III out In the mnuntnlns l JULY 2006 l MOUNTA|NPR|DEMEDlA.ORG

Nancy ElIIen'Judd, MA
Licensedclinical Mental Hearth Counselor

COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHEFIAPY

%.802i863.2084

2 CHURCH STREET. BURLINGTON VT 05401

 

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Langrock Sperry 8: Wool takes
PRIDE in contributing to the I
advance in civil rights for gay
and lesbian citizens, and to
making our state a better place
for all Vermonters.

Langrock Sperry 8C Wool offers the services
of 24 lawyers with over 300 years combined experience,
in all areas of the law — including two lesbian attorneys
with special expertise serving the legal needs
of the g/ l/ b/ t/ q community.

SUSAN MURRAY & BETH ROBINSON
I With offices in Middlebury and Burlington
MlClL'll€bUl'}' (802) 388-6536
Burlington (802) 864-02’l7
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Menopause: I
lt’1l Happen to You

BY RENEE LANG. ND
11 women who live‘ long
enough, go through

A menopause. Meno-
pause is a natural transition
of change. Currently about 50
million women in the US are
menopausal. That number will
rise to nearly fifty percent of

the total U.S. population by
2014. Menopause, the perma-

 

nent cessation of menstruation
due to loss of.ovarian follicular

activity, occurs when a women ‘

has 12 consecutive months
without a menstrual period.
The average age of menopause
is 51. However, women may

go through menopause as

early as 39 or as late as 54.

Surgical menopause, the re-

moval of both ovaries, does not
conform to the above fimeline.
Women who have undergone
surgical menopause often experi-
ence more severe symptoms and
require a period of hormone re-

— placement therapy to treat symp-

toms and-prevent osteoporosis.
In the three to five years
prior to menopause, called
perimenopause, a woman may
begin to experience a variety
of common symptoms includ-
ing: hot flashes, waking in the
middle of the night around
2-3 am “for no apparent rea— _
son,” night sweats, irritability,
depression/anxiety, fatigue,
irregular menses, memory
loss, brain fog, decreased
libido, insomnia, and poor con-
centration. However, no rule
exists stating that a woman
must experience any of these
symptoms. In fact, in some

cultures women don’t have any
symptoms‘, and look forward to
ending their “duties” of child-
bearing to become wise elders.

Lesbians of course, experi-
ence menopause. However,
some social and cultural differ-
ences exist between lesbians
and heterosexual women. An
obvious difference lies in the _
fact that two women create
a lesbian partnership. Thus

to many women, this fat dis-
tribution serves an important
purpose - Mother Nature knew
what she was doing. Weight -
gain in this area protects bone
health and density as ovarian
estrogen levels decline. So

the next time you look down
and see your new protruding
belly, thank Mother Nature

for protecting your bones.

Additional physical changes

I rarely need to prescribe any oral
hormone replacement therapy, for
symptom management. Diet and
lifestyle changes, herbal preparations,
and vitamin/mineral therapy
adequately address symptoms

in the majority of my patients. -  -_ ' i - ‘-

the experience of menopause
will either happen twice if.
they differ in age, or two
women will be going through
menopause at the same time.
Is this a blessing or some-
thing else? Do these women
support one another through
the new and strange symptoms
each experience? Do they suf-
fer brain fog at the same time,
lose important documents,
miss appointments, forget to
lock the doors, and forget to
feed the cats? Is one woma.n’s
libido gone and the other
one experiencing an elevated
libido? The answer to these
questions depends on the _
particular relationship, and
may change daily or weekly.
Whatever the specifics, lesbians
enjoy the unique opportunity
to share their menopause ex-
perience with another woman
intimately and on a daily basis,
an experience that may be
unknown to andpften desired
by heterosexual women.
Menopause brings not only
the possible plethora of symp-
toms listed above, but also
physical changes. You’ve heard
of the “freshman ten?” Well, get
ready for the “meno-ten.” Most
women gain about ten pounds
as they progress through meno-
pause. The weight gain usually
occurs in the belly and around
the hips. Though distressing

may include wrinkles, vaginal
dryness, vaginal atrophy (thin-
ning of vaginal tissue), hair
thinning, and thyroid changes.
These changes occur primar-
ily due to loss of estrogen.
Women on thyroid replacement
therapy may need to adjust
their dose while going through
menopause. However, the flue-
tuations should normalize in
post-menopause. Hair thinning
may be caused by multiple fac-
tors and should be investigated
if excessive or worrisome.
Vaginal dryness and atrophy
may present with irritation,

‘sharp shooting, pin-like pain, or

bleeding. These symptoms may
only occur with sexual activity
or if severe, may occur anytime.
Treatment ranges from using
lube to herbal preparations to
hormone creams. The decision
to treat rests on the desire of
each woman and the extent to
which quality of life is affected.
Diagnosis of menopause

results primarily from the
symptomatic picture and
clinical assessment of the men-
strual cycle, and from family
history. If a diagnosis cannot be
determined from this informa-
tion, then testing for elevated
blood levels of the hormone
FSH provides a definitive di-

v agnosis. However, the most

effective way to determine
if a woman is beginning her

-1*'r.. .v