09/05/2025
This!
🪟Perimenopause Is a Window
Perimenopause is a window of opportunity 😁—a chance to prevent health issues before they take hold 💪
By the time someone reaches menopause, it’s often too late to stop the impact on their mood, function, and confidence. Some women come through menopause feeling clearer, more settled, more sure of themselves.
But some don’t. Some lose parts of themselves along the way. Some become a shadow of who they were.
☁️Imagine if we could change that, prevent that....
If we know what to look for—if we know how perimenopause shows up—we can support women earlier. We can stop 10% of women dropping out of the workforce in midlife. We can start shifting the numbers on midlife mood disorders, alcohol use, relationship breakdown, and even suicide.
And here’s the thing—there are signs long before perimenopause.
🔎Clues across the lifespan.
🔎Clues that tell us HRT might not just improve symptoms, but stop things getting worse.
🔎 That early hormonal support could stop depression from becoming overwhelming, or ADHD from tipping into burnout.
Because when no one joins the dots for you, it’s not just hard to work—it’s hard to stay afloat
You're trying to hold down a job, be a good mum, show up for your partner and whānau, and maybe still convince the world (and yourself) that you’re doing okay. Meanwhile, you’re not sleeping. Your clothes don’t fit. You found your keys in the fridge. And no one’s explained that this might be hormonal.... ie there is something that can (and should) be done about it.
Here’s what we know:
🎆HRT improves hot flushes and mood in 80–90% of women
🎆 When started in perimenopause, it lowers the risk of heart disease by 30-50% (cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women)
🎆 It also helps prevent osteoporosis, which affects 1 in 2 women and significantly increases the risk of hip fracture (and yes, a hip fracture has a life expectancy of around six months)
And transdermal estrogen with Utrogestan?
🗣 It doesn’t need to be stopped after a heart attack
🗣 It can be used in women with migraine
🗣 It is safe to use after a blood clot
🗣 You can continue it if you are going into surgery for an operation
🗣 For some women with breast cancer where life has become unbearable, it may still be an option. And the benefits the medication gives them outweighs the risk of future breast cancer is to them.
This is why education matters.
👉We need to teach this—clearly, early, and widely.
👉 In medical schools, clinics, and community spaces.
👉 Not just academic knowledge—but practical, lived understanding.
🧬 But, grounded in science. Because that is what will enable a solid, sustainable foundation.
Because when we know what to look for, we can act sooner.
We can offer better care. 🫂
And we can support women to stay connected to themselves, their lives, and the things that matter
Even with all the noise of pay debates and system issues—there’s good happening too.
Wāhine are moving. Leading. Demanding better.
🫶And that’s something to get behind.
My week has been 'too busy' so far, but it just takes one kōrero, to remind me the why. And knowing that I'm part of a revolution. And it is an honour. And for that I say thank you 😊
