Share your struggles and successes about menopause with other women.
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I have a question, I am turning 44 and have several girlfriends who are in their late 40's and are starting to experience the start of Menopause. I was curious when Menopause typically starts? I am still on the pill and plan to continue until I'm 55, what affect with that have on my start of menopause or symptoms associated with menopause it.
Thanks,
Kelley
February 5, 2008 - 3:18pmThis Comment
Hi Kelley,
February 7, 2008 - 10:36amI just sent you a private message. Feel free to share my comments with the menopause group. I sent it as a personal note, but am more then happy to have you share it if you'd like.
Thanks again for posting. It's women like you, who will help transform healthcare through advocacy by asking questions and sharing resources.
Stay well,
Michelle King Robson
Hi, Kelley:
Have you asked your doctor about this? It's hard to say when menopause will start for anyone, because we're all different with different individual and family health histories. I also know women who started in their late 30's, and others who started in their 50's. Some seemed to go through it fairly quickly, while it took me several years.
February 5, 2008 - 7:46pmHi Kelley
Thanks for your post!
I would talk to your doctor too. Menopause generally starts around age 50 but can vary with every woman.
Birth control pills have a much different effect on a woman's body in her 40s and 50s than a woman in her 20s and 30s. Your doctor can give you more information on the risks and benefits.
February 6, 2008 - 1:30pmMichelle:
Oh my god....this is amazing information. I can't thank you enough. This information will help me request the right tests which is half the battle. Also, I see that you have some of these books on the site and will order one so I can get myself up to speed on this condition. Thanks again for getting me pointed in the right direction. Kelley
Michelle's Post/Help Below
Hi Kelley,
February 7, 2008 - 11:22amMenopause is one of the trickiest things for women and doctors. If you want to read, what I consider to be one of the best books out there.... It's Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet's book, It's your Ovaries Stupid. Yes, that's the title.
Women can start losing hormonal levels in their mid thirties. Everyone should have a hormonal base line done when they are 30 to 35. Blood work only...No saliva tests. At least, I would never do a saliva test. Blood work is the most accurate way of testing hormones. For a lot of women the first thing that happens is the interruption of sleep. You can log onto Quest Diagnostics and and go to the section for "women" and download the blood work you should take to your doctor. Tell you doc that you want a baseline of all your hormones. Don't and discus forget to check with insurance to see what they will cover. Sometimes they may not cover everything but you should check on the cost of the test. Sometimes they are so reasonable that you wouldn't not want to do it. It's just that no one tells you. They just assume that you don't want to pay for it. Quest has a very comprehensive section for women's health and blood work. That's where I have my blood tests done. Each lab tests differently. You want the lab that has the most comprehensive and sensitive testing.
Feel free to email me any questions you may have. I've read 30 some books on the subject and will give you all and any resources that I've found that are helpful. I am 48 years old and I've never felt better.
Our mission is to help you make good choices and have access to resources and information. Thanks for joining EmpowHer.
Best,
Michelle King Robson
Hi Kelley,
Let me know how things progress for you. I'll be interested to see what you think about the book as well as the Quest Diagnostics section for women. Don't forget to go to the "Ask Michelle" section and share articles and other resources that you think might be helpful for us to have on our site and share with other women. That's how we can tap into the strength of women.....By Sharing Information.
Please keep in touch.
Stay well,
Michelle
February 7, 2008 - 11:53amHi Michelle!
I went to the website for Quest Diagnostics but could not find the link for "Women". I did find a tab at the top for Patients & Consumers and was able to find "Women & Health" under "Destination: Health", but was unable to find a list of tests that you referred to for hormone imbalance to download.
I took an on-line quiz at Dr. Lee's website which indicated a possible imbalance of estrogen, progesterone and cortisol deficiency as the cause for my hotflashes, sweats and insomnia, so I want to see what tests are recommended.
Thank you!
May 5, 2008 - 12:35pmKatharine
Katharine,
Hi! I just wanted to follow up, to see how you are doing. You mentioned that after taking an online quiz, you said there is a possibility of hormone imbalance/deficiencies that are causing your hot flashes, insomnia, etc.
It sounds like you can go to your doctor with the information you found online, and ask for blood work to be done to check these specific imbalances/deficiencies. Michelle recommends asking for a check on your hormone baselines. (Doctors may not look at the numbers on the test, so much as a trend over time...whether the hormone levels have increased or decreased).
Michelle recommends the following:
"Tell you doc that you want a baseline of all your hormones. Don't forget to check with insurance to see what they will cover. Sometimes they may not cover everything but you should check on the cost of the test. Sometimes they are so reasonable that you wouldn't not want to do it. It's just that no one tells you. They just assume that you don't want to pay for it. Quest has a very comprehensive section for women's health and blood work. That's where I have my blood tests done. Each lab tests differently. You want the lab that has the most comprehensive and sensitive testing".
How are you doing now?
May 22, 2008 - 12:31pmHere's an interesting story about menopause out of Europe.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/12/business/EU-FIN-EU-Wyeth-Prist...
March 12, 2008 - 9:40amThis is very helpful-thank you so much for sharing.
March 13, 2008 - 3:45pm