Menopause lasts ‘only one day’
Did you know that the menopause lasts only one day?! That’s the good news; the bad news is peri and post menopause can span decades, but HRT can make the nastiness go away, according to leading menopause expert Dr Deirdre Forde of Ceile Medical.
Addressing a Midlands Science gathering of more than 50 women in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, Dr Forde outlined the advances of taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), dispelled some of the myths about the risks involved, and recommended that women begin taking it as soon as they start feeling the symptoms of perimenopause, and continue until they die.
Dr Forde brought along samples of the different forms of HRT from patches to gels to sprays and “vaginal butter”. She also recommended Saxenda injections for weight loss, but again emphasised that you have to stay on them to keep the weight off.
The free event, exploring the science of the menopause, was run by Midlands Science as part of national Science Week, in association with Mullingar Soroptimists, “to shed light on the science behind hormones and menopause”.
The talk was opened by Pauline Nally of Midland Science and facilitated by Dr Claire O’Connell, a cell biology PhD graduate, who writes regularly about science for the Irish Times. There was lively debate and many members of the audience were asking questions.
New research from the Department of Health shows that 93% of people surveyed agree that menopause can have a big impact on a woman’s everyday life and that one in three women in menopause have constant symptoms.
Dr Forde explained that your menopause day is the day when you have not had a period for a year. Your ovaries have stopped working and no hormones are being produced.
However, perimenopause can last for 10 to 15 years “and is not plain sailing”, she warned. Early perimenopause is “probably the worst” time with “hot flashes and night sweats” and a long list of physical and emotional symptoms, she added.
The treatment is HRT, Dr Forde said. She stressed that HRT does not cause breast cancer, it is a promoter, “but you were always going to get it”. Two and a half hours of exercise a week can reduce the risk of breast cancer and taking HRT early can reduce the risk of heart disease, she stated.
She stressed the importance of doing pelvic floor exercises. You can do them at the kitchen sink – just imagine stopping yourself from peeing, that is the sensation you want, she explained.
Dr Forde urged women to exercise, warning that if they don’t, they will put on weight. Move! she told the gathering. Exercise makes you feel good, energised, and you sleep so well, she said.
Walking and weights resistance training are essential, swimming and cycling are not going to do anything – you need to feel the ground under you, she advised. Anything with soya in it can help too and Dr Forde recommended a Mediterranean style diet.
Menopause is not a disease, it is a transition, Dr Forde continued. She warned against putting everything down to menopause – “if something seems not right, it is not right”, and you should see your GP. For instance, she said, a lot of patients who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia might just be hormone deficient, and palpitations, if they do not settle down, should be check out by your doctor.
HRT can take three months to work, but some women feel better within a couple of days, Dr Forde remarked. She warned that if you come off HRT, the symptoms will return, and declared that she is on it “for life”.
“You see women in their 80s flying around and I bet half of them are on HRT,” she said, adding that you might need less as you get older.
Dr Forde declared that there are no negative effects to staying on HRT and if you cannot take HRT there is Veoza, a drug for the treatment of hot flushes and night sweats.