Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Vet Chat. Today, to celebrate World Menopause Day, I'm delighted to be joined by Claire Knox, and we're gonna be chatting about two very important topics, the perimenopause and the menopause. Claire is a business psychologist specialising in women's health at work.
Her own experience of living and working with premenstrual dysphoric disorder inspires her to set up, see her thrive, a company that's on a mission to create more inclusive organisations where women can thrive. Claire spent 2 years as a board director at the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders. She's an affiliate member of the British Menopause Society, the Association for Business Psychology, the British Psychological Society, and CIPD.
She's also a lay examiner. The Royal College of Obstetricians and gynaecologists. So welcome Claire, thanks so much for being here today.
Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's really wonderful to be here and happy World Menopause Day everyone. Yeah, so World Menopause Day, so it's held every year in October.
And essentially it's to help raise awareness and understanding of the menopause. So should we start by discussing the menopause and, and what the menopause is? Absolutely, yes, let's start right at the beginning, so.
I guess it's important to make a couple of distinctions between menopause and perimenopause because we've used those terms already in the in the episode, so menopause is Of an event, if you like, it's 365 days since our last period. So it marks the end of our reproductive life, if you like. And what we now know is that it's actually the lead up to menopause, to reaching that, that menopause point, which is called perimenopause, where lots of us will experience symptoms.
And the reason that happens is because our levels of oestrogen and progesterone and testosterone start to decline, and while they decline, they're fluctuating. So it isn't this kind of smooth transition that happens. Very gradually, it can be quite erratic and that's why many of us will experience some days where we feel really good and some days we'll wake up and think, oh my God, what what is going on?
I feel horrendous. And we've got oestrogen receptors all over our body, so that is why we can experience a whole host of physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms. And I think historically we used to think of menopause as.
Something that happens to women in their 50s and 60s. You might experience some, some hot flushes and some night sweats, and that's it. But now because we're doing more research and we understand more, we know that people can go through the menopause a lot earlier than that.
And also, Symptoms are, are really wide ranging and can be debilitating for about 25% of people. Wow. OK.
So perimenopause first, then menopause. Yes, and then we've got post menopause. So once we've gone through the menopause, an equally important period in our life, because then we need to be thinking about our bone health, brain health, heart health, .
In those kind of postmenopausal years, so that's also really, really important as well and making sure we've got what we need for long term health and wellbeing. Mhm. OK, brilliant.
So what sort of ages do you, or you would you say perimenopause and then the menopause starts because it's not as late as we are sort of led to believe, is it? That's right, yeah. So, I mean, I'm 36 and I'm perimenopausal now.
I started to experience symptoms a couple of years ago, and despite working in this field and being very clued up on these things, I still didn't put two and two together because I thought that I'm too young. This can't be happening. I explained it away with things like work, stress, and Yeah.
Put it down to other things that were going on and yeah, so it can perimenopause can start at any time really, but typically, typically in our late 30s, late 30s is when our hormone levels will start to, to decline. But I think it's also important to recognise that many people will experience something called premature ovarian insufficiency. And that means they go through menopause way, way, way, way earlier.
I know people who were in their teens when they went through menopause because of, of, . Of this disorder. And then we've got people who go through early menopause, which is we class that as as anytime before the age of 40.
So yes, this period of perimenopause, it can happen. Years before we actually reach menopause, and that's why we're finding people can suffer and experience symptoms, for many, many years. Mhm.
Going through this transition. Yeah. Wow, OK.
So what made you think or realise at 36 that you were actually going through it? Yeah, so I had. I mean, I'll, I'll share my symptoms with you.
Everyone has different symptoms and experiences perimenopause differently, but for me, my periods have always been like clockwork, and they've always been, very kind of consistent, I would say, and regular. And I started to notice a change in my cycle and one month I was having A cycle of 23 days and the next month it would be 33 days, which for me, It was a sign that something had changed, something was different. Not only that, but I started to have really, really heavy periods and then I would have a really light period.
