Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Have you heard any of these common myths about menopause?
Myth 1 - You have to have gone a whole 12 consecutive months without a period in order to experience menopause symptoms.
This is false! Symptoms can start as early as 10 years before your period stops.
Myth 2 - Hot flashes are the only symptom of menopause.
This is false, too. Menopause is a physiological process that affects all areas of our bodies from our sleep, our mood, musculoskeletal aches and pains, and even vaginal and urinary tissues.
Myth 3 - You have to have hormone levels that prove that you are in perimenopause or menopause.
Also false! When you tell your provider that you're uncomfortable, and you're the average age of menopause, they will help offer treatment.
At UPMC Magee-Womens, we treat the symptoms of menopause that you've been told are just a part of life.
Have you heard any of these common myths about menopause?
Myth 1 - You have to have gone a whole 12 consecutive months without a period in order to experience menopause symptoms.
This is false! Symptoms can start as early as 10 years before your period stops.
Myth 2 - Hot flashes are the only symptom of menopause.
This is false, too. Menopause is a physiological process that affects all areas of our bodies from our sleep, our mood, musculoskeletal aches and pains, and even vaginal and urinary tissues.
Myth 3 - You have to have hormone levels that prove that you are in perimenopause or menopause.
Also false! When you tell your provider that you're uncomfortable, and you're the average age of menopause, they will help offer treatment.
At UPMC Magee-Womens, we treat the symptoms of menopause that you've been told are just a part of life.
