Naomi Watts’ cause célèbre is menopause. Since that’s near and dear to my heart, her efforts interest me a great deal. Naomi’s current push is to get people talking about menopause as if it was – wait for it – a perfectly normal thing. What a revolutionary thought. I love her latest approach. Naomi partnered with Em & Friends on a line of funny menopause greeting cards. Proceeds from the cards will raise money for the Alliance for Period Supplies, which helps to provide period essentials to low-income individuals and families. In her interview with Entertainment Weekly, Naomi discusses her inspiration behind the cards, proper menopause card etiquette and why discussion is so important.
On how the menopause card happened: Well, the artist has been around for a while, and so we joined forces with her. We thought it was a great way to get the community going. If you open that door just a little bit, you’ll be surprised by how many people are really ready to talk about [menopause]. Humor diffuses awkwardness and pain — we know that to be true already. And certainly, that was how I saw the vision of the brand. It had to have humor. We want it to be a place that people come and bitch and moan and have real feelings but also laugh at ourselves and make it somehow more bearable.
On menopause card giving etiquette, especially if to women not having symptoms yet: Just say, “Well, soon you will!” [Laughs] Half the population will be going through menopause [at some point]. The mission of the brand is to end the stigma, and get rid of the confusion and the mystery, and to debunk myths. We want to get it as normalized as we possibly can because we’re living longer. We live decades after menopause, which is not the case of how it used to be. It really has to become an open conversation.
On recognizing changes: I was having a terrible skin issue on a show [I was working on]. I just thought I was allergic to the makeup or something. I kept changing products and removing things. I got into a conversation with my makeup artist, and we finally figured out that this is what it must be, that the change of hormones [was affecting my skin]. Luckily, she was the same age as me, so we could discuss it. But if she was in her twenties or something, it might have made me uncomfortable. It might have made her uncomfortable.
So that was the biggest thing that affected me in the workplace. Also, brain fog is a big thing. You have to have a really sharp memory when you’re being given pages of dialogue every day, sometimes only the night before. And that can be a scary thing because it’s like, “Wait, I always used to have a handle on this, and now suddenly it’s a whole lot harder.”
“Just say, “Well, soon you will!”” This is what I love about what Naomi is doing. Menopause is a health issue. And like breastfeeding and postpartum issues, they’re normal health issues, but if no one ever told you what to expect, they’re scary as hell when they happen. It’s important to anticipate them, not be reassured after months of fretting that something is seriously wrong. That’s why I encourage these topics being brought up more casually. Because even if a young woman is years away from them now, when they happen to her, she’ll understand what’s going on. And I think humor is a great way to normalize it. These greeting cards are a nice way to connect. I bought two already. I love the cause they supports, too. I can send them to anyone because everyone knows I’m in menopause. The only person who ever bristled at my mentioning it was my father. And his comment was about how jarring it was to hear his youngest child was in that stage of life, not the menopause itself. Even my kids talk about it with a shoulder shrug.
This is not menopause related but I had no idea Naomi was appearing in season two of Feud. More importantly, I had no idea season two of Feud was Babe Paley and Truman Capote. I was just reading the IMDb cast and it’s incredible. The remaining Swans are Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny and Molly Ringwald. OMG, I am going to eat this up with a g-d spoon!
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- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – SEPTEMBER 09: Actress Naomi Watts poses at a New York Fashion Week 2021 kickoff event held at the Empire State Building on September 9, 2021 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 631483447, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Naomi Watts, Credit line: Jordan Hinton / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – SEPTEMBER 09: Actress Naomi Watts poses at a New York Fashion Week 2021 kickoff event held at the Empire State Building on September 9, 2021 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 631483560, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Naomi Watts, Credit line: Jordan Hinton / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Naomi Watts Sighting In NYC Tribeca. Featuring: Naomi Watts Where: New York, New York, United States When: 03 Oct 2022 Credit: Janet Mayer/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
Photo credit: Instagram, Avalon Red an Cover Images
It offends me that it needs a gorgeous celeb to discuss it. I’m never going to look 1/10th of her. I’m 10 years post. Lost tons of hair, gained 20kg. Mood /relationship crap., lost those. I also had to leave my work because it was so hard, with thinking /memory I could no longer work. So I’m poor. The migraines started and that was two weeks a month gone. I appreciate her saying stuff but she’s so fucking priveleged, she’ll never get my meno trauma. I mran6i can barely live financially and she’ll never even imagine my life. She’s rich and beautiful
I am sorry Old Chick. I really wish you the best… hugs.
