Top Takeaways from Let’s Talk Menopause’s 2024 Menoposium

Last month, 200+ people gathered on a windy day in Chicago to talk menopause. And more than 150 more joined virtually. The energized audience, fueled by coffee and a healthy breakfast, was ready to learn.

Let’s Talk Menopause (LTM) was hosting their second annual Menoposium. LTM is a national nonprofit organization invested in changing the conversation around menopause, so women get the information they need and the healthcare they deserve.

The Menoposium brought together the leading U.S. menopause experts to share the latest in menopause health and care. Versalie was excited to be there for the first time as a sponsor, supporting the great work that LTM is doing to improve menopause education and awareness.

The day focused on 4 areas of menopause care with panels of the leading experts in those areas:

• Dr. Monica Christmas and Dr. Lisa Larkin explained what to expect during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.
• Dr. Sharon Malone and Dr. Mary Claire Haver made menopause hormone therapy easy to understand.
• We learned it’s NOT all in our heads with Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg and Dr. Pauline Maki. They talked about dealing with depression, anxiety, irritability, and trouble sleeping during perimenopause and menopause.
• Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Dr. Sameena Rahman, and Dr. Lauren Streicher spoke candidly about the vaginal, sexual, and urinary symptoms of menopause.

Here are the top takeaways from the Menoposium:

1. Midlife women are truly remarkable. Most of the attendees and presenters were midlife women, going through all different stages of menopause. The room was filled with energy and excitement. They were eager to learn and share their knowledge and wisdom.
2. Routine care is important too! Ages 40-60 is the most important time for females to get regular care. This isn’t just for menopause symptoms. You can work with your care provider to help lower your risk of heart problems and cancer in the future.
3. Not all symptoms resolve after menopause. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) can start during perimenopause. But it’s more common after menopause. It’s also one of the menopause-related symptoms that doesn’t improve postmenopause without treatment.
4. We should trust women. They know they’re in perimenopause. During perimenopause, many people seek medical help for menopause-related symptoms that affect their quality of life. However, they often feel ignored or dismissed by their healthcare providers. Patients will get told everything is fine because their hormone blood levels are within normal levels on that day and they’re still getting a period.
5. Menopause hormone therapy and birth control aren’t so different. Hormone therapy and contraceptives share similar ingredients. Hormone therapy contains hormones with significantly less potency than the doses used to prevent pregnancy. People continue to worry about hormone therapy, but not so much about birth control. One is used to treat menopause symptoms and the other is used to prevent pregnancy.
6. Menopause hormone therapy’s benefits may outweigh the risks. Dr. Larkin shared some statistics and real talk about actual breast cancer risk. The WHI showed that if people took estrogen plus progestin for 1 year, compared to the placebo group who didn’t take hormone therapy, the breast cancer risk would increase by 8 cases in 10,000 women per year. This increase in risk was across all age groups (50-79). Individual risk can vary based on factors like timing of hormone therapy, duration of use, and family history. Other risk factors Dr. Larkin mentioned that increase the risk of getting cancer include drinking alcohol and simply living long enough to get it. It’s important to be informed on the actual data and risks so you can have a productive conversation with your healthcare provider.
7. Age-related muscle loss impacts many symptoms. As we get older and go through menopause, the muscles in our bodies, including the pelvic floor muscles, lose mass and strength. This is called sarcopenia. The pelvic floor is made up of muscles, nerves, and connective tissue at the bottom of the pelvis. It supports bowel, bladder, and sexual functions. When the pelvic floor muscles weaken, it can also cause hip and back pain. Talk to your doctor or a pelvic floor physical therapist about exercises that can help.