About Teresa Isabel

1. Be aware of what your body is going through.

Menopause isn’t a mystery, or a disease, or the loss of anything. And it has nothing to do with men, either!

Meno (from menses) pause is the end of ovulation, menstruation, and fertility. Menopause is confirmed 12 months after the last menstrual period.

In the years leading up to menopause your body will go through hormonal changes – estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate and decline. Changes are often challenging. You’re not crazy; what you’re feeling is real and it’s easier and less fearful to navigate the menopause transition if you know what’s going on. 

2. Menopause isn’t something to be ashamed of.

Why would a human physiological event be something bad or shameful?

Some people call menopause puberty in reverse.

If you were born with ovaries, you can’t stop menopause from happening.

Culture and the media portray menopause as negative. But, in truth, menopause is not the loss of youth. Associating it with being old, over the hill, the end of womanhood, etc., is a myth, inaccurate, and misleading. The average age of menopause is 51 and many women can start perimenopause in their late 30s or early 40s. 

3. You’re not alone.

Because there’s no intergenerational sharing, your mother and aunties may not tell you about their menopause, so you’re not prepared for it, you don’t know enough about it, and you feel isolated and alone in this journey. But you aren’t alone!  Millions of women worldwide are going through their own menopause.

If you’ve been through menopause then share your experience with those who haven’t yet, and if you’re not there yet ask older women to share.

Talk about it with other women, help break the secrecy and the taboo that surrounds menopause.

If we want things to change then we must be part of the change and not blame everything on the patriarchy.

4. Seek help and don’t suffer in silence and alone.

Ok, menopause is a natural thing but suffering through it is an option.

You shouldn’t just put up with the symptoms—hot flashes, night sweats, sleepless nights, brain fog, fatigue, urine leakage, vaginal dryness, painful sex, loss of self-confidence, anxiety, palpitations, worry, and anger—just because you can’t avoid menopause.

If these challenges are affecting the quality of your life, if you stopped doing things you used to do because your menopause is bothersome, if it is affecting your intimate relationships, and/or if your work is being negatively affected by hormonal changes, then seek help.

There’s help. I can help you! 

5. Don’t exclude hormone therapy from your tool box.

Google isn’t the best source of information and you shouldn’t choose your treatment options based on what you read on the internet.

I know, Google says that menopause hormone therapy (MHT), aka HRT, is bad for you, can cause breast cancer and strokes…

You shouldn’t confuse your Google search with my pharmacy degree (see photo!).

Anyone can post on the internet, and what they post can stay there FOREVER. There’s a lot of old information that’s no longer accurate since research is ongoing and treatment recommendations change based on the latest information.

Therefore, do not automatically exclude MHT as a possible solution to your menopause challenges without first educating yourself about the benefits and risks of MHT.

Seek the advice of a healthcare provider who’s well-versed in all things menopause, a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) like myself, and get the facts about MHT.

It takes time—which most physicians do not have—to explain what MHT is, how it works, and the immediate and long-term benefits and risks. Once you have spent the time, and learned accurate and updated information about MHT, then and only then you’ll be properly equipped to make an educated decision about your treatment.

Menopause Myth Busting

There are a lot of myths about menopause and I love busting them! I’ll let you in on some of my menopause myth-busting tips.

Women are so confused by the secrecy and myths surrounding the hormonal changes of midlife that it’s no wonder that most women have a hard time navigating menopause while staying vibrant and productive. 

Myth:  I’m too young for menopause

Fact:  Perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause when you start noticing changes, can start in your late 30s or early 40s. 

Myth:  All women get fat in menopause

Fact:  Fat tends to accumulate around the belly but you can get rid of it. I did and in the video I tell you how. 

Myth:  Menopause is hell and life is over

Fact:  OK, going through menopause can be turbulent, challenging, and hard. But it doesn’t have to be. I help the women in my practice accept themselves and their menopause because it is an unavoidable phase of a woman’s life (like puberty in reverse). We work on symptom management but also on mindset because it’s important to be PAUSE-itive and to see midlife as a time of many possibilities. Menopause is an ideal time to start thinking and working (through lifestyle interventions, counselling, and support) on who you want to be at 60, 70, 80 and 90! 

