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Perimenopause can be a challenging time with changes to your body, emotions and relationships. We’ve compiled some ways you can treat symptoms and get support from different areas of your life.
Roughly 80% of women experience symptoms related to the menopause
25% of those with symptoms experience severe symptoms that detrimentally affect their family, home and work life
Everyone’s experience of menopause is different – some experience a couple of symptoms while others will experience almost all of them.
Symptoms can include (but aren’t limited to):
For some people these symptoms can start as early as their forties or even thirties, as they begin to enter perimenopause, and can last as long as 10 years. Generally, a lot of these symptoms subside after the menopause (one full year of having no periods or two full years if you’re under 50) as hormone levels become more stable.
You may think menopause is something you have to put up with and go through alone but with symptoms so wide-ranging, long-lasting and impacting on every aspect of life, it’s important you don’t suffer in silence. There are lots of things you can do to help.
advice
Menopause symptoms can have a big impact on your lifestyle, relationships and body.
HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is treatment for menopause symptoms that contains hormones that are very similar to those produced by the body that have fallen during the menopause.
It comes in many different forms including creams and gels you insert into the vagina, lozenges, skin patches, pessaries or rings.
There are also lots of different types of HRT: All of them contain oestrogen but there are also many that contain progestogen and testosterone in different levels. If you haven’t had a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus or ovaries), you will need to take combined HRT which contains progestogen as well as oestrogen.
In one survey 74% of those who had started HRT reported that it helped them carry on working
HRT is unfortunately not suitable for everyone depending on their family history or if they have certain health conditions. It’s also important to remember that as there are so many different types of HRT it might be that you need to trial a few different ones before finding the one that works best for you.
More about HRT
The best place to start is with your GP. They’ll be able to advise you what would work best depending on your symptoms.
You can buy Gina, a vaginal tablet from pharmacies without a prescription.
If you pay HRT through the NHS 3 or more times in 12 months then you can save money through the PPC (Prescription Prepayment Certificate). The PPC costs £19.30 and entitles you to an unlimited number of HRT medications for 12 months. Find out more about the PPC
Some people choose to have the hormonal coil (Mirena coil/IUS) inserted during the perimenopause. This not only prevents pregnancy but also releases small amounts of progestogen which acts as HRT.
INFO
Selfcare is key to managing the perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. This is a time to prioritise your mental and physical health. It’s useful to tune into how you’re feeling and figure out ways to work your life around this.
One key area is through lifestyle changes. These small changes can have a big difference on your wellbeing and physical health:
Spicy foods, sugary foods and wine can all make hot flushes worse. If you suffer overactive bladder symptoms these can also be bladder irritants that can cause your overactive bladder symptoms to worsen.
Exercise helps prevent other health problems as well as helping with mood and anxiety, reducing hot flushes and managing weight.
There is evidence to suggest that people that smoke have an earlier menopause and experience worse hot flushes.
Finding ways to reduce stress can dramatically improve your mental and physical health. Exercise can also be really helpful with this.
Due to lower oestrogen levels, bone density can lower which can lead to bones that are more likely to break. Making sure you get your daily recommended amount of calcium can help improve bone density.
Hysterectomies (removal of the uterus and sometimes ovaries) can be useful for those people for which all other options have been explored but are still experiencing issues.
It should never feel like it is forced upon you. It’s always useful to talk it through with a healthcare professional and/or family and friends before going through the procedure
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