TRUTH

No fluff. No fear. No judgement. Just the knowledge you need to make the best decisions for yourself.

Pause & Effect: Weekly Menopause Roundup for SEPT 28th

elinzanetant hair care menodivorce menopause treatment national hair day weekly roundup world cookbook month world menopause month Sep 28, 2025

Pause & Effect Weekly Roundup Header: Cup of your favorite beverage, your journal, and a soft white flower in a short vase all sitting on a desk next to a window with rain drops on it.

Your Trusted Source for the Latest Menopause News & Research

Welcome to our weekly roundup of menopause shenanigans kickoff. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter by clicking the giant button at the top of the sidebar to be notified when a new roundup is posted. Here’s what I got for y’all this week:

Is menodivorce the cause of an increase in the divorce rate among the 50+
Experimental drug Elinzanetant showed a reduction in hot flashes by 73% in research participants
Tips and tricks to show your menopause starved hair some love on National Hair Day
October is World Menopause Month, and this year’s theme is lifestyle medicine
October is also National Cookbook Month and I got an early sneak peek at my FREE Fall Favorites Recipe Collection

Is Menopause to Blame for Increased Divorce Rates?

Key Takeaways:

Overall divorce rates are dropping but divorce among 50+ years old are increasing
Menodivorce is a new term referencing the rising trend in divorces among those 50+ years old seemingly triggered by the onset of menopause
For some, menopause is the catalyst to improve relationships and for others, it’s the catalyst to end them

In 1990, almost 10% of all divorces in the United States were among adults 50 and over. By 2019, it had more than doubled to 25%. Since menopause has always been a thing, IMHO it’s hard to place the blame for that increase entirely on menopause’s doorstep.

That said, we also can’t discount the role menopause plays. During the menopause transition (aka perimenopause) especially, our hormones levels fluctuate wildly, and our moods fluctuate right along with them. Small things we used to ignore are now deal breakers. The mental load we’ve carried for our spouse, children, and aging parents has become a burden we no longer want to carry alone. But can you really blame us for prioritizing our own health and wellbeing, usually for the first time in our lives?

Men have been blaming menopause for their wives "going crazy" for ages. I mean, husbands could have their wives committed to an insane asylum for just about any reason before the 1970s and that included perimenopause symptoms and the infertility that comes with postmenopause. But all that came to an end when laws were passed in the 1970s allowing women to own property, have bank accounts and get credit, as well as file for no-fault divorces.

These legal changes, combined with women marrying later (or not at all) and gaining greater economic independence, fundamentally shifted the power dynamic. With more rights came more choices. More choices meant more economic independence. More economic independence means women today are more likely to file for divorce than stay married to someone that doesn't respect them enough to even learn about what is happening (cuz God knows none of us were taught about menopause in school).

While menodivorce specifically pertains to the relationship between spouses, the reality is that all relationships in our lives are subject to the same scrutiny as our marriage is. Non-romantic friendships that drain our energy are ended too. Ditto for problematic family members. At some point, maintaining these relationships just isn’t worth the physical, emotional, and mental toll they take anymore. Is that menopause’s fault or the fault of a society that consistently expects women to give more than they receive? For my part, I blame society and thank menopause for the clarity it brings.

Bottom Line: Menopause is a stressful transition that affects us body, heart, and soul. It also has a knack for removing our ability to ignore the problems in our relationships that have been festering for years. But before chucking any relationship in the bin, it might be worth, at the very least, an honest conversation first. Some things are fixable.

Elinzanetant Is a Promising Non-Hormonal Treatment for Menopausal Hot Flashes

Key Takeaways

Elinzanetant is a promising, hormone free alternative for treating hot flashes
Most common side effects are sleepiness, fatigue, and headache.
No major safety concerns related to the liver or bone density were reported
This was a rigorous, large-scale study, aka the gold standard of medical research
Bayer (the maker of elinzanetant) is still waiting for FDA approval after a delayed decision in July 2025

The OASIS-3 trial, published this month in JAMA Internal Medicine, represents the longest placebo-controlled study of this novel therapy. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized phase 3 clinical trial showed a whopping 73.8% reduction in hot flash frequency in the first three months. Notably, this study included women with any level of moderate-to-severe hot flashes, not just those with the severe, high frequency hot flashes typically required in clinical trials, making it considerably more applicable to what the vast majority of us experience on a day-to-day basis.

How Does It Work?

Elinzanetant works by blocking certain receptors in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain commonly referred to as “the body’s control center.” As estrogen levels decline in perimenopause and beyond, these receptors become hyperactive, leading to the disruption in our body’s temperature regulation system resulting in hot flashes and night sweats. By blocking those receptors, elinzanetant also blocks the downstream disruption of our body’s regulatory system which in turn, blocks the hot flashes and night sweats.

Ok, But Is It Safe?

The most common treatment-related side effects were sleepiness, fatigue, and headache, occurring in 30.4% of elinzanetant users (versus 14.6% on placebo), but most reported only a mild to moderate intensity. And with a discontinuation rate hovering around 12%, it suggests that even the moderate intensity side effects were still mostly tolerable. Most importantly, the study found no adverse effects to the liver or bone mineral density.

