
Menopause is something that all women will experience, typically between the ages of 45 to 55. Unfortunately, when this time comes for many women, they find that information is sparse. This is something former First Lady Michelle Obama found to be true during her own journey with menopause.
In fact, when she was 50, she found herself trying to learn as much as she could in preparation for the inevitable.
“I want to know what I’m getting into,” Obama told PEOPLE at the time. “My mom is like, ‘Menopause? Yeah, I think I went through it.’ She doesn’t remember anything.”
Eight years later, the information is still sparse.
“There’s a lot we don’t know,” Obama, 58, says in an interview previewing her upcoming new book “The Light We Carry“.
Fortunately, she found comfort in her group of friends who are also experiencing menopause.
“There is not a lot of conversation about menopause. I’m going through it, and I know all of my friends are going through it. And the information is sparse,” she shares.
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The good news is the same girlfriends, who used to gather together for regular fitness “boot camps” when she was in the White House have given her more than just moral support, PEOPLE notes.
“I find that when we get together and we’re moving and we’re laughing, then we spend a little time talking about what we’re going through. ‘What’s a hot flash?’ We have girlfriends around the table who are OBGYNs, who have real information. All of that keeps us lifted up,” she says.
The 58-year-old also opened up about the symptoms she begin experiencing, which include hot flashes (also known as vasomotor symptoms) and weight gain.
On “The Michelle Obama Podcast”, which airs on Spotify, she opened up about her decision to use hormone replacement therapy under her doctor’s guidance. Hormone replacement therapy helps restore hormone levels in the body, is effective at treating