Cecile Chioco:
This morning, we’re going to talk about a condition that many women have that is often misdiagnosed. It is called perimenopause. These are the six to ten years before menopause actually begins when a woman suffer from things like irritability, sleep disturbances and depression. But help is available by way of an online women’s health magazine called HotFlash. And joining us is Sue Spataro, RN editor of HotFlash. Good Morning Sue.
Sue Spataro:
Thank you for having me, Cecil.

Cecile:
Let’s get things very clear, at what age do you actually go through menopause?

Sue:
The average age in the country is 51, but I found through my support group that many women go through it earlier and they don’t realize it, because they expect menopause to occur at 51, but there are plenty of women going through perimenopause anywhere from after 30 years olds and up.

Cecile:
Are the symptoms of perimenopause going to be similar to menopause?

Sue:
Yes, they are going to be very similar. In fact, the symptoms of perimenopause are often more severe and more intense than for menopause. The sleeping disturbance, the irritability mood swings and changes in a woman’s periods are usually more pronounced than even in menopause.

Cecile:
You know, this is obviously a big deal for women if there is a whole website devoted to it, How is that website helping women get through this stage.

Sue:
Well, I started this over a year ago, www.hotgals.org and I created an online magazine called HotFlash. We talk about all different kinds of women’s healthcare issues and right now we are focusing on perimenopause and it has helped a tremendous number of women and over the last year we have had over a thousand members of our support group and thousands of women have visited the website to learn information about what they can do. And what they’ll find there is ways they can take care of themselves to feel better and questions to ask their doctors.

Cecile:
There are a lot effects emotionally and I suppose it helps women deal with this.

Sue:
Yes, the support is tremendous. I literally talk with hundreds of women every day. The one thing that I hear all of the time is "Thank goodness, I have a place to go so at least I can talk about it. I feel like I’m a little vulnerable and a little crazy. I try to talk to my husband and he thinks I’m just having a hard day. I try to talk to the people at work and they thing I’m just having a hard day. But there are real physical changes going on here.



Cecile:
You mentioned something very important here. They try to talk to their husbands and they don’t understand. Is this group open to men?

Sue:
Oh, yes, I encourage men to come and it;s really easy. And the can bone up and get up to speed and this will help very much. Even with all of the physical symptoms, even just knowing what is wrong with them will help tremendously. It will help their relationships with their partners and husbands.

Cecile: Thank you for being here Sue
Sue: Thank you for having me.

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