LORRAINE It’s good to talk about menopause
Morning TV star tells Jenny Morrison about how she is coping with midlife phase and why women should be frank about it
WHEN Lorraine Kelly felt down on what should have been a perfect afternoon in the holiday sunshine she had no idea the melancholy she was feeling was a common symptom of menopause.
At the time Lorraine knew little of the range of symptoms that could be caused by menopause.
Ten years on she fears many menopausal woman may be taking antidepressants rather than getting the help they actually need to address the hormonal changes in their bodies.
Lorraine, who sought the advice of TV doctor Hilary Jones, is the latest celebrity to turn the spotlight on the menopause.
She joins Davina McCall, Kaye Adams, Gabby Logan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Michelle Obama, who have all recently opened up about their own experience of menopause in a bid to raise awareness and help others.
Lorraine, 62, said: “Everybody’s menopause is different.
“We were sitting in the sun, we were having a lovely lunch, we were going to meet friends later – and I was just so miserable and couldn’t feel any joy. I was joyless.
“My husband said, ‘This is not you, is anything bothering you, what are you worried about?’ .
“For me, it really manifested in just feeling flat, no joy in anything, it was really strange.”
Once Lorraine knew menopause was the cause, and that treatment was available, she says the effects were transformative.
She knows not everyone is as lucky with getting the right help.
The Glaswegian, who takes HRT via patches and a cream, said: “You have the situation, sadly, where women present to their GP with symptoms, and if you’re like me where it was mainly about how you’re feeling in your mind, sometimes that can be misdiagnosed as anxiety, and women may be prescribed antidepressants when they should be getting HRT. “As soon as I got HRT, my husband said, ‘I’ve got you back’. I’d got myself back, that’s how it felt, amazing.” “For me, the benefits outweigh the risks and it has been life-changing. It’s all about being informed and finding out what works for you.
I’m happy there are now women like Davina McCall and Ulrika Jonsson, all these glorious women who’ve come out and said, ‘Yeah I’ve gone through that, it’s fine! I did this and this and this...’.”
Last year TV presenter Davina filmed a documentary about menopause, Sex, Myths and the Menopause, where she detailed her own experience of the fear and shame she felt around taking HRT, due to misinformation she had read around the risks.
All this month she has been posting on social media about her own menopausal symptoms for Menopause Awareness Month, tackling subjects including weight gain, anxiety and hot flushes.
She said: “People that haven’t experienced these (hot flushes) don’t understand what it’s like. You are literally on fire.”
Loose Women and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Kaye Adams has co-written a book on the menopause, Still Hot.
She said: “My natural inclination was to keep my head down because a menopausal woman is almost a form of insult.” Oasis singer Noel Gallagher’s ex Meg Mathews has launched website, MegsMenopause.com, which she hopes is “empowering women through an honest and frank discussion of all things menopause.”
While sports presenter Gabby Logan has spoken openly about the issue on her Mid Point podcast.
Lorraine has teamed up with Always Discreet on their campaign to redefine our understanding of menopause and empower women to live it “their way”.
The brand surveyed 1000 UK women – more than half agreed menopause is so much more than “when your periods stop” which is how it is defined in the dictionary.
I’d got myself back with HRT, it’s how I felt.. amazing