If you’re in your late 30s and wondering, “Is something changing?”... you’re probably right.
On The Tamsen Show, Dr. Mary Claire Haver made it clear: perimenopause often starts long before your period stops.
Statistically, the average age of menopause in the U.S. is 51. The hormonal transition, perimenopause, can begin 7 to 10 years earlier. That means it is “completely reasonable for someone in their late 30s, certainly early 40s,” to begin noticing symptoms, according to Dr. Haver.
She points to the Greene Climacteric Scale, a decades-old diagnostic tool that assesses symptoms like dry skin, brain fog, urinary changes, and mental health shifts, signs that can show up years before a missed period.
The problem? Most women don’t know what to look for. And worse, most doctors weren’t trained to look for it either. In a recent study, less than 8% of medical residents felt prepared to treat menopause or perimenopause.
Dr. Haver’s advice? Pay attention to how you feel, especially if you’ve lost your resilience or don't “feel like yourself.” That’s not just burnout, it could be perimenopause.
If you’re asking these questions, don’t ignore them. Listen to this episode of The Tamsen Show for next steps, hormone therapy options, and expert-backed tools.
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