Dr Sarah Jarvis
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
The menopause comes to us all if we live long enough, and 4 in 5 women suffer hot flushes and night sweats. So many other symptoms – tiredness, mood swings, hair changes – get put down to “the change” as well, but just sometimes, it could be something else entirely.
If a man had the same symptoms on a regular basis, they’d be at the doctor’s asking why. The doctor, quite rightly, would question, prod and poke, then organise blood tests to find a physical cause. So should you just assume it’s the menopause, or should you be asking what else could be going on?
Every woman is different and so is her menopause. The “typical” age of menopause is 52, but anything over 45 is considered normal. First signs are irregular periods that may be lighter or much heavier. Some women start getting hot flushes and drenching the bed with sweat while their periods are still regular, and some women don’t get flushes at all. Mood swings and low mood are extremely common around menopause, but there has been debate about whether the menopause gets blamed unfairly. There are often other life stresses at this age – empty nest syndrome, ageing parents with health problems, marriage getting stale – so the issue could be depression. If it is, your mood is more likely to be low a lot, rather than swinging back and forth in minutes. You may find your appetite and concentration, as well as your sleep, are disturbed, and you may feel guilty about everything, or
SOME TABLETS USED IN BREAST CANCER CAN BRING ON ALL THE SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE BY BLOCKING THE FEMALE HORMONE OESTROGEN
feel worthless. Don’t assume it’s menopause – see your GP.
Panic attacks can also be mistaken for the hot flushes of menopause. In both cases, symptoms come on suddenly but with panic attacks you’ll tend to get palpitations and breathlessness, along with lightheadedness, anxiety, dry mouth and sweaty palms. It can sometimes come with chest pain, pins and needles round your mouth and a feeling that you’re going to collapse or die. As with depression, it’s important to see your GP.
Either an overactive or an underactive thyroid can affect periods and sleep. Your thyroid tells your body how fast to “tick over”. If it’s running too high, you may feel anxious and trembly, hot all the time, lose weight despite being constantly hungry and have diarrhoea. Underactive thyroid does the opposite – you may put on weight despite eating less, feel lethargic and miserable, feel the cold and suffer from constipation, lifeless hair and dry skin. Both are diagnosed with a simple blood test.
Tiredness is a common complaint in menopausal patients, but it’s important to get it checked out. Coming up to menopause, periods may get heavier, putting you at risk of iron deficiency anaemia. Other conditions can cause anaemia and consequent tiredness, too. Type 2 diabetes is a common culprit, and often comes with increased thirst, more frequent visits to the loo and minor infections like boils and thrush.
Much less commonly, a tumour called carcinoid can give rise to hot flushes, but is usually accompanied by other symptoms like diarrhoea, wheezing, palpitations and tummy pain.
If in doubt, ask your doctor. If the cause is the menopause or not, there’s no need to suffer in silence. Whether it’s diet or HRT, help is at hand. Next Week: Doctor or Dentist?
NITRATE TABLETS USED FOR HEART DISEASE CAN BRING ON FLUSHING JUST AFTER YOU TAKE THEM, SOMETIMES ACCOMPANIED BY SEVERE HEADACHE
TIREDNESS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT AMONG MENOPAUSAL PATIENTS’’