UPMC Nurse Practitioner Aims to Break the Silence Around Menopause and Perimenopause
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Asia Tabb
Aired; July 7th, 2025.
Listen to the podcast to hear the full conversation.
As more women seek answers about the physical and emotional changes that come with aging, UPMC Nurse Practitioner Melissa Laidacker is helping lead the conversation through a new podcast series dedicated to menopause and perimenopause.
“Menopause really just refers to one day in a woman’s life—the final menstrual period,” Laidacker explained. “Perimenopause are the months and years leading up to that point, and for some women, that can be upwards of 10 years.”
The idea for the podcast grew from a tele-town hall hosted by UPMC where women asked questions about symptoms, treatments, and how to navigate this major life transition. The popularity of the event made it clear: there’s a thirst for information and support.
“We decided to create it into a podcast so that women could really watch or listen at their leisure,” Laidacker said. “My real interest in menopause care started as a new nurse practitioner about 10 years ago. I had a huge volume of patients that were demanding information on this topic.”
Laidacker noted that perimenopause can begin in a woman’s mid-30s and may go unnoticed at first.
“Many women will start to notice irregular menstrual patterns, sleep disturbances, mood changes, vaginal changes, and even difficulty concentrating,” she said. “The symptoms can vary widely—some women may have one, others may experience all of them.”
Menopause, on the other hand, is defined by 12 consecutive months without bleeding. “Some women notice the bulk of symptoms around that time, while others may hardly notice any changes,” Laidacker said.
Laidacker stressed that menopause is more than just the end of reproductive years—it’s a multisystem physiological change that can affect everything from heart health to bone density.
“We have hormonal receptors throughout our body—in our brain, bones, urinary tissues. It’s not just about hot flashes,” she said. “There’s a metabolic shift. Women lose lean muscle, their metabolism changes, weight distribution changes, and this can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.”
Laidacker hopes her work—and the podcast—will help normalize these discussions.
“It’s about making women feel heard. It’s validating that what they’re experiencing is real,” she said. “This isn’t just a phase to suffer through. There is hope, and there is knowledge out there for them.”
The podcast is available through UPMC and aims to empower women with accurate, accessible information to help navigate the challenges of perimenopause and menopause with confidence and care.
