There’s a club with more than 75 million members in the United States alone, with 6,000 more joining daily. What unites them are sudden heat waves and mysterious mood shifts. This is the menopause transition—spanning perimenopause and postmenopause—a phase nearly every woman experiences in her 40s or 50s.
Menopause marks the permanent end of menstrual cycles and the close of a woman’s reproductive years. It is a natural part of aging. About 80 percent of women undergoing menopause experience unpleasant symptoms, and for many, these symptoms are severe.
