Sue's Menojourney

I hope things have changed since I went through my perimenopause and very sudden transition into menopause.  It was 25 years ago but it feels like yesterday.  I was 47 and I knew I was in perimenopause because I had started to experience a load of symptoms most of which paled into insignificance compared to my periods which had become wildly unpredictable, long and heavy.  Really heavy.  So much so that I couldn’t realistically leave the house for 3 days during the worst of it.  I would feel so wretched that I didn’t have the energy to move and I had to change my sanitary protection every 40 minutes or so.  I won’t go into every horrible detail but when I had to buy another new mattress protector I decided to go to the doctor.  When I explained the problem he rubbed his chin and said (and this is word for word) ‘I’m afraid this is to be expected at your time of life.  Have you tried using a tampon and a sanitary towel?’

I wasn’t rude.  I was too stunned.  So, I carried on trying to live my life. 

I was a part time book keeper for several local businesses at the time so I used to send my husband to pick the books up for me so I could work from home rather than leave the house during my periods.  One day he came home to find me collapsed on the kitchen floor.  He called an ambulance and the upshot was I had to have a blood transfusion.  The doctor at A&E told me that my GP should be struck off and he put my name on the waiting list for an emergency hysterectomy.  Six weeks later I collapsed again.  The same ambulance drivers collected me and we had a bit of a laugh on the journey about using them like a taxi service.  Anyway, that evening I had the emergency hysterectomy and was magically transformed into a menopausal woman.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t offered any HRT afterwards and I didn’t ask for it.   But the rest of the symptoms were nothing compared to what I’d been through.  I’m 72 now and I still get night sweats, the hair that used to grow on my head seems to now be growing out of my chin and I have terrible arthritis.  I feel sure that would not be the case if I had been offered HRT back then. 

So, take my advice and get proper medical advice from an expert.  Don’t be patronised or brushed off.  If you feel you need support then take a friend or partner with you to the consultation.  And invest in a really good pair of tweezers.