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Norma Goldman BPharm. MRPharmS. MSc.
Founder & Director of The Menopause Exchange.
I have a pharmacy degree and worked as a pharmacist for many years. I am a health promotion specialist, presenting talks and workshops since 1999 as well as, more recently, webinars for workplaces, companies and organisations.
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The following ‘Ask the Experts’ questions were sent in to The Menopause Exchange by our members, the answers were provided by our ‘Ask the Experts’ panel and included in issue 86 (autumn 2020) of The Menopause Exchange newsletter. If you would like to read the questions and answers in the latest issue of The Menopause Exchange newsletter sign up for FREE emailed newsletters.
Am I likely to experience the menopause at the same age as my mum did?
Dr Diana Mansour, consultant doctor, replies:
It’s likely that you’ll experience your menopause within a few years of your mum’s age at the menopause. Most women go through the menopause between 45 and 55, with the average age being about 51. So if your mum went through the menopause at this age, it’s highly likely that you will too, unless you have certain medical conditions or treatments or have had gynaecological surgery affecting how your ovaries work. If your mum went through an early menopause before age 45, you’ll have a greater risk of an early menopause (before the age of 45). Research is still investigating this complex issue, with a number of genes seeming to play a role.
I ’ve been presenting talks and workshops in the workplace for 21 years, and more recently webinars. An important focus of interest over the last two years has been the preparation of a menopause policy or guidance for employees and employers.
The menopause is a time of change. This can be negative or positive, or a mix of the two. Here are a few tips to help you navigate through this changing – and sometimes difficult – time in your life.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can contain oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. These hormones reduce menopausal symptoms and also offer benefits for bone protection, cardiovascular health and cognitive function. For most women, HRT benefits far outweigh any potential risks of blood clotting, stroke or breast cancer. Every woman’s experience of menopause and/or HRT treatment is unique, so the management approach is very individual. You may have questions about whether HRT is right for you, and how to use it.
Women often get genitourinary symptoms around the time of the menopause, frequently due to mild infections such as cystitis and thrush. At the menopause, you may be more prone to these infections, as reduced oestrogen production causes a rise in your vaginal pH. This affects your vaginal ‘microbiome’, the balance of bugs that live harmoniously inside you.
As you reach the menopause, you may have to take medicines for the first time or take more medicines, such as antacids, blood pressure tablets or diabetes drugs. But have you realised that these medicines may be affecting nutrient levels in your body? And if your diet is already poor and unbalanced, your nutrient status could suffer, affecting your health?
Boiling Betty and Freezing Freddie
A poem by Roger Bulgin, husband of a member of The Menopause Exchange
Boiling Betty is a woman of a certain age, whose children have grown up and moved away.
Though still an object of desire, her body now creates a different fire.
So when she goes out, her coat stays undone, and she carries a fan in case of the sun.
While Freddie’s collar is up and his cap pulled down, he wears his scarf and gloves while he walks through the town.
For where once Betty’s eggs were laid and hatched, her hormones have left for the coast, their bags all packed.
At night she steams with her sleep often broken, and even in winter the window is left wide open.
While Freddie freezes under blankets and pyjamas, he thinks his wife has gone bananas.
“Freezing Freddie,” she calls in her night sweats, “if you’re cold, just go put on another vest!”
So while Freddie shivers like ice beneath the duvet, Betty sizzles like a pancake on Shrove Tuesday.
“I’m boiling,” cries Betty. “I think I’m on fire!” “I’m freezing,” thinks Freddie. “Can we turn the heating higher?”
So like all good marriages built on give and take, they moved to the middle of the bed to arbitrate.
Where Betty is embraced by Freddie’s cooling arms, and Freddie is warmed by Betty’s enduring charms.
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Most women with menopausal symptoms are seen and successfully treated by their GP or practice nurse. However, sometimes they may need to go to a menopause clinic for special advice. This may be because they have had breast cancer, have medical conditions that make treatment difficult or have experienced a premature menopause. Sometimes a menopause clinic can offer treatments not available to GPs.
If you currently attend, or have attended, a menopause clinic (NHS/private), or you work at a menopause clinic, please email norma@menopause-exchange.co.uk with the clinic’s name and address details.