Menopause, Me and You will help you put menopause in proper perspective--as a normal and natural developmental process in the lives of women, not as a disorder or state that causes disease. This informative book gives you self-monitoring tools for collecting information and monitoring changes in your body during menopause. These tools will also help you understand the dynamics of the change process. A guideline as to how to best use this information when interacting with care providers--especially those who view menopause as a disorder to be treated--is also included. Menopause, Me and You is filled with information-gathering tools, scientific facts, and stories from the true “experts” on menopause--the women themselves who have experienced or are experiencing menopause. In chapter after chapter, you’ll gain valuable information for viewing menopause from a woman-centered perspective. Specifically, the book includes: detailed information on conception and fertilization, reconceptualizing these events from a woman-centered, feminist perspective a description and reconceptualization of the menstrual cycle and menstruation, providing the knowledge base--the physiological, endrocrinological, and biochemical mechanisms that regulate the menstrual cycle and menstruation--to understand menopause as the closure of menstrual life and not the end of life a journey into the steroid hormone target cell--shows, at a scientific level, that women were genetically programmed to end the production of reproductive hormones a description and clarification of some of the terms used to describe menopause common menopausal changes and diseases attributed to being estrogen-deficient tools for gathering information, for “discovering knowledge,” about yourself--a menstrual calendar card, hot flash body diagrams, a basal body temperature record, a body composition record, a menstrual bleeding scale, and factors to consider when choosing a care provider The women who share their experiences in Menopause, Me and You represent women at various stages of menopause. They describe for you what they are feeling as well as what it means to be a mid-life woman at the closure of reproductive life; they celebrate the end of menstruation but curse the changes--including mood swings, hot flashes, and vaginal/bleeding changes--they are experiencing. These changes are normal and expected, however, and need to be understood in that context. They are not symptoms of disease or an excuse for care providers to instantly prescribe hormones or drugs. With the information in Menopause, Me and You, women nearing or experiencing menopause, health care providers, such as nurses, health educators, and physicians, and counselors will better understand how women view this transition and come to accept it as another normal, necessary, and beautiful process in the lives of women.

Arguing that giving estrogen replacement therapy to women after menopause is medically the wrong thing to do, Lee suggests that natural progesterone can prevent most of the unpleasant side effects of menopause, including osteoporosis and weight gain.

Menopause, Me and You will help you put menopause in proper perspective--as a normal and natural developmental process in the lives of women, not as a disorder or state that causes disease. This informative book gives you self-monitoring tools for collecting information and monitoring changes in your body during menopause. These tools will also help you understand the dynamics of the change process. A guideline as to how to best use this information when interacting with care providers--especially those who view menopause as a disorder to be treated--is also included. Menopause, Me and You is filled with information-gathering tools, scientific facts, and stories from the true “experts” on menopause--the women themselves who have experienced or are experiencing menopause. In chapter after chapter, you’ll gain valuable information for viewing menopause from a woman-centered perspective. Specifically, the book includes: detailed information on conception and fertilization, reconceptualizing these events from a woman-centered, feminist perspective a description and reconceptualization of the menstrual cycle and menstruation, providing the knowledge base--the physiological, endrocrinological, and biochemical mechanisms that regulate the menstrual cycle and menstruation--to understand menopause as the closure of menstrual life and not the end of life a journey into the steroid hormone target cell--shows, at a scientific level, that women were genetically programmed to end the production of reproductive hormones a description and clarification of some of the terms used to describe menopause common menopausal changes and diseases attributed to being estrogen-deficient tools for gathering information, for “discovering knowledge,” about yourself--a menstrual calendar card, hot flash body diagrams, a basal body temperature record, a body composition record, a menstrual bleeding scale, and factors to consider when choosing a care provider The women who share their experiences in Menopause, Me and You represent women at various stages of menopause. They describe for you what they are feeling as well as what it means to be a mid-life woman at the closure of reproductive life; they celebrate the end of menstruation but curse the changes--including mood swings, hot flashes, and vaginal/bleeding changes--they are experiencing. These changes are normal and expected, however, and need to be understood in that context. They are not symptoms of disease or an excuse for care providers to instantly prescribe hormones or drugs. With the information in Menopause, Me and You, women nearing or experiencing menopause, health care providers, such as nurses, health educators, and physicians, and counselors will better understand how women view this transition and come to accept it as another normal, necessary, and beautiful process in the lives of women.

Written with an uncompromising intelligence and wit by two award-winning "Newsweek" journalists, this volume is the essential, comprehensive, up-to-the-minute, deeply optimistic book for the millions of women in their 40s-to-60s.

"Very readable, comprehensive, up-to-date... an excellent guide." - Isaac Schiff, MD, Harvard Medical School Deeply optimistic, reassuring, and essential, the book the North American Menopause Society called “required reading” is now revised and updated, with over 20 percent new material that incorporates the latest medical findings, cutting-edge research, and best-practices advice. Expertly separating fact from fiction in the latest “breakthrough” medical studies, it shows you what to pay attention to, and what you can ignore. Learn about the role of hormones and the latest advances in hormone therapy. The truth about hot flashes and how to deal with getting one at work. The impact of menopause on sexuality and how to manage an up-and-down libido. There are chapters on heart health (how to protect it), moods (how to ride them out), and exercise (how to stretch without strain). And finally, why this period of life can be a natural springboard to staying healthy, feeling great, and looking beautiful for the next act of your life. Your Questions, Your Answers: Is it possible that I could get another period after more than a year without one? Losing weight at midlife feels like an uphill battle—what’s the healthiest approach? How do I perform a breast self-exam? Is hormone therapy necessary—and if so, which one is right for me? How effective are Kegel exercises, and how do I do them? I’m starting to get adult acne—is this normal?

Women have always struggled with the idea of how much better life would be if they had a better body, a better exercise routine, a better life. This can make it difficult for women to grasp that aging is both a normal and natural part of life. With over 40 years of experience working as an obstetrician gynecologist (OBGYN), Dr. Heather Johnson is equipped with the knowledge to help women of all ages mature gracefully. In What They Don’t Tell You About Menopause, Dr. Johnson discusses the various stages of menopause and what to expect throughout this natural aspect of life for women. From perimenopause to postmenopause, and everything in between, this book will be your guide through this daunting period of womanhood.