So again this kind of irregularity started to keep in. I was experiencing night sweats, which I've always had premenstrually anyway, my PMDD but they were, they were getting worse, and I just felt. Really flat.
That's the only way I can describe it. I just felt like I had a low mood, low energy. I wasn't enjoying things I usually enjoy, but there was no rhyme or reason for that.
I couldn't put it down to, you know, reasonably down to anything, and so, yeah, I, I went to the doctor. Was referred to a gynaecologist and I'm now on HRT, which for me has been a real, a real health . As it is for many, many people.
Mhm. OK, brilliant. Oh, thank you for sharing that.
And was it OK going to the doctors? Did, did you get the support and everything that you needed, because I know sometimes you hear these horror stories in the press at the moment about GPs and the menopause and them not having the training, but was that all, all OK for you? I mean, yes and no.
So I'm, I'm really lucky in that I I do have some really I I usually say A couple of GPs, I've got like 2 that I, I regularly see, and they are lovely, they're really supportive and really do listen and, want to help and I know that that isn't the experience that lots of people have. So I feel very, very lucky and very grateful for that. The, when I was referred to a gynaecologist, it gets a bit tricky because that was also for my premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
And what had happened was, My hormone levels were, my testosterone was high and. I was asking, you know, why, why is my testosterone high? What, what is going on and So at the same time I was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and perimenopause and so it's this whole combination of different things.
What was difficult was that wasn't really explained and I actually discovered it in my medical notes when I went back and looked. Oh wow. At, yeah, so.
I was having a look through the NHS app, you know, where you keep your COVID, yeah, over thing and thought, oh, you can, you can look at your medical records here and I saw PCOS and thought, well, oh, I didn't, I didn't know I was I had actually been diagnosed with that, but there we go. Wow, OK. Ah, so you think if, you, you still stand by, you know, the right decision to go to the doctors, that's the advice that you, you know, you would give people if they start to notice the symptoms of menopause.
I think a really good place to start is to keep a diary of, of symptoms. Any changes that you notice, whether that's with your menstrual cycle, your, you know, your periods, your mood, if you're experiencing anything like anxiety and there's nothing particularly stressful going on in life, you know, you can't explain it with other things, or you, you know, you feel low, a lot of people say they feel depressed, they see a change in their sex drive and some people have skin issues. Dry eyes was another thing that so dry eyes, and that's associated with low oestrogen as well, and regular thrush, that was, was something else.
So these are all, things to look out for, but yes, if you notice any changes, definitely. Make a, make a note, keep track, speak to your GP if you, if you can try and speak to someone in the clinic who's a women's health specialist. Usually there is someone who has an interest in that, and the British Menopause Society also have a tool where you can find a specialist in your area or through the NHS and.
Private if that's an option for you. So it's, yeah, don't suffer in silence, don't just put up with it because there is help and support available beyond HRT as well. That's not for everyone and not everyone can or or does want to take it, but there are other things that people find helpful, but definitely reach out, get.
That kind of medical support and there are some fantastic online communities and resources as well. So I definitely recommend the Balance app from Dr. Louise Newson.
It has tonnes of information, you can track your symptoms, there's guidance on how to speak to your GP and it's fantastic. So. That's one if you know if anybody's listening and.
And oh, I think I might be perimenopausal, that might be a really good thing to go and download. OK, amazing. Oh, we'll have to get the link for that off you and we can put that on the blog as well when this goes live.
Yes, yeah, fab. Brill, ah, so have a think about workplaces in particular. Are there any practical things that employers can be doing to support women in the workplace?
I know you talk about this quite a lot, don't you in the work that you do. Are there any tips that you you would have for employers? So one really positive step that can make a huge difference is manager training, and that is something we've seen have a real impact in the workplaces and and the employers we've worked with.
