What Now?

So you think you might be perimenopausal or menopausal? Don’t panic. Everything you need to know is right here. Firstly, you must now be your own best friend and vow to advocate for yourself. What would you tell your best friend to do in your place? Trust your instincts - if you think something needs checking then it probably does.

As with every aspect of your health it is vital that you consult a qualified GP.

If you decide to try alternative therapies it is still very wise to consult a GP before going to a qualified alternative therapist for help.

menopause treatment - traditional medicine

menopause treatment - alternative therapies

Alternative Therapy

You may not be able to take HRT for various reasons or you may decide that HRT isn’t for you. If that is the case, there are other options that may work for you.

If you decide to address your symptoms with supplements or herbal remedies you should always ensure that you buy the very best quality. Here are a few simple rules to follow:

Always buy from a reputable supplier like a local chemist, health food retailer or supermarket. Never buy from some dubious on-line site no matter how cheap it is.
Ensure that the supplement has a third party certification so that you can be confident of quality and safety.
Check the label for dosage, expiry date and list of ingredients.
Ensure that the product doesn’t contain excessive fillers, colours or preservatives.
If you’re unsure then seek professional advice from a healthcare professional.
All herbal remedies that make medicinal claims must have a Traditional Herbal Registration (THR).

For your own safety, herbal remedies should be taken on the advice of a qualified professional. Herbal practitioners are not legally regulated but it is wise to consult one that is qualified and registered with a professional association.

There are several to choose from:

National Institute of Medical Herbalists - The UK’s leading professional body for herbal practitioners.
Unified Register of Herbal Practitioners
Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Association of Master Herbalists
Ayurvedic Professionals Association
College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy
British Herbal Medicine Association
Dr Marylin Glenville PhD
Wellsprings Health

Traditional Medicine

As we all know only too well a GP appointment on the NHS is a rare and precious thing. They are hard to come by and woefully short so you MUST be well prepared to ensure you don’t waste their, or your time, and you get the help you need.

Check to see if your GP surgery has a menopause specialist. If it does then give your thanks to all the Gods in heaven and make an appointment with them. (There is a link below to the British Menopause Society where you can find a specialist in your area.)

It is wise, essential even, to keep a diary of your symptoms. Lets be honest, getting an appointment is likely to take anything from 1 to 4 weeks so you should have plenty of time to make the relevant notes. If your GP thinks that you are self aware and savvy they will be much less likely to dismiss your symptoms.

Here is a simple check list to get the most from your precious appointment:

Make a note of your symptoms, when they started, what affects them, how long they last and how severe they are on a scale of 1-10. Note when your last period was. Take a copy of your notes to give to the doctor.
Write down all your medications including vitamins and supplements. Take a copy to give to the doctor.
Be honest! You’re not helping anyone by being economical with the truth. If you drink 10 units a day, smoke like Dot Cotton, eat nothing but KFC and haven’t done any exercise since you were at secondary school, then say so. And do not be offended, or surprised, when the doctor tells you to drink less, stop smoking, lose weight and get some exercise.
Write down your main concerns in order of priority.
Do not be afraid to politely ask for clarification if something is unclear. It is their job to ensure you understand what they are telling you.
Take notes or record what is being said during your appointment so there is no confusion.
Ensure that you confirm the next step before you leave ie follow up appointments, tests etc.
If you are prescribed medication, add a reminder in your diary to request a repeat prescription BEFORE you run out.

Useful Websites

Click the bold text for a fast link to each website.

The British Menopause Society

Although it is a clinical website it is worth checking out to find a specialist in your area.

Womens Health Concern

A free charity service offering factsheets and a search facility for a specialist in your area. A truly brilliant service with the best experts and advice. It should be your first port of call before heading off to your own GP or a specialist. Please consider donating to them if you can.

Menopause Matters

This is not just a website for the magazine Menopause Matters it contains lots of very good advice from proven experts in their field. The site covers everything from conventional HRT to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for symptoms.

For those of you that can afford the fees (starting at £230+ for a nurse / pharmacist consultation and escalating to over £500 to see a doctor). The sites do offer some excellent information though so do investigate.

Newson Healthcare website

Producer of The Balance app - highly recommended.

Dr Naomi Potter

Dr Marion Gluck

The menopause whilst black website

Books

If a physical book is where you choose to access your information then this list should give you everything you need to know. Obviously books aren’t cheap so why not join your local library? Check out this link to see where your nearest one is!

Menopause The One Step Guide by Kathy Abernethy
Preparing for the perimenopause and menopause by Dr Louise Newson
Menopause - A self help guide to feeling better by Wendy Green
The Complete Guide to the Menopause by Dr Annice Mukherjee
Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (but Were Afraid to Ask) by Kate Muir
The New Natural Alternatives to HRT by Marilyn Glenville
Menopause Essentials By Dr. Heather Currie
The Menopause Brain: The New Science Empowering Women to Navigate Midlife With Knowledge and Confidence by D Louise Mosconi
The Upgrade by Louann Brizendine
The Menopause Reset by D Mindy Pelz
Me and My Menopausal Vagina by Jane Lewis
What’s Wrong With Me? by Lorraine Candy
Menopausing by Davina MaCall & Naomi Potter

And a book for men specifically to help them understand menopause. Men... Let’s Talk Menopause: What’s going on and what you can do about it By Ruth Devlin

Podcasts

Click the bold text to go through to each podcast

Diet & Lifestyle

Even if you are taking HRT and a range of supplements there are still plenty of things that you can do to enhance your general wellbeing.

