The Nu Guide: Menopause For Men
If you’re a man and you’re reading this, welcome, and well done for being interested. If you know a man who would find this useful or if it would help you explain what you’re going through as a woman, we encourage you to share this article with him.
Menopause is the number one reason that we created Nu Balm. It’s something that all women go through and if you’re a male with a woman or women who are close to you (partners, spouses, mothers, daughters, friends), then we think it’s a great idea for you to know what’s going on and how you can support the wāhine (women) in your life.
What is menopause?
By definition, menopause is the time in a woman’s life after they have had their last period. It’s the body’s way of wrapping up the reproductive function, and it’s driven by hormones.
The hormones responsible for menstrual cycles are estrogen and progesterone. It’s when the levels of these naturally occurring hormones start to change that menopausal symptoms occur.
The time in the lead up to a women’s final period is referred to as perimenopause. The symptoms experienced during this time can affect women at any age and although the typical age of menopause is around 50 years old, women can start to experience transition symptoms as early as their mid thirties.
There is no one neat definition of how a woman will experience these symptoms. Every woman is affected differently, by a unique combination of symptoms, over varying periods of time. The general advice that we give our customers and patients is: if you feel like something is not quite right, see a health professional.
For this reason, the best approach to understanding and navigation a woman’s transition through perimenopause into menopause is learning and communicating.
What are the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause?
Here are 34 possible symptoms of menopause transition (listed alphabetically):
Acne
Allergies
Anxiety
Breast soreness
Brittle nails
Burning mouth
Changes in taste
Digestive changes
Decreased libido
Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Dizzy spells
Electric shock sensations
Fatigue
Headaches
Hot flashes
Irregular heartbeat
Irregular periods
Irritability
Itchiness
Joint pain
Memory lapses
Mood changes
Muscle tension and aches
Night sweats
Osteoporosis
Panic disorder
Recurring UTIs
Sleep disturbance
Stress incontinence
Thinning hair
Tinnitus
Vaginal dryness
Weight gain
That’s a long list of symptoms that may or may not happen! If you’d like to read the full list including a description and/or reason for each symptom, please refer to The Nu Guide: The many symptoms of menopause.
We need to remember that these symptoms can come and go, their severity may depend on other factors, and they may increase incrementally over time in such a way that it becomes more difficult to identify because women may have adjusted to cope with changes over time.
This is why it’s incredibly important to keep communicating with the important woman in your life, especially if you have an intimate and/or sexual relationship with one.
Our 5 tips to help navigate this important transition:
Don’t bottle things up. Acknowledge changes as they happen and don’t shy away from tackling them. Be aware of what’s going on and try not to think that your wife or partner has gone crazy or lost her interest in you. Be interested and ask questions.
Communication. Regular and open communication is key. Be brave and be honest with your partner. Tell her how you’re feeling and what you’re noticing. Try to learn about things together. Women don’t always want you to solve a problem, sometimes listening is enough.
Attend appointments together. Consider going to appointments with doctors, gynaecologists or other health professionals together so that you can both hear information being shared and ask questions together. It might also be easier to start difficult conversations with a health professional present.
Keep checking in. Women may spend 50% of their lives in perimenopause and menopause, so it’s vital that the conversations continue to happen so you know how things are going. For example if there are other big changes going on like older children leaving home or a career change, things might feel overwhelming.
Don’t kiss your sex life goodbye. Many symptoms can affect a woman’s ability and desire to have sex, but it doesn’t mean it’s off the cards forever. Talk to each other about other ways you could be intimate, and talk about what you’re missing. Be aware that how you have sex, and how often, may change.
You’ve probably noticed that communication is the number one theme here. It’s true that when two people in an intimate relationship are able to communicate clearly and openly on a regular basis, they stay close and grow through the natural stages of life together.
A special thanks to Dr Pelle Kempe, consultant gynaecologist based in Manawatū and a colleague of our resident expert gynaecologist, Dr Olivia Smart. Dr Kempe is from Sweden and has a PhD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with a focus on female sex hormones.
