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(Dramatisation of typical appt at a GP for a woman in perimenopause / menopause in Cornwall in 2010):
HELLO
Mrs. Myron has come to the surgery for a check up and she is waiting in the exam room.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Taylor."
"Oh... thought you were the nurse. You're so young."
"So let me see... .you're fifty... family history of cancer, stroke, heart problems."
"Yeah, most of the family is dead I'm wondering about myself."
"OK, let me take a look at your chart here... .you're here today because your periods are irregular and you wonder if it is menopause."
"Been really rough the last eight months...can't sleep... hurts when I pass water. My bottom feels like it's on fire."
"Hmmmm, OK, I will check for a bladder infection. Can happen during hormonal changes. Can you drop off a urine sample in the morning? In the meanwhile I will give you some antibiotics. Phone in a few days for the results. OK, let me read on here. You had blood tests last week. Nope... not in menopause. Not there yet. Your FSH is 25 and we say it is not menopause until it is 35. Can't see anything wrong or too unusual. Some women have a harder time than others."
"Shaky, teary, explosive... something must be wrong. Never had urinary problems before or these kinds of feelings."
"OK, let me look at the tests further. Thyroid is OK. Please, Mrs. Myron, let me assure you changes in the bladder lining and vagina are normal in perimenopause. Lubrication gels can help with that... I can give you some names for that today. They are at the local pharmacies."
"I can't go on,.. chills and sweats day and night... I'm exhausted or I feel frantic. I want more than a chemical gel for God sake."
"Now Mrs. Myron, I'm not saying you are not feeling a lot of changes. You are just not menopausal by the definition. That means I cannot give you any other hormonal help due to the fluctuations in your bloods."
"Is there anything you can do to help? My presence of mind is not present anymore. There has to be something you can do."
"Mmmmmm, not really. Would be like trying to adjust the deck chairs on the Titanic. It will all settle down soon."
"You mean like the Titanic sunk into the sea?"
"Mrs. Myron, now how about if you make an appointment for two months from now? We'll check your bloods again."
"Sorry, doctor. I just do not like feeling this way. I suppose there is little you and medicine can do to help with what is a natural process. It just makes me feel worse that you cannot help me more. You are young and pretty - you can't know what this is like. What I'm hearing is I have to go through more ups and downs before I can have some HRT help. "
"You may or may not. I do not know. You say you have not bled for three months."
"A dot. A few spots."
"Spots and dots count as your body still having a cycle."
"I see what happens to old women. I don't want it to happen to me. They get bitchy because they are drained, dried up, sad, depleted. Perhaps by the time you are menopausal there will be more help available to women....."
"I have to see the other patients now Mrs. Myron. I know I can't relate on a personal level but I have studied the process and it does ease."
"Thanks for your time, Dr. Taylor. You know....by the time you're my age there'll probably be a medical specialty in menopause. There'll be menopausal woman delivering the weather on TV instead of forever-pregnant ones. Ha, they'll be good at talking about hot and cold fronts."
"Perhaps you are right, Mrs. Myron. Now remember to use the gel and take the antibiotic for the bladder discomfort. I really have to see the other patients now."
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'Please join us and create your own menopausal wellness adventure and experience.'
Isabella Quigley Moriarty
We are in good company:
"There is no contentment to a young mind in an old body."
Queen Elizabeth I
From Alison Weir's book -Elizabeth the Queen p.231
| Thereafter (the menopause)... she was subjected to anxiety states, hysterical episodes and attacks of increasingly profound depression. She hated loud noise, and her intolerance of closed windows and people crowding her suggest she was claustrophobic. She suffered intermittent panic attacks...' |
The menopausal years can be a life-enriching time of metamorphosis and adventure for women offering a creative re-birth and chance for increased self-knowledge, self-value, self-care, health and well-being. It is a time to focus on the beauty and power of nature and our place in nature.
Two thirds of us have a challenging time during menopause. 150 years ago many of us died at the age of 48 - the age when perimenopause begins. The word 'climacteric' was first coined around the time of Queen Elizabeth I to mean a time in a woman's life where major changes take place.
My sister and mother died during 'the Change'. I had a rough time of it. I was stretched physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to let go and move on and create my life and 'world' with a new awareness and self-response-ability.
These last ten years my researching has focused on us as women and how we can use the hormonal ups and downs and our health challenges to value ourselves, our creativity and our contributions increasing the positive impact of our work for our families and the communities in which we live.
We are each unique as are our struggles and our gifts - each of us important to the whole and the menopausal years offer a unique chance to come in touch with, strengthen and share who we are.
Menopause Self Care (MSC) CIC is a new social enterprise created to promote health and well being for women in perimenopause and menopause. MSC has two prongs: health promotion and medical research.
Menopause Self Care offers an unbiased, compassionate, common sense, consumer 'guide' all-inclusive approach, giving women tools to be pro-active in discerning what medical, dietary, lifestyle and complementary resource interventions are for them and their well-being.
The aim is to provide the resources for women to become their own best self-care advocate and explore, design and enrich their own menopausal experience with the guidance-of their GP.
If you are interested in seminars and self-care coaching in your area please contact me and I will let you know of available programs:
Contact me by Email
or phone 01736 731 677.
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