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Original poster

Peri / Menopause

13 replies

ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 02/05/2023 16:48

Inspired by a different thread but actually this has been an issue for a while for me personally.

I’d like to understand why it is that every health problem experienced by a woman between 40 and 55 now attributed to the menopause by some people?

Ever since that Davina McCall documentary I have had particular friends / family insisting that even though the GP says my health issues are nothing to do with menopause and I have no actual symptoms of menopause which I haven’t either had for years or are caused by something else which has been diagnosed. They’re insistent that it is, I get spammed with infographics off Pinterest or knowing looks. It’s driving me batty.

This isn’t an AIBU but a ‘please explain to me’ thread

OP posts:
vestanesta · 02/05/2023 18:25

Because women's health issues have always been trivialised? If it's not peri/menopause it's anxiety based obviously 🙄

Whilst I can't quote sources I am aware there are a number of research papers which indicate women's pain is not taken as seriously as men's. The peri/anxiety approach is another facet of this imo.

Goldenphoenix · 02/05/2023 18:32

Because all your major hormones disappearing at once can cause enormous health issues? It's about damn time we started taking that seriously and talking about it more.

Hbh17 · 02/05/2023 18:46

Because some women are there own worst enemies, like to make a fuss and don't realise they are jeopardising the employment prospects of other middle-aged women.
Oh, and "fashion".

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

General health Menopause Women's health
Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 02/05/2023 18:47

I hear what you’re saying and am not undermining it at all, is it possible to talk about it more without labelling everything as menopause?

I find it really frustrating and invalidating that people just don’t listen and make assumptions based purely on age and gender.

OP posts:
Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 02/05/2023 18:48

Hbh17 · 02/05/2023 18:46

Because some women are there own worst enemies, like to make a fuss and don't realise they are jeopardising the employment prospects of other middle-aged women.
Oh, and "fashion".

Sorry I’m not sure I understand this.

OP posts:
kateplayshockeyinmydreams · 02/05/2023 18:50

I do know what you mean. I recently made the wrong call in my personal life and experienced massive anxiety as a result. Now I do think peri has a party in that but when I asked for help I was told to power on with the thing that caused the issue and get meds for the assume peri problem. Instead of what's actually sensible which is unwind the situation and fix the mistake. When I did that I felt 1000% better.

Nimbostratus100 · 02/05/2023 18:53

Its just a fad,

the menopause is completely natural, and was evolved to make us available to help nurture grandchildren. It is being made into a massive media trend, lots of virtue signalling, lots of jumping on the bandwagon.

This does nobody any favours - neither the minority of women who have medical problems with the menopause, or the majority who don't.

Hotfootgoose · 02/05/2023 18:58

If you’re pregnant- it’s all pregnancy and in your head, if you’re over 40 - it’s all peri and in your head.
im waiting for that to feature on coroner reports…”death from peri, oh yes and it was all in her head before she died…”

lljkk · 02/05/2023 19:34

15 years ago on MN it was thyroid everything: every single symptom was something to do with your thyroid gone wrong.

Now nobody talks about thyroid problems. Funny that !!

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 02/05/2023 21:37

So I think the general consensus is that it’s a phase?

OP posts:
Nimbostratus100 · 02/05/2023 21:50

nothing wrong with more research and better understanding of medical problems arising from the menopause, but something very wrong in blowing it all out of proportion, and painting every middle aged woman as likely to be sickly and unreasonable

Creepycrawler · 02/05/2023 23:02

I'm 43 this year. I've had my worst year ever for sickness. I'm rarely unwell.
Nausea, weight loss (nearly 3 stone) , loss of appetite, lots of back and shoulder pain, Fatigue etc.. Some days just feel dreadful.
This has gone on since last October. Have had some tests and nothing seems to be found.
This has all caused anxiety so it's a vicious circle for me.

My mum and sister (nurse) drop hints that it's just stress or peri and I don't tell them much now.
My dad was a doctor and most things could be attributed to stress or anxiety unless you'd broken something or there was visible blood. 😕

Nimbostratus100 · 02/05/2023 23:13

reminds me of the middle ages, when you diagnosed an illness according to the date and time it started, hence the word "cancer" for any illness that started at that time of the zodiac year.

This is no different, it is just diagnosing according to the sex and age of the patient

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