Perimenopause: what every young woman should know

(All rights reserved)

Perimenopause seems to be the preventative health buzzword du jour with two guides to be released in November to help young women understand their next "life change."

On September 22, Heidi Houston, the executive producer of a new documentary Hot Flash Havoc explained to Relaxnews, "the first thing women need to know is that perimenopause begins around 35 years of age. Additionally, younger women can experience some of the symptoms as early as their 30's that they would not normally see until their 40's. Needless to say, this is a huge misconception that many women don't know about."

The Association of Women for the Advancement of Research and Education 's ProjectAWARE has collected 35 perimenopause and menopause symptoms "from the real-life experiences of hundreds of women" including sudden tears, increase in allergies, body odor changes, crawly skin, incontinence and vaginal dryness. To see the full list, go to http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.shtml

According to MayoClinic.com, the Medical Education and Research (MFMER) site of the US-based Mayo Clinic, "once you've gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, you've officially reached menopause, and the perimenopause period is over."

Medical website WebMD notes, "The average length of perimenopause is four years, but for some women this stage may last only a few months or continue for 10 years."

Houston's documentary Hot Flash Havoc will be available for purchase online in November at HotFlashHavoc.net for ($24.99/€19). See trailers: http://www.hotflashhavoc.net/index.php?page=movie-clips

The documentary will also be in theaters on November 16 across the US with plans to then hit movie screens in Canada first and Europe sometime next year.

Houston added, "we're also working on dubbing it in Spanish so that we can go to all of the Spanish speaking countries as well." And promises, "if 2,000 women in your area request the film, Hot Flash Havoc will come to you."

Also, IDEA, the world's largest professional health and fitness association, is to release a DVD titled Women, Metabolism and the Hormone Highway! (non-member rate $34.95/€26) in November to help wellness and fitness professionals advise their female clients and patients on "peri-menopausal challenges, muscle strength, body composition, metabolism, the hormonal roller coaster and other physiological factors." http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-products/women-metabolism-and-the-hormone-highway