A lot of women feel unhealthy and go to see their doctor where a lot of tests are run but then they get the answer: Everything is fine. All the results are good. But the women still feel sick. If you are of a certain age you should then consider Menopause. A lot of doctors even gynacologists do not know about it because it is not a topic during medical studies. Some mothers do not talk to their daughters and among friends or in society menopause is only about hot flashes and mood swings. So let’s talk about it!
Did you know that there are over 30 symptoms related to menopause? Some lists even include more than 40. Here is one of them.
To educate yourself I will collect here all kind of information so that you can learn about Perimenopause, Menopause and Postmenopause, will be informed and can communicate better with your doctors or therapists.
German
There is a very good podcast which is led by a journalist, who had suffered for 15 months from heart problems that nobody could find a reason for and the president of the German Menopause society. It is called „Hormongesteuert“ and is available on any podcast platform. It is in German, but there are full transcripts to each episode. So maybe you can get that translated to your language.
There is another podcast available from Austria which is called „Menomio„. This is also available on any platform. There is also a full transcript to each episode.
A book that was kind of revolutionary is „Woman on fire: Alles über die fabelhaften Wechseljahre“ from Dr. Sheila de Liz.
English
In the UK there has been the so called menopause revolution, when women were fighting for adequate health treatments, free hormone therapy and work places that are adapted to the needs of women.
In the Tallinn library you can find the magazine Menopause & You. I have not read it yet, but let me know in the comments if you have and what you think about it. And there are many more magazines that you can find at the library around this topic.
There is an official site from nhs with an overview including a list of symptoms and where to find help and treatment.
Estonian
While searching for a gynaecologist for myself who knows about menopause, I found a podcast from Dr. Märtson. I do not know enough Estonian yet to be able to listen to it. Please let me know in the comments or write me an email what you think about it.
Your language?
If you have any valuable information in your mother tongue, please let me know. I am happy to add this here.
Menopause Café
Whenever you have a problem it is good to talk about it. Unfortunately menopause is still a kind of tabu. To overcome this hurdle in some countries so called menopause cafés have been initiated to come together and talk about this subject. Exchange information and talk about what helped you and where to find treatment. There already has been one gathering here in Tallinn and I hope it will be a regular thing.