Going Menopostal: What You (and Your Doctor) Need to Know About the Real Science of Menopause and Perimenopause

(Paperback)

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Half of the populationthe female halfis getting healthcare based on medical myth rather than evidence. Going Menopostal is Amy Alkons mission to change that.

This book started with a flashAlkons first hot flash. Drenching night sweats, insomnia, and brain fog soon followedalong with shame at feeling bewilderingly enraged at everyone and everything. Alkon, an award-winning science columnist and author, wanted to turn to her doctor. But there was a problem: More than half of the medical care we get in the US may not be based on, or supported by, adequate evidence, according to the US National Academy of Medicine.

Knowing this, Alkon began a deep dive into the research on menopause and perimenopausethe 3 to 10 years leading up to menopause when womens symptoms are widely ignored, dismissed, and misdiagnosed (despite doctors having every intention of helping their patients). She was shocked by what she found:

• Most gynecology departments lack even one doctor with training and expertise in menopausal and perimenopausal medicine, and they expect their maternity and general reproductive health specialists to treat these conditions outside their scope of practice without informing patientsa violation of medical ethics.
• Perimenopause is wrongly viewed and treated as menopause litea time of lowered estrogen levelswhen estrogen levels actually soar, making many women miserably symptomatic.
• Few doctors know that symptomatic perimenopausal women actually tend to lack progesterone, and that replacing it with safe, FDA-approved progesterone would alleviate their insomnia, hot flashes, and other suffering and counteract cell overgrowth that can lead to breast and endometrial cancer.
• Many doctors deny estrogen to their menopausal patients, unaware of current research showing that estrogen not only alleviates symptoms but protects against cardiovascular disease (soon to kill 1 in 3 women), bone fractures, metabolic syndrome, and more.
• Findings from studies done largely on middle-class white women are wrongly applied to black women and other women of color, ignoring crucial differences, such as generally lower triglyceride levels in black women that can make heart disease harder to detect.

This meticulously researched book is written in clear, everyday language that you dont need the slightest science background to understand (along with Alkons signature dark humor). Alkon equips you with the exact words to confidently ask critical questions and motivate your doctor to partner with you and treat you appropriatelyinstead of giving you the treatment her favorite bus driver got: told by her doctor to just wait out her raging insomnia, night sweats, and hot flashes. Alkons ultimate goal: Empowering all women with the science and strategies they need to get the evidence-based care they expect and deserve.

Reviews

Praise for Amy Alkon's previous title, Unf*ckology:

Advice on how to change behavior should be grounded in the science of behavior, but it rarely is. Dont let the name fool you: Unf*ckologymay speak with a potty mouth, but it cites journals and textbooks to bring a nuanced take on cognitive neuroscience and human evolution to the problems of everyday life.
Christopher Chabris, Assoc. Professor of Psychology, Union College; coauthor of Invisible Gorilla

"Alkon invented the science-help genre, and this book finds her at the height of her powers."
Kaja Perina, Editor in Chief of Psychology Today

"Unf*ckology should be assigned to all students as the textbook for the new science'growing a spine'and taking personal responsibility for your life.
Michael Shermer, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author ofHeavens on Earth

"Very few of today's thinkers give us big ideas. By showing us how to use research on fields like embodiment to change our lives, Amy Alkon has given us two things: new big ideas; and balls-to-the wall hilarity. Let's put that in different words.Unf*ckologyis one of the most delightful books you will read in this lifetime. And Amy Alkon has established herself with this book as THE top practitioner of applied science.
Howard Bloom, author ofThe Lucifer Principleand The Global Brain

Amy Alkon is a virtuoso at making science accessible and fun. In this fast-paced, deeply authentic 'science-help' book, Alkon weaves her own dramatic transformation with the latest science to show you how to live the life you truly want to live. Its time to stop pitying yourself, devaluing yourself, hiding yourself, and all the other things we do to ourselves to avoid being our full selves. You can be comfortable in your own skin RIGHT NOW. This book will show you how.
Scott Barry Kaufman, Professor of Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, author ofUngifted

Author Bio

Amy Alkon is an independent investigative science writer specializing in applied scienceusing scientific evidence to solve real-world problems. Alkon critically evaluates and synthesizes research across disciplines and then translates it into everyday language, empowering regular people to make scientifically informed decisions for the best of their health and well-being.

For 25 years, Alkon wrote an award-winning, science-based nationally syndicated advice column, distributed by Creators. With Going Menopostal, Alkon has authored five booksmost recently, her science-help book Unfuckology: How to Live with Guts and Confidence (St. Martins Press, 2018).She is the past President of the Applied Evolutionary Psychology Society, which brings evolutionary science to public policy, education, and medicine. Alkon has given invited talks to academics on applied science at scientific conferences and to large groups at universities. She has given two TED talks, and the Los Angeles City Attorneys Office hires Alkon, a State of California-certified mediator, to do behavioral science-based dispute resolution talks and training videos.

Alkon has been profiled in The New York Times, TIME, The Washington Post, The Independent/UK, and Macleans. Alkon has appeared on numerous national TV and radio shows, including Good Morning America, Today, NPR, CNN, Nightline, AndersonCooper, Coast to Coast, and Canadas The Agenda with Steve Paikin, along with podcasts by Adam Carolla, Joe Rogan, Michael Shermer, Robert Wright, and Scott Barry Kaufman.

Alkon lives in Venice, California. Follow Amy on Twitter: @amyalkon. Her website: amyalkon.net