If you don’t care for yourself, who else will? Anyone who has had any contact with the NHS recently will be horribly aware that it is unwise to get sick. The evidence is irrefutable - women must eat well, rein in the booze, take exercise, care for their mental health and get good quality sleep to ward off ill health and frailty in perimenopause and beyond.

However if, like me, your idea of taking care of yourself is having a bath with a bottle of Chardonnay and a ‘sharing’ packet of Kettle Chips, don’t panic. You don’t have to become a vegan, run marathons and spend hours chanting with a crystal shoved where the sun doesn’t shine. A great many menopausal symptoms can be alleviated by making simple improvements to your diet and lifestyle. Even small changes can make a significant difference.

Exercise

There is no getting around it ladies we need to exercise. The experts may disagree on exactly what type and how much we should do but we must do something. Exercise improves heart health, bone mineral density, sleep quality, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Click here to read some more information if you don’t believe us!

If you can’t or don’t want to spend hours sweating like a glass blowers bum in the gym, then all is not lost. Find the thing that you enjoy doing and you will be more likely to keep doing it. Dance, walk, swim, cycle, lift weights, run or even snack (yes, it’s a thing). Click here to check out a Marie Claire Article about this.

At the very least go out for a walk every day. The Melbourne Women’s Midlife Health Project found that regular walkers were 49% less likely to experience vasormotor symptoms like hot flashes. Research has found that 70,000 steps a week can alleviate a range of menopausal symptoms. Click here to check out some research from the University of Northampton.

There is significant research to suggest that yoga can also alleviate menopause symptoms. Click here to read more about this. You don’t have to spend a fortune on kit and classes either. There are a dozen apps and a million YouTube tutors.

Stay Connected

There is a growing body of research into the detrimental effects of social isolation and loneliness on mental, physical and emotional health. The effects of loneliness are now considered as bad for your health as smoking, obesity or physical inactivity. The pandemic had a catastrophic effect on levels of social isolation so we can all relate to it.

And ladies - a text or DM on social media does not have the same effect as a genuine personal connection. Use the socials but be savvy about how - its all about quality not quantity. See the research below if you want to nerd out. Give it a rest every day and do something physical and you will feel better for it.

So, could you have a better excuse for a girls night out / in? It is officially good for. Organise it and they will come! Whats more is that doing something that helps other people is also good for you. Its literally a win win! Studies have shown that helping others can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, and increased the feel good hormone, oxytocin. So, next time your husband rolls his eyes at yet another girls night you can tell him that ‘fostering your social connections promotes feelings of happiness, calm and generosity, which is good for your mental wellbeing.’ Brilliant! I knew all those uproarious belly laughs with my girlfriends were good for me.

You could also help others by telling us all about your MenoJourney. What has your experience been? What has worked for you? What has not worked for you? Every story we get helps other women navigate their own journey. Share your wisdom - its officially good for you.

Check out the research for yourself!

Social Isolation & Loneliness - WHO

Associations Between Social Media Use, Physical Activity, and Emotional Well-Being from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher Daily Diary Study - PubMed

How Helping Others Helps You - Health Central

Meditation / Gratitude

There is research to suggest that meditation can alleviate menopausal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety and depression. You don’t need to go on a month long silent retreat or pay £1,000 for a celebrity Gong Bath. There are dozens of apps and YouTube clips to walk you through it. It has to be worth a try? Just not while you’re driving. Just taking 5 minutes a day to register what is going well in your life will have benefits, even if all you have to be grateful for is that you opened your eyes this morning. If you want to nerd out on the evidence, click here to read 'A potential association of meditation with menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry in healthy women' or click here to read 'Practicing Gratitude: Ways to Improve Positivity'.

Sleep

Gone are the days when people bragged about only needing 4 hours of sleep a night. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were famously lauded for sleeping just 4 or 5 hours a night and they both died of dementia. Even Jeff Bezos, who is probably busier than you, gets 8-9 hours sleep a night. Good quality sleep is essential for every aspect of our health and well being. If you are not sleeping properly then you need to do something about it and there has never been more technology or information to support you. Professor Matt Walker PhD is one of the most widely respected sleep experts. He has an excellent podcast and website and is on all the usual social media sites. If he can’t help you then nobody can.

Click here to see the Sleep Diplomat website.

Click here to see more about the Matt Walker Podcast.

