Since turning 50, expenses related to aging have had a significant impact on my family’s budget. For me, most of these changes are effects of The Big M—menopause.
Biologically, menopause is the stage in life when a woman experiences 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle. Conceptually, I understand that. But why did no one tell me it would be so expensive? In one year, I’ve spent well over $10,000 trying to navigate the symptoms and treatment, from supplements, laboratory testing, dietary upgrades, weight management support, medications and their side effects, insurance bills, and doctor’s and emergency room visits. Menopause has completely disrupted my world and my family’s finances.
The expenses are particularly jarring at a time when Gen X women like me should be focused on empty nesting and maxing out our savings for retirement. This is the last stretch of our prime working years before we reach age 67, which is full retirement age according to social security — but the medical expenses related to menopause can diminish or derail those plans. One study estimates that women in America between the ages of 45 and 65 spend an average of $3 billion annually to regulate and treat their menopausal symptoms. The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that women managing diagnosed menopause symptoms have significantly higher medical and pharmacy costs than other employees. We are learning that navigating menopause is expensive.
Conversations with friends who are managing menopause have taught me that it’s different for everyone. Celebrities—including Viola Davis, Halle Berry and Drew Barrymore—have started to share their personal experiences, and work to publicly demystify and destigmatize menopause. Yet there isn’t much support for this stage of a woman’s life. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 6 million women in the United States experience menopausal symptoms every year, which can last upwards of 10 years. In fact, women can spend approximately 30–40% of their lives in menopause.
According to Dr. LaKeischa McMillian, International Menopause Whisperer™️, there are more than 100 symptoms of menopause, ranging from signature hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness to weight gain, itchy ears, joint pain, hair thinning, excessive facial hair, anxiety, and depression. Because the effects can alter your life in so many different ways, menopausal women of working age left managing the increase in absenteeism and decrease in work productivity. Too often, their symptoms are oversimplified and chalked up to aging by doctors, leaving many women feeling isolated and frustrated and unsure how to successfully control the various changes occurring within their bodies. This has resulted in women suffering unnecessarily with a diminished quality of life and, at the worst, chronic discomfort and pain.
Now, let’s discuss the financial element of menopause: there are viable treatments for menopausal symptoms that can range from lifestyle changes, supplements, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, which is now encouraged and increasingly prescribed to women in search of relief. (PBS is streaming a new documentary that covers this history called “The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause” that I highly recommend.) The expense of these treatments—individually and in combination with other possible solutions—can be a financial strain, especially for women who have reduced their work hours or taken unpaid leave because of their symptoms. “The cost of these treatments range [greatly] and most are not covered by insurance,” says Dr. McMillian. “Some aspects of perimenopause and menopause therapy can be covered by flexible spending account (FSA) and healthcare spending account (HSA),” she adds, but do the research to know what your out-of-pocket contributions will be and factor that into your budget accordingly.
Menopause is an inevitable journey and planning ahead can make all the difference to your health and your finances. Remember, you’re not alone—there are experts who specialize in managing menopausal symptoms and can guide you through the process. Take advantage of the resources available and readjust your budget to allow for flexibility. By anticipating these costs and making informed choices, you can minimize the financial strain during this life stage and focus more on navigating menopause with optimism, self-assurance, and as little sweat as possible.
