Let's talk about perimenopause

I turned 40 this year.

The milestone birthday itself didn't scare me. (It helps that my husband has a couple of years on me so he crossed that threshold first.) 

It wasn't until a few months later when my doctor started bringing up things like osteoporosis and menopause for the first time when the reality hit me that I was entering a new phase of life.

At Newsday's recent Working Moms Summit, I wasn't planning on attending the session about perimenopause but I happened to wander into the auditorium during the panel discussion and was surprised to find it was one of the most lively and engaged events of the day. The women in attendance had a lot of questions — particularly about hormones and hormone replacement therapy, something I had never given one second of thought to, but it felt like I was getting a sneak peek into what the future might soon bring.

Hormone therapy shortages

Women are speaking more publicly about their quest to find relief from perimenopause and menopause symptoms. That, combined with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November asking manufacturers to remove the "black box" warning label on menopausal hormone therapy linking it to risks of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia, has increased demand for these treatments. But there's a downside.

If you're struggling to refill or access hormone replacement patches, you're not alone. Women across Long Island and the United States are continuing to have trouble filling their prescriptions for hormone patches, according to doctors, pharmacists and other experts. And it could get worse.

Dr. Megan Lochner, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Stony Brook Medicine, said she has received frantic calls from patients unable to refill their patch prescriptions.

"They are calling my emergency service after hours, freaking out, because they remember what it felt like before they were on the hormone therapy and they don't want to go back there," she said.

Learn more about the shortages.

Budget-friendly Caribbean vacations

Once the calendar flips to August, it feels like summer vacation is fleeting. 

I've already started going through the 2026-27 school calendar and plugging in the kids' days off into my personal Google calendar, and one thing I noticed is we have a pretty long spring break — a week and a half — this year in late April. I've never gone away with the kids that time of the year, but am thinking it might be time to consider it.

Apparently there are deals to be found then, too.

According to our newest travel guide, which details the best choices for a budget-friendly Caribbean getaway, going during what's considered off-peak times — late April through mid-June and late October through early December — is one of the hacks.

The Caribbean comes to LI

And if you're looking to find a bit of the Caribbean on Long Island, check out this new women's boutique that opened in Montauk.

The store is a sister location of the retail brand that entrepreneur and style enthusiast Nicci Roos launched five years ago in her hometown of St. Thomas. It operates in three stores there.

Roos hadn’t been to Montauk when one of her customers pitched the idea of opening a shop here, but she was intrigued. "The more I looked at it and researched it, I fell in love with it," she says. "It felt like the right move — from one island to another."

Welcome to Momtawk

Over on our Long Island Moms Instagram, we've launched a new podcast series — Momtawk — tackling topics that concern moms across the different stages of parenting.

This week’s chat focused on childcare costs. Many families are paying around $20,000 a year.

How much have you spent? Have any hacks? Listen in and join the conversation here.

You can also sign up for our Long Island Moms Facebook community and email me your questions and feedback at workingmoms@newsday.com.