They feel alone and bewildered. They might be managing a household, or a department, or taking care of more than one family, but they can't manage to fix their own health problems. And their doctors and health-care providers aren't much help. Too many don't discuss helpful strategies. Those findings emerge from the largest study ever done of Michigan women who have experienced menopause or are approaching it.
Many women are unaware that midlife changes can begin well in advance of menopause.
Among women 40 and older who have not been through menopause, half have not discussed changes with their doctors or other providers, the poll found. Usually, women started the discussion. The poll was released by the Michigan Menopause Action Team, a nonprofit group headed by Maxine Berman. She is a former state legislator who sponsored model mammography laws in Michigan adopted nationwide. Three out of four women haven't been instructed in how to relax.