Going Menopostal

“This is a rigorous and meticulous guide to everything related to menopause. … Alkon does a tremendous job of breaking down scientific facts for everyday readers. … Her smart, thoughtful accounts of her own experiences lend a feeling of camaraderie to the book.” —Kirkus Reviews Half of the population—the female half—is getting healthcare based on medical myth rather than evidence. Going Menopostal is Amy Alkon’s mission to change that. This book started with a flash—Alkon’s first hot flash. Drenching night sweats, insomnia, and brain fog soon followed—along with shame at feeling bewilderingly enraged at everyone and everything. Alkon, an award-winning science columnist and author, wanted to turn to her doctor. But there was a problem: More than half of the medical care we get in the US may not be “based on, or supported by, adequate evidence;” according to the US National Academy of Medicine. Knowing this, Alkon began a deep dive into the research on menopause and perimenopause––the 3 to 10 years leading up to menopause when women’s symptoms are widely ignored, dismissed, and misdiagnosed (despite doctors having every intention of helping their patients). She was shocked by what she found: Most gynecology departments lack even one doctor with training and expertise in menopausal and perimenopausal medicine, and they expect their maternity and general reproductive health specialists to treat these conditions outside their scope of practice without informing patients––a violation of medical ethics. Perimenopause is wrongly viewed and treated as “menopause lite” ––a time of lowered estrogen levels––when estrogen levels actually soar, making many women miserably symptomatic. Few doctors know that symptomatic perimenopausal women actually tend to lack progesterone , and that replacing it with safe, FDA-approved progesterone would alleviate their insomnia, hot flashes, and other suffering and counteract cell overgrowth that can lead to breast and endometrial cancer. Many doctors deny estrogen to their menopausal patients , unaware of current research showing that estrogen not only alleviates symptoms but protects against cardiovascular disease (soon to kill 1 in 3 women), bone fractures, metabolic syndrome, and more. Findings from studies done largely on middle-class white women are wrongly applied to black women and other women of color, ignoring crucial differences, such as generally lower triglyceride levels in black women that can make heart disease harder to detect. This meticulously researched book is written in clear, everyday language that you don’t need the slightest science background to understand (along with Alkon’s signature dark humor). Alkon equips you with the exact words to confidently ask critical questions and motivate your doctor to partner with you and treat you appropriately––instead of giving you the “treatment” her favorite bus driver got: told by her doctor to “just wait out” her raging insomnia, night sweats, and hot flashes. Alkon’s ultimate goal: Empowering all women with the science and strategies they need to get the evidence-based care they expect and deserve.