Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Menopause

Watts relates an anecdote in which one of her menopausal friends admitted to losing her bike for a few days because she forgot where she parked it. Another friend told Watts about losing her car on a college campus, and Watts remembers missing a flight after “spacing out” during boarding. Watts acknowledges that some individuals may feel insecure about cognitive issues like memory loss, noting such circumstances are often embarrassing. She recommends “owning” cognitive issues rather than minimizing or ignoring them.

To explore the cognitive impacts of menopause, Watts consults Dr. Lisa Mosconi, who has extensively studied Alzheimer’s disease, including how gender and menopause relate to the disease’s development. Dr. Mosconi advocates for the recognition of sex differences in the medicinal community—medical science has traditionally prioritized men’s health, viewing women as basically the same as men but with different reproductive organs. Women-centric studies are also underfunded. Dr. Mosconi found that in some women, menopause causes significant neurological changes, and hormone therapy can, in some cases, lower a woman’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s, particularly in women experiencing early menopause. Along with HRT, Dr. Mosconi suggests that regular check-ups and healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent memory-related diseases.