Womens Health Services

Menopause
What is happening to you?
Does the transition into midlife feel overwhelming? Perhaps your periods have become irregular, or you're experiencing insomnia. Both are common symptoms of perimenopause, the gradual transition your body undergoes prior to menopause. Fortunately, most of the symptoms associated with perimenopause aren't especially worrisome. And most of these symptoms can be managed.

During this time, you'll experience various physical and emotional changes. How you approach this life stage can determine whether menopause will be a positive or negative experience.

Menopause, the absence of a menstrual cycle for one year or the surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries often referred to as the change of life, occurs because your body stops producing female hormones.

Learn what to expect
Education is key to making a smooth transition from menstruation to menopause. Some women sail through perimenopause symptom-free. Others experience some minor discomforts.

How well you understand what is happening to your body has a lot to do with how well you manage this important life transition. Menopause can serve as an open door to a new path of life, but where that path leads begins with you.

Hot news on hot flashes
Many women who are going through perimenopause may assume that the associated symptoms are "just part of being a women." While nearly every women experiences some type of transition into menopause, many of the associated symptoms are manageable. That's why Geisinger Medical Center's Women's Health Services offers a menopause education program. This program provides accurate and up-to-date information tailored to your needs and lifestyle, including:

• Individualized teaching based on your needs
• Health action plans to promote healthy lifestyle choices
• Physician and nurse practitioner referrals
• Bone mineral density screenings for postmenopausal clients (screening covered by most major health plans)

Information on symptoms and services
Our menopause education program includes information on:

• Hormone replacement therapy
• Exercise
• Insomnia
• Night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Osteoporosis
• Breast cancer
• Determining your health risk for breast cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis
• Depression and changing moods

Contact Us
Our Menopause Education Program is available free of charge on Mondays at Geisinger Medical Center's Women's Health Pavilion. Call (570) 271-7906.