Each year in the United States, over 1.3 million women enter menopause. If you are a woman in her 40s or 50’s, that might mean you.
Unfortunately, many myths surrounding menopause persist — like who it affects, how it impacts various aspects of women’s health, and what options women have to overcome the often-debilitating symptoms.
Here, we’ll debunk six of the most nagging menopause myths — including the most pernicious of them all, that menopause can’t be effectively treated (it can!).
At our leading South Florida LowTE Florida practice, we help women struggling with menopause reclaim their youthful vigor and vitality through bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) services.
https://youtu.be/Sde-v_izF04?si=RSR-FWyOs7U6GjmN
Keep reading to learn more!
Menopause Myth #1: The only symptoms of menopause are sex-related
For most women, menopause is driven by the loss of the three female sex hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle: estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.
As a result, many people assume that menopause only impacts aspects of women’s sexual health — libido, vaginal lubrication, performance in the bedroom, etc.
However, the truth is that menopause can exert a wide range of symptoms beyond sexual.
The reason that menopause impacts so many facets of women’s health is that hormone receptors are located everywhere in the body — in the brain, in the lungs, in the liver, in the skin, and even in the endothelial cells of the blood vessels.
So, the symptoms of menopause caused by a large-scale decline in hormones can be equally widespread, including but not limited to:
- Mental health issues (anxiety and depression rates are higher among women experiencing menopause than women not in menopause)
- Mood swings
- Concentration issues (brain fog)
- Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
- Low energy levels (chronic fatigue)
- Slowed metabolism
- Unwanted weight gain
- Dry skin
- Thinning hair
- Brittle nails
… Just to name a few of the long list of menopause symptoms.
In my new highly-reviewed book on everything hormones based on decades of clinical practice, Are You Hormone Curious?: The Science of Hormone Therapy for Men and Women Explained, we explore the enormous and underappreciated impact of hormone health on overall health and how to optimize them for a longer, healthier life.
Menopause Myth #2: Menopause severity is determined by genes
If your mother experienced severe menopause symptoms, the conventional wisdom goes, then you can count on a similar experience as her daughter.
This isn’t entirely true, however.
While it is a fact that genetics factor into the age of onset, severity, etc. of menopause, the reality is that environmental and lifestyle factors are also extremely important.
Other factors, aside from your genes, that impact menopause symptoms include:
- Stress levels
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Diet
- Supplementation
- Activity level
- Sleep habits
- Smoking
- Body weight
- High-quality medical interventions like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT)
Menopause Myth #3: Menopause only affects elderly women
That menopause only impacts late-to-middle-aged women is one of the most pervasive, and perhaps most harmful, menopause myths, as it stigmatizes younger women who frequently develop menopause before their late 30s or early 50s, which is when menopause is typically diagnosed.
In fact, according to research reviewed in Contemporary OB/GYN, “More than half of women ages 30 to 35 are already experiencing moderate to severe symptoms associated with menopause, yet most do not seek treatment until decades later… Many women in this stage mistakenly believe they are too young to be affected, leading to delayed treatment and prolonged discomfort.”
In addition, various health conditions, surgeries, and treatments can induce menopause much earlier than it would otherwise typically manifest, including:
- Primary ovarian insufficiency (the premature failure of the ovaries to produce estrogen, impacting up to 1% of women)
- Hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries)
- Oophorectomy (surgical removal of the ovaries)
- Chemotherapy
Menopause Myth #4: You’re not in menopause if you still have a period
Contrary to popular belief, just because a woman still has her period does not necessarily mean she is not experiencing menopause.
Menopause is actually divided into three stages, which begin long before a woman’s last period:
- Perimenopause. This stage of menopause usually begins in a woman’s early 40s or late 30s. Women in perimenopause still get their period, but it can be irregularly timed. Estrogen levels decline, leading to common symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. Perimenopause generally lasts four to eight years.
- Menopause. This stage is defined clinically by a period of one year (twelve consecutive months) with no period. By this time, the ovaries no longer release any eggs, and the reproductive cycle is finished. Progesterone and estrogen levels drop permanently. Symptoms generally increase in number and intensity. The average age of onset for menopause is 51.
- Post menopause. At this stage following menopause, the risk of serious chronic illnesses due to low estrogen levels increases dramatically, including heart disease and osteoporosis.
Menopause Myth #5: The risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) outweigh the benefits
The science behind bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), which we specialize in at LowTE Florida, has developed dramatically in recent years.
Modern clinical research has debunked previous claims that hormone therapy for women in menopause is inherently dangerous.
In fact, based on new evidence, which we covered at our blog when the news broke, the FDA recently removed black box warnings for testosterone and estradiol, citing flawed science that exaggerated the safety risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The major source of misinformation regarding the safety of estrogen therapy, in particular, is a now-debunked 2002 study that we explore at length in my recent book on all things hormones and hormone therapy, Are You Hormone Curious?: The Science of Hormone Therapy for Men and Women Explained.
Menopause Myth #6: Suffering is inevitable because menopause can’t be treated
Our cutting-edge bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) services for women — which uses convenient, bioidentical estradiol pellets the size of a grain of rice implanted under the skin — offer the female patients we treat massive and sustained relief from menopause symptoms.
Bioidentical estradiol pellets contain a specially formulated form of estrogen that perfectly matches the molecular structure of the natural estrogen produced by the ovaries (hence the term “bioidentical”), which, as we’ve discussed, disappears during menopause.
The multi-faceted benefits of BHRT for women include:
- Hot flash elimination
- No more night sweats
- Restored natural vaginal lubrication for more comfortable, enjoyable sex
- Increased libido (sex drive)
- Improved sleep duration and sleep quality
- Enhanced cognitive function and reduced brain fog
- Stabilized mood
- Reduced Anxiety and depression
- Increased, sustained energy levels
- Improved overall quality of life (QOL)
For feedback from the real-life patients we’ve treated at our Fort Lauderdale practice, please see our LowTE Florida patient reviews here.
A simple blood test and consultation can determine your health status and your suitability for BHRT.
And remember: the sooner that women begin bioidentical estrogen therapy after menopause onset, the better the health outcomes.
So, it’s never too early to start planning.
Also, our industry-leading line of anti-aging supplements, including ones targeted for hormone optimization, backed by a full money-back guarantee, is available at our LowTE Florida online store.
When you’re ready to get started reclaiming your youthful vigor, we’re ready to talk. And we’re always taking new patients.
Get in touch via our online contact form and we’ll schedule your consultation to get your hormone health back on track and enjoy the full, healthy life you deserve.