And that's really about making sure line managers have the knowledge, the awareness, and the confidence to support people who might be experiencing symptoms and who might be struggling at work. And not everyone's gonna have a difficult time at work because of their menopause journey. But for, for some people work can become really, really difficult.
And so I think. It's, it's crucial that managers have that vocabulary and they feel able to have those conversations and know things like what you can say and what not to say and and because it is a sensitive topic and people worry about saying the wrong thing, about being seen as sexist or ageist and there are, you know, quite real fears and concerns around this, so. Educated managers and giving that that training.
And making sure they feel comfortable and confident talking about not just menopause, but I would say it should be broadened to include other female related health issues that we haven't given air time to in the workplace. And then beyond that, it's making sure that there's some kind of support available for staff that might look like information, so if you've got a wellbeing hub or something like that, making sure there's some signposting to things like balance that I've talked about. You might want to do a a session for all staff to open up that conversation and to raise awareness and to break break down the stigma.
Mhm. And then the other thing we've we've seen work really well is using things like women's networks to talk about menopause and That gives a safe space for people to share their own experiences and connect with other people who are perhaps going through a similar thing, and and share advice and and access that peer support, which is really powerful. Yeah, OK, amazing.
Oh, that sounds great. And another thing that I spotted this morning, on Instagram was about MPs, and have you seen it this morning, they've come out and they've said that all, women should have menopause checks at the age of 45. Did you have any, any thoughts around that?
Yeah, so a few thoughts and it'll probably make sense based on what I mentioned earlier about, you know, the age that people can go through menopause, so. What, what about people who are, you know, go through menopause early, what happens to them where we're at risk of not catching those people and not giving them the support they need. So that's one question.
The other one is how will this be resourced, because GPs are already under. Huge pressure. They've got a really tough job.
So how, how will this actually work? And these additional checks, how are they gonna actually operate and, from, from that kind of practical perspective. And then, something I read, so Diane Danzebrink, who runs the Make Menopause Matter campaign, made a really good point.
At 40 we have a health check anyway, could it not be incorporated into that? To kill two birds with one storm, sort of, but there are. To me, there are more pressing issues, that need to be addressed first.
We know that a lot of millions of people are finding it really hard to get hormone replacement therapy, their HRT, because of supply issues and shortages, and that really needs to be addressed first and foremost. Then we need or at the same time we need GPs to have proper training so that they can support and and treat women, so that to me that this isn't this isn't the best way forward, and it's certainly not reflective of what we've seen in the community as to what women. Really need and what they want to see happen.
So I'm not sure where it has come from, how this has come about, but it, it, I'm struggling to connect the dots and that's, that's where I am. A lot of question marks at the moment. Yeah, I agree.
It seems like there's, it's a bit of a statement without really a plan exactly and I think at the moment that's all it is. I think it's probably. Something to pacify people or an attempt to pacify people as we approach world menopause data to be seen to be doing something, but is it the right thing?
Is it the best thing? Is it what people really want and need? I would say no, probably not.
So yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens . I don't actually hold much faith and hope that anything will materialise from it, but there we go I'm a huge sceptic. Yeah.
Oh well Claire, thank you so much. If anybody wanted to reach out to you, what's the best way for them to do that? Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram at see herthrive, and you can find our website at www.
See herthrive.com. And from there you can find our email address and things like that.
And I'm also on LinkedIn, so yes, if anyone wants to connect there, then feel free to reach out. It's always lovely to meet people and, and connect. So, yes, that would be lovely.
Oh, that's great. Thank you, Claire. We actually met on Instagram ourselves, didn't we?
We did. For all I, I. Yeah, it's a necessary evil.
It's like yourself, so it is, it does have its benefits for sure. Absolutely. Oh, well, thank you so much again.
We will, get a blog up when we release this podcast. We'll put the links to everything that we've discussed on there and all the links to connect with you and, see her thrive as well. And yes, thanks again so much for joining us and happy World Menopause Day, everybody.
Thank you.
