Posted on 09/23/2005 7:04:48 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
Published: Sep 24, 2005
When hot flashes caused sweat to run down Donna Cook's face during business meetings, she joked to concerned colleagues, "I'm having my personal summer."
But for executives like Cook, menopause symptoms such as profuse sweating, mood swings and memory lapses aren't funny.
Cook, 54, felt self-conscious when she had to blot sweat while giving presentations at System Planning Corp., an Arlington, Va., company that does scientific research and government contract work. She said she would awake several times a night drenched in sweat after she stopped taking hormone replacement medication she had been on for about 10 years.
"I would oversleep in the morning. I'd miss the alarm. I'd be late for work. I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up," she said. Sometimes she had trouble remembering how to do routine duties.
Two years later, her symptoms are less frequent and severe, but her problem points to the embarrassment and loss of confidence suffered by many female executives at midlife.
A survey of the National Association of Female Executives sponsored by the maker of a menopause drug indicated 95 percent of the 843 respondents had physical symptoms of menopause.
Insomnia, night sweats and daytime hot flashes were reported as the most vexing problems, and 56 percent said they deal with symptoms daily. Nearly 8 of 10 reported mental or emotional symptoms such as forgetfulness and irritability.
Forty-one percent had used hormone pills to control symptoms.
Emotional well-being and romantic relationships were ranked as the two areas most affected by menopause symptoms, ahead of professional life, said James Simon, a gynecologist and menopause specialist at George Washington University in Washington who helped design the survey questionnaire.
Plenty of earlier studies have examined how menopause affects women in general, Simon said, but "a generation ago, there weren't enough female executives to bother" doing a survey of that group.
Simon said he was not compensated by Barr Laboratories of Woodcliff Lake, N.J. The company makes Cenestin, a plant-derived prescription drug for menopause symptoms. The survey was conducted online by pollster Harris Interactive in February.
The results will be reported next week in San Diego at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, a doctors' group. Simon is the group's most recent president.
Amy Niles, president of the National Women's Health Resource Center in Red Bank, N.J., said educational campaigns about menopause have not targeted women in the work force.
"I think we've made great improvements over the last few years in creating awareness that this is a significant issue" that women should discuss with their doctors, Niles said.
Rosalie Roberts, a 61-year-old survey participant who owns an Omaha, Neb., public relations business, sums up her concerns: "In an executive position ... you have to look your best," and project a calm, focused and capable image. Several years ago, she occasionally would sweat enough during meetings that she would head to the restroom during breaks.
"In my business, that's very, very unfortunate," Roberts said.
Here are tips and information sources for dealing with menopause symptoms:
• Discuss your symptoms and treatment options with your doctor. Go prepared with a list of questions and tell the doctor about any vitamins, herbs or medicines you are taking.
• Stick to a healthy diet.
• Get plenty of exercise. Try yoga, meditation or other relaxation methods.
• Do research before taking any herbal supplements or other alternative treatments; they are not approved or regulated by the government.
•A National Institutes of Health brochure, "Facts About Menopausal Hormone Therapy," is available; call (301) 592-8573.
Web Sites
• http://nccam.nih.gov/
P.S. When I have a hot flash, is it MANopause?
and it's about menopause?
It's worse on their male subordinates. The only difference between a terrorist and a woman on PMS is that you can negotiate with the terrorist.
This is not a joking matter. My sister-in-law is a bigshot where she works and she has this same problem. It's a nightmare. So please, no jokes from you men.
This is not PMS.
good catch...
Try andropause.
They also don't have beards - but WILL eat all of the icecream.
Do real men have hot flashes? Maybe what you have is Metropause. ;-)
That being said, I have had insomnia and it is horrible. I used to describe it as a double-hangover every day. You have the headache, the nausia, the anxiety, the short-temper. But you had NO fun the night before.
It is a horrible way to live.
One word that helps: Melatonin. It works.
>> Nearly 8 of 10 reported mental or emotional symptoms such as forgetfulness and irritability. <<
That's hard to believe.
Being the partner to the wife's symptoms ain't no picnic either, believe me. I do empathize.
Your sister-in-law notwithstanding, everything on FR is a joking mater. Obviously, we all deal with our physical and mental issues, whatever they are.
"The only difference between a terrorist and a woman on PMS is that you can negotiate with the terrorist."
Women are never on "PMS"....they experience "PMS" and it aint pretty. Ask my hubby. ;-}
So we can't be our normal boorish crude obnoxious selves on this thread, is that what you're saying? Sounds like you lobbed the first grenade.
Been there, done that, the worst years of my life, trying to control me and 90 high school students.
Do those numbers sound too low?
I thinks it's worse on their younger female subordinates. I've had female managers going through menopause and trust me, at times is was unbearable to work with them sometimes. When they're having a bad day, YOU'LL know it!
The only difference between a terrorist and a woman on PMS is that you can negotiate with the terrorist.
Lol.
On a related note science is pointing toward higher average testosterone levels as the cause of increased rates of prostate cancer in black males i.e. hormones are a powerful reproduction strategy but they don't come without cost.
Well that wasn't very smart, now was it?
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