S1E139: How to cope with perimenopause and menopause

Aug 5, 2025

36:11

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Episode notes

Learn how to manage bothersome symptoms that typically emerge in the four to five years before a woman's final menstruation.

Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

Perimenopause is the stage before menopause that many women here do not talk about, largely due to stigma or a lack of awareness.

The transition phase in perimenopause ends in menopause, which marks the end of a woman's natural fertility. This affects not just her reproductive organs but her entire body, adding to the confusion in distinguishing between ageing or illness.

In this episode, senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks to Associate Professor Rukshini Puvanendran, the co-director of the KK Menopause Centre, to counter the misinformation out there.

Prof Ruskhini is also the head and a senior consultant at the Family Medicine Service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).

Highlights (click/tap above):

2.28 Symptoms of perimenopause

7.23 Older women can still have hot flushes

11.03 Some women develop an awareness of their heartbeat

18:39 What can women do about their symptoms?

30:08 The four symptoms of menopause that doctors won't argue about

31:59 Oestrogen cream to treat vaginal dryness and urinary incontinence

Check out ST's new series, No health without mental health: https://str.sg/mentalhealthmatters

Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN

Host: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim