I am so sick of hearing about menopause

[haveyouheardthemenopauseisshit]

I get the menopause is a big deal for many women and the symptoms are not nice.

However, do we have to talk about it all the time? I feel like I am hearing about it multiple times a day. We have menopause awareness sessions and e-learning at work. I’m targeted by advertising every time I look at my phone for some new product / vitamin / book etc which is supposed to help with menopause symptoms. I feel like it’s constantly being mentioned on the radio, TV, by people I know.

If someone is forgetful, it’s the menopause. If they’re tired, it’s the menopause. If they’re angry, it’s the menopause. If they’re hot, it’s the menopause.

I’m 39 and I feel bombarded by all of this “THE MENOPAUSE IS COMING SOON AND IT WILL BE SHIT” messaging.

I am also a bit worried that it will make it even harder to be taken seriously as a woman in the workplace, since the prevailing message now seems to be that women over 45 are basically useless because of all the issues caused by their hormones.

I’m guessing I’ll be in the minority here and everyone else will think that the awareness raising is a good thing but I just find it quite depressing!

They don't need to stfu but they DO need to stop insisting it's awful for everyone because it's scaremongering and wrong

Indeed your creepy "just you wait!" post illustrates the point nicely

I felt like you.

Then, a couple of years ago, I turned 42. All that chat was not enough preparation. Sorry.

Well as someone who had to beg my Dr for HRT 7 years ago, I’m grateful millions of younger women won’t have to go through that. I had been through hell for 5 years and been given zero help. Suicide is at its highest rate for women in their 50s, I thought I was going mad and there was no hope for me. HRT was like a miricle for me.
So I’m happy for all of you young women who won’t have to go through that.

Yes companies are trying to make money out of it but that’s just like any other company. Maybe we should ban all advertising.

Yes, its great that it's out there & being talked about.
BUT it's everywhere! Any symptoms are written off as menopause, not right & fairly dangerous.
It's used as an excuse so often too: grumpy because of peri? Maybe you've always been a bit like that?
And dont even start me on supplements, skin care, hair products & even clothing!
I'm 56 & totally sick of hearing about it, it's become a multi million pound business with very little actual care for the women going through it.

Do you think being too hot is a menopause exclusive issue? Ive been arguing with idiots on the bus to open a window since I was 12.

Yeah but also… they said all this shit to me and I didn’t listen and it still didn’t warn me enough about the reality of motherhood. This is just Human Nature.

Instead younger women all have to live in a world that belittles them and promises that the worst case scenario will be their certain fate. Yeah sounds amazing.

Hrt definitely existed and was readily available before peri panic did...

I’ve had breast cancer (at 37) and cannot have HRT, so personally I get a bit fed up of hearing how fucking dreadful my life is going to be without it - but, saying that, the raised awareness is a good thing. I do think it’s being monetised in a way I don’t agree with but that’s life as a woman in general - we are always made to feel shit then marketed at 🙄

What would you have done differently if you had "listened"?

I agree that some companies have jumped on the peri bandwagon to flog their products.

That said, I am 51 and very much in peri and grateful to the women before me who opened up the conversation. When I first spoke to my GP about my symptoms, I did so as a direct result of Davina McCall’s campaigning.

So, for the women of today who are in their 30’s, you are highly likely to benefit from today’s raising awareness campaigns at some point in the future. And I don’t give a shit if that sounds condescending because it’s bloody true.

I guess because our reproductive systems and hormone levels aren’t all the same. Some women have a horrendous time with periods- my DD does, I never did. Some women have a very difficult time getting or staying pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding. I was very lucky on all those fronts too, very textbook pregnancies and births and good BFing experiences. But very few of my friends had completely straightforward pregnancies/births/breastfeeding experiences.

So it makes sense that the menopause is different for each of us too.

I am completely with you OP! I think it’s good to raise awareness and to have the menopause talked about, but now it’s overkilL in my view. My boss (male and much younger) had training about the menopause and kindly told me I could always bring any troubles about the time of life to him! I was a bit confused but it turned out he was referring to the menopause. Obviously he meant it kindly and that’s how I took it, but I did tell him not to worry I was well pass that and never had any issues anyway.

OP, I totally agree. I feel bombarded by it everywhere and if I pass comment on feeling tired or pass comment on any ailment, my friends and colleagues all immediately respond with how terrible peri is. It totally does my head in. Despite me knowing that this is probably my issue!

Hi I promise I’m not picking on you, just interested to know if you’re still having regular Normal
periods

Oh and I remember the days in the 80s when my mother would whisper about “The Change” in relation to herself and her friends. Thank goodness we’ve moved on from that shittery.

I had never heard of peri menopause until I came on MN . I am way past menopause now and I was lucky with very few symptoms.
In hindsight I now realise that I had brain fog ,tiredness,low mood in my mid forties that I just assumed and could still have been due to teenagers,GCSEs,ALevels ,taxi service etc .If I had been more aware I might have mentioned it to GP and asked about HRT .
Peri is not the only explanation for the symptoms. I do wonder how many women have delayed seeing GP thinking it’s peri when they have another health condition that has been missed.

I completely agree 👍 it’s good for there to be an awareness however it does feel like that’s all people talk about now and normal things are labelled as pre-menopause such as being a bit tired, gaining weight, anxiety and everything in between. I think only a small percentage of women are genuinely pre-menopausal while others jump on the menopause bandwagon!

I never had any problems either, a few hot flushes, that was it. But then I have operations without reading up on them, too - sometimes I think, the more you know, the more you expect to go wrong!

@Teaandwater I was the same!! I was living in absolute blissful ignorance until it hit me like a truck.

If I had the information then that I have now I would make different choices.

@haveyouheardthemenopauseisshit , I’m 62 and post menopause. With all my heart I wish that the information at your disposal now had been available to me when I was your age. To be as well informed as women are these days gives you choices and some control. My from the heart advice to you and others is to use the information available to you to advocate for yourself and make choices that will positively impact your future health, you really can make such a difference.
You are framing this negatively and it can be very powerfully positive. The time to act is now.

What choices? It's not like anyone seems to cheer the fuck up from the endless peri chat. It's just drag everyone down with them stuff.

I hate it as well. Especially when a man makes a reel about it.