It was the best thing that ever happened to me! Our readers on how they coped...

I WAS delighted when I reached the menopause aged 50 – no more messy periods, no spoilt holidays, freedom to swim and sunbathe. The minor inconvenience of hot flushes soon disappeared with the help of liquorice tea.

Women will never be taken seriously if they are constantly bleating about ailments, demanding HRT and special concessions at work because of a totally natural, and indeed liberating, interlude.

The hysteria about HRT shortages reminds me of addicts deprived of their heroin. No one ever died of the menopause; it’s a positive step, not a negative one, and expensive NHS medication is entirely unnecessary.

Elizabeth Lowe

I WENT through the menopause in my late 40s while working full-time as a hospital doctor, with two teenage sons.

Like many professional women I knew, I took HRT for about three years, as I suffered insomnia and it helped me sleep.

The medication served its purpose, and when I didn’t feel I needed it any longer, I stopped.

Name withheld

WHEN I was thrust into the menopause at 47, I had numerous unpleasant symptoms that ebbed and flowed but just didn’t go away.

At my lowest point a male GP unhelpfully told me I was lucky to be alive as women in times gone by died before they even got to the menopause.

Aged 55, I’m now pretty much through it all. We need menopause policies, research and understanding and a society that acknowledges that every woman’s menopause is unique.

Lynda Sullivan, Isle of Man

I HAVE friends who had an awful time with the menopause, and they rightly had medical help. But I and the majority women I know have gone through this period with no need for medical intervention.

Name withheld

WHEN my daughter, now 49, asked me recently how I managed the change, I had to say I can’t remember, so it couldn’t have been that bad!

Elizabeth Millar

TWO years of horrendous sweats, day and night, and joint pain finally led me to my GP. She was reluctant to give me the HRT patches I asked for, but I persisted.

Having been on them for almost a year, I no longer need painkillers and the sweats have diminished. I feel well and happy.

Everyone is individual. Do your research before you discuss the menopause with your GP, who may have only vague knowledge on the subject.

Name withheld

I HAD a hysterectomy when I was 44 and was not offered

HRT. I was told that my body would make enough oestrogen and, as I was fit and healthy, I would be fine.

This proved to be correct as I continued to work until I was 67 and never took sick leave. I did get a few night sweats, felt depressed and a bit anxious, but that is part of life.

My job was causing stress, so I changed that, and worked on resolving family difficulties.

This stage in life is inevitable. You will also pass through it, as I did, older but wiser.

Hazel Horsnell, West Worthing

A LOT of women suffer with hot flushes, but my thoughts have always been: ‘I’m hot, so what? There are worse things and it will pass.’

The menopause is a normal stage in life we have to go through. HRT has helped a huge number of women but it is postponing the inevitable.

Anne Williams

I AM 71 and went through the change at 50 with just the odd warm flush.

In a survey of my friends, only one took HRT due to real issues during the process. My mother said when I started my periods, ‘You are not ill.’ I had the same attitude to the menopause.

Jill Liddell

I STARTED experiencing hot flushes and disturbed nights about 20 years ago, aged 46, just as my periods were fading out.

HRT didn’t agree with me – my mental health suffered – and natural remedies just made my legs swell. So I learned to live with it.

I still get the occasional hot ‘flash’ but I manage this with aromatherapy rollers – applied to my temples, in front of my ears, and on my wrists – when things get a bit sticky.

Sally Heavens, Louth

THE menopause happened for me at pretty much the same age as it did for my mother, in my mid-50s.

I might have been a bit more ratty but did not suffer most of the more difficult symptoms that I read about.

The main inconvenience was having very heavy periods for the last couple of years, but after that I rejoined the human race to enjoy a wonderful period-free future. My next birthday will be my 80th.

Carole Stimson

I WAS 49 when my periods just stopped and all I experienced was hot flushes for a year – this was great for me in the winter as I feel the cold and I had an in-built heater!

My periods used to leave me anaemic. The menopause is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

June Cavender

MY MENOPAUSE started when I was 51 and working full-time while looking after my mother, who had dementia.

At that time, HRT was the big new thing, but it was then made from horses’ urine, so I refused it.

Instead I wore cardigans that I could open when I felt too hot. I suffered electrical charge-like sensations down my arms and legs and struggled to sleep. After my mum died when I was 60, the symptoms slowed down.

There seems to be an obsession with HRT these days and women think they won’t be able to manage without it. Well, I did. Philippa Hopkins,

West Sussex