I started experiencing the menopause in my early/mid 40’s and know it or not, if you’re a woman, so will you. Now, that’s not to say each and every one of us will necessarily have noticed or recognised any symptoms but your oestrogen levels start to deplete in your 40’s. I most definitely did notice but didn’t know what was happening to me.

Women are given very little information about the Menopause. Traditionally it hasn’t been taught in schools/colleges, GP’s often aren’t trained in menopause management, it’s very rarely discussed in the workplace and female friends are not always willing to discuss it openly.

Fortunately, things are starting to change, and it can’t come soon enough. The peri-menopause, a term I had not heard about until last year, starts for most women in their early to mid-40’s. With women often starting families later in life it can be a time when there are young children to look after, and I can assure you being peri-menopausal while raising a young family is not much fun.

I started to feel the effects from around my 40^th birthday – very low mood, feelings of hopelessness, irrational rage, bouts of sobbing. At times I felt unable to cope, functioning on autopilot, uninterested in family activities and scary feelings of despair. My symptoms were psychological and I just had no idea what was wrong with me. Although I instinctively knew it was related to my hormones no-one mentioned the menopause. This carried on for a number of years, throughout my early to mid-40’s, and even though I sought help no-one could tell me what was wrong with me.

At the time, and I’m only talking in the last 10yrs, it was rarely talked about, and only in hushed tones, as something that you would ‘go through’ in your 50’s. That’s just not the case.

According to Dr Naomi Potter, Menopause & Peri-Menopause Doctor,

“Women don’t ‘go through’ the menopause as if they will at some point get to the ‘other side’. There isn’t another side to get to.

Menopause is simply the change from having Oestrogen to not having it.”

The Facts are:

• 100% of women will have a Menopause – whether medically induced or natural
• 90% of women experience menopausal symptoms
• peri-menopause typically starts in your 40’s
• average age of the menopause is 51yrs
• every woman’s menopause will be individual

Your periods stop because your ovaries have run out of eggs to release each month and this causes them to make a lot less oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone, as these hormones are no longer needed, and menopausal symptoms are just the body reacting to the falling levels of these hormones especially oestrogen.

In the past women’s hormones would start to deplete as they were no longer needed for childbearing and then they would die in their 40’s! Now we need our bodies to keep functioning for us well into our 80’s and 90’s – that’s approximately half of our lifetimes so, for me, understanding the menopause and what my options are for managing it, just makes sense.

Rather confusingly though the menopause is officially the day when your periods have stopped for over a year but the term often encompasses the years leading up to this point, known as the peri-menopause, and for several years afterwards, known as post menopause.

With more than 40 symptoms related to the menopause it’s not all hot flushes, night sweats and brain fog! Those were the only ones I had really heard about, but one of the main symptoms of the menopause, joint pain, is close to my heart. As my oestrogen levels have dropped the lubrication of my joints has decreased causing aches and pains. Last year I found that I couldn’t bend down to tie my laces, that getting into and out of bed was painful, even turning over in bed was uncomfortable. I felt about 100 yrs old! I’m 51!

I had no idea this could happen! I do now – oestrogen is hugely important in providing the lubrication that my joints need, helping to reduce inflammation and keeping my bones strong.

Now I know that, I have found solutions which = lifestyle changes, nutrition and HRT.

After my experience of not being able to get the support or information I needed, I am a strong advocate of encouraging every woman to make sure they understand what the menopause is by familiarising themselves with the facts, how it may affect them and knowing what options are available to manage it.

Just knowing the facts, because there are a lot of myths out there, can make the whole thing seem a lot less daunting, if indeed you are feeling that way about it. After all, this is often a liberating time of life with children more independent, possibly a well-established career and maybe a newfound confidence as you feel more experienced. But whether you’re worried or not that concerned, being well informed is key to being able to make a conscious and positive choice about how you manage your menopause and this next phase of your life journey.

I knew I didn’t want to be at the mercy of my hormones like I had been in my 40’s, after all we had just moved to live near the sea, the children were becoming more independent and I knew I wanted to live a full and active life. I had to become my own strongest advocate for my health and wellbeing. And that meant thoroughly researching all I could about the menopause and how best to manage it.

Every woman’s menopause is individual and so is how she chooses to manage it. No one way is more right than another. It is entirely up to you which option you choose but I do believe that choosing an option rather than ignoring it is the best option!!

Somebody asked me last week what the most significant thing was that I had learned through all my research into menopause, and maybe I am showing my ignorance here but, it was not until I was 50yrs that I understood what an important part our hormones play in our body. I thought they were just related to my reproductive cycle but I now understand that my body needs oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone to work properly. Without these hormones our bodies cannot function in the way they always have. I don’t know about you, but I have so much more I want to do in my life. Personally, I have chosen to replace my depleting hormones using Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) but there are others ways of managing it.

Understanding what is happening to your body during your menopause enables you to make the right choice for you about how you want to manage your menopause & live your life.

joanne@balancedmenopause.co.uk