Myth:  Menopause is only hot flashes

Fact:  We wish! Especially those of us who also get mood swings (when I was in perimenopause my son once asked me if I was bipolar!) and rage (road, house, and work rage!); want to kill our husbands and scream at our kids; and experience low libido, itchy skin, aches and pains, anxious thoughts, hair loss, and difficulty concentrating and remembering our own kid’s names! 

Myth:  Menopause is something you just have to put up with

Fact:  This requires two explanations. Firstly, all women go through menopause and there’s no stopping that (for the definition of menopause watch the video). Secondly, no woman suffers needlessly and alone under my watch. True, many women experience physical, emotional, and mental challenges in midlife due to hormonal changes. But as a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP), I provide education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.

Menopause Stages

The menopause stages can be confusing. Premenopause. Perimenopause. Menopause. Postmenopause. What do all these words mean and why is it important to use them properly when describing where you are in the continuum of menopause?

Here are some reasons why it is important to know where you are in this journey:

• to know what to expect
• to get the most effective and safe symptom management since, for example, hormone therapy will differ if you take it in perimenopause versus in postmenopause.

Premenopause/Reproductive Years

Between puberty—when ovulation (and accompanying production of estrogen and progesterone), periods, and fertility start—and perimenopause are the reproductive years, whether or not a woman gets pregnant.

Perimenopause/Menopause transition

Female sexual hormones—estrogen (the predominant female hormone) and progesterone—start fluctuating in perimenopause, indicating the start of changes in ovarian function. Women who previously had regular menstrual periods may start noticing changes, such as shorter intervals between periods, lighter or heavier bleeding, shorter or longer bleeds, spotting between periods, and in some months even no bleeding at all. This is usually the first change women notice in perimenopause, but many women also report hot flashes, fatigue, aches and pains, difficulty sleeping, headaches, dry itchy skin, mood swings, anxiety, depressive feelings, low sexual desire, hair loss, weight changes, body shape changes, palpitations, irritability, foggy brain, bladder problems, dizziness, and others. Perimenopause can start in a woman’s late 30s or early 40s and last 2-6 years.

Perimenopause is a journey. The unpredictability of not knowing when the next period is going to come, when or if ovulation is going to occur, and experiencing spotting can be upsetting and frustrating for many women.

Women who are sexually active and don’t wish to get pregnant must use birth control until at least 12 months after the last period because ovulation is unpredictable in perimenopause but may still occur. Perimenopause can start in a woman’s late 30s or early 40s and last 3-6 years.
Menopause

Menopause is the end of ovarian function, the end of ovulation and fertility, and consequently periods stop as well.

How do you know when you are in menopause? Menopause is confirmed when you haven’t had a period for 12 consecutive months. The next day you are in postmenopause! Congratulations! Celebrate this milestone!

All women go through menopause if they live long enough, and for most women it is a normal and natural event.

Menopause usually happens between 45 and 55 years of age, and the average age of menopause in North America is 51. Some women may experience early menopause, before 40 years old.
Postmenopause

These are the years after menopause is confirmed and postmenopause lasts for the rest of the woman’s life. Many women will live past their 80s and will spend one-third of their lives in postmenopause. It’s important to understand the protective effect of estrogen against diseases like stroke and heart attack, osteoporosis, and diabetes to help you make healthy lifestyle choices to ensure healthy aging and prevent disease.

Induced menopause/surgical menopause

Induced menopause occurs when a woman undergoes removal of both ovaries and/or chemotherapy and radiation treatments (which damage the ovaries) for certain types of cancer. Women who experience induced menopause at a younger age experience more severe symptoms due to the very sudden drop in estrogen levels and are at higher risk for diseases related to low estrogen levels, like osteoporosis, dementia, and heart disease.