What This Means for You

As we all know, menopause symptoms can last years, even decades, and some of us never get relief from all of our symptoms so having safe and effective treatments that can be administered long term is crucial for long-term care. Likewise, this could be particularly valuable for women with a history of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, or other conditions that contraindicate hormone therapy, and would also give those who aren’t comfortable with hormone-based therapy effective options besides lifestyle only approaches.

Bottom Line: elinzanetant is a promising new non-hormonal drug for the treatment of hot flashes and night sweats, regardless of severity, with minimal side effects and long-term use concerns. FDA approval is still pending, but this trial was done using the gold standard of medical research, not some small observational study prone to drawing questionable conclusions.

Menopause Hair Tips for National Hair Day (Oct 1^st)

Key Takeaways:

About 40% of women experience noticeable hair loss by age 50 and that climbs to 50% by age 65
Hair loss & thinning can be caused by many things including aging, genetics, stress, and yes, menopause
Estrogen plays a key role in the hair growth so when it declines in menopause, hair loss outweighs hair growth
Hair has a 2-3 month growth cycle so any interventions need to be given at least that amount of time
We naturally lose 50-100 hairs daily, but loss should be defined by what is normal for you

With October 1^st being National Hair Day, I wanna take a second to talk about the stress hair loss in menopause causes. Hot flashes, night sweats, and weight gain get all the attention but for me, the massive amount of hair I’ve lost (about 50% at this point) is still one of my most traumatic symptoms.

National Hair Day was created in 2017, presumably in an effort to sell more products, but I didn’t even know this day existed until this year when I was looking for different products to help with my hair loss after topical minoxidil left my poor scalp angrier than I have ever seen it in my life. And folks, I’ve set my hair on fire more than once (thanks, Aqua Net!) Right now, I am trying a rice water rinse product and will keep y’all updated on how that goes, but in the meantime, I’ve got three easy tips to help reduce the stresses on your tresses.

Regular Scalp Massages

Gentle scalp massage increases blood flow to follicles and better blood flow stimulates hair growth. Minoxidil works, at least partially, on the same principle by widening blood vessels and allowing more nutrients to reach follicles. Research (HERE, HERE, and HERE) shows massage may also stretch dermal papilla cells which play a role in hair formation.

Now, not everyone will respond to this, and most of the research is on male pattern baldness, but gently massaging the scalp with your fingers, using circular motions for as little as 4 minutes per day may at least help reduce the amount of hair fall. If nothing else, it’s a wonderful relaxation technique to do right before bed that also helps reduce overall stress and could even help with menopause related migraines and headaches.

Switch to Gentle, Sulfate Free Hair Care

Avoid anything with harsh chemicals or sulfates. These strip the natural oils from both your scalp and hair leaving your hair dry and prone to breakage. Water quality matters too. Hard water leaves a film in your hair which not only builds up over time making it dull and flat, it also makes it difficult to keep your hair hydrated.

Add hard water on top of shampoos or harsh treatments and you have a double whammy of damage. If you suspect hard water is contributing to your hair issues, consider using a clarifying shampoo weekly or investing in a shower filter. I have incredibly hard water where I live and since a water softener, even the shower heads, is not an option for me, I have no doubt that menopause alone isn’t the only culprit in my thinning hair.

Add Volume-Boosting Products

Fake it ‘til ya make it. Volumizing products and a blow drier can do wonders for your hair’s volume. Just look back at all the pictures from the 80s. That height wasn’t achieved by natural means, my friend.

Ok folks, those three tips should to get you started. I’ve got more planned for later this month so make sure you are on my email list to get notification when it drops. Remember, any hair loss that is more than the typical hair loss for YOU warrants investigation and intervention.

October is World Menopause Month

This year's theme is Lifestyle Medicine. Every year the International Menopause Society (IMS) chooses a new theme for World Menopause Day on the 18th, and this year’s couldn't be more relevant. While hormone therapy remains an important treatment option, mounting research reveals that strategic lifestyle interventions can dramatically improve menopausal symptoms and long-term health outcomes.

Lifestyle medicine encompasses evidence-based approaches including targeted nutrition, specific exercise protocols, stress management techniques, sleep optimization, and social connection strategies. The challenge lies in navigating the overwhelming amount of conflicting information available.

Make sure you’re on my email list, as I'll be breaking down the latest research, debunking common myths, and providing specific, actionable protocols that you can implement based on your unique symptom profile and health goals all month. Because when it comes to thriving through menopause, the details make all the difference.

My Fall Favorites Recipe Collection Is Now Available

October isn't just World Menopause Month; it's also World Cookbook Month! What better time to transform your fall comfort food cravings into nourishing meals that actually support your health goals?

My Fall Favorites Recipe Collection is designed specifically for busy people who want to embrace cozy autumn flavors without the energy crashes and blood sugar spikes. This collection features protein-packed breakfast options like Apple Pie Smoothie and Gingerbread Oatmeal, plus warming soups perfect for batch cooking and guilt free desserts.

Get your free Fall Favorites Recipe Collection HERE.

Okie dokie, that’s it for this week. I'll be back on Wednesday to kick off World Menopause Month and again next Sunday with another roundup!