The menopause is a life transition during which your ovaries run out of eggs and hence stop being active and producing hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This can happen gradually or more abruptly following surgery or specific treatment (surgical menopause). The average age for menopause is 51 in the UK but we know for certain ethnic groups it can be 2-4 years earlier. Menopause is medically defined as one year since your last menstrual cycle. In the run-up to this, we have a stage called perimenopause. This is when symptoms start to appear and your cycle may become more irregular. We now recognise the ‘perimenopause’ stage to be impacting many more and this is why there is no need to struggle and wait for your periods to stop before you seek help.
Oestrogen and progesterone do not only regulate your menstrual cycle, but also travel around your whole body allowing all your systems and cells to function better. This could be from brain fog to dry skin, to low mood to joint pains. We now recognise over 40 symptoms related to menopause and at one stage you can have few or many and they can change over time. The menopause is an individual journey, heavily influenced by what other things maybe going on in life and everyone is unique. This is why awareness is so crucial and care needs to be holistic and individualised.
There is a wealth of information on hormonal change at the moment and I often meet women who feel overwhelmed with it all and cannot see how to best help themselves. My advice is to share the responsibility with your health professional and arm yourself with a symptom tracker, your hormonal and family history and get individualised care that is best tailored to you.
What is the menopause?
The menopause is a life transition during which your ovaries run out of eggs and hence stop being active and producing hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This can happen gradually or more abruptly following surgery or specific treatment (surgical menopause). The average age for menopause is 51 in the UK but we know for certain ethnic groups it can be 2-4 years earlier. Menopause is medically defined as one year since your last menstrual cycle. In the run-up to this, we have a stage called perimenopause. This is when symptoms start to appear and your cycle may become more irregular. We now recognise the ‘perimenopause’ stage to be impacting many more and this is why there is no need to struggle and wait for your periods to stop before you seek help.
Oestrogen and progesterone do not only regulate your menstrual cycle, but also travel around your whole body allowing all your systems and cells to function better. This could be from brain fog to dry skin, to low mood to joint pains. We now recognise over 40 symptoms related to menopause and at one stage you can have few or many and they can change over time. The menopause is an individual journey, heavily influenced by what other things maybe going on in life and everyone is unique. This is why awareness is so crucial and care needs to be holistic and individualised.
There is a wealth of information on hormonal change at the moment and I often meet women who feel overwhelmed with it all and cannot see how to best help themselves. My advice is to share the responsibility with your health professional and arm yourself with a symptom tracker, your hormonal and family history and get individualised care that is best tailored to you.
What is the menopause?
The menopause is a life transition during which your ovaries run out of eggs and hence stop being active and producing hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This can happen gradually or more abruptly following surgery or specific treatment (surgical menopause). The average age for menopause is 51 in the UK but we know for certain ethnic groups it can be 2-4 years earlier. Menopause is medically defined as one year since your last menstrual cycle. In the run-up to this, we have a stage called perimenopause. This is when symptoms start to appear and your cycle may become more irregular. We now recognise the ‘perimenopause’ stage to be impacting many more and this is why there is no need to struggle and wait for your periods to stop before you seek help.
Oestrogen and progesterone do not only regulate your menstrual cycle, but also travel around your whole body allowing all your systems and cells to function better. This could be from brain fog to dry skin, to low mood to joint pains. We now recognise over 40 symptoms related to menopause and at one stage you can have few or many and they can change over time. The menopause is an individual journey, heavily influenced by what other things maybe going on in life and everyone is unique. This is why awareness is so crucial and care needs to be holistic and individualised.
There is a wealth of information on hormonal change at the moment and I often meet women who feel overwhelmed with it all and cannot see how to best help themselves. My advice is to share the responsibility with your health professional and arm yourself with a symptom tracker, your hormonal and family history and get individualised care that is best tailored to you.