The brain fog! I’ve been sailing through perimenopause until the brain fog. I’ve always had an extremely sharp memory, and lately I can’t remember a thing. It is rather scary.
Literally was just sitting here trying to remember an online password that I has just looked at five minutes ago and thinking, wtf I never used to have these memory issue before, in fact everyone always commented on how I could remember everything. It’s really jarring and upsetting.
It is very scary. In my profession, the state licensing board has a program to support members who are having substance abuse issues or issues related to cognitive decline due to age. And over the last couple of years, I’ve been hit hard with brain fog. So at our last meeting, when they were talking about cognitive decline and all the services available, I was just like “what about menopause? I think if we’re talking about cognitive decline, there should be more information regarding menopause and brain fog. Because it’s a thing.” Thankfully, the presenter was a woman and agreed with me and we had a good discussion about it. But it really needs to be talked about more openly. I think every woman has heard about hot flashes from women in older generations. But that’s really the only menopause related side effect that is talked about in the mainstream. When I was having trouble remembering things and losing my mental sharpness, I seriously thought I was suffering from early onset dementia or something similar.
The brain fog is the f*ing worst. I also just started a new demanding role at my work, and it’s so hard emotionally to not be on top of things and as quick as I used to be. Bad days and good, and all I can do is give myself grace for the bad ones.
I’m young(er) too for this, 42. So maybe *the change* will happen soon, or maybe I’ll suffer through this for another 10 years or so. Yippee.
I thought I was so prepared because my hippie mother spoke openly about her menopause experience – and then I got slammed with perimenopause! There’s 5-10 years of changes BEFORE menopause when your periods get longer and closer together and pms gets worse?? A heads up would have been great on that…
Yup, right there with you. I used to have very regular but spaced out periods but now…. I feel like I’m on the rag all the time. I’m taking iron supplements because I loose so much blood. Sorry TMI.
Not TMI. I think normalizing talking about periods is something that needs to happen. Has your doctor ordered an ultrasound to look for fibroids? Every body is different, but for years, I was complaining of increasingly heavy periods. So heavy, simply leaving my house became a source of anxiety. Repeatedly, doctors told me it was hormones. “Oh, that just happens as you get older.” I was in my early 30s when it started. After about 6 years, I finally found a doctor who listened and acted. Turned out I had so many fibroids, my uterus was four times the size it should have been.
This! And when it did hit me, my mother wouldn’t even talk with me about it. I never thought she was embarrassed about this kind of thing before, but apparently perimenopause is too much for her. Luckily, there is the internet, and older friends who will discuss it with me.
My main issue is sleep. Some nights, I just plain can’t. It doesn’t matter how tired I am. I’m not anxious or anything. Sleep sometimes simply refuses to happen.
@ Emily c – I can fall asleep but can’t stay asleep. I’ve always been an early riser but starting my day at 3 am is exhausting and leaves me completely wiped in the evenings.
I have embraced napping as much as I can. On the plus side, naps seem to work better for me these days than they used to. I would still rather sleep through the night.
@twin falls, I have the same issues. I fall asleep so early and then wake up at like 1am and can’t get back to sleep. I’m exhausted pretty much all the time though no matter how much sleep I get.
YES!!! My mother didn’t/will not talk about it. Partially because her menopause was so strange – she was going through treatments for breast cancer at the same time she was going through menopause and couldn’t really tell what were side effects of chemo/radiation and what was menopause. 20+ years later, it’s still a taboo subject for her.
The best information/conversations I have about menopause are with the women who were my college roommates 30+ years ago. The four of us (and one of our wives) are all going through it at the same time. Conversations about hot flashes in the middle of teaching a class and “I think I slept better when the twins were infants” should be sitcom material.
My mother was sympathetic, but couldn’t really empathize since she sailed through menopause – no brain fog, no hot flashes, both of which I got in spades. I’m left with balding patches in my formerly thick hair, periodic depression and a “menopot” that no amount of dieting or exercise will shrink. If there is a Supreme Being, they are definitely not female.
