By:Sybil Sage/DivineCaroline

By:Sybil Sage/DivineCaroline

By:Dr. Janet Horne and Dr. Robin Miller/DivineCaroline

When you first saw the title of this article, you immediately thought it was hogwash, right?

You were a bit disappointed, too, because doctors are supposed to be honest, and discuss only the treatments that have been scientifically proven to work; and everyone knows that there is no such thing as a miracle treatment that keeps you healthy as you age. But, here’s the thing: we are telling you the truth.

Menopause occurs . . .

. . . when your period stops.

-Average age of menopause is 51 (over 90% by age 55).

-Transition to Menopause (perimenopause) can last 6 years or more. Many will start in their late 30’s

-Perimenopausal symptoms may include:
1. Change in the amount or duration of menstrual flow or length of menstrual cycle,
2. Skipping of menstrual periods.
3. Irregular fluctuations of hormones

-Symptoms most commonly associated with low or fluctuating estrogen:
1. Vasomotor symptoms: hot flashes, day sweats, night sweats,

EmpowHer Presents:
4Women.gov

WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?

(This is me, right after I had a complete hysterectomy. It's been several years, but this time in my life is indelibly imprinted in my mind....)

On the outside it appears as if I have everything a woman could possibly want. I'm living a fairy tale life with a wonderful husband, extraordinary daughter, and a beautiful home. But on the inside I am crumbling.

Disintegrating. And slowly. I'm trapped in a body that I no longer know, as if my mind and heart have been plucked from my old, familiar body and thrust into a new one that is not only foreign, it is falling apart.

“It’s powerfully GOOD news,” said Dr. Northrup when she received word of a Congressional Resolution asking the FDA to rescind its ban on the use of the bio-identical hormone estriol. So, despite popular belief, women who are concerned about their health care and who want to explore all options really can fight city hall.

(HealthDay News) -- Women tend to miss almost half their menopause-related hot flashes, which are associated with memory problems, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study that included 29 women with moderate to severe hot flashes.

The women wore monitors that measured skin changes during a hot flash. Both subjective (self-reported) and objective (detected by the monitor) hot flashes were recorded over 24 hours. The average number of objective hot flashes was 19.5 per day, about 40 percent more than were reported by the women.

Women who have in vitro fertilization (IVF) don't experience early menopause or more severe menopause symptoms, says a British study that's one of the first to examine the long-term effects of the fertility treatment.

The study included about 200 women, average age just over 50, who were among the first to undergo IVF in the 1980s. The age at which they started menopause was comparable with the national average and there was no increase in menopausal symptoms associated with the number of IVF treatments, BBC News reported.

That's what I've been calling it! Sometime in my mid-40's, I started going through the "change of life." Whereas I had weighed 110 lbs at most, the weight started creeping up. At first, that was okay, because, well, let's just say my childhood nickname (that stuck through college) was "Bones."