Nature

There is extensive research to support the association of exposure to nature and improved health. From the fact that people in hospital recover quicker if they have a view of a green space to the fact walking in the woods improves your mood and cognitive function. It's a fact - green spaces and the natural world is good for you. Two hours a week can have really significant benefits for your health. Go for a nice long walk and get your exercise box ticked too. Get out there! Some of the evidence really is worth nerding out on, click here to read 'Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health', or click here to read 'Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence'

Diet

The diet industry was worth $3.31 billion in 2022 (according to grandviewresearch.com). At the same time obesity costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer (according to gov.uk). That should tell you something? We are not going to wang on about it. However, we would like to quote the wonderful Michael Pollan, a nutritionist and professor at University of California. He coined the phrase ‘Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.’ It really is that easy.

(Michael Pollan’s book ‘In Defence of Food : An eaters manifesto’ is quite brilliant.)

The Association of UK Dietitians has a great website with some excellent FREE factsheets available. Click here to view the website.

There are also a number of brilliant podcasts that provided a wealth of information for FREE.

Click here to see more about the ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast - cutting edge science and way ahead of the NHS guidance.

Click here to head over to the Doctors Kitchen Podcast - truly excellent information and a genuinely passionate advocate of food as medicine.

Click here to read 'a thorough examination - addicted to food.' This is for you if you are a fan of ultra processed food.

Click here to read about the Resetter podcast with Dr Mindy Pelz - quite the menopause guru.

Books

The Ultimate Menopause Diet Cookbook For Beginners by Mary Cooks
Food For Menopause by Dr Linda Patel
Recipes For a Better Menopause by Dr Frederica Amati & Jane Baxter
The Simple Menopause Manual by Max Hampton
Menopause The One Step Guide by Kathy Abernethy
Preparing For the Perimenopause and Menopause by Dr Louise Newson
Menopause - A Self Help Guide to Feeling Better by Wendy Green
The Complete Guide to the Menopause by Dr Annice Mukherjee
Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Kate Muir
The New Natural Alternatives to HRT by Marilyn Glenville
Menopause Essentials by Dr. Heather Currie
The Menopause Brain: The New Science Empowering Women to Navigate Midlife with Knowledge and Confidence
by D Louise Mosconi
The Upgrade by Louann Brizendine
The Menopause Reset by D Mindy Pelz
What’s Wrong With Me? by Lorraine Candy
Menopausing by Davina MaCall & Naomi Potter

Other recommended podcasts

Just one thing with Dr Michael Mosley - click here to listen
Feel Better Live More - click here to listen
The Drive Peter Attia - click here to listen
The Dhru Purohit Show - click here to listen

Ignore the bullsh*t!

Firstly, you must get proper medical advice for every aspect of your health.

If you think you are in perimenopause or menopause and you feel that you need some sort of support with your symptoms, SEE YOUR DOCTOR! Do not rely on social media influencers or celebrities for health advice. Ask yourself, do they have medical qualifications? Are they earring money from pushing the product? Some of the products being purported as wonder cures are often expensive and have very little (if any) credible evidence to support their claims. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Do a little bit of digging if you’re not sure. Check the claims with the Women’s Health Concern, or there is a very comprehensive article in The Grocer, regarding Menowashing and it really is worth a read!

Before we start debunking, we would like to talk a bit about the placebo effect. It is a real thing. A placebo can indeed work and can produce measurable physiological results including in blood pressure, blood markers and heart rate. If you think something is going to work then it probably will have some positive impact. That amazing power can have the opposite effect too though ie if you think something is going to harm you then it probably will have a negative effect. If you want to read some fascinating research on the topic, click here to have a read...

Why mention that? Well, we firmly believe that if you think something is going to be beneficial then it probably will do you some good. But, if you are going to part with your hard earned cash it should be on something that is going to have real results. So beware of ‘menowashing’!

Let's debunk some of the most common bullsh*t and myths...

MYTH: Jade eggs will balance your hormones
No they won’t and we don’t care who tells us they will. There is quite literally no empirical evidence to support the claim that jade eggs (also known as yoni eggs) inserted into your vagina will balance your cycle, increase libido, strengthen muscles, or improve urinary health. In fact, you actually run the risk of introducing infections because of the semi porous nature of the crystals (puking emoji). Don’t say we didn’t warn you. If you don’t believe us then click here to read more info on this topic.
MYTH: HRT will give you cancer
Research shows that the risks are small and the benefits usually outweigh those risks. Talk to a doctor, not your Grandmother.
MYTH: HRT will make you fat
Incorrect. Too much food makes you fat.
MYTH: You cannot take HRT after 60
Not necessarily true. Talk to your doctor about your individual needs. Click here to read a brilliant article for the real facts!
MYTH: You should just suck it up and stop moaning!
Lets just breathe and count to 10 before addressing that. If you think that you can cope with perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms without any help or support, then good on you. You don’t have to take HRT or supplements or indeed acknowledge your menopause in anyway. However, if your symptoms are negatively affecting your life then your options for alleviating them are varied and you should not feel guilty for exploring those options.
MYTH: You can’t get pregnant if you’re in menopause
That isn’t completely true, just ask Cheri Blair. According to The Women’s Health Concern, contraception should be continued for at least one year after your last menstrual period if this was after the age of 50, and for two years if your periods stop before the age of 50.