Menopause: The Door to Wise Womanhood
Written By Karina Jackson
For the sake of this article, when I talk about menopausal women, I mean those who have or had ovaries. Not all women have ovaries and not everyone with ovaries identifies as a woman. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
If you’re a young 20 or 30 year old asking yourself, “why should I read this?” the answer is… it's only a matter of time before you're going through menopause asking yourself, “why didn't I read that!” We as women will all experience menopause! You deserve to know what you're in for so that you can take early action when the symptoms arrive.
So, what comes to mind when you hear menopause? Let me guess…mood swings and hot flashes, right? Now while those things are true, why doesn’t “transformation” or “wise woman” come to mind? A simple answer would be the fear, silence, confusion, and lack of education on the matter. Another answer would be the misogynistic and patriarchal view that a woman's worth comes from her reproductive abilities. That this is a woman's expiration date on learning, growing, achievement, and pleasure. That view might even still be around and is a big reason why I, as a 23 year old, care so passionately about menopause.
Sadly for most, if not all women, you don't hear much about menopause until you're already going through it. The same fact is true for puberty, periods, and pregnancy. Hell I had no idea what a period was until my first day of 6th grade when the sight of blood had me thinking I was dying! Yet, we all know what erectile dysfunction is and how to address it, right? Funny how that works!
On another not so surprising note, the US seems to have it worse than other countries when it comes to menopausal symptoms. This is most likely due to a difference in lifestyle, education, and cultural perspectives. It is also said that small communities of Mayan women throughout Guatemala and Chichimila acquire the new status of “spiritual leader” when they begin menopause. Here in the US, you acquire the new status of “cranky old woman”.
What is Menopause?
By Google's definition, it means the stop of menstruation. But by my definition and by those who have experienced it, it is much, much more than no longer having a period.
Physiologically, Menopause is when the supply of mature eggs diminishes and your ovaries are no longer producing estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones are vital to everyday life and overall health.
Estrogen is extremely important to maintaining the heart, brain, bones, mood, and reproductive system.
Heart: stable blood pressure and cholesterol
Brain: blood flow, memory, fine motor skills
Bones: prevents bone loss
Mood: estrogen helps keep serotonin levels regular
Reproductive system: maintains mucosal lining, and elasticity. Puberty; pubic hair and breasts
Progesterone is important in helping Estrogen perform at its best and mainly works to regulate menstruation and flow.
What are the symptoms?
Menopause is also when the neural pathways from your brain to your ovaries get a bit confused and cause a lot of the common symptoms like, brain fog, hot flashes, and mood swings.
No one's menopause experience is the same and it's honestly hard to know what is menopause and what is old age. To give you an idea of how confusing menopause can be, let me shed some light on the long, almost never ending list of potential symptoms.
Women's Experiences
Down below, I have gathered a few women who were willing to share their menopause experience. Firstly, I want to thank each and every one of them for taking the time to answer my myriad of questions and for not being afraid to get down, dirty, and a little uncomfortable in their answers.
Becky, 52
Starting at age 46, Becky had been experiencing symptoms such as body aches and hot flashes. In 2019 at age 48, she decided to start Hormone Replacement Therapy. The hormones helped manage some symptoms but had eventually led to an extremely heavy and constant period that lasted 5 months. After doing HRT for 2 years, she and the doctors decided to stop the treatment, and pursue other options. Becky requested a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding all together but the doctors had something else in mind. They prescribed her birth control to address the heavy periods but it doesn't seem to be working. Becky feels ignored in her wishes and senses that she is just another science experiment to the doctors.
Becky's advice to the readers:
Exercise and cleaner food choices have really helped with managing my symptoms.
Since this is a phase we will all experience, knowing more about it at a younger age will help you prepare for the later years.
Cold water really helps with the swelling and aching.
Paula, 52
Paula’s menopause symptoms started at 47 and it wasn’t until age 51 she experienced her last period. She is self diagnosed, as most doctors do not acknowledge menopause until you’ve been without your period for 1 year. When asked what symptoms she is experiencing, her response was “ALL OF THEM”. The severity of each seems to be average based on what she’s been told from others. Paula did however say that “the weight gain seems a bit extreme”. Through her experience so far, she claims sugar makes symptoms worse.
Paula is currently not on any medication to address her symptoms but is now open to considering hormone therapy. She is however taking turmeric for arthritis. It is unclear if there is any correlation between her arthritis and menopause but says the Turmeric helps immensely.
Paula’s advice to the readers:
Arm yourself with all of the information and advice you can get so you are not caught off guard.
