Perimenopause vs menopause: what’s the difference? Plus, listeners share their experiences
Drive with Thando hears listeners experiences with perimenopause and menopause.
947’s Drive with Thando speaks with medical doctor Dr. Simone Silver.
Listen below:
A study in the US found that South Asian American women experience menopause on average between the ages of 48 and 49, while the general population usually experiences it around 52.
There are two stages of menopause – perimenopause and postmenopause.
According to Healthline, it refers to the official end of a female's menstrual or reproductive cycle.
Perimenopause is the transitional phase during which you can experience hormonal changes and symptoms such as changes in your menstrual cycle, hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood swings.
“Perimenopause can be a lot trickier to navigate than menopause.”
– Dr Simone Silver, medical doctor
Menopause happens when you stop menstruating completely because the ovaries produce so little estrogen that eggs are no longer released.
Silver says doctors often diagnose menopause once you haven’t had a period for a full year, but it isn’t realistic.
“Who waits 12 months?... The reality is when we’re symptomatic and our periods are becoming irregular, we need to go and get tested, see our doctor and get treated.”
– Dr Simone Silver, medical doctor
947’s listeners share their experiences…
“I am 44 now, but I went into perimenopause when I was 38 due to chemotherapy.”
– 947 listener
“I was perimenopausal at the age of 38, but my reason was I had fibroids in my womb but at the time I actually didn’t know, so I would ignore the signs… Eventually, I went to the doctor and he said, ‘Oh my word, you have fibroids the size of a tennis ball’… so I has a hysterectomy so I was happy.”
– 947 listener
“I was 39 years old, just started a new relationship and I was horrified that I was pregnant… my doctor said do you want the good news or the bad news… the good news is you’re not pregnant but the bad news is you’re going through menopause… well that was good news for me.”
– 947 listener
“I just turned 51 and I am going through it for the second time now, which is absolutely unheard of… I started going into the first batch of perimenopause at 38… I comfortably reached over it at 44 and I was fine… [while on a hormone patch] I started bleeding again… and the gynae took one look…my ovaries are working so now I’ve just finished a second round of perimenopause.”
– 947 listener
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion