, according to De Garden, had to withdraw from social life and lock themselves in their homes. Requiem for middle-aged women…

Numbers

70 million are women over 45 today in the United States alone.

45-54 years 20% of the total workforce.

1.8 Menopause costs American women billions of dollars in lost work time every year.

25 billion dollars in medical costs for the health problems it causes.