Over the past few years, Claire Irvan has struggled with strange heart palpitations, mild hot flashes and most recently an irritated scalp that “felt like it was on fire.” She manages these mysterious mid-life symptoms, muddling her way through like being blindfolded in a maze, and wonders what could be around the corner.
So when the 50-year-old Portlander received a flyer from a friend about an event inviting women to gather and talk with each other about menopause, she had one thought.
“Hell yeah!”
The menopause journey brings a menu of seemingly unrelated symptoms that range from minor annoyances such as occasional hot flashes to debilitating, life-altering physical and mental turmoil that can last years, end marriages and careers, and lead to long-term chronic disease. Most women are somewhere in the middle, yet it remains a medical mystery to almost all.