The Menopause BBC1 9pm 26/11/18

[marvelmum]

I'm not sure if this has been posted but next Monday on BBC1 this programme is airing, definitely worth a watch...

The Menopause, The Truth About...

The menopause currently affects 13 million women in the UK. And yet it's shrouded in secrecy and wildly misunderstood.

In this frank and intimate film, broadcaster and journalist Mariella Frostrup shares her own personal experience of the menopause and brings this great taboo out into the open. Mariella investigates how the latest science can explain what it is, and what can be done about it. She meets the scientists who have uncovered the cause of hot flushes and developed a brand new drug to treat them, finds out if taking hormone replacement therapy is dangerous, discovers if men also have a menopause and witnesses a cutting-edge procedure that could actually reverse the menopause.

Whatever your age or your gender, the menopause will affect you or someone close to you. It's time we all understood it better.

Totally agree. I've shamefully asked to be referred to an ENT consultant, than MRI, then Cardiologist for what I now know we're all symptoms linked to the menopause and to be fair, it's what my gp told me was causing all my problems from the start but I didn't believe him. The problem is that he didn't have time to talk me through it and give me reassurance that indeed, the menopause could cause the symptoms I was/am experiencing which were not the typical ones.

I didn't realise then that what was causing me to feel very 'odd' which is hard to describe a y other way was indeed anxiety. I didn't feel anxious. I now know that my anxiety is not mental (as I experienced a couple of times in my life previously) but purely physical. I know recognise the signs when I get a peak and even though its still affecting my life unpleasantly, I don't develop mental panic as a result.

My annoyance is that every time I read about the menopause, it's automatically all about hot flushes, depression, lack of sex drive, rage, weight increase which I understand is common and obvious sings but little is talked about all the other symptoms that are less associated to it, such as tinnitus, dizziness, feeling hyper, muscles and joints pain, tremors and shakiness, yet talking to more women going through it, these are also quite common. I attended a training session on the menopause and was very hopeful to gain more info but all the woman could talk about was these common symptoms, she knew nothing about the others. I've now spoken to four women who have experienced fainting out of the blue when starting the menopause. When I first started to experience fainting symptoms, I had no idea that it could be due to hormonal flux. I ended up with a cardiologist doing bunch of tests for nothing costing the NHS.

It would really help to have access to more in-depth information and support. There is so much to understand by professional as to the impact of the menopause on a day to day basis.

I watched this on catch up last night.

On the one hand I'm delighted that there was actually a programme about something that happens to 50% of the population at some point in their lives. On the other hand it just skimmed the surface.

It is a start however. Hopefully, it may open the way for more. Given the over-stretched NHS, we are going to become increasingly required to take charge of our own healthcare I believe, so it would be good to be better informed.

I put my thoughts down here - I found it quite interesting but it was so light. It would have been good to have more expert advice (says every woman suffering the menopause everywhere).

www.50sense.net/home/2018/11/28/5-things-we-learnt-from-the-truth-about-menopause

@fiftysense
Are you the founder of the site or a blogger adding your comments?

I am all for the NHS providing support and I know there are many drs who are busting a gut to train GPs- as are the British Menopause Society which runs training courses. problem is, they are not mandatory.

At the same time I'd like to suggest that if women do feel they aren't getting the right support from a GP (and they should let's be honest) the cost of a private appt with a meno specialist is less than a annual holiday, and if I had to choose, I know how I'd spend my money. For me, my health and looking after it with the support of good professionals is No 1 on my list and I'll do all I can to pay for that, if that's what it means.

Don't get me wrong, I want the NHS to offer women the best- and it's not exactly rocket science for a GP to understand types of HRT. But if it's not happening, the answer is to find help that's out there.

It's my site Queen (hope that's okay to post. I'm new to Mumsnet and not sure on any rules yet).

Don't you think training should be mandatory, though? Menopause will affect almost 51% of the population. It is not something that NHS doctors will never see in their clinics - it must be a regular occurrence so they should be up to date.

Also, if women aren't informed then they're open to all the charlatans who'll offer quick fixes that do nothing. Women need to know what is available for them.

Yes, I do think training out to be mandatory but I'm not sure how GPs CPD works.

I think there needs to be a complete seismic shift in how middle aged women are treated now we are living longer and working longer, and need quality of life, not just length of life. We will no longer be written off as 'oldies' who are going to spend our days knitting bonnets.

We've had 2 women PMs running the country regardless of what you think of either, so women need to be able to work and support their elderly parents , when they too might be in their 60s or 70s.

Have a look at the link I left for the youtube by Dr Newson.

*out= ought!

@queenofthenights

Totally agree with you. I'm off to watch the video. Thanks.

Finally watched the full programme yesterday, most of it nothing more than info we can read online but the bit about risks increase stroke a cord. She made a valid point that the increase risks are much lower than those linked to lifestyle we don't twice off. The thing is, I do think of these and watch my weight carefully and don't drink mainly to be healthy as a whole but also very much to reduce ill health at a later stage, so for je it reinforced my choice not to go on hrt.

Saying that, if I was really miserable to the point I thought I couldn't function without it, I wouldn't think twice.

I did like the discussion about link between running or cycling to a lesser degree and reduced risk of osteoporosis, suits me as do both but the research as presented was far from reliable with so few people so I thought it was quite misleading. Would rather hear about more scientific findings.

The risks of strokes are no different than your baseline risk (without HRT) if using transdermal estrogen. The stroke risk is only increased (slightly) with tablet form and mainly for older ( 60+) women.

The stroke risk of any HRT is lower than the risks with the Pill.

I was thinking of breast cancer rather than stroke.