Menopause schmenopause

Your weekend roundup of hopefully helpful things

Photo by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash

The more you know the more you don’t know. That’s been true for almost any ‘beat’ I’ve taken on in life, from Ottawa City Hall to midlife and menopause. In a recent WhatsApp chat, women’s health expert and author Lara Briden expressed her frustration at how confused we all seem to be on the basic matter of what to call things.

And why it’s important that we name them correctly.

I couldn’t agree more, or think of a better topic to share with you during the first Perimenpause Awareness Month. And I guess considering 10 years ago I didn’t know what perimenopause was, it’s not surprising that we are still sorting this stuff out.

Here’s Lara:

Menopause — also called post-menopause— is the life phase that begins one year after the final period or cycle.

Perimenopause is the two to 10 years leading up to menopause or post-menopause. In other words, the time of transition leading up to the one year after the final period.

The menopause transition means exactly t…