Menopause Natters

I hear about many women getting told they are too young to be in perimenopause, Gemma is one of those women.After numerous attempts and seemingly years of jumping through hoops to get a doctor to actually listen, Gemma finally got HRT and the help that she needed.Why are we told that we can't be in perimenopause when we meet all the criteria and we are still subjected to hormone tests? Why do we need to prove what we already know and live with every day.Listen to Gemma's story and I am sure many of you will relate!

In the third episode of menopause natters, I chat with Amy, she describes how hormones have had a huge effect on her whole life. From very early on Amy has struggled with her cycles both physically and mentally, having been diagnosed with CFS and Fibromyalgia in her 30's. She didn't make the connection between hormones and her symptoms until much later. In her 40's Amy was struggling to understand what she was experiencing, having recently had her first child and back at work she started to try and unpick the range of symptoms that were causing her to feel physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Find out how Amy went about getting answers, what led her to see a hormone specialist to finally feel relief from her symptoms and ultimately get diagnosed with ADHD.

Episode 2. A solo mini episode of Menopause Natters where we look at perimenopausal rage. Anger is one of the hardest emotions to navigate during peri-menopause, it can feel completely out of character and even shocking to feel such intense rage. We need to look at the socio-bio-psychological impact of perimenopause to fully understand what is happening and that is what this episode of Menopause Natters starts to uncover. Emma discusses why anger is actually a very understandable reaction and how social conversations need to address that, why we have so much repressed anger, and how the continued expectations of holding it together no longer cut it when we add in the physical and mental challenges faced in perimenopause.

Nicky joins me to discuss her journey of discovery, from denial around her symptoms and the awareness that this is peri-menopause - to her acceptance and taking back control. Like many women in their 50's peri-menopause was not openly discussed and so there was a sense of stigma and a misunderstanding around what it all meant. So when Nicky went to counselling for what she describes as a total loss of confidence and feeling of not really knowing herself anymore, the counsellor suggested it might be menopause. This was a real shock for Nicky who didn't feel ready for this change and wasn't sure what it would mean for her future. Nicky talks about her own experience with depression and the sense of grief that she went through around her own loss of self and hopes, how she overcame this, and is now a trained counsellor helping women to find their own confidence.   Listen to the full episode to find out what life is like after HRT, counselling and coming to terms with menopause