7 Common Misconceptions About Perimenopause

Perimenopause is a stage of life where your body prepares for the end of menstruation. It usually begins around age 40 and lasts until menopause, which typically occurs between ages 45 to 55. Perimenopause can cause many changes in your body that you might not be aware of if you're experiencing them for the first time.

Perimenopause Falsehoods And Myths

Being a woman isn’t easy. Our bodies go through tremendous changes throughout our entire lives, but it's important to know that there are many misconceptions about what these processes mean for you as an individual and how they can affect both your life trajectory in general terms to fertility because some women experience declines while others don't even notice any difference.

Being female often comes along the way more than its fair share of challenges so much so that sometimes we might not always recognize the truth right away when someone else tells us something inaccurate like believing menstrual bleeding means girls cannot become mothers - which just goes without saying that is not the case. Some women are still having to need perimenopausal supplements or vitamins for menopause because maybe they feel fine enough as it is but this isn’t always true. Although many people experience no noticeable changes during this transitional stage, so it's just another thing to add to the long list of misbeliefs that circulate in society about issues related to being female which can be very confusing and frustrating at times depending on what your situation might be. Here are the 7 most common misconceptions about perimenopause:

1. Perimenopause lasts about a year so I should just put up with the symptoms.

Perimenopause is the period during which your body prepares for menopause, or when you stop having periods. The average age at onset is 51 years old, but some women begin perimenopause in their 40s and others, not until 60. It can last anywhere from two to eight years on average so you must find a doctor who understands this stage of life and knows how to support you through it.

2. Perimenopause is going to be devastating.

Perimenopause is a process. It doesn’t just happen overnight and it will not be as bad as you think. When perimenopausal symptoms are too severe, some treatments come to help manage those symptoms. You do not have to suffer through this challenging time alone, talk to your doctor about ways to control the hormonal changes going on in your body during perimenopause.

3. If my periods are erratic, I can’t get pregnant.

The truth is that irregular periods are common during perimenopause. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot get pregnant anymore. If your menstrual cycles are erratic but you have not gone one year without having a period, then the chance of getting pregnant again remains high.

4. All women in perimenopause get hot flashes and night sweats.

Only about 20 to 30 percent of women do. The rest may experience a few hot flashes or none at all. If you have night sweats that disrupt your sleep and affect the quality of your life, talk with your healthcare provider about treatment options. Depending on how severe they are, these symptoms can be treated with hormone therapy medications such as estrogen-containing birth control pills (for postmenopausal women), vaginal creams, or rings for localized relief from menopause symptoms in premenopausal women, or other non-estrogen treatments.

5. My body will stop producing hormones during perimenopause.

It is completely natural to think that your body will stop producing hormones during perimenopause. After all, most of us associate menopause with the end of menstruation and fertility. However, this is simply not true. While ovulation does slow down significantly in women who are entering into perimenopause (the transitional stage before actual menopausal status), estrogen production still occurs for most women, if it didn’t, they would suffer from extreme hot flashes or vaginal dryness.

6. Hormone replacement therapy is dangerous.

Hormone replacement therapy is often prescribed to women in perimenopause. The hormones used are estrogen and progesterone which create balance in the woman's body during this time of fluctuating hormones. Some may believe that hormone replacement therapy can be dangerous for a woman, however, it has been found that there are many benefits to taking these medications if they are taken correctly by someone who has already had children.

 7. All women should be concerned about perimenopause.

All women should not be concerned about perimenopause. There are many symptoms that one may go through, but if they do not need to worry is different for everyone. Going through perimenopause does not mean that the body will shut down completely and no longer function properly. Women who experience any of these symptoms can talk with their doctor or check out other resources like this website so they know what might happen during perimenopause and how to handle it. Knowing more information about your changes allows you to live a healthier life plan than just assuming something bad will happen because you heard someone else say so.

With these misconceptions and myths about perimenopause, it can be hard to know what’s true. The information we provide will help you get a better understanding of how this stage in life works so that you can make informed decisions about hormone replacement therapy or other treatment options. We want to answer all of your questions and help ease any confusion surrounding perimenopause so you can live comfortably during this transformative time.