7 women tell us about their menopause

Much has been said about menopause. Therefore, to discuss it without repeating ourselves, we asked seven women we know who have already gone through it, and they shared their experiences.

To that end, we are sharing a questionnaire with basic, essential information: what all of us, or at least those of us who haven't experienced it yet, want to know.

The first question was whether they could tell us about their experience of menopause . And we received a variety of answers:

One of our interviewees told us she experienced this period “with very hot flashes, excessive sadness, and irritability.” Another, 72, told us that for her it was “ a process that had to happen , although it came too soon.” And a third, 61, experienced this stage “well, without major problems.”

Among the women interviewed, some also experienced it with joy: “ For me, it was liberating . My period was over. But it was very premature and for medical reasons: I had my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. At first, I wanted to experience it as just another phase, using a fan and showers, but it was too much for me, and I resorted to estrogen patches (a blessing).”

And three women from the same family who experienced three different processes: the first very well, “the worst part was gaining a few extra kilos, although they went away later, and I also noticed my skin was looser and duller.” One of her sisters was “fairly well,” and the other is still going through it, although her case is different “because it’s induced by hormonal medication for cancer.” For those who don’t know, it’s very common for female hormones to be involved in breast tumors.

The second question we asked them was about the symptoms they had experienced throughout the entire stage (premenopause, perimenopause, and menopause itself) . Of these, we wanted to know which were the worst.

Our 72-year-old participant is clear about it: “ The hot flashes were the worst part . When they finally passed, it was a relief. My symptoms were very intense, spontaneous heat waves that caused me to sweat profusely, to the point of having to change my soaked pajamas and sheets because it usually happened at night. When I felt a hot flash coming on, I felt terrible because it seemed like everyone could see it.”

However, there are those who had a more relaxed experience, and tell us that "they were all manageable, the sweating perhaps the most relevant thing ."

And another tells us that for her, “the symptoms without patches were very intense: heat, cold, sweat, redness, bad temper. But with replacement therapy it was wonderful. Apart from these, the worst were the sleep disorders.”

Another woman who shared her experience with us explained it in great detail: “The main symptoms I had were bleeding, hot flashes, fatigue, weight gain, and sometimes nausea. The worst part was the bleeding because it scared me. The hot flashes and night sweats, well, I took them in stride.” Her sister, who has had breast cancer, told us that what she noticed was “joint pain, hot flashes, and insomnia, as well as drier skin and sagging in her thighs ,” with the joint pain being the most bothersome. And her mother barely had “hot flashes or night sweats.”

The third question was about how long they had been experiencing these issues. We've read that some people go for years without them, while others start having irregular periods and then, suddenly, one day, they stop having periods altogether.

And here, they all told us that the entire process took them several years . Regarding whether they received medical support, there was almost unanimous agreement: little or no support, “they just say that’s how it is, there’s no other option…”. Only one of the interviewees told us that yes, “ the gynecologists who saw me supported me. In fact, they gave me hormone therapy for a few months to stop the bleeding and were generally assertive throughout the whole process.”

The last question is about whether they found it difficult to return to normal once they overcame that stage. We really liked this answer: “ Returning to ‘normal’ was no longer possible because you are a different woman, you require different care, and you face different consequences, biologically speaking.”

Along the same lines, there's another good quote: "I don't know if it's been hard to get back to normal. Actually, I think you never stay the same, but you adapt and that's it."

They all also told us that they did have information - the Internet is an open book - and that information answered their concerns.

As you can see, there are as many experiences as there are women. At SKINVITY, we have devices that, while they can't accelerate or minimize processes, can help improve symptoms related to weight gain, sagging skin, fluid retention, skin blemishes, and dull skin.