For too long, women have been blindsided by midlife changes they were never warned about. On The Tamsen Show, Dr. Heather Hirsch, a board-certified internist and menopause expert, urged that waiting until you're “falling apart” is far too late.
“Perimenopause is when your body starts sending clues,” Dr. Hirsch explained. “If we wait until you're not sleeping, having brain fog, and questioning your marriage, we've missed the window.”
Dr. Hirsch recommends starting perimenopause education in your mid-to-late 30s, especially after childbearing. Her vision? A world where every woman has a “menopause assessment” around age 38, just like we do for mammograms or colonoscopies.
What are the signs to look for? Mood swings, hot flashes, hair thinning, and irregular periods may all be early indicators. “It’s not about being reactive, it’s about getting ahead of it,” Dr. Hirsch said on the show.
And yes, she’s lived it too. “Even though I teach this daily, when I had my first hot flashes, I thought I was just sick,” she shared.
If you're unsure what stage you're in, journaling your symptoms and tracking your periods can help. And while labs like FSH may be helpful if you’re not getting a period, clinical symptoms are what matter most.
Want to learn more about when perimenopause starts, why it's so often misdiagnosed, and what to do now? Listen to this episode of The Tamsen Show.
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