From Bong Hits to Serious Risks

Perimenopause Is Not Just "Menopause Jr."

A woman came into my clinic with blood in her urine. She was in midlife, showed up with her partner, and together we discovered she had a low-grade bladder cancer. We removed it. She's cured. Then, I brought up one of the biggest causes of bladder cancer—smoking.

"You probably don't smoke, right?"

"Well, I smoke a bong every day," she said casually.

I blinked. "We are in our forties! We count ounces of water and grams of protein, obsess over our sleep. We don't count bong hits anymore!"

Photo by Smoke Honest on Unsplash

Her partner gave me a look that said, Finally, someone else sees it.

Welcome to perimenopause: a transformative, in-between stage where the habits that got you through your twenties and thirties may now actually be hurting you. You've entered a phase of life that is as overlooked as it is chaotic, and it's about time we start talking about it.

Perimenopause Is Not Just "Menopause Jr."

Let's set the record straight: Perimenopause is not "younger menopause." It's a different physiological state altogether, marked by hormonal chaos, unpredictable periods, mood swings, anxiety, and bone changes—yes, bone changes.