‘I see menopause as a new phase in our lives and it’s one that we need to take responsibility for’ (Picture: Supplied)
TV and radio presenter Lisa Snowdon, now aged 50, first noticed signs of perimenopause when she was 42.
‘I suffered insomnia, hair thinning, extreme night sweats, severe anxiety and angry rages, but I didn’t even know what perimenopause was back then,’ she says. ‘I was totally unprepared.’
She saw her GP and was prescribed antidepressants, but instinctively knew this was wrong.
‘I took them for three to four months but it felt like there was something else happening to me.’ Like most women, the symptoms affected her working life and it wasn’t until she paid to see a menopause specialist privately that she was prescribed HRT.
Now spreading the word, Lisa hosts her Midweek Menopause Madness sessions on Instagram and she’s working with homewares chain Dunelm, which has a new workplace menopause policy and has launched a MenopauZzz campaign, providing free workshops and advice to customers.
‘I see menopause as a new phase in our lives and it’s one that we need to take responsibility for,’ says Lisa. ‘Arm yourself with research, remember movement is medicine, look at your diet and be more mindful about what’s going on in your body.’
Expert Dr Naomi Potter reveals the biggest menopause misconceptions
‘The only absolute certainty is that your periods will stop’ (Picture: Supplied)
Dr Naomi Potter is a specialist menopause doctor and founder of the menopause clinic, Menopause Care.
Passionate about communicating evidence-based information, she says the biggest misconception about menopause is the symptoms. ‘You expect it to be night sweats, hot flushes and periods changing but actually, there are around 60 different symptoms,’ she says.
‘Perimenopause is the master of disguise and can present as so many different things. We have patients coming to us who have seen cardiologists, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, neurologists, orthopaedic doctors, bowel doctors etc.
‘That’s why it’s so hard for GPs. They have ten minutes and if someone comes in with palpitations, they would automatically think that it’s a heart problem and don’t necessarily put the pieces together.’ According to Dr Potter, no two women have the same menopause experience and each journey is constantly evolving.
‘Symptoms might get better, worse, or change. The only absolute certainty is that your periods will stop.
‘When you have not had a period for 12 months, that’s classed as menopause. Every decade that goes by, we will have more data, so it’s our daughters who are going to benefit from this revolution.’
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‘I see menopause as a new phase in our lives and it’s one that we need to take responsibility for’.