Norfolk


<p>Hear the &#8216;M&#8217; word and want to bury your head in your hands? We hear ya! Thanks to Davina McCall, Mariella Frostrup and Gabby Logan, women are openly talking about the often debilitating symptoms women suffer in mid-life, but doctors are claiming their voice is giving perimenopause and menopause a bad name and are even asking patients if they&#8217;re pleas for help are because it&#8217;s trendy. There&#8217;s a LOT of noise out there – unfortunately, most of it isn&#8217;t particularly accurate. </p>



<p>But help is at hand! Norfolk local Diane Danzebrink is the founder of <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Menopause Support</a>, a non-profit organisation (also home to the national <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/search/keyword/?q=%23makemenopausematter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#MakeMenopuaseMatter</a> campaign) which not only provides info and support to women, but also bespoke training for businesses on how best to assist their staff. Diane set up Menopause Support in 2015 following her own, awful experience, and the general lack of support and mass misinformation.</p>



<p>Her aim, to ensure every woman has access to factual, evidence based, non-biased information, education and emotional support to empower them to take control of their health and wellbeing during menopause and beyond. And, with a <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?page_id=17726" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book</a> under her belt, a <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005_Menopause-Support-Booklet-5-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">super helpful leaflet</a> (aka the menopause bible), an abundance of <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?page_id=12873" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">free resources</a> and 25K Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBIus2ko6Ms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">followers</a> hanging on her every word, who better to bust the maddest menopause myths? Over to you Diane.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="846" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Diane-Danzebrink-16-smaller-846x1000.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58084" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Diane-Danzebrink-16-smaller-846x1000.jpg 846w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Diane-Danzebrink-16-smaller-677x800.jpg 677w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Diane-Danzebrink-16-smaller-768x908.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Diane-Danzebrink-16-smaller.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-menopause-is-just-hot-flushes-night-sweats-and-no-more-periods">Menopause is just hot flushes, night sweats and no more periods</h3>



<p>Unfortunately, menopause isn&#8217;t just hot flushes and goodbye periods, or the 70 or 80-odd symptoms social media might tell you are associated with it. There&#8217;s around 30 common symptoms that are generally agreed upon by international menopause societies which will affect approximately 75% of women. Those symptoms can be physical, cognitive, psychological, or a mixture of all three. </p>



<p>Physical symptoms can be all sorts of things from heart palpitations, achy joints and muscles, itchy skin, dry eyes and mouth to changes to your hair, gut and bowel function and things like repeated urinary tract infections. Cognitive symptoms – often called brain fog – relates to changes in memory and concentration. The psychological symptoms are perhaps the most common: increased anxiety, low mood and feeling less confident. So it&#8217;s incredibly varied, there&#8217;s a lovely symptom checker in our <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005_Menopause-Support-Booklet-5-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">guidance booklet</a> which is really handy. You&#8217;ll be surprised how many relate to menopause.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-menopause-doesn-t-start-until-women-hit-50">Menopause doesn&#8217;t start until women hit 50 </h3>



<p>Menopause really should be described as a transition. It begins with perimenopause which is the time when your hormone levels start to fluctuate in a more erratic way, and for approximately 75% of women, they will start to experience symptoms here. For most, perimenopause will probably begin in their late 30s/early 40s. Doctors expect all women to be perimenopausal by the time they&#8217;re 45.</p>



<p>Whilst menopause is the word we use to encapsulate everything, it also has its own clinical diagnosis which is having a continuous 12 months without a period. That&#8217;s a retrospective diagnosis and is followed by post menopause. So the menopause transition is commonly described as being anywhere between four and eight years. There are people who will experience an early menopause, which is between the ages of 40 and 45 and some experience a premature menopause which is anyone under the age of 40.&nbsp;There are also those who may experience a surgical or medically induced menopause.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-can-t-consider-treatment-for-menopause-until-your-periods-have-stopped"><strong>You can’t consider treatment for menopause until your periods have stopped</strong></h3>



<p>It&#8217;s another common myth and absolutely incorrect. If you&#8217;re experiencing symptoms and they&#8217;re having an impact on your quality of life, that&#8217;s the time to start exploring treatment options and, if you&#8217;re going to, seek help from a doctor. Go and have the conversation, see what&#8217;s available to you, do your homework, have a read of the <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005_Menopause-Support-Booklet-5-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">booklet</a>, look at the <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>, and go to your GP armed with information. You do not need to suffer in silence.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perimenopause-means-fewer-and-lighter-periods">Perimenopause means fewer and lighter periods.</h3>



<p>I wish! Unfortunately this is not the case for everybody, for some people they will become heavier and more erratic.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-doctor-will-tell-if-you-are-in-perimenopause-by-doing-a-blood-test">A doctor will tell if you are in perimenopause by doing a blood test</h3>



<p>This is an important one: if you&#8217;re perimenopausal, your oestrogen levels are going to be whizzing up and down sometimes on a daily basis which means that blood tests can give a false idea of what&#8217;s really going on.  NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidance to the NHS is that if somebody is over the age of 45 don&#8217;t offer a blood test, don&#8217;t waste your time or resources, speak with the patient and offer advice.</p>



<p>Although NICE guidance has been available since 2015, we still speak to people who are told by their GP, despite presenting symptoms, that they can&#8217;t be menopausal because their hormone levels are fine. If you&#8217;ve had a first appointment and it hasn&#8217;t been successful, make a second appointment, ask to speak to the GP or practice nurse who takes a special interest in menopause. Now, there might not always be one in every practice, but there are certainly more than we had five years ago, probably more than we had three years ago. If you&#8217;re still not getting the right help, you can ask to be referred to the NHS menopause clinic.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hrt-just-delays-menopause">HRT just delays menopause</h3>



<p>That&#8217;s also not true. Essentially, if you&#8217;re using hormone replacement therapy, your own hormones are still fluctuating in the background and taking HRT is not going to change what&#8217;s going on with your own hormones. It&#8217;s there to try and help alleviate any symptoms that you&#8217;re experiencing, it certainly won&#8217;t delay the inevitable. There’s actually evidence to show that hormone replacement therapy can help to improve your bone health as you age, minimising things like osteoporosis which can be a huge issue for a lot of women, so we know that it can be protective too.</p>



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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1529" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Making-Menopause-Matter-by-Diane-Danzebrink-front-cover-high-res.jpg" alt="Making Menopause Matter by Diane Danzebrink" class="wp-image-58083" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Making-Menopause-Matter-by-Diane-Danzebrink-front-cover-high-res.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Making-Menopause-Matter-by-Diane-Danzebrink-front-cover-high-res-523x800.jpg 523w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Making-Menopause-Matter-by-Diane-Danzebrink-front-cover-high-res-654x1000.jpg 654w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/10/Making-Menopause-Matter-by-Diane-Danzebrink-front-cover-high-res-768x1174.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<ul>
<li><strong><em>For more information, the <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk">Menopause Support</a> website is chokka block with helpful resources for you and your family to help navigate menopause and the best place to begin is with the <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005_Menopause-Support-Booklet-5-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guide to Understanding Menopause</a> leaflet.</em></strong></li>



<li><strong><em>Diane&#8217;s book, <a href="https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?page_id=17726" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Making Menopause Matter</a> is currently <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=9781399812689&amp;i=digital-text&amp;tag=hachetteuk-21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">99p on Kindle</a> throughout October.</em></strong></li>
</ul>


Taking the heat out of menopause: 6 common myths, BUSTED!

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