Seaford’s New Menopause Café

Testosterone and Progesterone, with the average age for the start of full Menopause being 51. This means, historically, women have been hormone deficient for a long time.

By Dr Emma Sloan

GP Menopause Specialist at The Hormone Centre, based in Seaford and founder of the new FREE Menopause Café.

I believe women deserve to feel their best before, during and after their Menopause. We know it can be difficult to find the money for private healthcare, so we offer FREE Menopause Cafés in Seaford and Online where women can meet to discuss their symptoms.

Never before have we heard so much about the Menopause. Whenever we turn on the radio or look online, we see the word. This ‘Menopause Effect’ has been led by celebrities such as Davina McCall, who recently aired her phenomenal TV program ‘Sex, Mind and the Menopause.’ Even if you are not a fan of Davina, you can’t deny that she has opened the conversation about Menopause, which has benefited women all over the UK and worldwide. Now, for the first time, women are talking openly about their menopause and how much it has impacted their marriages, careers and general well-being. So why has this conversation taken so long to get out?

Women weren’t designed to live beyond

the age of 50! In the 1850s, the average life expectancy was 42 for women and 40 for men. In Victorian times if a woman reached 50, she was considered elderly! Now women can live for twice this amount of time, but their ovaries begin to slow down around the age of 40, producing less Oestrogen,

What actually happens during Menopause?

As a result of age, women’s hormones decrease, causing deficiencies. During the Menopause, bones may weaken, the skin stops producing collagen, and the hair can thin and fall out. Women start to gain fat around the central part of their stomachs and report memory difficulties, hot sweats, mood swings, anxiety and panic attacks. Also, many women going through the Menopause report painful sex, dry vagina, recurrent urinary infections, and reduced libido, and are also more at risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. These are serious changes that should not be ignored.

Is the Menopause just for the middle-aged?

This is another misconception. Menopause symptoms can start early, most patients feel they begin to suffer in their 40s, but my youngest patient is just 17 years old. It is really important to replace these hormones appropriately, as ‘one size fits all’ simply doesn’t work. How to get help? GPs need to know a little bit of absolutely everything, and unlike other hormone deficiencies such as diabetes or thyroid disease, many GPs feel underconfident in Menopause treatment. Even today GPs in the UK worry about prescribing testosterone, whereas GPs in Australia, for example, prescribe this routinely for patients. Thankfully, since Davina’s TV series, medical professionals and employers are becoming skilled at providing support and care for women experiencing hormonal symptoms – which is something to be celebrated.

Want to know more about the

Menopause Café? These FREE interactive sessions encourage small groups of women to chat openly and ask Dr Sloan any questions about the menopause. With advice shared on wellness, breast-checking techniques, and how best to exercise and eat during the menopause too.

FEBRUARY DEADLINE: FRIDAY 6th JANUARY

If you are interested in taking part, pop along to www.thehormonecentre.com or text 07916 730693. Or if you want to book in privately to see Dr Sloan go book through the same website or call 01323 884334.