Menopause Awareness Week
Menopause Matters
“Even if you’re post-menopausal a lot of you have told us that you’re experiencing menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, vaginal dryness, or even low libido. We’re aware that lots of you have pre-existing problems with excessive sweating and this may have got much worse since the menopause.
Menopausal symptoms can also include things like palpitations (an awareness of your heart beat), joint pain, mood problems like depression, and also be associated with issues such as recurrent urine infections.
Research shows that a lot of women are under-treated, or not treated at all, for their menopausal symptoms and that in some women, menopausal symptoms can last for years. This is terrible state of affairs, given that so many of these symptoms can easily be treated.
Some doctors are still reluctant to prescribe HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), which is the most effective medical treatment for the menopause. Misinformation and confusion about the menopause and HRT, both in newspapers and on-line, makes it hard for women to choose what’s right for them.
Menopause information videos from the Trust
With this in mind, we asked Dr Hannah Short, an NHS GP and Menopause Expert, to cut through the confusion and answer your menopause queries in a series of short videos. You can pick and choose the topics that interest you, or watch the full set.
In some of the videos, Hannah discusses HRT, a type of medication that replaces the levels of hormones that naturally decrease after the menopause. Like any medication, it does carry some risks, which Hannah goes on to explain.
Importantly though, the benefits tend to greatly outweigh the risks if you start HRT before you reach 60, or within 10 years of the menopause.
As we know that most of you are in your late 50s, we thought it was really important to bring up this important topic now; so that if you are thinking of trying HRT, you can arrange to see your GP to have a conversation about whether it might be a good option for you, while the benefits still greatly outweigh the risks.
If you’re not keen on taking tablets, Hannah discusses different options such as patches or the gel forms of HRT, and looks at non medication-based options, such as lifestyle changes you can make, or herbal and complementary options.
We really hope you find the videos interesting and informative.
Watch the Thalidomide Trust menopause videos
Further menopause information
You might also like to read our helpful Menopause Factsheet.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this further, please contact myself, Susan, or Dee at the Trust on 01480 474074 or by email. We’ll be happy to talk things through.
You can also find Hannah’s details in our Professionals Directory
Happy Menopause Awareness Week!”
