AtHomeWithLorraineKelly2016 - 113

THE BIG M
JUST WHEN YOU'RE AT THE PRIME TIME OF YOUR LIFE... BOOM!
ALONG COMES THE HORMONE EQUIVALENT OF A TORNADO

S

ome women breeze through the
menopause without a whiff of a
symptom, while others run the
gamut from full on hot flushes
at inappropriate moments to
floods of tears because someone accidently
bumps into them at the supermarket.
It's as inevitable as puberty, but how it
affects your mind and body is different
for every individual.
The menopause is when your periods
stop - they tend to become less frequent
over a few months or years before they
stop altogether. It usually occurs between
the ages of 45 and 55, as a woman's
oestrogen levels decline.
A perimenopause, when you may
experience irregular bleeding, night sweats
and mood swings, is the first sign that
you're heading for the menopause, and
it could last several years.
Menopausal symptoms can begin
months or even years before your periods
stop and last around four years after
your last period, although some women
experience them for much longer.
We asked eight women how they deal
with their symptoms on a day-to-day basis.

sleeplessness, aching joints and vaginal
atrophy (dryness of the vagina due to
reduced oestrogen).
'The most helpful thing I've done is
to go on the birth control pill, which
I take for three months, followed by
a week's break. I do still get symptoms,
but not so badly.
'Regular exercise and cutting back
on caffeine and sugar has helped
ease the palpitations, hot flushes and
sleeplessness, and Epsom salt baths or
gentle stretching exercises help with the
joint pain. For the vaginal atrophy, I use
Ovestin, an estriol vaginal cream.'
PHILIPPA SCOTT, 41, NEWPORT,
SOUTH WALES

DON'T BE AFRAID
TO ASK FOR A
SECOND OPINION

'I've been going through the menopause
since I was 49 and I'm now 58. My first

young female doctor tried to fob me off
with antidepressants, but, as I pointed
out, "You don't get hot flushes if you
are depressed". A second GP actually
listened to what I was saying and agreed
to let me try oestrogen-only Hormone
Replacement Treatment (HRT) for
three months. This, combined with the
Mirena coil (for progesterone), worked
well until two years ago, when I thought
I would try to ease off the HRT - health
guidelines were saying you shouldn't be
on it for a long period of time.
'This was a big mistake, as I nosedived
straight back to the hot flushes, aches,
anxiety and other symptoms.
'I've since had the coil removed and
am on a very low combined, continuous
HRT, which is keeping the hot flushes
at bay. My advice would be to find a GP
who is sympathetic to your symptoms
as some don't take them seriously.'
CAROLE JANMAN-COBB, 58,
CHICHESTER, WEST SUSSEX

GOING ON THE PILL
HAS REALLY HELPED

'My main symptoms vary from month to
month, as I'm at the wildly fluctuating
stage of perimenopause, but they include
extreme fatigue, palpitations, hot flushes,

www.athomemagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2016 | 113
AtHomeWithLorraineKelly2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AtHomeWithLorraineKelly2016
