IT wasn’t until I was recording an episode of my podcast The Mid Point in the autumn of 2020 that I realised I was experiencing perimenopausal symptoms.
Mariella Frostrup, my guest was talking about her experience with menopause.
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She’s a bit older than me and was talking about things that she’d gone through, and I suddenly realised that some of the symptoms she was describing sounded very familiar.
At the time, I was 47 years old. It was more about mood, anxiety, feeling drained and not being able to focus my mind.
But it had been like a slow erosion, and we were still in the midst of the pandemic, so I wasn’t sure if the way I was feeling was just because of that.
But after listening and talking to Mariella, I started investigating, and voilà – it was perimenopause.
It suddenly dawned on me that my periods had become a lot less frequent, my skin was feeling quite dry and my hair wasn’t in as good condition as usual.
It was not easy to see the big picture when I looked at a list.
Mariella provided me with the name of her specialist, and I made an appointment to have general blood tests. This included checking my hormone levels.
I was contacted by the specialist one week later. He said: “Your hormones are on the floor.”
She suggested I try some bioidentical hormonal hormones to get me back to where I was.
My goodness, my reaction to Christmas that year was amazing.
Pretty much within a few weeks, I felt totally different – a lot more like the old me. While I was still exercising at the gym, it was bringing me so much more joy.
It wasn’t entirely straightforward, though – my skin started breaking out and I realised I didn’t need as much testosterone, so my doctor scaled back the dose.
Overall, however, I felt more positive and mentally sharper. I was also more at ease at home.
When it comes to the perimenopause/menopause, it’s got to be the person’s individual decision whether to take medication, but it’s really important that women are properly informed and not just reading scary headlines about it.
I still notice a narrative within parts of the media that somehow if you submit to HRT, you’re cheating.
There’s also occasionally an attitude of: “I’m gonna hang on for a bit longer, I’m not going to take HRT yet.”
But if it’s been proven that the earlier you take it, the better your chances are of not getting osteoporosis, and that your heart will be healthier, why are we hanging out like troopers trying to beat the menopause?
We should get rid of the notion that you must be in a pool every night to qualify for treatment.
I’m not somebody who has experienced depression, but I just don’t think women should have to settle for a low mood for the rest of their lives.
What’s more, if me being on HRT means I’m not going to bother the NHS with any of the potential health issues that can arise when our hormones deplete, then that in itself is a positive for them and me.
My skin and hair are healthier and more supple, I feel happier, my libido is up, I have more energy and my brain fog is gone.
Yes, I could have probably carried on living without HRT, and I wouldn’t have died.
But to me, that’s not how we live. I’ve had a great first half of my life – I want the second half to be just as fun and rewarding.
- The First Half by Gabby Logan (£20, Piatkus) is out now.
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