Menopause and the office

[redhotandsweaty]

Hi all, my employer has just announced that we need to go back into the office two days a week. I'm looking forward to seeing people again but I'm terrified about how I'm going to manage my peri symptoms. I can't take HRT due to another condition, so I'm getting hit with the full force of the flushes, brain fog etc. At home it's manageable because I can control the room I'm in, get changed if necessary etc.

So my question is, what things can I do to make managing my symptoms more bearable. If you have a good employer or manager, what did they do to help you survive peri in the office?

My adjustments were around insomnia. If I had had a terrible nights sleep I could either come in late or work from home. Just knowing I had that understanding helped a lot tbh and I didn't actually use it that much.

List your symptoms (so you don’t forget any) and ask for an OHS referral.

Also, I have a small fan which can be charged up and I can bring it with me if I need to move about. It is invaluable.

I wore little cami vests, so I could take it off or change it if I'd been sweaty

Fan, desk by a window, dress appropriately. We have a shower and changing room on site. Aside from that nothing the employer supplied specifically for menopausal women. I can’t really think of anything else.

Sage tablets for sweats from Holland and Barrett. Brain fog cook with turmeric and eat a few nuts daily.

Thanks all, the insomnia one is very relevant and not something I'd thought of.

I had considered an occupational health referral, but not too sure how to get the most out of it.

Menopause gummies have been a life saver for me with stopping night sweats and not flushes
Haven't helped brain fog unfortunately

Can you recommend some of these gummies please? Which sort is best?I've never heard of them and am about to enter my 25th year of hot flushes and night sweats. Do they help at all with insomnia? I also get a rush of anxiety before each event so does it stop these? Getting desparate now, I've tried so many things.

Do keto
No caffeine/alcohol
Limit stress (hah!l
Take DIM and sage
Exercise

DoraSpenlow

I bought some off Amazon.
They contain soy isoflavins and sage. I was getting several hot flushes an hour and being woken up by nightsweats but they've cured them for me.
I bought the ones from SM Nutrition.
Also have tried the starpowa ones. They helped too

Thank you.

Do you find that the sage repeats on you? I tried sage tablets many years ago, they didn't make any difference but I was constant burping Paxo stuffing!

I think it'll depend on your manager as much as the company policy. I'll try and be general in this example.

I managed a woman who had a well controlled health condition. She was a very good worker. When peri started her treatment regime no longer worked as well at controlling her symptoms and so she had to take more sick days. She was very open with me about the cause and how long her doctors said it could take to establish a treatment regime that would control her symptoms. We put in place additional cover so if she had symptoms she could take time off to deal with them but it wouldn't affect her milestone hit rate. In actual fact she didn't need the cover as much as anticipated and her symptoms were back under control after a few months. But knowing she had that option and that she wasn't going to be put on any kind of performance improvement plan (which regular sick days can trigger) made a big difference for her.

It sounds like for you it's hot flushes that are the biggest issue so layers, breathable fabrics and a change of clothes might help. Can you predict when they could happen or are there certain triggers that can be avoided or minimised? OH might be able to help with ideas if you think about the issues that would be most problematic.

I take my rechargeable fan everywhere, it fits I to my smallest handbag,it's great. I have to admit going into a stuffy office would be my idea of hell at the best of times let alone during menopause.

Can you argue the case for continuing to WFH? What's the reasoning for going back in? Dh did, he wrote to HR and said he'd WFH for the last 2 years and would like to continue to. He goes in just for occasional meetings now.

DoraSpenlow

I'm ok with them but I have daily lanzoprazole anyway for IBS so that helps maybe?
Not saying the gummies work for everyone but they've helped me hugely. I was being boiled alive
I hope they help you too

Is that a typo @DoraSpenlow, or have you really had to put up with these symptoms for 25 years?

I guess for perspective it is only 2 days on the office that you need to manage. I would make your HR aware that you may need some adjustments at times. Otherwise I would plan for every eventuality - ensuring clothing is cool and comfortable, having a change of clothes, sitting near window, having a desk fan. Insomnia is a difficult one but again if it is 2 days it should be manageable.

I’m peri-menopausal and can’t take HRT. The insomnia and brain fog affect me the same regardless of where I am, so if they’ve become a problem for you perhaps you should speak to your manager anyway.

I couldn't take HRT as my mother had died from advanced breast cancer. My GP advised taking a supplement with black cohosh in it. Boots Menolieve was the one I took, and it was great.

Other things:

• cut right down on the amount of carbohydrate in your diet
• limit caffeine
• limit alcohol

(I failed on both the latter two counts, but the lower carb + supplement worked for me).

Sadly, not a typo. Had my first hot flush in September 1998 😪

No one would prescribe HRT and at 70 I think I am too old now anyway.

I don't think you're too old, my neighbour has just started on it and she's 70.

Thank you for this info. If I ever manage to get a Doctors appointment I will raise it. However, I think the fact that there is a history of stroke and breast cancer in the family will preclude me. That's the reason they have always given before.

I thought I was almost through it 6 years ago when I had a hysterectomy but then all the symptoms came back with a vengence. Hey ho.

I have a mini fan I can plug into my computer .wear layers so I can dress/undress depending on hot flushes and chills.
if I get really brain foggy I give up and go home, but make the time up on another day in the office.

Thats a shame. My mum had hrt in the 1980s and swore by it.

In fact scrub that, it was late 70s she started hrt