Dr. Prudence Hall: What Nobody Is Telling You About Menopause

So why do you think right now people are starting to talk more in the media about perimenopause and menopause? 'Cause I feel like for so long-

Ah

...

it was, like, this taboo topic that nobody wanted to talk about.

Holly, for four decades, I have been pushing this field forward, forward, talking.

I was on Oprah, all these shows, and no one was really that interested in it.

I think that as a nation, as a country, we tend not to veer towards anything that might be private or sexual.

Mm-hmm.

And I would say this tipped about maybe seven, eight years ago, when suddenly everyone is interested.

Oh, thank goodness, because it is such an important topic for women.

It is.

Do you think there's something, too, about, you know, being women, we never wanna admit when we're getting older-

Ah

... 'cause we feel like our value's going down, so let's just not talk about it? [laughs]

Uh, this value going down thing is very much, uh, I think, in women's minds.

Mm-hmm.

Younger, richer, prettier.

Um, yeah, and we, we wanna put our best foot forward, whatever that foot might be, or our best image forward.

So i- it's been tabu- uh, taboo, and sadly, because women suffer s- just so greatly.

And what is perimenopause, for those who don't know?

Okay, so perimenopause starts in our late 30s, early 40s at the latest, and it's when our estrogen levels are normally here-

Mm-hmm

... and they go down to there.

Yeah.

Now, menopause is 44 to 48, maybe 49 if we're lucky, and it's when there's no estrogen, and estrogen, it's a very big player in our lives.