Marblehead doctor’s new clinic supports women facing menopause, more

Kate, who lives in Marblehead, started noticing the changes in her early 40s. Itchy skin. Exhaustion. Weight gain with no changes in her diet.

Her doctors ordered allergy and other tests. But they all came back negative.

“I was starting to see more stuff about menopause on social media, and a friend recommended a doctor who was talking more about it,” said Kate, who asked that we not use her real name.

That doctor was Carmela Mancini. Kate attended a local seminar of hers.

“It was so enlightening, so great,” Kate said. “I told her, ‘I’m so angry because I feel like I was ignored for so long.’ Dr. Mancini does hear you. She listens.”

Mancini recently opened the Women’s Wellness & Menopause Center of the North Shore in Marblehead, where she is educating patients about hormone health, from post-partum through perimenopause and menopause.

“There’s no reason to suffer, no reason to grin and bear it,” Mancini told the Current about living with hormonal changes. “You’re not alone. So many women are going through the same thing.”

Perimenopause typically impacts women starting in their late 30s and early 40s and leads to menopause, which is when a woman stops getting her period. 

During perimenopause, “Women often notice they don’t feel like themselves,” Mancini explained. “They know something isn’t right. Their joints hurt. They’re more irritable. They experience more anxiety.”

Other symptoms or perimenopause and menopause include trouble sleeping, weight gain and lack of energy. 

According to Mancini, most doctors have not been trained well in perimenopause and menopause, so women can end up getting “million-dollar work-ups” to determine what’s wrong with them.

Mancini has been treating women for perimenopause and menopause for years in her primary care practice. (That’s where she treated Kate.) She was prompted to open a special clinic for women after reading a post from a Marblehead woman on a local social media page, asking for advice about hormone changes. 

“There was so much misinformation in the responses,” she said. 

Right now, she is seeing women patients one afternoon a week in Marblehead. 

New patients fill out an in-depth questionnaire before they meet with Mancini, answering questions about their health, medications, symptoms and more. Then, they sit down for a 90-minute consultation and undergo a 3D body composition scan.

“It tells you your weight, BMI (body mass index), muscle mass, waist-to-hip ratio and 80 points on the body,” Mancini explained.

She also orders 14 different lab tests to determine metabolic health and cardiac risk.

After reviewing all the data, Mancini makes recommendations, which sometimes include hormone replacement therapy, nutrition help and mental health referrals.

Mancini said many women are frightened about HRT due to a study back in 2001 that linked the treatment to breast cancer and heart attacks.

“Now we know that estrogen does not give women breast cancer or heart attacks,” Mancini said. “In fact, HRT is cardio-protective.”

Mancini’s advice for women who are experiencing some of the myriad symptoms of perimenopause and menopause: “Talk to your primary care doctor or gynecologist. Find a physician who is educated about menopause. Ask for help.”

Kate agrees. Since seeing Mancini and starting hormonal replacement therapy, she feels much better. 

“I really feel like it’s made a huge difference with no negative side effects,” she said. 

To learn more about Mancini’s new center, visit womenswellnesscenterns.com.

Mancini will be speaking about hormonal changes in women on Sept. 27 at 10:15 a.m. at Lighthouse Fitness, 89 Front St.

Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.

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