Early Menopause Symptoms and Treatments

Women used to dread discovering early menopause symptoms, seeing it as a time of endings. Today, they are managing the symptoms and anticipating dynamic new beginnings.

Embrace 'The Change"

At 39, Carolyn, a motivational consultant in Seattle, didn't know what hit her. The early signs of menopause were upon her. She couldn't sleep. Her periods grew heavier and longer "'Everything irritated me," she recalls. "I had no idea what was happening." Now 52, Carolyn wishes she knew then what she knows today. "Since turning 50, I have felt better than I ever have. I went through a metamorphosis, changed my diet and lifestyle, and came out stronger and happier."

In the next two decades, 40 million American women will pass through menopause. "The baby boomers who transformed childbirth by demanding to be informed and involved are creating a sea change as they move through menopause," says Dr. Wulf Utian, founder of The North American menopause Society (NAMS) Ongoing research also is shattering many myths about a woman's no-longer-silent passage.

"The primary misconception is that menopause symptoms are terrible for all women," says Dr. Sherry Sherman., program officer of the National Institute on Aging's Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which began following 3300 midlife women. Until then, studies focused primarily on Caucasians seeking medical help for menopausal symptoms.

"When you look at healthy women, menopause is almost a nonevent." Dr Sherman notes "In terms of what actually affects their lives, their periods stop. That's it."

Increasingly, the end of the reproductive years marks the beginning of a dynamic new stage. "Today, women experience healthy menopause symptoms and are still very sexy, very vital and definitely not old - in fact she has a lot of life - an average of 35 years - ahead of her"