Im in my mid 40s. Brain fog is so new to me, I start sentences and cant find the next word to finish my line. My head and mouth used to be a walking dictionary. I speak a few languages and sometimes the right word comes out in the wrong language :/
Same here. It’s frustrating and a bit scary
Yes! I’ve been noticing that recently and I wasn’t sure if it was just the stresses and strains of everything we’ve been living through in the last couple of years. I’m 44 next month and talking to a friend who’s slightly older and definitely in perimenopause and I started to wonder. I also have a (slightly younger) friend who’s in menopause due to drugs she’s on post breast cancer treatment and that’s been enlightening.
Here’s to more of these conversations.
I’ve recently (by way of clapped adrenal glands) experienced a raft of peri symptoms (even though so far, I am actually not) and a peri diagnosis that was erroneous. It has been EYE opening. Having not yet had kids, am delighted I am not there yet, but it has been so tough. I know my Mum suffered few symptoms but it is so variable and as women in the UK we are not taught diddly squat at school. The UK and the NHS (long may she reign) has introduced legal stipulation to protect women in the workplace (so you don’t lose your job due to a biologiocal process over which you have no choice) and HRT is also free, although a recent National shortage has meant women suddenly went without and ‘withdrew’, which sucks (thanks Brexit and state of the world.) We are so lucky though, as hormonal changes are powerful, brain fog is awful, as are sweats, skin changes, low mood, low libido, feeling invisible. But my biggest takeaway of the last few months is that, just with birthing and heavy periods etc, women should not experience the negatives if they don’t wish to (totally understand HRT is not straightforward and that some women cannot or do not wish to take it.) I certainly WILL be in that camp when the time comes. All women should have the right to HRT and a Dr who understands it and can guide a patient in its use. If men had this, it would be buyable in a drugstore for £10 a time.
@LondonGal Thank you!!! 👏👏 For most women, HRT is safe and a literal lifesaver.
I have had to stop following people like Dr Jen Gunther, who actively rail against HRT on the basis that it’s vanity and women being ageist and unable to deal with growing old. It’s f*cking not – HRT can be crucial for women experiencing depression, brain fog and other physical symptoms caused by hormone changes. It’s also massively helpful for those with low bone density. If you are struggling with peri or actual menopause, I cannot recommend HRT enough.
I have been doing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy since I started experiencing severe menopausal symptoms, and it changed my life. My doctor works closely with my compounding pharmacist to individualize the prescription and adjusts it as needed depending on my blood work/ symptoms. One of the many benefits is it has drastically slowed my bone density loss. I take a balance of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Anyway, if there is a compounding pharmacist near you, I highly recommend investigating it!
The brain fog, the disrupted sleep, the palpitations – argh! I had no idea what was going on. Oh and bonus, suddenly meds I’d been taking with no issues started not working as well or caused scary new side effects – so yay! ER visits for the palpitations and for nearly fainting repeatedly because my electrolytes were way out of whack.
Had no idea perimenopause was a thing. The physical symptoms were bad enough, but the stress of not knowing WTF was going on was worse.
I don’t recall any build up of symptoms but my period just said bye, bye when I turned 42. I am 50 now. I had 2 years of being too warm (especially at night) , anxiety and this impending sense of doom feeling but all that cleared up around 44.
Now, I just have really dry skin, and a vagina that is starting to atrophy. I won’t do hormones for it though, so I use natural things. My weight is actually less due to a health issue but muscle tone has decreased. Maybe it hasn’t been so bad because it was quick and happened to me a bit younger? I don’t know…
Talking ‘bout brain fog. It just took me over a minute to puzzle out the name of her show because I kept reading “feud” like “Freud” with no r.
I’ve been through hell and back the last 3 years. Yesterday was a hell day, my whole body felt like I was on fire, and my skin was like I swam in poison ivy. Unfortunately, I’m not a candidate for hormone replacement therapy. I’ve tried every alternative option that’s out there, but so far nothing has worked for me…just a lot of money wasted.
Too much caffeine makes my skin itchy and I about lose my mind. I’m so sorry you’re struggling with this.
@Twin Falls, I appreciate your kindness. I gave up anything with caffeine years ago.
I am so sorry you are struggling. It is so hard to go through this stage in our life.
Add me to the hell list. Skin that is itchy on fire constantly. Always breaking out in hives, can’t handle stress. Don’t give me a deadline because I won’t do it, can’t do it and don’t understand how to do it.