Reframe your perception of menopause through more of a lens of growing and evolving into a more powerful being. Try to look at the symptoms as GROWING PAINS. I feel much more in tune with my body.
Sarah Jane, 53
After having her first child at 33, Sarah Jane went through postpartum and explains that the symptoms of that are very similar to those of menopause. In 2019, she experienced hemorrhaging due to an IUD rejection and was given the Depo Lupron shot to try and slow the bleeding. Depo Lupron is a shot that lowers estrogen levels and pushes you into “actual” menopause. After the shot is when she had no period for a year in 2021 and started experiencing menopausal symptoms. Then in 2022 she had 1 period and again in 2023 had another. Sarah Jane experiences all of the usual menopause symptoms and has noticed that stress, caffeine, and alcohol are big triggers. Due to a near fatal blood clot, and medications she is currently on, it is not recommended that Sarah Jane participate in hormone therapy. She also cannot take any herbal treatments that may mimic estrogen in the body. She can however take an estrogen cream suppository that helps tremendously with vaginal dryness. This is because it comes in such a low dose and is only absorbed into the tissues and not the bloodstream. When asked to describe her menopause experience in one word. She responded with a big, fat “MEH”.
Sarah Jane's advice to the readers:
Get educated. It’s going to happen.
Once you start to lose vaginal and vulvar tissue, it is very hard to get back and causes a lot of problems. Address these issues early on and use an estrogen cream suppository in team with Rosebud Woman Honor Everyday Balm.
Join Oprah Daily. She and others talk a lot about menopause. There's even a quiz to learn what stage of menopause you might be in!
Mary Jean, 48
After Mary Jean’s third child in 2005, she got her tubes tied and this is said to have no effect on the timing or severity of menopause. Later at 45 in 2019, she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Because of Chemotherapy, Mary Jean was pushed into menopause.
In the few months between chemo and radiation, the menopause symptoms had stopped and her period returned. Then during radiation, the symptoms started up again and Mary Jean was period free for two years. That was until late 2022 when her period returned and has been dealing with extreme irregularity while simultaneously experiencing almost every menopausal symptom. On top of menopause, Mary Jean is experiencing Addison’s disease, and says it's only a matter of time until Osteoporosis kicks in.
Mary Jean’s advice to the readers:
Silk everything! Clothes, bed sheets, and pillowcases. This really helps with the hot flashes and sleep.
Staying busy keeps me from focusing on my symptoms.
Take the time to connect with something bigger than yourself.
Prayer, meditation, etc
My Advice (As a 23 Year Old)
Truly take the time to do your research before menopause happens. I have read so many articles, listened to over 4 hours worth of podcasts, and am still learning more about menopause as I write this.
No matter your age, build a community of multigenerational women so that you can all learn from each other. I myself have a beautiful group of women I call friends. We all range so much in age, location, and occupation yet still have so much in common.
Take action right now!
I want you to make a doctor's appointment to get your hormone levels tested. Once you have those results, hold onto them! Your future, older self will be eternally grateful come the time you are considering Hormone Replacement Therapy. This way, you and your doctors will already know what your “normal” hormone range used to be and can base your personalized treatment off that. Know that starting HRT sooner rather than later, allows the benefits to outweigh the risks.
Side Notes
Due to the natural flow of hormones based on what phase of your cycle you’re on, it might be worth taking the test a few times in different phases to really cover your bases.
Depending on personal medical history, HRT is not fit for everyone.
My Resources
Aside from me having no business giving medical advice, it would simply be impossible to put everything I've learned into just 1 article. So I will share below all the resources I have found and used so that we can all be prepared for our wise womanhood when the time comes.
Some articles and case studies I’ve read…
Menopause In Different Cultures
Podcasts I've listened to…
What We Deserve To Know with Dr. Jen Gunter
Menopause Bootcamp with Dave Asprey and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz
Books, blogs, and things I've seen recommended…
Menopause curriculum on Oprah Daily
Menopause Manifesto by Jen Gunter
Rosebud Woman Honor Everyday Balm
Fun Fact
Only 2 mammals have evolved to survive after menopause. Humans and toothed whales!
The commonality between us and them is community and family. A support system.
I’ll leave you with a lovely little blurb from the article, Menopause In Different Cultures.
“Menstrual blood has the power to create life in the womb, so when women reach the age of retaining their “wise blood,” they cross the threshold into “wise womanhood” by keeping their wise blood within. Women have greater “reproductive” success if, in middle age, we cease production of new children and focus on investing in our children’s children. This in turn impacts the population and success of the entire community.”
I can't wait for wise womanhood!