mind & body Menopause Ahead By Stacey Colino
You’re not going to see a road sign anywhere welcoming you to menopause. But as every woman knows, all roads lead to menopause at some point. To be sure, you may encounter some bumps along the way. But in this case, knowledge is power—knowing what lies ahead and how to cope keeps you going and makes for a smoother ride.
12 pause SPRING / SUMMER 2012
Lucky for you that times have changed. Prior to the 1980s‚ menopause wasn’t something to be talked about‚ understood‚ or prepared for so much as it was to be endured‚ often in grimacing‚ beet-faced silence. “Until fairly recently‚ most
women thought menopause was the end of the road‚” says Isaac Schiff‚ MD‚ chief of the Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Joe Meigs Professor of Gynecology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “There has been this transformation among women‚ especially the baby boomers‚ that menopause can be a fulfilling and positive experience. Women today are much more in the driver’s seat—they’re taking control of the experience. One of the reasons for
this new attitude is that we have much more information about the transition.” And as our understanding
of menopause has expanded‚ so have our options for smoothing the way through the changes. “We have better treatments available to women and we know more about how those treatments work‚” adds Schiff. Still‚ the sheer volume
of information available to women today can be a bit overwhelming. What’s more‚ a Google search on the Internet doesn’t differentiate between the unsubstantiated claims of many menopause treatments and the information that you can trust. To help you navigate through
these sometimes trying times‚ here’s a road map to guide you in the right direction.
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iStockphoto.com/sarahtregay
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