Why women should seek medical intervention during perimenopausal period –Experts

Health experts have urged middle-aged women to seek medical intervention once they enter the perimenopausal years, noting that the period often comes with many changes to their system.

The experts noted that while women usually seek medical help for changes they observe once they enter the menopause period, their lack of awareness about the need to pay attention to changes that occur during the perimenopausal years is not right.

According to the experts, women should be concerned about the state of their health in the years that lead up to the end of their menstruation, noting that they wrongly interpret certain changes that often start occurring without the help and assistance of a medical expert.

According to a recent article published online by Mayo Clinic – a medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research, perimenopause means “around menopause” and refers to the time during which the woman’s body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. Perimenopause is also called the menopausal transition.

“Women start perimenopause at different ages. You may notice signs of progression toward menopause, such as menstrual irregularity, sometime in your 40s. But some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s,” the Mayo Clinic article noted.

A 2020 study published in the International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research titled: ‘Prevalence of Menopausal Symptoms and its Effect on Quality of Life among Rural Middle-Aged Women (40–60 Years) of Haryana, India’ found that “out of the 400 women that participated in the study, a majority of the study subjects had anxiety (80%), followed by physical and mental exhaustion (71.5%), sleep problem (61.2%), irritability (60.7%), Joint and muscular discomfort (56%) and heart problems (54%).

“The most classical symptom of menopause i.e., hot flushes was reported in 36.7%.”

Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. Faye Iketubosin said that it is important for women to visit a medical expert once they reach their perimenopausal period.

Iketubosin, who is an ex-president of the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health in Nigeria said, “When you are talking about menopause, it means when the period stops but the symptoms that the woman gets starts before the period stops, that is called the perimenopause.

“The perimenopause is the more important phase because that’s when women have symptoms”

He stated that this significant phase can usually start in the 40s, especially from the mid-forties onward.

The fertility expert explained that “before a woman’s period stops, the woman will start experiencing hot flashes, sweats, irritability, and others while they are still having their period.

“Their periods at that time may be regular or irregular,” he said

Women, he said, should pay attention to these symptoms as they are indicative that a woman is about to enter menopause age.

“Once you start having those symptoms, it is indicated that in a few years the period will stop,” he stressed.

Due to how the symptoms may present or even differ among women, Iketubosin advised that women should see a gynaecologist who would assess their symptoms and then advise the best form of therapy to ameliorate their symptoms.

This, he said, is also dependent on their medical history.

Speaking in the same vein with PUNCH HealthWise, a registrar of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Uyo, Dr. Udeme Dennis, urged women in their 40s not to be ignorant of how they suddenly start feeling as those could be signs of the woman entering their perimenopausal stage.

Women, she noted, need to be psychologically prepared for this phase as it is commonly and wrongly attributed to stress.

She said, “It is very important that women know about the perimenopausal stage because a woman needs to prepare psychologically and that’s the main preparation a woman needs to do before entering menopause because some women enter menopause without being prepared.

“They must have heard perimenopause but they don’t know what it entails and even during the stage they might think it’s normal that they are going through some stress, that’s why some women will tell you, ‘It’s just stress, my period isn’t flowing as it should’ so it is important women are aware of this stage and the symptoms that come with it.”