Stomach issues, spotting issues, histamine issues. Anxiety through the roof. Can’t get it under control. I am a trauma survivor so I have PTSD/GAD since my twenties. Peri anxiety is completely different. There needs to be some real conversations in the medical field about this. Sleep deficiencies. Hot flashes from hell.
Not a candidate for HRT. Going through this naturally. I have an intolerance to Black Cohosh, lucky me.
Brain Fog is the worst. I have always been the one everyone goes to for anything memory. I can remember anything in exact detail.
Right now I can’t even recall words. It’s always that thing, you know that thing, it’s right there, that thing. I am getting to that word. 🙂 I forget everything. I have to take constant notes. I have notebooks everywhere in the house filled with notes of things I have to remember. I still forget.
Peri anxiety is pure hell. Mine is worse in the morning. Nothing helps. Nothing. This is such a hellish time of life. Damn I wish I had enjoyed my 20/30’s more had I known this sh*t was going to happen. You always hear how wonderful the 40’s can be. Liars…liars…liars !!!!
@Gelya, I’m sorry you’re suffering too. Hugs! I’ll not wish the constant itchy and fire-burning skin on anyone. Polysporin and Gold Bond are my daily moisturizer.
I’m 34 and wish I knew more about it. I had a baby three years ago and my hormones have never been the same. I can’t tell what’s an imbalance and what could be early peri symptoms.
It’s something more people should feel comfortable talking about — especially the feeling of loss that can accompany it: losing youth, losing fertility, aging and sexuality.
My sexuality symptom with perimenopause is that my sex drive skyrocketed. I’ve always had a pretty strong one, but now it’s absolutely nuts. It’s making me understand why some women have lots of affairs in midlife. (Luckily my husband is quite willing and able to accommodate me.)
That is exactly where I am at, a sky rocketing libido and hot flashes also somme vicious mood swings eek. My bestie is a naturopath also going through it so it helps to have someone to help me ease some of the chaos as I am also not a candidate for HRT..
This thread is a gem and I am so so so happy we are talking about this more!!
I lost my period at 45; right after having a DIU surgically removed. I hadn’t experienced any peri or menopausal symptoms until last year, but it was right after going through a break-in assault in my flat. No hot flashes -actually the opposite- or sigificant weight gain; but I’m experiencing brain fog as in having to downsize my workload to a 10% of what used to be, loss of sleep, permanent doom feeling and depression. So I dont know whether this relates to aging or some long term PTSD.
I was in a virtual training session yesterday and when the facilitator was doing an introduction, she acknowledged it was breast cancer awareness month and [training topic] and womens health can be very intertwined, and “I value awareness in these areas as I’m going through peri menopause myself” and continued on.
It was just thrown in there in a conversational opening spiel and I thought that was AMAZING of her! More of this!
Exercise has helped me incredibly, vigorous activity and strength training.
Purely shallow here, but I love N’s sparkly red dress!
Since it seems there’s a good number of us going through menopause/peri, any chance we can get one of your Amazon shopping lists that deal explicitly with this? Things to help with moisture, supplements, book suggestions, cooling sprays, things of that nature. I know there’s been some helpful items scattered in other lists, but I’d love to see one dedicated to this.
The list of menopause symptoms would bury men. They couldn’t handle it. Hell I’m having the hardest time of my life, and it feels like I’ve had it for ten f*cking years. Age spots. Loose skin. Tons of hair loss. Digestion. Nails. Hearing. Eyes. Allergies? I’ve never had allergies! Forgetful. Mid-sentence confusion. Hand, hip and knee joint issues. I want scream or cry all the time lol. I feel withered away. I don’t matter to anyone anymore. That kind of debilitating shit. ಥ‿ಥ
Yes. Without humor …..
I am so glad to see someone talking about the brain fog aspect of menopause! I thought I knew the symptoms as I went into menopause, but the mental fog was new to me. When I started to talk about it with friends who had already begun or had been through menopause, they all said, “Oh, yeah, I had that!” But no one told me ahead of time. I thought I was losing it at first!
A commenter on here a few months ago basically told me to stop highlighting the symptoms of menopause, because (paraphrasing) we already have to work twice as hard as men to get ahead and they’ll just use this against us, so we should basically shut up and handle it without drawing attention. Still think about that comment and it makes me so angry/frustrated.
