Your parents need care, your hormones have gone rogue, but you still want to be rollin’ with your homies.
Women are paying the price for caring for aging parents.
Trying to balance work, your own health, and caring for aging parents is burning women out.
Four in 10 women working full-time while helping an aging parent say it’s taking a toll on their emotional well-being. Their physical health and finances are taking a hit, too.
And while caregiving can bring families closer, love doesn’t pay for respite care or replace lost wages. Women need paid leave, tax credits, and help that doesn’t require jumping through 47 hoops to get it.
What to ask: Does my employer offer caregiver leave, backup eldercare, or benefits I haven’t used? What respite services are available locally?
Turns out all this menopause talk is necessary.
Nearly 17 million women ages 40–60 have menopause symptoms, but only 16% are taking prescription meds for them.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs drugs or even wants them. But women earning over $100,000 are twice as likely to use hormone therapy as those earning less than $20,000.
When income makes that much of a difference in who’s getting treatment, we’ve got a problem.
What to ask: Which treatments are available for my symptoms, and how do we decide what’s right for me?
Christina Applegate isn’t the only person misdiagnosed with MS.
It may sound shocking that actress Christina Applegate spent five years getting treatment for multiple sclerosis, only to be told recently she doesn’t have it.
She’s not alone. Some studies suggest as many as 1 in 5 people diagnosed with MS actually have something else.
Why? MS can look like other conditions, including lupus, migraines, and fibromyalgia. And there’s no single test that can confirm it.
The debilitating symptoms didn’t disappear with the diagnosis. And it sucks to be back at square one.
What to ask: Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion on a diagnosis or treatment plan. If treatment isn’t working, ask what else could explain your symptoms.
Migraines and endometriosis may have something in common.
A look at 13 million women found that those with endometriosis had more than twice the odds of having migraines.
Researchers think CGRP, a chemical involved in pain signals, may help explain the connection. Now they want to know if medications that block CGRP to prevent migraines could also relieve endometriosis pain.
This still needs to be tested in a clinical trial, so don’t go asking for a migraine prescription to treat endometriosis just yet.
What to ask: If you have endometriosis, ask your doctor what you should know about migraine symptoms. If you have both conditions, talk to your neurologist and gynecologist about coordinated care.
Maybe skip the side of estrogen face cream.
Look, it’s no secret that perimenopause can be like an alien invasion. All of a sudden, your clothes don’t fit. Your body is doing all of this weird shit. And you’ve been taken over by a raging demon.
But that doesn’t mean you should baste yourself in estrogen.
Yes, science shows vaginal estrogen can help with dryness down there. Estrogen face creams? The research is a lot less convincing, and we still don’t know enough about long-term safety.
What to ask: Ask a dermatologist what they recommend for your skin type before spending money on the latest Instagram trend.
No one prepares you to lose your ride or die in midlife.
You’d always planned to grow old together wearing caftans and sipping cocktails in the sun like Dorothy and Blanche.
Then your friend dies in her 40s or 50s, and the future you imagined disappears.
On top of that, the harsh reality is we barely give each other time to grieve in any circumstances — but even less for our found families.
If you’re searching for how to honor the love you have for your friend, consider carrying something of them forward: a tradition, a passion, or a way of looking at life.
There’s no expiration date on missing someone you thought you’d grow old with.
Know someone in the “wait, what the hell is happening” years? Forward this to her.
See you next Friday. — Trista