Pharmacists are talking about menopause

“When I was in my late 40s, my son asked me if I was bipolar because apparently my mood swings were extreme. Since I was the healthcare professional of the family, it was upon me to find out why I was behaving like this. So, I found out that I was in perimenopause.”

This is the story of Canadian pharmacist and Certified Menopause Educator Teresa Isabel Dias.

Over the past year I have run into many women who are frustrated by the conflicting information and advice (even among healthcare professionals) about perimenopause, and menopause and what treatment options are available for this phase of life. In an effort to clarify where the science stands on this issue, I asked Teresa to be a guest on the Friendly Pharmacy 5 channel and provide us with an update on how women can go into this life transition a bit more prepared.

Little did I know that Teresa had her own story to tell.

Teresa’s struggle with perimenopause led her to want to help other women who she knew must be suffering as well, and after struggling through intense brain fog to study for the NAMS certification exam, Teresa became certified and thus began her mission to help women like her, who were looking for help and didn’t know where to turn.

In this  interview, Teresa delves into numerous crucial topics, such as:

• How menopause affects the brain and memory.
• How menopause affects our bones.
• Why it can be difficult to lose weight after menopause.
• Symptom management with both hormonal and non-hormone therapies, (including an update from the 2023 North American Menopause Society Position statement on non-hormone therapies.)
• Important lifestyle measures that women should implement even before perimenopause.
• Common questions and misconceptions from healthcare professionals and the public.

(The interview is conveniently divided into chapters for easy navigation to the topics that interest you the most.)

Teresa also emphasized the importance of recognizing that the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause affect not only women but also their loved ones and those they work with, referring back to the story of how her own son started to wonder what was happening to his mother.

She also highlighted the need to normalize conversations around this long-taboo topic and explained that by creating an environment that encourages open acknowledgment of how women are impacted by this transition, we can cultivate a deeper understanding and provide enhanced support for women during this transformative phase of their lives.

Teresa now runs her own newsletter, and offers consultations and corporate workshops to help educate and normalize the conversation surrounding this transition that every woman will experience. She is often asked to speak to the media and shortly before our interview, Teresa had been asked to speak about menopause for major media networks across Canada.

It’s time to normalize the conversation surrounding menopause and we can do it by having more conversations like this one.  I would ask you to consider sharing this interview generously with your friends, family, and even your co-workers.

As Teresa said, “I want women to not feel that they are alone. There's a lot of us going through this. It's not only you, it's all of us. And together we can make things better.”