MENOPAUSE MAYHEM
BY CLLR LOUISE NICOL
Magnets or HRT
S
ince my last article I have been contacted by lots of women and a few men who really appreciated me talking openly about my experience of the menopause, the symptoms and the impact it can have on work and personal life. That’s why I wrote it! As women, we are not looking for sympathy, just a bit of understanding on how these changes affect us and those around us. Talking about it made me realise that it wasn’t just me, I wasn’t going mad and that we all have varying symptoms. Some have sailed through it no bother and others had it worse than I did. I had a really good conversation with someone who explained how her sex life had changed and how confusing that was, she didn’t know if it was her hormones, her libido or if her partner was actually the one not interested in her. I was single for most of my symptoms (shocking I know given I was such a dream at the time), so I didn’t have to deal with that side of things.
Things came to a head for me after a meeting. At the end I apologised for making a mess of it, if nothing else at least I’m honest. I had a call the next day from a fabulous professional woman who told me that I had done perfectly fine the whole meeting and that I shouldn’t have 46been apologising. She told me her story and
experience of the menopause and how hard it is being in a professional role, especially when the hormones can leave you with a real lack of self-worth. She was the one that made me decide it was time to call the doctor. I can’t fault my doctor. She phoned me back and explained the options to me. She talked about HRT and natural remedies, but I must admit, my menopause brain didn’t hear what she said after she told me that some women find a magnet in their pants helps. I was off on a tangent, imagining walking through a room and anything metal flying through the air and attaching themselves to my crotch. That’ll be me I thought, Mrs Magneto. Anyway, I opted to give HRT a try. As someone that struggled my adult life with hormones, I was really scared but I was ready to try anything.
