We know too little about menopause, with the result that women who experience it do not always understand what is going on with them. This can lead to (mental) problems and misdiagnoses. Claudia and Remke can talk about it.
Hot flashes, but especially very violent mood swings. Looking back, Claudia Koehoorn knows: those were the first signs of the transition. But at the time, some 20 years ago, she had no idea.
Wrong diagnosis
She knew that hot flashes were part of it, but she was not familiar with the mood swings associated with crying spells. No one had told her about that. “I didn’t understand at all what was going on, I became insecure and didn’t dare to say anything at work,” says Claudia.
Because she had suffered from depression in the past, her doctor concluded that it was back. But the treatment she subsequently received for that did not help at all. “With today’s knowledge, that makes sense of course: I was not depressed, I was in menopause.”
Old gray women
The menopause, or the period around the last period, is often associated with older women. But for many people it starts in their mid-40s. Or earlier, for example, if you have had surgery for cervical cancer.
“In images accompanying a story about menopause, we always see old, gray women,” says founder Eveline Bakker of the Vuurvrouw Foundation, an interest group for women in the menopause, to which about 15,000 women are affiliated. “Then you don’t think when you’re 40: this can soon start with me too.”
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Doctors don’t always see
But that is the case and the fact that this is by no means known to everyone, can ensure that it takes years before women realize that the symptoms they are experiencing are related to the menopause. Think of muscle and joint pain, palpitations, forgetfulness and mood swings.
Doctors are also not always aware of what causes the complaints: 1 in 10 menopausal women is misdiagnosed. Burnout, depression, a slow thyroid and stress are the most common misdiagnoses.
Unnecessary drug use
Almost half of the women with a misdiagnosis are given medication for their symptoms, such as antidepressants for depressive symptoms. This while the complaints are due to the fact that they are in the menopause.
More awareness about the menopause not only helps the women who are affected by it, but also society as a whole, says Bakker. “A lot of unnecessary visits to specialists and a lot of unnecessary drug use can be prevented.”
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Culture aimed at youth
“The menopause has been a black hole for a long time and there is still too little information available about it. For example, many people do not know that it starts long before your last menstrual period,” says Bakker. According to her, this is partly because the transition is still a taboo in our society.
“The transition is associated with getting older, which of course is not wrong at all,” she emphasizes. “But Western culture is very focused on youth and vitality. On staying young and beautiful for as long as possible, especially if you are a woman.”
Talking to your mother
That should be ready at some point, says Bakker. And as far as she is concerned, that starts with education: “During biology lessons at primary and secondary schools, far too little attention is paid to the transition. Not to what happens in your body, why you get complaints, what they can look like. The same goes for menstruation, for example.”
In addition to the schools, there is also a task for parents, who should talk about it with their children so that they know what to expect for women, Claudia agrees. “In the end I started the conversation myself with my mother and then with my aunts and my elderly neighbor. I recognized so much of what they said. That helped me a lot.”
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Practical information
Remke Maris fully agrees that it is important to properly inform your children. She herself ended up going through menopause at the age of 35, after her ovaries were removed as a preventive measure. She tells her three children everything: about the fatigue, the mood swings and everything else that bothered her and sometimes still has.
“I do that consciously so that they have the right information when they get to that point themselves, or their partner at some point.” It is very difficult if you do not have that information, she also knows. “You quickly end up on sites for older women or peer groups. While I really wanted to find practical information about lifestyle, nutrition and options for treatments.”
Hope for new generation
Remke has good hopes for the new generation of women in the menopause. “My daughter, who is in high school, has extensive conversations with her friends about periods. I didn’t have that with my friends in the past. The transition may also become a topic of conversation at some point.”
And, Claudia would like to emphasize: “Although you can suffer from it, the transition is also a beautiful, natural process. After all, it means nothing more than that your body is moving to the next phase. Let’s embrace that.”
In menopause?
How can you recognize in yourself that you are in menopause? “Although symptoms differ for everyone, it always happens that you feel different at a certain moment than you felt before. That you have the idea: I am no longer myself,” says Bakker of the Vuurvrouw Foundation.
She cites the example of someone who has always exercised a lot and without any problems and suddenly suffers injuries on the assembly line. And she describes her own experiences, when she suddenly started to suffer from panic symptoms, forgetfulness and a feeling of tension. “It’s something physical, but it can also play mentally and that can be difficult, you can get the feeling that you are no longer up to scratch.”
Complaints that are common: hot flashes, irregular periods, urine leakage, night sweats and heavier periods.
Complaints that are often not recognized: insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, palpitations, weight gain and aching joints.