My GP said “it’s not the menopause” but it was!

Eva is 43, a single mum to 10 year old twin boys and works part time as a Legal Assistant. Her life is understandably hectic, balancing the needs of two highly energetic children with a demanding job (and a rescue dog).

This is Eva’s menopause story:

“I’m lucky enough to enjoy a full life with my children and work, although I have very little time for myself. I first noticed that I didn’t have as much energy as usual but put this down to a long bout of COVID and thought no more about it. Then my periods became heavier and not as regular – again I just dismissed this. But when I started waking up most nights drenched in sweat and needed to change my bed clothes, I began to wonder if this was the start of the menopause. I also noticed I was having difficulty concentrating at work. I’d begin a conversation, then get stuck in the middle, it was as though I’d forgotten the words.

After a lot of phone calls I managed to see my GP who did a blood test to see if I was menopausal. The results were negative and he insisted that my symptoms ‘were not the menopause’ and probably just caused by the stress of my hectic life. He recommended anti-depressants if I wasn’t feeling better in a few months.

My symptoms rapidly became worse. Hot flushes during the daytime, particularly at work were adding to my stress levels and I felt permanently anxious, I could feel my heart beating so hard that it made me dizzy.

Driving to work one morning I heard an interview with Davina McCall about her book ‘Menopausing’. She said that although menopause affects every woman, there’s still too much shame, fear and misinformation surrounding it. This was a life-changing moment. She was describing my life, my symptoms and offering a way out of living from one hot flush to the next.

This time feeling much better prepared and armed with my new knowledge about the menopause I insisted on seeing a doctor specialising in Women’s Health. The appointment could not have been more different to my first experience. Her first words were to reassure me that we had plenty of time to go through everything. Just being heard made me feel better. She explained that my hormones were fluctuating and that a blood test would not have shown that I’m in the perimenopause. However after listening to my symptoms and checking my medical history, she prescribed HRT. She explained it could take around two months for my symptoms to improve and that the dose could be adjusted depending on how I felt.

It was like being handed my life back to me. I’d been living in dread of spending the next ten years like this, and I was frightened to think how this could have impacted on my children.

I’m now telling all my friends of a similar age to ask for the medical help they need. You wouldn’t go through childbirth without painkillers, so why would you go through the menopause without HRT?”