Forty and Fifty-Something

FORTYSOMETHING

Uh-oh, here comes perimenopause.  Perimenopause is the time when your body starts to prepare for menopause, but you aren't actually in the active stages of menopause yet.  How do you know if you are in perimenopause? Some tell-tale signs include hair growing where it never has before (such as on your chin or neck…this is referring to dark, thick hair that you will probably promptly attack with tweezers), a slowing in your metabolism, and a drop in sexual desire.  Many women don't even really take notice when they enter into this stage of life because usually the signs are relatively subtle or can be chalked up to something else. 

If you pay attention to your body, however, you will probably notice the changes and might even be a little shocked that you're already approaching menopause.  You should know that this does not have to be a highly annoying part of your life, and that things like regular exercise and a healthy diet can help you to not be adversely affected by the symptoms of perimenopause.  If you have concerns you should talk to your doctor, and remember that if highly dramatic things start happening to your body this may be a sign of something else completely and you should get it checked out by a doctor.

All done with babies? Although there are some women who just start having babies in their forties, the majority of women have already had children and may be thinking about stopping for good.  If you are married then you need to have the talk with your husband as to which one of you will do the honors of getting "fixed" if you decide on a permanent medical solution to preventing pregnancy.  Some men get squeamish at the thought of having a vasectomy, but you should remind your husband that while a vasectomy is a quick outpatient procedure, getting your tubes tied (tubal ligation) is major abdominal surgery and will take you much longer to recover while also carrying with it much more risk. 

There are other methods to ensure you don't get pregnant again…you can go for abstinence, but if you're married that probably won't go over well with your husband.  You may want to look for alternative means of birth control, but since none of them are one hundred percent effective there is always the underlying possibility that you might get pregnant and that's a scary possibility for a woman in her forties who has decided that her child-bearing days are over.  Have a talk with your doctor to decide what the best route is for you to make sure that you don't wind up pregnant after you've decided that you're all done.

They say you're at your sexual peak here.  There are plenty of instances in movies and on television of female characters in their forties who have insatiable sexual appetites.  The assumption is that women of this age are at their sexual prime, and for some women this is actually quite true.  It may be a result of a hormonal shift, or perhaps it has more to do with women of this age being more sure of themselves than they ever have been before.  For whatever reason, don't be surprised if you find yourself feeling quite amorous at this age. 

There are a couple of things to keep in mind on this topic when it comes to your health.  Foremost is that just because you aren't in your twenties anymore does not mean that you can't be exposed to sexually transmitted diseases or get pregnant (unless you have had surgery to prevent pregnancy).  Unless you are in a monogamous relationship with a trusted partner then there is always the possibility for something unpleasant coming from a sexual encounter.  Don't think that your age makes you immune, or that the men your age would surely tell you if they had an STD, because men in their forties are no more eager to discuss their STDs than men in their twenties or thirties. 

The second important thing to remember with regard to your health is that it is not necessarily indicative of something wrong if you don't hit your so-called sexual prime here because not every woman does.  If you are concerned about your lack of desire then visit the doctor to rule out any underlying problems that may be causing you to miss out on your peak.

FIFTYSOMETHING

Mammograms aren't fun, but they're smart.  Make no mistake about it…there is nothing fun about getting your breast squeezed between two plates while the technician fumbles with the controls to capture the image inside your breast.  Are mammograms fun? No.  Are mammograms a good idea? Yes! There are some things that you simply cannot discover during a breast self-exam.  Mammograms can find all sorts of things that can be cause for alarm.  As you progress in age so does your chance of developing breast cancer, and that's why it is so incredibly important that you get mammograms as recommended by your doctor. 

Remember that sometimes the best things come from a little discomfort (think about childbirth…that was certainly no picnic in the park but the results were amazing), and there is really something great about getting an "all clear" with regard to your breasts.  Don't avoid this very necessary procedure because it can wind up saving your life.

You might be surprised at how mentally sharp you feel.  This is certainly not to say that women in their fifties are supposed to be dimwits, but instead is to point out the fact that many women at this age have a much clearer vision of who they are and where they are going in life.  With age comes wisdom, and many fifty year old women start to shed the whole concern for what other people think about them and don't worry so much about a few gray hairs or some extra pounds.  Since mental health is directly related to physical health, this can be a great time to be a woman.  You can walk into a room and not worry about who is looking at you and what they may be thinking…basically you aren't twenty anymore, but it can be a great feeling.  After all, a positive attitude does wonders for your physical well-being.

Ask before diving into hormone therapy.  For many women in their fifties, the onset of menopause automatically meant that it was time to jump onto estrogen replacement therapy.  It is supposed to lessen some of the more annoying symptoms that come along with menopause and was supposed to have other benefits as well.  Research is now showing that taking estrogen might actually increase the odds for certain serious illnesses, and now it is not something that is automatically recommended for every single woman.  The only way you can decide if this is the right idea for you is to talk to your doctor and weigh the pros and cons.  Don't just accept what the doctor says without weighing both the benefits and the risks.  Ask questions and do research on your own before making the decision.

On the next page we discuss Health for Sixty and Seventy-Somethings.