Imagine if, at age 12, girls were invited to their doctors for a check-up to discuss the changes they might experience in the coming years, and during that talk their GP didn’t mention periods.
No wonder there would be a national outcry. How is it possible that the medical establishment does not educate young girls about something so fundamental?
And yet, that’s exactly what is happening to middle-aged women. Once they reach 40, the NHS invites them to an over-40 health check, an appointment created to encourage middle-aged people to think about lifestyle and future health, but perimenopause and menopause doesn’t even get a mention.
This is incredible when you consider that for 52 percent of the population, the menopause transition is the only certainty in terms of future health challenges.
Mariella (second left) surrounded by activists including Patsy Kensit, Davina McCall and Lisa Snowdon in the front row with her.
Over the last few years, while writing my book Cracking The Menopause and campaigning to support menopause for women, many things have struck me. But the myopia of health screening for people over 40 is at the top.
That’s why today, Menopause Mandate launched our new campaign, MM40+, in the Houses of Parliament, calling for it to be automatically included in the over-40s cheque.
Established in 2009, the NHS Health Check is offered to all eligible adults aged 40 to 74 every five years.
It usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, is carried out by a healthcare professional and looks at lifestyle risk factors (such as diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol) and risk factors. physical factors such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, and cholesterol, which may contribute. to cardiovascular diseases, dementia and some cancers, among other things.
I attend any health check offered. Heart disease runs in my family and it makes sense to control my blood pressure. But perimenopause meant I had two years of insomnia and anxiety, which made me completely miserable, until after a series of doctor’s appointments, I was finally diagnosed. That’s also when I discovered I had osteopenia, the precursor to osteoporosis.
Over the next few years I was able to reverse it with a combination of lifestyle and HRT. But it would have been much easier to know in advance that this could happen.
This is where the MM40+ plan comes into play. There are around two and a half million women aged 40 to 45 in England and Wales; that’s a huge potential reach.
We suggest giving healthcare professionals a fact sheet on the basics, available to download, which we have devised with the menopause experts and NHS GPs at My Menopause Centre.
Another free download brochure will be available for women attending the medical check-up. We have also produced two free videos, one for patients and one for healthcare professionals.
If women know the facts, they may wish to consult a GP to discuss treatments, writes Mariella Frostrup.
Most women will experience at least one of a growing list of symptoms: anxiety, sleep problems, depression, and brain fog, to name a few, are frequently among the first indicators. Women often wonder if they have early-onset Alzheimer’s.
There is also fatigue, joint and muscle pain, menstrual changes, palpitations, skin changes, problems with teeth, dry eyes and mouth. The list goes on…
Many of these can occur for other reasons, of course, and we specify this, but healthcare professionals must also take menopause into account.
The fact sheets also include information about the fact that without estrogen, our risk of osteoporosis increases and our risk of heart disease is the same as that of men.
Excess weight can also cause more severe hot flashes and palpitations may be due to menopause.
If women know the facts, they may wish to consult a GP to discuss treatments, and I would remind them that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend HRT as a first-line treatment. line for menopause symptoms. .
Plans are afoot for a digital health check, which were announced by the Department of Health and Social Care last year.
Hopefully this will be implemented shortly as our menopause information will sit solidly within that.
Famous faces including Cherry Healey, Carol Vorderman, Lisa Snowdon, Lavina Mehta and Michelle Griffith-Robinson at a Hot Girl Walk in aid of World Menopause Day in London
And to anyone who claims to not see the benefits of systemic change in the way the NHS treats menopause, let me point out that such a move could save the health service millions.
With small changes in midlife, women are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases later in life.
If more women used HRT to maintain bone density, prevent heart disease and improve mood, in addition to quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, controlling diet and exercising with weights, money could be saved later with visits to the GP and hospital. investigations, surgery and home care.
Menopause doesn’t have to be difficult. There are huge positives to this time of life; Women can become more motivated, and according to studies (plus personal observation), we are often happier and more confident.
The thing is, many of us could use a push and a dose of education to help us get through these turbulent times. It doesn’t seem like much to ask our doctors to provide.