Nearly 50% of Canadian women ‘feel unprepared’ for menopause. What to expect  

A new national report found that nearly 50 per cent Canadian women 'feel unprepared' about menopause, while more than half were unware of the common menopausal symptoms.

In her late 40s, Janet Ko began experiencing heart palpitations, night sweats and 30 hot flashes a day, she said.

Scared she was having heart problems, the Mississauga, Ont., resident saw multiple doctors, but none had linked her symptoms to perimenopause at the time.

Ko, now 55, said it took several years of not feeling healthy before she got the help she needed.

“I went into menopause in my late 40s, had perimenopausal experiences, but I had no idea that there was something called perimenopause,” she told Global News.

In the hope for other women to not be “blindsided” the way she was, Ko started the Menopause Foundation of Canada in January 2022 to help raise awareness about the hormonal changes that affect nearly half the Canadian population.

“We do not want women to be blindsided in the prime of their lives,” she said.

“We want women to receive options and choices to help them manage their menopause their way,” she said, adding that there are many safe and effective treatments for women that they are largely unaware of.

A new national report released Oct 6 by the Menopause Foundation of Canada found that nearly 50 per cent of women feel unprepared for menopause, while more than half were unaware of the common menopausal symptoms.