Menopause Symptoms are the stuff of nightmares, they are like stories that people talk about and you find yourself cringing and praying that you will never experience them!

At the age of 44, I find myself thinking about the menopause more frequently. Some of those whispers are starting to feel a bit more real and I’m not a fan!

What is the Menopause?

The NHS Website states the following:

The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. Periods usually start to become less frequent over a few months or years before they stop altogether. Sometimes they can stop suddenly.

The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, as a woman’s oestrogen levels decline. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51.

I used to think that menopause was something that happened when you were much older, I never imagined that it could happen earlier until I watched the Davina McCall documentary.

If you haven’t watched it, you should definitely check it out, NB: you don’t have to be ‘older’ to watch it, it’s relevant! it’s currently available on Channel 4, you just need to create an account.

Here’s the link: Davina McCall Documentary 

It blew me away (if you watched it, please let me know what you thought in the comments below), I couldn’t believe how little support women get in this country, how often menopause is either misdiagnosed or overlooked/dismissed by GPs!

It made me really angry and like many others, I shared my thoughts with the other women in my life. There was a huge debate on Social Media and a lot of women started to talk about their experiences. I started to learn more about different symptoms, about the different stages of the menopause and how symptoms differed from person to person.

I started to look outside of Social Media for more information and I came across a website called Hysterical Women – I read a guest post on there by Katie Taylor, founder of The Latte Lounge. Katie spoke about her experience with her GP when she first felt as if something wasn’t right. The doctor spoke to her for five minutes, diagnosed her with depression and sent her on her way with antidepressants! 

Here is the article in full: All In My Mind

Make sure you check it out, it’s definitely worth a read!

I needed more information and I wanted to speak to people who I knew would give me their honest experiences, so I spoke to my sisters.

I have three sisters, (all of whom are older than me) and I knew that at least one of them had gone through menopause when she was younger than me. I asked them if they would mind contributing to this article and they agreed.

Sister 1: I was 42, I experienced memory loss, gained weight and I felt very anxious. I didn’t take HRT.

Sister 2: I started the menopause at aged 40, it took two years for a diagnosis! When you go through the menopause it takes a hold of your entire body and you feel as if you no longer have control. I experienced hot sweats, mood swings, memory loss, it’s all very overwhelming. 

Then your doctor tells you that you are at risk of developing osteoporosis and likely to be in a wheelchair at the age of 50 if you don’t take HRT! I took a very low estrogen tablet for four years, then I managed my symptoms with diet and exercise.

Sister 3: I started perimenopause when I was 48, am still going through menopause now. My periods were erratic, sometimes heavy, slow or didn’t arrive at all. My last period was 2019. I experience night sweats and in the last month or so I’ve been having day sweats too, day sweats, night sweats, every fecking sweat! No HRT.

My mom also shared her experiences about the menopause, she was pregnant with me at the time (she was 38) and didn’t realise that she was experiencing menopausal symptoms, she just assumed it was the aftermath and giving birth to such a wonderful human being 😉

She went to the doctor some years later and was prescribed HRT tablets. I remember her taking HRT, I was 15 and intrigued by the little circle of different coloured tablets. She was on HRT for 20 years. 

Let’s talk about some of the symptoms that you may experience and what we can do to combat them!