Coach for Midlife Women Physicians/ Rediscover Joy/Find Purpose in Medicine and Life /Author/ Certified Menopause Practitioner/ Medical Advisor- HotPause Heath/ HeartMath Certified Trainer/Physician Wellness Advocate
The more women physicians I talk to, the more I realize how important learning about menopause can be... for themselves and their patients. All women (50% of the population) will be living 40-50% of their lives in their post-menopause years. And yet, hardly any medical research includes these women. Every organ system in a woman's body is affected by menopause. So when we experience new onset anxiety or rage, the inability to remember names, find words, or multitask like we used to- this is the brain. When we lose our libido, experience dryness and pain with intercourse, leak urine for no reason, get bladder infections- this is our genitourinary system and this affects our relationships with our partners and with ourselves. (Yet, ED medications are a dime-a-dozen... and no one is telling men it could kill them, but I digress) When we see our mothers get Alzheimer's or break a hip, do we want this to be our destiny? Heart disease is the number one killer of women and the rates skyrocket after menopause. Yet the uninformed fear-mongers tell us- "Don't take hormones because they cause breast cancer!" If you are a woman, and especially if you are a woman physician, do not spread menopause disinformation. Seek out a menopause expert. Send your patients to a menopause expert. Ok, stepping off the soapbox now. #menopausePSA
Beverly Joyce, MD I am SO glad you posted this. I take HRT myself, because I determined, with my gyn, that the benefits far outweigh the risks for me. That is the kind of discussion all women at this stage need to be able to have with their physicians, and physicians need to educate themselves about menopause and the benefit vs. risk determination for HRT--especially when it comes to bone health. Nothing else maintains bone mass like estrogen does, and yet so many women are needlessly being relegated to a destiny of osteoporosis because of the unreasonable and ill-informed fears re: HRT. So many are suffering through brain fog, mood swings, insomnia, UTIs, dry skin, fatigue, and all of the other signs and symptoms you have mentioned--all of which can be relieved or improved with HRT. I'm so glad you got on this soapbox--more of us need to do so!!
Rebecca Crockett
6mo
It doesn't help that we were taught very little about menopause medicine in residency. Social media and Dr Google are not our friends.
A THOUSAND TIMES YES 🙌🏼 TO THiS!! As women physicians we should know better than to spread false fear!!
Thank you for sharing this important information. There are so many myths and misunderstandings about menopause and HRT. Women deserve better.
Grace Redman
6mo
You are absolutely right! It’s been a struggle to find the “right” information. We do deserve better. I’ve been my own advocate the last several years. Thank you for sharing!
Such an important message! Thank you!
Thank you for spreading the awareness. So crucial to advocate for preventive medicine in health care particularly for women. Spreading awareness is equally important as to driving the action. Pelvic health and bone health initiatives specifically needs more resource and time allocation at every practice setting to drive better care. And, ownership cannot reside with physicians and providers alone- patients need to be accountable for the results too as it does take a team effort in my opinion.
Knowledge about menopause for women, including physicians, is crucial. Let's spread accurate information and support each other through this phase
💃🏽Dr. Lisa | Reframing equity and authority through a gifted woman’s lens. The Curvy Hustle® Sacred Success Path supports women into healthy leadership, relationships or enterprise design using a science + spirit mix.
6moI really appreciate that MDs are starting to advocate. Yet, Maybe one of the MDs on this feed reading this can tell me why so few physicians ever bring Doctors of Physical Therapy, primarily the Women’s Health Physios many who are dual trained Certified Health Coaches into your practices if so clueless from school? Even when directly marketed to ? Feels more like competitive mindset than anything in my experience. These clinicians are better trained in functional medicine eval, assessment and plan of care with this and are the one’s that often deal with rehab consequences anyway. Why not educate patients to follow up with them like you regularly refer to mamography and colorectal surgeons for screenings at a certain age? Beverly Joyce, MD