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!

Well yes this, HRT is great but it is a medicine to medically help women "get through " menopause, what that poster might have meant is just be quiet as you pump your gel or take your tablets nobody needs to know.

"Would you say of someone with SEN?"
No I would not compare menopause to SEN. If someone has SEN, they are probably doing the job that that suits them and doing it well.

So women should hush up so the world doesn't judge them for being women?

Good for her. Other women don’t have an easy ride and shouldn’t be made to shut up about it because your sister manages on supplements. And just because you have no sign yet it doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Disappointing to see women being told to shut up by other women. Get enough of that of men.

Some people suffer from it; some people don’t. So while there should be awareness, I am also a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of menopause “stuff.” I was lucky and have had no symptoms at all. (I’m nearly 60). The risk is that it becomes yet another reason not to employ women. We leap straight from “they might have children” to “they will need loads of time off because they have children” to “they have no brain because of menopause.”

I wish I'd known about puberty before it happened.
With the rest of the 'women's issues' I could find out about what was likely to happen.

Makes a change from Mental Health....we talk about that way too much. I'm menopausal btw I don't sweep it under the carpet but it's not my identity either

For me, the worse thing is the weight gain. I'm aware of it all the time - like walking around in a fat suit. Having been slim for 48 years it is awful.

This is interesting. Before mumsnet I didn’t know much about menopause. I’d never even heard of peri. I had basically decided to take HRT the second my hormones dropped because of all the horrors I’d read on here!

and then boom I got hormone fed cancer in my mid 30’s. Literally my first question when they told me the treatment would be “switch of your ovaries” was “what about my bones?” .

I do feel like it’s everywhere now but maybe because it’s my every day .

I don’t really know what the answer is in terms of raising awareness vs making women appear incapable/scaring women. I do feel like the constant narrative of “take HRT or your bones will crack and you’ll die of a heart attack” has led a lot of people in my peer group to stop their cancer treatment which is a valid personal choice but im not sure all of them are working with a full set of information in terms of recurrence risk vs menopause risk. This partly stems from doctors minimising how hard menopause can be though and being shit at explaining statistics.

I’m nearly 2 years in now and menopause for me has been awful. But it’s not a normal menopause because of the cancer treatment, I have the hormone profile of an old lady before I’m 40. I am very glad for my employers understanding and the reasonable adjustments made because of what’s happened to me. I also think despite these adjustments I am pretty shit at my job and I feel a bit embarrassed. I have gone part time to try and help and do all the right things but i still hit walls when there’s a deadline and I can’t physically give myself an extra push without repercussions for my health.

if I step back I think objectively my employer is overpaying me given how much I’m able to do. My brain fog is embarrassing, I get fatigued very easily etc etc .no amount of “awareness” fixes that. I guess maybe it helps other women who may reach for HRT or other methods.

sorry that’s probably a lot of rambling and I can’t really think of a conclusion. I just wanted to give a perspective of a young person with menopause

But women can't win whatever they do sometimes so what is the harm of informing the wider population of something that affects middle aged women,

Thing is that it doesn't always stop symptoms when come off HRT, so will be pushing it down the line for many.

Oh yes, let’s pretend there’s no difference between men’s and women’s physiology.

It's great there's more awareness and your work are providing support. When you are going through it I'm sure you will feel differently

Filter out what doesn't apply to you and do your due diligence as a line manager/friend as applicable. Increased visibility of health issues is mostly a good thing but don't forget there is an army of product developers and marketers out there to sell you things you don't need too. Caveat: some women do need them.

I think it's great there's more awareness but I detest the industry around it. Grifty menopause 'coaches' I've seen a plastic beaded menopause bracelet advertised on Facebook, clearly from Ali Express, it beats me why women fall for this garbage along with menopause skincare.

HRT if you can have it (and let's fully bust the myths around that) exercise , sleep, good food, minimal alcohol, natural fibres are common sense helpers.

Er only if the speaker is a psycho

Do you think anyone has a life free of problems? I had a year once where I sat at my desk openly crying and nobody said anything. That was a bit shit tbh but I had the choice to make a change or not. Nobody is coming to save you.

I agree OP, I think it’s made the whole process look like a horror movie. Some awareness is good but the doom and gloom isn’t helpful.

I would never say ‘just you wait’ to anyone about anything and would shut down anyone who did, but I think you are mistaking awareness and discussion for fretting.

I also had an easy time in pregnancy and haven’t found motherhood hard. My children have been very easy, my kids have been a breeze at every stage. They’re now late teens/young adults. Some of the easiness was because I was aware of issue and got in quickly before they turned into a bigger issue.

When I started to feel a bit off, aged 44, I thought it may be peri from things I had read and awareness sessions at work, so I read up on it more, saw my GP, just so I knew what to expect. I didn’t fret, I’m very much a hope for the best type person and deal anything as and when needed, but I’m a big believer in forewarned is forearmed. That’s very different from fretting.

Now aged 47, peri has hit me hard at times, but knowledge has helped me deal with it. It’s also helped that my partner and children know why I’m feeling how I am.

A lot of workplaces mention it constantly

And those adverts with frumpy women talking about their vaginal dryness and how it feels moist again🥴. There’s literally nothing private these days! Yes it’s natural but so is shitting and I’ve yet to see any anyone doing that on TV.

Most women don't actually collapse during menopause but they have horrible and worrying symptoms that they have no idea what is going on,whilst trying to carry on day to day, so a bit of understanding can go a long way,

@Jk987 I've seen plenty of advertisements for both constipation and diarrhea! Not to mention lube and sex toys. Why wouldn't you have an ad for vaginal dryness?

Good.

We love to pick a subject and bombarded everywhere with it till exhaustion, them pick another subject and forget about the previous one. Menopause is trend. I find the topic slightly boring because I'm 49 so I know the feeling sister, however is a way to raise awareness on a women life phase that can last longer that going through her teens.
By the way if someone doesn't take you seriously the day you will be on menopause is that they didn't take you very seriously before neither.
No need to stop the world but no harm in talking about it.

Regardless of the cringiness of an advert why did you call the women frumpy ? Oh and how many constipation relief adverts is there ?