Healthy Hooha

Over 15% of those experiencing Genitourinary syndrome of menopause are young (under 35 years old), that’s not an insignificant amount of people being denied their experience. That’s over 1 BILLION women potentially being told they are “too young” to be experiencing what they are, “too young” for hormonal testing, “too young” for the safe treatments they need. And these numbers are grossly under-estimated due to a clinicians lack of education, lack of enough time during the appointment for a proper exam, lack of patient centered care, lack of adequate terminology or names of conditions.

While perimenopause/menopause absolutely needs to be talked about more, researched more, there is still even less research, and talk, about young/premenopausal people.

A large % suffer from many of the same symptoms & health conditions experienced during peri and post menopause yet this younger population isn’t included in enough research unless they are used as the opposing or control group.

Even those proclaiming to be specialists in women’s health, Gynecology, research, etc., leave out this population when conducting research; mainly for the same patriarchal reason given in the past of: those pesky hormones, “too much variability”.

Premenopausal people are never “too young” simply because they are in the minority for rate of occurrence or because we give inadequate names to conditions and symptomology. Why is that narrative still used?

Does medicine deny infertility in young women? No? Yet infertility can be due to a hormonal problem.

Does medicine deny young people a diagnosis of PCOS simply because they’re young? Nope. Is PCOS (partly) a hormonal problem? Yep.

Do most prescribers have any IDEA how hormonal contraceptives actually work? Usually not, yet they prescribe them constantly to stop cramps, irregular bleeding, acne, etc., without regard for the reduction in endogenous testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone it causes-hormones the vagina and vestibule needs for normal functioning and without it can you guess what happens? That’s right-Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, in young women.

So its not a “too young” problem, its a “too little research” and “too little clinician education” problem.

These women are denied proper testing and treatment and instead of finding out what the cause of the symptoms are (whether it be via clinical research or diagnostic testing on the individual) we are pushed and coerced into using hormonal contraceptives to simply shut down the whole menstrual/reproductive process that provides our bodies with many systemic health benefits (which is like cutting power to the whole city block so your lights turn off for bed time).

(Hormonal contraceptive have their place but NOT as a default because the clinician doesn’t have the knowledge necessary for a proper diagnosis and proper treatment)

There are so many instances where a person’s symptoms can be relieved/stopped (or significantly reduced) by minor, clinically evidence based, modifications other than throwing your hands up, denial, and/or prescribing hormonal contraceptives if research and medicine would just take the time to understand sex hormones in young women better.

Young/Premenopausal people are unnecessarily suffering with symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause (vestibular and vaginal dryness, itching, PAIN, resorption of their labia!!, pain with penetration and not just from sex but from tampon use as well, chronic infections, bladder and urethral pain, urine leaking, urgency), vaginismus, depression & anxiety, PCOS, endometriosis, pelvic floor disorders, high cholesterol, risk of blood clots, amenorrhea, irregular periods, and more, all because research won’t get funded and medicine denies our experiences, so why would there be a need for educating each cohort of doctors and scientists? Oh, I don’t know…..

Ridiculous