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Tamsen Fadal first experienced perimenopause symptoms as a TV anchor when she was in her 40s. She ... More would have such symptoms live on TV, didn’t realize at the time she going through perimenopause and felt like she was “losing control” of her own body. (Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images)
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There have been lots of “how to” books out there, including some very oddly specific ones such as How to Survive a Robot Uprising and How to Avoid Huge Ships. But apparently there weren’t enough readily available and credible “how to” books on menopause when Tamsen Fadal was first experiencing perimenopause symptoms as a TV news anchor when she was in her 40s. She would have such symptoms on live TV, didn’t realize at the time she going through perimenopause and felt like she was “losing control” of her own body. After she eventually discovered what was going on, she received little guidance on how to deal with her symptoms even from her gynecologist, you know the type of person who in theory should know all about this normal transition during midlife. That motivated Fadal to put her investigative journalistic skills to work and write the book How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better than Before.
I recently talked to Fadal about her experiences with perimenopause and menopause and what motivated her to write the book, along with do other things to raise awareness around these topics. “There’s a lot of ageism and stigma around perimenopause and menopause, lots of shame,” Fadal explained. “A woman seems to fall off the timeline past her reproductive years.” That’s despite perimenopause being the totally natural transition from the potential childbearing phase of your life into menopause, as I’ve detailed previously in Forbes. And, news flash, childbearing is just one of the things that you may or may not choose to do in your life if you are a woman. It shouldn’t necessarily define you.
Fadal First Experienced Perimenopause Symptoms On Live TV
Speaking of news, Fadal, now 54 years of age, has had a long career in TV journalism after graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in journalism. Her first broadcasting anchor gig was for WHNZ Radio in Tampa, Florida. She subsequently became a reporter for WPGH-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, WFTV in Orlando, Florida, WOWK-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, KYW-TV in Philadelphia and WCBS and WPIX in New York City. At WPIX, she anchored the morning news five days a week. She also co-starred as a dating coach in the Lifetime TV series “Matched In Manhattan” and served as the host and executive producer of ”The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal" on The Broadway Channel. Along the way, she’s garnered various journalism awards including several local Emmy awards.
It was on live TV when she was blindsided by hot flash symptoms, experiencing stuff like heart palpitations and brain fog. This prompted her to go the bathroom and get down on the floor in order to cool down her body. You can imagine how the words “live TV” and “not knowing what’s going on” don’t go quite well together.
Fadal eventually realized that she was experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. But it took some investigating on her own to fully understand what she was going through. That’s because the doctors she encountered didn’t seem fully versed in such subjects. Fadal lamented that doctors can leave medical school with little attention to the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and how to deal with them.
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