Me, my mate MS and my mate Menopause
Two
or three years ago it started, well I think it was the menopause. With most
ladies a good indication will be the stopping of periods, however in my case
due to my lack of mobility I was fitted with the marina coil 8 years ago, so periods
were a thing of the past anyway.
Last
month my niece told me about a channel 4 programme that Davina McCall did called
Sex, Myths and the Menopause, and said it was a must watch. Both hubby and I
sat down and watched it together.
In
this blog post I am going to list some of the statistics, it’s frightening we
still live in a society where we don’t tend to openly talk not only to our
friends but to the family that we live with, although I am very lucky the Dean
team have always talked about everything. It’s so important for all age groups
to understand the menopause. It
is not just my mate MS but also my mate menopause, when I’m going off on one is
it my personality, because of my MS, or is it because of the menopause. Hubby
now has two extra friends, neither of which he really wanted.
What
have I learnt? Let’s start with the effect it has on mental health, many of us
have suffered this during lockdown, but it could be also down to our menopause
(yes it’s the females that physically go through the menopause but the partner and
children also have to deal with the negative effects).
FACT
40%
of women don’t realise the effect that the menopause has on their mental health,
and it is often confused with depression. 3000 women were surveyed and 2/3 were
offered antidepressants as the first form of treatment.
FACT
Out
of 200 health care professionals, 1 in 3 said they didn’t feel comfortable
managing the menopause.
It
is possible that women will suffer with perimenopause which has been known to
start as young as 14, although that is an exception, and in the majority of
cases it will happen late 30s or anytime during the women’s 40s. This is all
quite frightening as the first thing someone thinks of is not menopause, but as
soon as it all starts the oestrogen levels start to deplete.
FACT
A
lack of oestrogen can cause an increased chance of cardiac arrest, osteoporosis,
diabetes, and dementia (the risk of women getting Alzheimer’s is double the
risk of men getting it).
Millions
of women in the early 2000s refused/came off HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) due
to many reports linking it to breast cancer and blood clots. It was later
proved that the study did not use a fair/correct method, and in fact it was women
aged 70-79 that had a real issue with HRT, when they shouldn’t be taking it at that
age anyway! Due to the media coverage thousands of women were refused HRT which
in turn caused them to be suicidal, as they could no longer cope with the
effects of the menopause.
FACT
23/1000
women will get cancer regardless of their lifestyle
28/1000
women who drink more than 2 units of alcohol a day will get cancer
30
BMI or over (obese) and your chances of getting cancer double.
HRT
only causes an increased risk of breast cancer by 4/1000.
I
decided after watching the Davina McCall documentary to go back on to HRT as I
felt I wanted to increase my oestrogen levels. I have chosen to use an oestrogen
only patch, as I feel I do not want to take any more tablets and have them go
through and be processed by my liver.
As I sit here and write this blog my concentration
is waning, and I think to myself is it because of my mate MS, or my mate menopause
and guess what, brain fog is also a symptom of both, so folks please excuse me when
I start to struggle.
FACT
Only
1 in 10 menopausal women take HRT.
9/10
menopausal women felt the menopause had a negative effect on their working life,
and many felt forced out or left.
1/10
companies implement a menopause policy
One
of the most astonishing facts is that 80% of menopausal women suffer with
vaginal dryness, but only 8% received treatment.
Interestingly
enough the treatment for this is prescription only and cannot be picked up in
your local supermarket unlike viagra. Oh to be a bloke!
I
still struggle to know whether it’s my MS or the menopause, maybe I just need
to accept this is the way it is, but hopefully now that my GP has agreed to prescribe
me oestrogen only patches, by next week I will feel so much better and any
effects I feel will be down to my MS.Before I go let me tell you about the menopause society, you can find them at
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