Early Menopause Symptoms
December 31st, 2007 by admin
Author Gail Sheehy, who examined life’s transitions in her bestselling book "Passages," wrote about her own early menopause symptoms in last October’s Vanity Fair: "At the dignified apex of one’s adulthood, to have to worry about being hit with menstrual gushing, hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, sudden bouts of waistline bloat, weight gain, heart palpitations, crying for no reason, temper outbursts, migraines, crawly skin, memory lapses — my God, what’s going on?"
That piece expands into "The Silent Passage" joining an exploding genre: the menopause book. "I am seeing an increase in books, and an increase in women wanting to take more responsibility about the decisions around hormones and asking more questions," said Carol Gardner, a buyer at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, one of country’s largest independent bookstores.
Just five years ago, the store carried few menopause books; today the selection is 27 titles long. As women fathom menopause for themselves, the next frontier is the men. "Women have to educate them," said Fredi Kronenberg, a Columbia University physiologist and hot flash researcher. "Women have to be willing to talk to their husbands, their bosses, their sons,” Kronenberg said. "The myths of old have to be dispelled. Women at the age of 50 are at the peak."