Imagine a woman in her 40s or 50s working her way through menopause. She herself has gone through puberty, been pregnant, raised a family, and dealt with her menstrual cycle every month. And now she is looking forward to that time when the bleeding, breast tenderness, mood swings and hot flashes go away.
Some women start having children in their early 20s, which means by the time they are in their 40s, those kids of hers are heading towards adulthood.
However as more and more women wait until their 30s or even 40s to start having a family, they may be hitting menopause with a young toddler, pre-teen or teenager who's heading into the thick of puberty at the same time.
This can be challenging.
Donna is 41 years old and has five children. Her youngest is three years old turning four, and her eldest is 15 years old turning 16. In 10 years her youngest will be turning 14 and her eldest will be 25. By then Donna will be 51 years of age.
Both she and her husband work, however she does have a fairly flexible schedule that allows her to work from home when she needs to. Unfortunately, she does not often accomplish a lot during those times with the needs, wishes and demands of her children.
Since her eldest can't yet drive, she and her husband ferry their family from practice to practice, to school events, and to church. She is starting to feel perimenopausal as she says that she does not sleep that well, her temper has shortened and she's more irritable.
She is tired all the time, she skipped her last two periods only to have it come every two weeks this month. She feels she is running much warmer when she used to run cold.
Donna is a very real woman. However the same story can easily be told of thousands of women across America.
As women near menopause, the ovaries are deciding whether or not to work as they move closer and closer to the complete cessation of a menstrual period.
Unfortunately, these hormonal interplays that used to have a consistent rhythm every month are more unbalanced and disorganized, which causes women to feel the same way.
The change in hormones affects the sleep schedule, changes the skin, increases aches and pains in the joints. It worsens the mood, alters the menstrual cycle, worsens headaches, lowers the libido, and changes the way women bounce back from stress. It even puts on extra weight around the middle section.
When girls go through puberty, their hormones are just as imbalanced and irregular however their young bodies are trying to establish a rhythm. This can cause some women to have worse cycles as they sync up with the powerful hormonal influence of their daughters, or restart their periods when they had not had them for quite some time.
Children of any age can be challenging, especially to someone who is not sleeping, feeling tense, off their rhythm, and moody. It is important that women recognize that this is a time of change for everyone involved, including their pubescent daughters.
Talk with your health care provider about different options to help feeling more balanced if the symptoms of menopause really start to affect your daily life.
Sources:
1) Harris, A., Vitzthum, V. Darwin's legacy: an evolutionary view of women's reproductive and sexual functioning. J Sex Res. 2013;50(3-4):207-46.\
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23480070
2) McNamara, M., Batur, P., DeSapri, K. In the Clinic. Perimenopause. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Feb 3;162(3):ITC1-15.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25643316
Reviewed March 16, 2015
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith