HOW CAN YOU TELLIF IT IS PERIMENOPAUSE?
Dr. Steven R. Goldstein MD is a past President of the International Menopause Society, a Certified Menopause Practitioner, and a Perimenopause Specialist in NYC. He is also the co author of the book “Could it be Perimenopause….?”. Dr Goldstein has helped thousands of women over three decades to navigate the difficult stages of life called Menopause and Perimenopause and understand what their bodies are going through.
What is Perimenopause? It is when a woman’s body begins to slow the production of hormones. The signs and symptoms of Perimenopause usually begins in the forties; however, some women experience symptoms in their thirties. The total transition time to menopause is anywhere from four to seven years.
It is important to understand that Perimenopause is not “early menopause”. Early menopause means that you cease menstruation completely for a period of twelve months before you reach the age of forty five.
To make matters more difficult, Perimenopause cannot be strictly defined and proven with laboratory tests because in Perimenopause, a woman has fluctuating hormone levels. Perimenopause can actually be defined as having “irregularly irregular” hormone levels. Perimenopause varies greatly from woman to woman and is one of the least understood, most misdiagnosed and most confusing stages of a woman’s life.
Some of the symptoms what women in perimenopause may experience include occasional host flashes, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, mood changes, the inability to concentrate at times, foggy memory, and free floating anxiety.
One of the most pronounced symptoms of Perimenopause is irregular periods. A woman’s cycle goes from being every twenty eight days or close to being all over the place. There are missed periods, then there are two periods in a single month. There are light periods and then there are heavy periods. The lack of ovulation during Perimenopause leads to no progesterone being produced. Fairly constant levels of estrogen with no progesterone will cause a woman not to bleed for weeks or months at a time.
These are the symptoms of Perimenopause, but the symptoms themselves must not be taken alone. For example, missing several periods doesn’t necessarily mean you have Perimenopause. It can be something else. Doctors need to see a “family” of symptoms following a specific pattern of events in order to make a diagnosis of whether it is Perimenopause.
Dr Goldstein, a Perimenopause Specialist in NYC has been in private practice in the East side of Manhattan for over 25 years. He is also a well-known HRT Specialist in NYC who has authored books on hormone replacement therapy for women and has used it to successfully treat symptoms of menopause in his patients.
Women who think they are experiencing this very confusing stage of life called Perimenopause should see their Primary Doctor. However, many times women are told that “it’s all in your head”. That is not so. The symptoms are real, and what you are experiencing is real due to the “irregularly irregular” hormone levels. If you are in the tristate area of New York, Dr Goldstein’s office is right in midtown Manhattan.