Create more awareness about perimenopause
While menopause is widely discussed, very little attention is
given to perimenopause – the period preceding the onset of menopause.
Speaking at workshop to spread awareness about perimenopause, Dr. Wong Kim Lei, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said not many women realize that they do not reach menopause within 24 hours. “Often, when a woman is seen experiencing ‘the crazies’, one might say, ‘Oh, she’s going through menopause,’ when in reality, they are actually describing the wavy perimenopausal journey of her life.”
Menopause is well-defined – a woman is considered menopausal if she has not had menses for 12 consecutive months. On the other hand, perimenopause is less well-defined and is the time “around menopause,” which could be anywhere up to 10 years before or a year after her final period. Wong likens perimenopause to a stage of reverse puberty as it is a time of great change and could be more troubling than menopause itself as the symptoms can be “strange” and new to a woman experiencing it.
“As estrogen levels fluctuate during perimenopause, various changes in the body will invariably take place as estrogen helps regulate more than 400 different functions in women,” said Wong. Her perimenopausal patients are usually those with frequent fluctuations. This erratic behaviour is responsible for the ‘rage’ faced by perimenopausal women.
Women who are unaware of what is happening and do not take necessary steps to prepare the body, nutritionally, mentally and emotionally, may go through a difficult time. As hormones control so many key features of a woman’s femininity, perimenopause is a time when they start experiencing various symptoms which could make them feel “unfeminine,” Wong said.
Dr. Hariyati Shahrima Abdul Majid, a health psychologist, said the effects of perimenopause are very real and affect millions of women worldwide. “Yet, because we live in a closed, conservative society, it is probably the least discussed intimate subject among Asian females.” Because of the taboo associated with the topic, many suffer in silence and are unable to understand what they are going through, Hariyati added.
“I want women to know they are not alone. If they are having a tough time coping, feeling the rage and more often than not living in dread, this is not due to some character flaw or psychological defect in them.” Hariyati said that by understanding what is happening to them from the inside, women could come to terms with perimenopause and, perhaps, develop a better outlook towards their condition.
Both Wong and Hariyati were speaking at the launch of a new soy-derived supplement indicated in the treatment of perimenopausal syndromes. Also present at the launch was Datin Swanee Teh, a pharmacist and marketing manager of Nuvanta Sdn. Bhd.
From: http://pub.mims.com/Malaysia/topic/medical-tribune-my/create-more-awareness-about-perimenopause?elq_mid=560&elq_cid=1227482
Speaking at workshop to spread awareness about perimenopause, Dr. Wong Kim Lei, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said not many women realize that they do not reach menopause within 24 hours. “Often, when a woman is seen experiencing ‘the crazies’, one might say, ‘Oh, she’s going through menopause,’ when in reality, they are actually describing the wavy perimenopausal journey of her life.”
Menopause is well-defined – a woman is considered menopausal if she has not had menses for 12 consecutive months. On the other hand, perimenopause is less well-defined and is the time “around menopause,” which could be anywhere up to 10 years before or a year after her final period. Wong likens perimenopause to a stage of reverse puberty as it is a time of great change and could be more troubling than menopause itself as the symptoms can be “strange” and new to a woman experiencing it.
“As estrogen levels fluctuate during perimenopause, various changes in the body will invariably take place as estrogen helps regulate more than 400 different functions in women,” said Wong. Her perimenopausal patients are usually those with frequent fluctuations. This erratic behaviour is responsible for the ‘rage’ faced by perimenopausal women.
Women who are unaware of what is happening and do not take necessary steps to prepare the body, nutritionally, mentally and emotionally, may go through a difficult time. As hormones control so many key features of a woman’s femininity, perimenopause is a time when they start experiencing various symptoms which could make them feel “unfeminine,” Wong said.
Dr. Hariyati Shahrima Abdul Majid, a health psychologist, said the effects of perimenopause are very real and affect millions of women worldwide. “Yet, because we live in a closed, conservative society, it is probably the least discussed intimate subject among Asian females.” Because of the taboo associated with the topic, many suffer in silence and are unable to understand what they are going through, Hariyati added.
“I want women to know they are not alone. If they are having a tough time coping, feeling the rage and more often than not living in dread, this is not due to some character flaw or psychological defect in them.” Hariyati said that by understanding what is happening to them from the inside, women could come to terms with perimenopause and, perhaps, develop a better outlook towards their condition.
Both Wong and Hariyati were speaking at the launch of a new soy-derived supplement indicated in the treatment of perimenopausal syndromes. Also present at the launch was Datin Swanee Teh, a pharmacist and marketing manager of Nuvanta Sdn. Bhd.
From: http://pub.mims.com/Malaysia/topic/medical-tribune-my/create-more-awareness-about-perimenopause?elq_mid=560&elq_cid=1227482
