Half of women don’t realise they’ve started menopause

MORE than half of women took seven months to realise that symptoms like aching joints and fatigue meant they were going through the menopause.

They added up to 52 per cent of those surveyed with another 10 per cent taking over a year.

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, 61, said: “It took me a while to realise I was going through the menopause, but when I did, it honestly was a relief.

“It suddenly all clicked and what I had been going through made sense.”

She is an “ambassador” for Always Discreet sanitary products, which surveyed 1,000 women.

Nearly a third wanted more education about what to expect and to have it more openly discussed.

Anxiety, a metallic taste, hair loss and itchy skin were also among complaints women didn’t realise could be linked to menopause.

Nearly two-thirds agreed it should not be a taboo topic and over half admitted it is so much more than “when your period stops” as defined in the dictionary. Always has now created an online educational hub offering free classes to educate women on the menopause.

Emma Gerrard, from parent company P&G Fem Care, said: “There appears to be a real information gap when it comes to the menopause and clearly many feel it’s simply not spoken of enough. But the more women speak to each other about it, the more we can demystify the experience and empower women to live it and define it, their way.

“Many believe women who go through menopause experience a few hot flushes and then their period stops.

“But it can last for many years and there are a variety of other signs some women experience which are completely swept under the carpet and not spoken about. It’s time women got talking.”

The study also found 28 per cent of women felt too young to be going through the menopause when it started.

are at www.alwaysdiscreet.co.uk