Andrea McLean’s guide to surviving the menopause

In the first part of exclusive of a Menopausal Woman, 4 McLean explains how to re and physical symptoms th

WHAT is the menopause? Ask a hundred people and you’ll get a hundred different answers.

Each one of us will experience the build-up to the menopause in our own unique way. While there will be some uniting factors (getting hot, sweaty, anxious and grumpy seem to be the main ones), there’s a whole host of symptoms and experiences that come under the umbrella term of “menopause”.

There are apparently 34 signs of being menopausal, including: anxiety and stress, bladder incontinence, bloating, difficulty concentrating, hair changes, overwhelming fatigue, mood swings, loss of libido and memory lapses.

I have pretty much had all those symptoms, and for a while I didn’t know if discovering they’re all related to the menopause made me feel better or worse.

Now I’ve got my head around it, I feel better because I can show the list to my other half and explain it’s not my fault I’m forgetful, distracted, irritable, fat, sweaty, smelly, hairy – and hairless.

But I don’t want to roll over and accept this is the “new me” any more than I want to accept my hair is grey. Sod that!

Perimenopause

Blood tests at the age of 43 confirmed I was perimenopausal, a stage which happens a few years before menopause when periods become irregular. You’re said to have reached menopause if you haven’t had a period for at least a year.

The perimenopause seems to be treated like a bit of a “meh” thing. It’s just something that women are expected to put up with while waiting for the real menopause to kick in, at which point they can properly ask for help.

But the perimenopause can last for over a decade! Who wants to feel terrible for a huge chunk of their life, waiting until things get bad enough for a doctor to decide they’re ready for medication?

Physical symptoms like night sweats and palpitations, and mental symptoms such as tearfulness and irritability can affect your quality of life and interfere with the way we function well. The thing is, you don’t have to put up with them.

HRT

I asked Dr Tina Peers, Consultant in Contraception and Reproductive Health, with a special interest in menopause management, if hormone replacement therapy can really help women with their physical and mental symptoms. Her answer was an unequivocal yes.

During my perimenopause I started using one sachet of Sandrena oestrogen gel a day, and was told to increase the dosage to what felt right for me.

There is no standard prescription for hormonal irregularities. So much of it comes down to not feeling “right”, and only we know what feels right for us. It took time, my dose was adjusted, but I got there.

The medication attacked the symptoms but left me still feeling like myself.

And I felt so much better! Starting HRT was as life-changing at 43 as going on the pill had been at 19: the sweats stopped, I gradually became more balanced, my moods evened out and lifted, and my anxiety returned to its normal level. I felt like I was sailing on calm waters again.

After my hysterectomy in November 2016 I was prescribed four different forms of HRT and again feel really well.

If you’d prefer not to take these drugs, there are natural alternatives which can lend a helping hand – meditation to improve your energy levels and calm your mind, vitamin