Is she talking about perimenopause or actual menopause? Peri lasts around 10 years or more and brain fog is a symptom, as well as a million other things. Most women don’t even know what perimenopause is. It’s horrible. Your hormones go up and down like a rollercoaster. What really sucks is how LONG it can last ! By the time you actually hit menopause (12 months of no period) your hormones calm down and so do many of the symptoms.
Yeah, sounds like she’s talking about perimenopause–the few-to-many years of hormonal upheaval, irregular periods, brain fog, hot flashes, etc., before we’re done with our periods for good (menopause). Many people, due to lack of information, routinely conflate the two terms.
Menopause has all those and more. Peri is an intro to menopause which I started at 45. I’ve had debilitating hot flashes ever since.
I have heard from other women that menopause is much easier to handle than perimenopause. Your homones relax and many of the symptoms fade. I hope this is true. But I can say that perimenopause needs to be taught in schools. I was one of those women who had no idea what it was. It’s been very difficult.
@ Mabs A’Mabbin
I always like to hear the experiences of other women. So you’re saying once you hit actual menopause (when you stopped getting periods) your symptoms continued or got worse? I guess every woman is different. None of us know what’s in store for us lol. I better be a man in my next life lol.
I honestly don’t know how anyone can tell stages. My doc at that time between 44 and 46, said peri, okay fine. It was awful yes. Hot flashes were akin to walking inside a volcano, but I kept off hormone therapy because my mother died of breast cancer. Everything increased in intensity until, God, 54ish, 55. I still get hot flashes, but I’m noticing funky ass hair growing. Along the nape, it feels like baby hair lol. So I kinda think at 56, things are slowing? My skin sux. My eyes can’t see shit. My stomach hates me. My nails…
But, I’m eating better than I ever have and exercising more than ever, and it’s the only thing helping me. That is until I went for a walk two weeks ago, fell and broke my ankle. I’ve never broken a bone. Years of back-handsprings on beams, tennis, skiing, and I fall talking a walk?
Essentially peri takes you out and meno finishes the job. It’s so frakking exciting.
@ Mabs A’Mabbin
I don’t know how hormone therapy helps during peri anyways? Your estrogen can be high one day and low the next. Same with progesterone and testosterone. It’s all up and down for years. I notice my stomach is a lot better when I drink plenty of water. If I don’t get enough water, my stomach pays for it. There’s not much info for women going through peri. You just have to go at it alone it seems. It’s not fair that men don’t have to deal with any of this lol.
It’s crazy and amazing. that Naomi is talking about menopause brain fog at 54 and Hilary Swank is having twins at 48. Whew. Women are incredible.
I’m starting to think some things happening to me that I could never figure out why was happening could have been perimenopause. All the doctors visits I wasted.
I commented above on the brain fog but the more I read the more things that I’ve been experiencing over the last 6-12 months are adding up.
I started experiencing excruciating itching and inflammation inside my ears. Eventually went to a leading ENT about it. Answering his questions, I realised the only predictable thing about it was related to timing and my period. He told me it was in my head and I needed to ‘exercise greater restraint and get over the urge to use cotton tips’. I later discovered ear related issues are a really common symptom of menopause. Half the population, yet it’s utterly dismissed and male medical professionals are oblivious. I sent that asshole ENT two peer reviewed research papers on it later. Never got an acknowledgement 🤬
Janebee, omg! Strangely the only symptom I have with menopause is the ear itching… I never connected the two. Wow! Thank you so much for this insight. My ears just started itching a year ago when I hit menopause and for the life of me I could not figure out why. Now I know! Amazing. Again thank you so much!
@Tori The ear itching is such a random, unexpected symptom 🤦🏼♀️
Half the population is under diagnosed and misunderstood. This is a topic that should be addressed immediately in medical field but guess what, who cares. “Every woman goes through it, don’t exaggerate” and “that’s just the way you are” are my favorite ways all my problems have been dealt with.
I already have brain fog as an ADHD adult so I mean – does it get worse?? I’ll forget words for basic things when talking to my kids like “please put your clothes in the….(f*ck what’s it called?)…..hamper” if it gets foggier than my default state that’s bad news
This – all of this! Sometimes I’m not particularly interested in Kate or Wills but I always love the comments (and commentors). I get a real community vibe from this site.
