Three years ago strange things started happening to me. I began to forget things. No matter how much I slept, I could barely keep my eyes open. A quick-tempered, irritable monster replaced the endlessly patient mother my children were used to. Over the next two years I saw an endless parade of doctors. I went to my general practitioner. He said I was fine. I went to an internal medicine physician. He not only said I was fine, he ridiculed my symptoms. I went to a neurologist for my recently developed migraines. He told me to stop eating sugar and cut out caffeine.

After my 39th birthday I had had enough. I had unexplained weight gain, hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, mood swings, brain fog. I searched the internet. I was either diabetic, had thyroid issues, or was in perimenopause. I got a new GP who told me I was too young for perimenopause but I refused to leave the office until she ordered tests. They ruled out diabetes and thyroid issues.

I went to a new obstetrician. I came armed with years of weight data, my list of symptoms, and printouts of journal articles. I was ready for a fight. She listened to my list of symptoms and … agreed. I was in perimenopause. She didn’t act like I was crazy, she believed me.  And then we started treating my symptoms.

Because I lacked physician support and information, I didn’t lose days or weeks to my symptoms, I lost years.

Why did I have to work so hard? Why did countless doctors not know about perimenopause? Why had none of my friends every spoken about it? Why had we never learned about it in school? #RemoveTheMenoStigma

Every day women go to work and struggle with brain fog, fatigue, and an inability concentrate. They hope no one will notice. With no clear HR or governmental guidance they aren’t sure what rights, if any, they have. The stigma of menopause is too great to seek help.

Every day women go to their doctors to find out what is happening to their minds, bodies and emotions. Their doctors either fail to diagnose or refuse to treat. The stigma of menopause is too great to push for an answer.

Every day women search the internet for answers because we don’t learn about menopause in school. Our doctors aren’t typically taught about perimenopause in medical schools or their residencies. The stigma of menopause is too great to even be overcome in medical school.

According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 27 million women reach menopause every year. That means that 6,000 US women reach menopause every day. These women account for 20% of the American work force. With women experiencing symptoms during perimenopause and  postmenopause, there are millions more women suffering in silence.

I have started this campaign to make physicians responsible for diagnosing and treating perimenopause and menopause. There should be mandatory training on a topic that affects 50% of the population of the United States.

The lack of awareness, education and training costs women days, months and years as they struggle to understand what is happening to them.

The stigma surrounding menopause affects more than just our health. It also affects us at work. Recent studies reveal little workplace support and that women are afraid to discuss menopause at work. They fear that their employers and colleagues will view them as incompetent. Employers need to understand that workplace guidance regarding menopause in the workplace is good for women and for employers. 

Age appropriate education in our school curriculum will educate girls about what will happen and when. It will also raise community awareness allowing greater understanding of what is happening to our wives/mothers/sisters/colleagues.

Suicide figures show that the female age group with the highest rate is 45-64. The average age of menopause is 51. Some women, in the depths of severe perimenopause symptoms, don’t lose days or years, they lose their lives.

The lack of physician and societal education, the lack of support and advice costs women. It costs employers. It costs our society.

Please join me in bringing this important topic to the attention of Betsy DeVos, United States Secretary of Education, Alex Azar, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services and Eugene Scalia, United States Secretary of Labor. #RemoveTheMenoStigma

Learn more at www.OurJourneyMenopause.com