Menopause Brain Fog Quotes

So here’s the million-dollar question: To what degree does menopause also deliver a customized update to your brain’s operating system? It is plausible that as the brain approaches menopause, it gets another chance to go leaner and meaner, discarding information and skills it no longer needs while growing new ones. For starters, some of the brain-ovary connections necessary to make babies are no longer needed, so arrivederci to that. But also all the neurologically expensive skills we reviewed in the last chapter—decoding baby talk, subduing temper tantrums, and high-level multitasking—are not as relevant once your birdie has flown the coop. They are still helpful, but not urgent. It only makes sense, then, that the brain would eventually start pruning away those expired connections—and what better biological clue to do so than menopause. Again, many believe that, as this latest and greatest brain update unfolds, that’s when hot flashes, brain fog, and other bothersome symptoms kick in. Once the update is complete, the symptoms start dissipating (which may take longer than the other two P’s because now we are . . . well, older). All this information is helpful to place menopause under a much broader lens. But where are the bonuses? Could it be that the menopausal brain morph might better equip us for our later years? Could menopause come with its own ingenuity, proving instrumental in preparing women for a new role in life as in society? Despite society having turned a blind eye toward any menopausal perks, there is increasing evidence that this profound hormonal event also bestows new meaning and purpose on women. HAPPINESS IS NOT A MYTH AFTER ALL Any major life transition can be a chance at reawakening, even if the road is rough.

What happens to the gut during menopause? With estrogen decline, there is… •​Increased gut permeability •​Bloating, constipation, reflux •​Less bile production to help us break down fats and detoxify estrogen •​IBS symptoms •​Thinning of the mucosal lining of the gut due to estrogen decline •​Decreased calcium absorption (rapid bone loss) •​Increased levels of cortisol due to a decline in estrogen, which can often lead to anxiety and a cortisol belly •​A slowdown in digestion of food due to high cortisol, which leads to digestive and gut imbalances and constipation •​Brain fog, anxiety and depression, poor energy, and insomnia

Brain Fog Can Spark Fears of Dementia Along with sweating and poor sleep often comes something many women don’t anticipate: brain fog. Few things are more disconcerting than when your brain feels like mush rather than the sharp and useful tool you’ve been used to, or when your memory takes a turn for the worse. Although brain fog is not a medical term, it aptly describes the fogginess in one’s thinking, the mental fuzziness, and the difficulty processing information that often accompany menopause.

According to recent statistics, over 60 percent of all perimenopausal and postmenopausal women struggle with brain fog. The experience is so marked that it can disturb one’s sense of efficiency, especially when memory lapses crop up. It’s important to realize that forgetfulness can spike during perimenopause, which can feed fears not only of going crazy but of experiencing early dementia. In other words, we are looking at millions of women in the prime of life who suddenly feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them—blindsided by their bodies, let down by their brains, and failed by their doctors, who also may not realize that those are symptoms of menopause.

Today, in the medical field, chemo brain is referred to as cancer-treatment-related cognitive impairment, cancer-related cognitive change, or post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment. I am not a fan of the word impairment in these phrases for reasons we’ll discuss in a moment, but nonetheless, chemo brain is a symptom reported by as many as 75 percent of cancer patients. It is often described as difficulty processing information and feeling as if you can’t think as quickly and as clearly as you did before you had cancer or started treatment. Everyday tasks require more concentration and take more time and effort to take care of. As you may have noticed, this is not too dissimilar from the brain fog experienced by

The hormonal disruption that takes place during the menopause can impact cognitive function, so that it’s not unusual to experience brain fog or memory issues as your body goes through this transition. Oestrogen doesn’t just hang around our reproductive system; we also have oestrogen receptors in the brain that support neural function and as the hormone declines during the perimenopause, this can have a direct impact on our ability to absorb, process and retain information.