It’s great to prepare young women for symptoms that MAY develop. But the fact is that many women experience few or no symptoms that are even noticeable. Periods may become irregular, then just stop. Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. And try to avoid HRT if at all possible.
I get that this is the case for a certain percentage of women. The same way that some women have joyous, glowing amazing pregnancies and births. Somehow, it always the same women who are anti HRT or anti epidurals…. Do what works for you. If you don’t need HRT – that’s cool. I’m happy for you. But try not to shit on something that can make a massive difference for women who are not experiencing symptoms at the lower end of the spectrum. HRT technology has evolved and the earlier study that linked it to cancer was massively blown out of proportion. Yes, it is inappropriate for some women. However some others *need* HRT to survive menopause and are putting themselves at risk by dismissing it due to negative commentary around it.
Do what works for you! Many might not need antidepressants, but it doesn’t help to shame those who do. It’s the same for HRT.
Not shaming anyone. I said to avoid it if at all possible. Avoid any medication if not necessary. Some doctors prescribe HRT for every woman and keep prescribing for years. I know someone who will be on blood thinners forever because of this. There are often alternatives for all but the most debilitating symptoms. Due diligence is key.
@Brassy Rebel Thanks for taking time to respond and clarify. I know in the States there is more of a culture of medication than in Europe.
It’s a trigger for me because in a number of countries, women who are suitable candidates for HRT and would see huge improvement in their quality of life, are having to go to war with doctors to access it. The lack of training and awareness by medical professionals around HRT and menopause generally is awful.
I really appreciated @Marley’s comment above re: working with compounding pharmacist to customise the right balance of bio identical hormones.
Of course, everyone should choose what is right for their circumstances, but it’s so important to know the options available to you!
Yes the Brian fog is a bitch. I sometimes walk in the kitchen and can’t even remember wtf I went in there for in the first place. We just had a hurricane down here and I felt like I didn’t know anything for days after. I called it Hurricane brain. Add that over the menopause brain fog and I was like a walking zombie lol.
I’m in my early 30s so there’s still some time for my menopause but brain fog is very real thing for me because of imbalanced hormones. It drives me crazy a lot of times and makes me overthink like crazy cause I can’t put my thoughts in order. Ughh horribly frustrating.
Take a good quality deep sea kelp supplement. Very good for women’s health as most of us can’t get enough iodine, which helps with the hormone stuff in some way.
Take good quality magnesium + Vitamin D supplements if you’re low in these (ask your doctor to test you). Lots of studies showing a link between these and menopause symptoms.
Eat organic! Avoid chemicals in your diet and environment!
Also, eat (organic) soy products, the non-processed ones like tofu (not soy-protein-isolated based foods), in moderation. Japanese ladies, for example, experience far fewer menopausal symptoms, and researchers think it’s because they’ve got that extra phytoestrogen content.
To sum up:
(1) Organic, unprocess soy products
(2) Natural iodine supplement like deep sea kelp
(3) Magnesium + vitamin D
And obviously avoid chemical build-up by eating as much organic as possible, filtering your water, avoiding canned foods, avoiding plastics, etc. Good health and comfort is a birthright but unfortunately in our society today you have to work at it.
Not saying these will definitely solve menopausal symptoms as there might be other causes but I think they can help.
People talking about doctors not helping with perimenopause — Planned Parenthood was totally great for mine. I told them my symptoms, they said immediately it was perimenopause, and talked to me about options. Another reason Planned Parenthood is so necessary.
I’m on HRT and it’s made the world of difference for me (sleep, energy, mood, hot flashes) but of course everyone is different. Wish I’d started sooner actually; I resisted at first because of some outdated info. My mother suffered through it when I was a teenager and putting up with it was just expected. I talk about it openly all the time now with curious friends who aren’t there yet. They may decide to do HRT, or may not, or may not be able to but I’m ensuring it’s talked about at least. The “it’s natural” brigade irks me. Lots of awful things are natural. Having options is a wonderful thing.
You’re so right. Thanks for posting this. I’ll kill for HRT, so I’m sad when women that are able to take HRT refuses. I understand women need to make their own choices but sometimes these decisions not to take HRT are based on incorrect and outdated information.
Brain fog is also a long covid symptom. People can experience vasular effects on many organs, including the brain. Don’t get covid.