Menopause Pain – More Than Just Menopause? And How Race Factors In.
How do you tell where the pain is coming from? How do you know that it’s more than just menopause?
If you have a dismissive doctor, like Ms. Fogle below, a more serious conditions can be overlooked during menopause, which can last between 0 and 20 years.
My research on pain associated with menopause went in many different directions and it led me to race and women of color, therefore, this needed to be addressed.
And while we are all women in this, women of color get treated differently. We may all experience menopause symptoms and menopause pain, but we experience them all quite differently and we are all treated differently in the process.
Read the whole article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/well/live/menopause-symptoms-women-of-color.html
How Menopause Affects Women of Color
“Symptoms can be more severe than they are for white women and last longer. Doctors don’t always realize this.”
“When I said to him, ‘I think I’m starting menopause,’ he laughed out loud as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard,” Ms. Fogle said. “Not only that, he literally called his nurse in and said, ‘Can you believe this woman?’ Like I wasn’t even in the room.”
“For women of color, though, the transition can be even more complicated. Research has found that the duration, the frequency, the severity and even the types of symptoms can look different across races.”
“When women of color seek out care, they often encounter physicians who aren’t aware of those differences and aren’t fully equipped to help them navigate the transition. That can feel like a dismissal of their concerns — a familiar experience for women of color at the doctor. The consequences can be stark: Some unmanaged menopause symptoms are associated with an elevated risk of long-term chronic diseases, like coronary heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases. They also can translate into years of discomfort that affect a person’s mental health and quality of life.”
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So, if doctors that treat menopause are dismissive to their patients that are women of color, do you think those doctors are concerned about their pain? I don’t.
This goes back to my article on Menopause and a Heart Attack. There is no book on this that can describe accurately and definitively what symptoms come with menopause and how they make us feel. They can only give us generalizations.
What if this pain is more serious than menopause pain?
What if our lower back pain is not menopause but one of these?
· Muscle or ligament strain.
· Bulging or ruptured disks.
· Arthritis.
· Osteoporosis.
“New Heart Sensations - Chest tightness, a new awareness of your heartbeat, or the sensation of heart skipping or racing, can occur in perimenopause and menopause. “There are estrogen receptors throughout the body, including the heart,” Jeffers says. “When estrogen levels fluctuate and withdraw from cardiac tissue, it can cause palpitations.
New heart sensations at the time of menopause may be related to the changing estrogen levels, or something else. Don’t ignore them. A woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease can increase starting at age 50, so it’s important to see a doctor and explain what you’re feeling. Testing or a referral to a cardiologist may be needed to determine the cause.”
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AND...
What about leg cramps? It could be one of these and not just menopause:Muscle strains, varicose veins, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, sciatica, or restless leg syndrome.
Women need to stand up for themselves to get treated fairly, without condemnation for their race, and with respect from their doctors. It can be so much harder for women of color than white women and white women have an obligation to stand up for ALL women so we can ALL be treated fairly and with respect by our doctors.
I’d love to be your patient advocate. I want to be your ally. I do not say this lightly.
Quote these articles to your doctors and MAKE THEM LISTEN. Read my blog about The Dismissiveness of Doctors.
It has taken me MONTHS to get my insurance company and their doctors to listen to what I needed. Many letters have been sent to customer service. FINALLY, they got me one (1) orthopedist that specializes in Sports Medicine. Originally, they wanted me to see SIX different orthopedists, one for each issue. I was flabbergasted. I want to know if some of this stuff can be replaced...what are the new therapies...If there is nothing that can help with the pain, I could have no choice but to enlist a pain pill now and then. I’m quite happy with 800mg of ibuprofen every few months as necessary but getting addicted to NOT feeling pain is something I am truly scared of.
Stand up for yourselves. If you need motivation, I am here for you.
I hope I have addressed this issue in a respectable manner.
Mahalo.