An (Educational) Menopause Rant!

I haven't been a member of Vibrant Nation all that long, but I have been shocked and distressed to read how many of us are suffering serious, adverse symptoms in menopause and how much confusion and misinformation is out there about the topic.

I love reading and learning about many things, but especially medical stuff (if I had my life to live over I would have applied myself more in the sciences and maybe become a doctor). That said, of course I am NOT a doctor, but I have worked very hard at learning and putting together the menopause puzzle pieces, so I have information and resources to share that may help other women.

I find it disheartening that the women who feel they "sailed through menopause" seem to judge those of us who are suffering. This blog post is NOT for the women who have not been there and who do not get it. If you have not suffered the more severe symptoms associated with hormone decline and imbalance, do me and the other sufferers a favour and don't join the conversation thread simply to tell us how it was no big deal for you, and you can't understand why the rest of us whiners can't seem to tough it out without supplements. Thank you in advance for refraining.

For those of you are are suffering daily with distressing symptoms that are reducing your quality and enjoyment of life, you need to do some serious homework - now.

I have read more than a couple of dozen books on the subject and think the best one by far is Suzanne Somers' book Breakthrough. Yes, I know she was "Chrissy Snow" on the TV sitcom "Three's Company" and a Las Vegas performer for many years, and that she pushes things like the "ThighMaster" and "FaceMaster," but don't let that fool you.

This woman has devoted herself to getting access to the most leading edge medical minds in the area of healthy aging and dealing with menopause etc. and she captures and explains everything they have to say in her books. (She also wrote The Sexy Years and Ageless which are excellent, but if you only have the time or inclination to read just ONE book on this topic - choose Breakthrough - it will empower you with knowledge like you cannot imagine).

Another warning, if you read Breakthrough, you will likely know much more than your doctor about the endocrine system, the "hormone cascade" in your body, exactly what a synthetic hormone is and why they are dangerous, and what a "bio-identical" hormone is and why they are not dangerous.

If your doctor is like most of the ones I have dealt with, he/she will be threatened by your newfound knowledge/insight and will attempt to put you in your place. You may get admonished about the dangers of gleaning medical information from a mainstream bestseller versus a medical textbook, or told to stop looking up things on the internet. You may get snidely told by your doctor that he/she is the one with the initials "M.D." after their name, not you.

All these things have been said to me and more. Don't fight with these sorts of "god-complex" doctors - they are not going to change. Try to find a new, more open-minded and up-to-date doctor if you can.

Be aware that most medical schools provide only about 4 hours of training on the endocrine system (the basic building block of hormones). And for most doctors, that 4 hours of med school training was m-a-n-y years ago. And, I believe most doctors are still men and so can't have a CLUE about what menopause is like.

Most of doctors' ongoing medical education is by "drug reps" (pharmaceutical salespeople) who give them literature on new drugs and free samples to give to their patients. And medical education conferences are mostly sponsored by and dominated by big drug companies - meaning the ones that make and sell synthetic drugs on which they hold patents (which is what enables their monopoly and big profits).

You cannot get a patent (monopoly) on a naturally occuring substance (i.e., a bio-identical) therefore there are not the profits to be made like with synthetic drugs, hence the big drug companies and the people they fund discredit bio-identicals every chance they get.

"Breakthrough" will also open your eyes and educate you about cholesterol and statin drugs ("statins" are the cholesterol lowering drugs - they are actually dreadful for us and are likely contributing to and responsible for the huge increases we're seeing in decreased brain functioning, memory problems and even dementias). Statin drug sales are currently about $12 billion annually, I have heard. What a cash cow!

You will also learn about additives in our food (designed to make it taste better so we'll buy/eat more) called "glutamates" (there's much more than just MSG to avoid) - these are "excitotoxins" that actually kill the neurons in brain cells! And they are added to most of our processed foods under innocent sounding names such as "spices" or "yeast protein". The glutamate industry actually has a lobbying presence in Washington, DC!

Okay, I digressed, back to menopause. I believe many Boomer women are having a harder time with menopause than past generations because the pressures and stress of modern life actually burn us out and deplete our hormones before we reach our 50's.

For those of us who took birth control pills - the bad news is those are synthetic hormones we were on. My current doctor tells me that she sees much worse menopause symptoms in women who took birth control pills when they were younger.

Add in our poisoned environment filled with toxins and pesticides, our meats, poultry and dairy is all now laden with synthetic hormones that enter our bodies when we eat them, and all the products we use in our lives that contain preservatives called "parabens" that are endocrine system "disruptors" (almost all personal grooming products - shampoo, conditioner, cleansers, cosmetics, and body lotions etc. contain one to three types of parabens). Each product is deemed "safe" in its individual level of parabens, but what the federal safety testing agencies do not take into account is the cumulative effects of using 10-20+ such products per day! In the morning when getting ready, I have counted putting 16 different things on my body that all contain parabens (these mainly mess with estrogen levels).

I learned about all this stuff, and much more, from reading Breakthrough. Get it. Read it. Do something proactive with the information you learn. It will improve, or even save, your life.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)