From Menopause Expert Ellen Dolgen: Becoming Your Own Health Advocate

 

Menopause expert Ellen Dolgen kindly let me share her article on becoming your own medical advocate. I’ve learned that many doctors fail women when it comes to menopause education, especially by not warning us of what to expect as perimenopause and menopause set in. Knowledge is indeed power. Take it away, Ellen. Thanks for sharing this post and for all you do for women everywhere!

You can’t leave your perimenopause and menopause symptoms on the kitchen counter when you leave the house.

You can’t pretend to be “fine” when you are dripping wet from a hot flash, sleepless and irritable. Your family, co- workers, loved ones, and friends know when you are not feeling well.

Here are some simple tips that will help you become your own best Health Advocate:

1. You are not alone! According to Menopause.org, “An estimated 6,000 U.S. women reach menopause every day.  That is over 2 million of us per year. In addition, more women are living beyond age 65. A women’s average life expectancy in the western world is estimated at 79. 7 years.”

2. Trust How You Feel! – You know when you don’t feel well. If you go to a healthcare provider to get menopause advice and help and your provider tells you, “You’re too young to be in menopause”, don’t sit there and accept it! Do not go home and suffer in silence.

3. Reach out and get the help you need and deserve!

• Educate yourself on perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. Be in charge of your fertility and family planning.
• Find a Menopause Specialist! This may not be the doctor who delivered your babies. This is a medical professional that has been specifically trained to help menopausal women.

• Get the proper hormone testing to measure your levels such as DHEAS, Estradiol, Free and Total Testosterone, FSH, Progesterone, Thyroid Panel, just to name a few.

• Chart your symptoms. I have worked with doctors to develop a helpful chart that will help you to quickly and accurately explain how you feel to your doctor.  You can download it here.

• Understand your options – both hormonal and non-hormonal.

• Communicate openly and honestly to your loved ones so that you can get their love and support.

• Remember, if you do not feel better, communicate that with your menopause specialist. If they are unable to help you – find another one! No divorce attorney is needed!

You CAN get the help that you need and deserve if you educate yourself.  Be proactive about your health, rather than reactive.

For more detailed support, download Ellen’s FREE eBook, MENOPAUSE MONDAYS The Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving During Perimenopause and Menopause. This is a comprehensive guide to all things menopause—tips on how to find a menopause specialist, the tests, the symptoms, treatments, and long-range effects on a woman’s health.

Ellen’s motto is:   Suffering silence is OUT!  Reaching out is IN!

Follow Ellen Dolgen on Twitter.

Like her menopause guide, Shmirshky, on Facebook.

Get the latest menopause news delivered to your inbox every week when you sign up  at www.ellendolgen.com  for Ellen’s free Menopause Mondays Newsletter!

Thank you, again, Ellen. Enjoy that adorable granddaughter!

Here’s an article that I wrote for Empowher on educating yourself about menopause. I am bonkers over this topic. It’s so darn important!

Gynecologists and Menopause Education

 

I snapped this photo in Luxembourg when Cliff and I were on our river barge adventure. The blog is never far from my mind! It’s the perfect photo to introduce a post by menopause expert Ellen Dolgen. Ellen recaps a recent study on menopause education and medical students.

More Menopause-Focused Education Required for Doctors- YES PLEASE!

By Ellen Dolgen

Despite the fact that nearly two million women every year reach menopause (that’s equivalent to 6,000 women each day), many experts agree that OB/GYN residents are not being properly prepared to address menopause-related health issues. A new study published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), however, demonstrates how adding a menopause-focused curriculum is helping residents to meet this growing challenge.

The study comes out of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where they created a two-year curriculum including lectures and labs focused on menopause and related health issues.  Between 2011 and 2013, 34 OB/GYN residents completed the menopause curriculum annually.  Prior to attending the menopause sessions, a majority of residents—78.7%–did not feel comfortable managing menopause patients.  After the two-year curriculum, a whopping 85.7% reported feeling “comfortable/very comfortable” taking care of menopause patients.

“This is a huge challenge in the medical profession,” says Dr. Wulf Utian, executive director of NAMS.  “There is a tremendous void in healthcare providers understanding the key issues being faced by pre- and post-menopausal women.  As a result, many women are not getting the treatment they need and are suffering needlessly with an array of menopause-related symptoms.

Although this was a small study sample, it provides valuable insight as to the need to provide additional menopause-focused education, and I hope that medical schools, as well as residency programs in OB/GYN, internal medicine and family practice use it as a justification to augment their current curriculums.”

The article, “Effectiveness of a 2-year menopause medicine curriculum for obstetrics and gynecology residents,” will be published in the March 2016 print edition of Menopause.

Me again: I recently wrote an article for Empowher on advocating for your own Health in Menopause.  I came on strongly in the article and included some TMI because I think the topic is so important. Read the full article here. 

Ellen’s Video: A Mother and Son Production

Three cheers for sons!

And a thousand cheers for a cool son who helps his mom, Ellen Dolgen, spread honest and up-to-date information about perimenopause and menopause.

Jack Dolgen produced Ellen’s video, a spoof that tells the truth!

Ellen explains: “I teamed up with well-known comedic writer and talent, Rachel Bloom, along with my wonderful son, songwriter and producer, Jack, to make this hilarious video educating the sisterhood on perimenopause and menopause!”

“Jack helped me find my voice,” Ellen writes. “He co-authored my book, Shmirshky: The Pursuit of Hormone Happiness, and he and Rachel Bloom created this incredible video for me!”

Thanks Jack!

Ellen Dolgen is an outspoken women’s health and wellness advocate, menopause awareness expert, author, and speaker.

After struggling through the silence that surrounds menopause, Ellen resolved to help women reach out and end the confusion, embarrassment, and less-than-lovely symptoms that come with “the change.” Her passion to be a “sister” to all women fueled Ellen’s book, Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness.

As a result of her women’s wellness journey, and in response to the overwhelming thirst of her ever-expanding audience for empowering information, Ellen’s weekly blog, Menopause Mondays^TM was born.