Menopause Education

by Sheila Carlson, RN

Menopause has been described as a time of metamorphosis, a time of rebirth and new beginnings. It is much more than hot flashes, night sweats and roller coaster emotions. Menopause is not a disease. Rather, it is a normal stage in the life of a woman. During menopause, our perception of life begins to change as our hormone messengers move us out of the reproductive years of premenopause toward a period of liberation and new independence in the menopause years... truly a metamorphosis.

I became interested in menopause education about four years ago when I was well into my own perimenopause years and realized I had really just been stumbling through the experience. I was seeing a psychologist after a “general meltdown” in my later 40’s, when she suggested one of Dr. John Lee’s books on menopause. I was fascinated, as well as disturbed, by Dr. Lee’s perceptions about western medicine’s handling of the matter of menopause. At the time I had been a registered nurse for some twenty-eight years, practicing acute care hospital nursing. And, of course, I had experienced life as a clinic and hospital patient. Such visits are short and typically end with the patient leaving, prescription in hand, to purchase a drug which may well have serious risks and side effects, and about which the patient has little or no clue. The patient often does not feel that she or he is in the “driver’s seat” and rightly so, for without the necessary education/information, driving safely can be nearly impossible. Some time later, I began work as an RN patient educator in the hospital setting, primarily teaching patients about their illnesses or surgery and medications. Shortly thereafter, I met up with Charles, an old friend who had begun a modest alternative/complementary healing clinic. By this time I was quite disillusioned with many aspects of western medicine, including the treatment of symptoms with patented prescription meds and invasive techniques. Often there was little emphasis on truly listening to the patient and discovering what was amiss in their life that might be at the root of the problem and helping them deal with this.

My association with Helping to Heal and menopause education was only a short step away. I began volunteering at the clinic and exploring various alternative modalities that might appeal to me as a health care practitioner. It wasn’t long before I was guided toward the subject of menopause, realizing I was not the only woman who found all the “hormone talk” quite confusing. This was indeed an area with a need for education, not only for the public, but for health care practitioners as well.

When I discussed becoming a menopause educator with women doctors, nurse colleagues, and women experiencing their menopausal years, they were enthusiastic, agreeing that there was definitely an unmet need in this area. Now as a member of the North American Menopause Society, I have access to researchers, medical doctors, knowledgeable herbalists, psychologists and others who have been listening carefully to women. In the process of digesting their materials, I have come to have a level of knowledge which allows me to helpful.

Together, through menopause education, we will look at your own particular health needs in your menopause years, which start with perimenopause. You will have the opportunity to explore the emotional and spiritual sides of menopausal changes. You will learn about alternative and complementary methods to ease your journey through the sometimes tumultuous and painful years of your “woman’s metamorphosis”. We will discuss the best ways to assess your hormone levels, lifestyle changes to help reduce the less than pleasant aspects of menopause, dietary supplements to strengthen your body’s systems for the journey, bioidentical hormones which can help rather than sabotage, herbal remedies and more. My goal is to arm you with the necessary information and resources so that you can make informed choices about your health in relation to menopause and begin to view your menopause years as an exciting opportunity for growth. As in any other medical field, there is much to learn and to yet discover. Together, however, we can make life better for you. I am here to listen, guide and coach you, but you are in the driver’s seat. I look forward to working, learning and growing with you.