The new science of predicting your menopause relies on data, not drama

• The very real issue of perimenopausal anxiety
• What scientists say about predicting menopause
• The role of postnatal depression and puberty in predicting menopause symptoms
• How to map out your hormonal history
• Estrogen as an effective menopause management strategy

Why menopause prediction is the key to menopause management

There are now 48 registered symptoms of menopause and counting. The variation on what each woman experiences in those transitional years is vast and for every woman who has a tumultuous time of menopause, there’s another who sails through it, (only they can never meet because only one would come out alive). And whilst we should take a minute to celebrate how far the menopause conversation has progressed in recent years, there seems to be a distinct danger we’re traversing into negative story overload.

The need for managing menopause ahead of time

Studies suggest ‘Peri-Millennials’ are in a constant state of anticipatory anxiety. A recent survey of more than 3,000 perimenopausal women aged 40 and over into their attitudes and knowledge of the menopause, found that 60% did not feel at all informed about the menopause and moreover, 30% were “dreading it”. You don’t have to be a statistician to deduce that pre-menopausal women are clueless and fearful of the unknown menopause that might lie ahead of them. In fact, stumble in any restaurant setting right about brunch time, and you're likely to encounter a table of mimosa-clutching millennial women, panic-diagnosing their emerging perimenopause symptoms.

The generation below them is also catching on. In a large-scale study of Gen Z students carried out by the British Medical Council, 23.3% believe that menopause entails “debilitating symptoms”. When asked on a scale of 1 – 10, just how debilitating they think menopause symptoms are for women, the average score they gave was 6. So young women ranging from their twenties to their forties believe menopause to be debilitating and are dreading it, without any hard evidence of what it will be like for them personally.

Understanding menopause means getting personal

Thankfully, new science is proving that not only can you predict the severity and symptoms of your menopause, you can manage them accordingly. By investigating how our bodies have reacted to hormonal shifts historically, we can accurately predict how impactful our menopause experience will be. “There are plenty of women who don’t notice any symptoms during menopause or even realize they’re in it and that's down to genetic make-up and personality,” says Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Kevin Harrington at The Portland Hospital. Mr Harrington is among a number of pioneering medical menopause experts using historical hormonal information to establish effective healthcare plans.

The science behind menopause prediction

“Hormonal levels drop around periods and again after childbirth but the women who’ve suffered during those events are significantly more likely to have a severe reaction to hormonal decline in menopause. There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that women who suffer from postnatal depression are far more likely to experience a difficult menopause. However, if you didn't have difficult periods or PND, you most likely will sail through because your body is able to deal with hormonal change.” The menopause is nothing if not personal and this is the same body you’ve made transitions in before.

Estrogen is often the first tool for managing menopause

Once you’ve mapped out your hormonal history and have a fact-based track record, it’s wise to start exploring HRT. “Don’t wait for hot flushes, you know when something’s up and you don't feel right. Be it insomnia, lethargy or a general lack of focus, go see your gynecologist. Don’t be upset if HRT doesn't work the first time either, it can take trial and error over months and years to see what works,” says Harrington. There are gels, patches, tablets, but what matters most is what suits you and doing the job.”

“Even before you have established symptoms, Harrington thoroughly advises a low dose estrogen vaginal pessary such as Vagifem, that makes a huge difference to the health of the pelvis. “It comes with an applicator so it’s not messy and you only need to do it twice per week to deliver enough estrogen to keep you in shape.”

Predict menopause using science and change your experience

Let’s be real here, no one wants to hear about a pleasant first date, the wedding that went without a hitch, or the day you ran into your ex and kept it beautifully together, the gory stories are always the ones most readily told, and they’re commonplace but there is also a neon flashing need for knowing your own body and creating a personal blueprint for your own menopause.

“Now that we have the menopause conversation firmly on the table, we have a duty to our daughters not to conjure up a menopause monster, when they have no choice but to face it themselves one day,” says LYMA Founder Lucy Goff. “We each possess the body of evidence that can map out our menopause and with access to modern science and proven nutraceuticals, we can be guided gently through the menopause and onto the adventure that awaits the other side.”


References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9244939/
https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-023-02641-4#citeas