For a working mother and wife like Fiona B. (49), the years between 40-50 are often the most stressful time of life - it certainly doesn't help to have to deal with troublesome symptoms that menopause brings to many women on top of the challenges at work and in everyday family life. Fiona noticed the first changes at the age of 44. The normally even-tempered woman suddenly had frequent mood swings and significantly less patience with those around her than she was used to. Although Fiona herself had already expressed the suspicion that these mood swings were a first sign of the impending menopause, this was hardly taken seriously by those around her. At 44, she was still too young, especially since she had just given birth to her son 4 years earlier.
It was not until 3 years later, when her periods stopped, that Fiona's suspicion was confirmed by her gynecologist. At this time, a sharp drop in her hormone levels was also detected. During this time Fiona suffered increasingly from the hormonal changes, she had severe hair loss, felt less energetic and the skin all over her body became drier.
To regulate the symptoms, Fiona was initially given herbal preparations. However, these did not bring about any significant change; on the contrary, severe hot flashes were added to the list of here symptoms. The hot flashes frequently occurred at night and affected sleep. At first it feels like a fever, you get really hot from the inside, after about 5 minutes the heat subsides and a film of sweat remains on the skin, Fiona describes.
Significant relief of symptoms with hormone replacement therapy
Since the initial therapy did not have the desired effect, a few months later, after consulting with her gynecologist, Fiona started hormone replacement therapy (HRT), consisting of an estrogen cream applied in the morning and an oral progesterone preparation taken in the evening. Fortunately, HRT brought improvement in all symptoms without triggering side effects such as weight gain and water retention. Most of her symptoms, such as the hot flashes and mood swings, have virtually disappeared altogether, with only general dryness of the skin, vaginal mucous membranes, and eyes, and a decrease in libido still noticeable. However, the dryness is easily treatable with various creams and other agents.
Overall, Fiona's quality of life has improved significantly with HRT, and she is able to cope with the day-to-day challenges of a demanding job and family with her usual composure while continue to pursue her numerous hobbies such as biking, yoga, Pilates, climbing, skiing, and jogging. The very fact that she has always been very active helps counter some of the effects of menopause.
Women should start thinking about menopause early, for example, with the help of books like "Women on fire."
For other women, Fiona would recommend addressing the issue of menopause early. Even in the minds of most gynecologists, it is still quite firmly anchored that menopause only becomes an issue for women over 50. This makes it all the more important for every woman to listen closely to her body and notice symptoms early on. In particular, the book Women on Fire by Sheila de Liz, MD, has helped her to better understand what is going on in her own body and to deal with the topic in an easy-to-understand, humorous way. It's important to bring more awareness to the topic and for women to openly share their experiences and seek help, rather than simply accepting their symptoms as part of getting older. That's why Fiona also likes to talk about the topic with her friends and now on Herea. In the end, menopause does have its positive effects, too – you don't have to deal with period pains and PMS, you don't have to think about sanitary products when going out or traveling, and you don't have to deal with hormonal contraceptives. It gives back a certain amount of freedom.
