12 LIVING WELL Women’s health It’s a musical. It’s the focus of an Oprah special. And if you are or care about a woman, it’s either lurking in your life or in your future. It’s menopause, and it raises a lot of questions. OB-GYN Bojan Malmin, MD, and certified nurse-midwife Katie Butler, both part of Adventist Health Women’s Clinic, have the answers. Q We often hear about missed periods and hot flashes as the signs of perimenopause. Do women always experience these? What other signs should we watch for? A: Dr. Malmin: Not all women experience missed periods or hot flashes. Many women have normal or slightly irregular menses for years prior to menopause. Some women have no symptoms at all. Most often, periods may become slightly heavier, longer or more spaced out. Other common symptoms include night sweats, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, irritability and brain fog. Taking the Mystery Out of
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