Why do doctors the NHS & Government still not take the menopause seriously?
Posted , 5 users are following.
what's really upsetting & downright disgusting is despite the media etc constantly blaring about the menopause neither the NHS ,doctors or government seem to take it anymore seriously?
If you don't respond to the cookie cutter prescriptions dished out & have serious life altering multiple symptoms you're still not offered a referral?
How can something that affects 50% of the population & 30% of those seriously p, still be so poorly serviced?
I live in Norfolk & there's not a single NHS perimenopause clinic here, the nearest is Colchester 85 miles away, after nearly 2 years of horrendous symptoms no referral has been offered?
Don't get me started on the lack of hrt medication availability & the woefully inflexible & unresponsive prescription issuing .
I read on here how so many of us are really suffering but what do any of us do.
Never mind BLM! MWM, menopausal women matter!
it's time to petition the government, do something positive! If it's left up to all those blokes in parliament who know eff all, nothing will change.
It doesn't affect them, why would they do anything? I can't be the only one sick of this??
3 likes, 3 replies
eleni1960 Nyxynoo
Edited
Hi
I completely agree with you I think it is disgusting that the medical profession knows so little or cares enough to make any changes and request educating on all things menopause. Apart from the usual well known symptoms such as hot flushes weight gain insomnia mood swings they really are unaware of how many women suffer with so many different symptoms and indeed make us feel like we are crazy. Is it any wonder that we have health anxiety as most of the time we are left to try to make sense of how we feel and fear the worst. I am 5 years post meno and have had most of the 66 symptoms of meno. At the moment i am struggling with constant dizziness head pressure off balance and it is a daily struggle trying to cope. My anxiety is there all the time. I have accepted a lot of the symptoms flushing, crying, no sleep, shaky legs, internal vibrations, palpitations the list goes on. So if you or anyone starts a petition i'm definitely there.
Hope for better days soon.
sarah05599 Nyxynoo
Posted
Hi
I hear you, I went through a horrendous time in 2018 with anxiety and the doctors were useless. One in particular who I thought would be more understanding a women doc in her 50s but was the worst of them all 😮 I felt so alone and scared realising I was on my own as theres no help apart from throwing anti depressants at you or sedatives. I would have loved a referral to a proper menopause clinic but not even a mention from any of my docs here in UK. Its defo being talked about more in the media but docs are still clueless it makes me so mad 😡 Im slowly losing all my teeth since this peri , 2 back teeth have broke and yesterday started with toothache in another back tooth and cause of covid cant get an appointment till 9th Oct. Im so fed up with it all and just want to be me again not full of aches and pains and teeth falling apart 😭 if anyone decides to start a petition im defo in 👍
Nyxynoo
Edited
Thanks for your support ladies. I will say initially hrt patches worked for me after the tablets gave me unpleasant side effects.
The problem comes when this stuff stops working & you need more specialised help. You are entitled to a referral by NHS own guidelines. First stop is a second opinion & your own research. Every tissue in the body has estrogen receptors in it, hence the huge variety of symptoms, many of which doctors don't know about. Also Doctors aren't authorised to prescribe beyond certain basic guidelines. At this point you should be referred. The problem is there are only a handful of menopause clinics that deal with perimenopause.
You can get help but you HAVE to fight for it, who has the energy? Even then if you're in the unlucky 30% like us you're very unlikely to get relief from all your symptoms. HRT is very helpful but it's not the cure all lots of the media make it out to be
These forums are helpful in making you realise you're not terminally ill. I'm not going to say seriously ill because in my opinion if your quality of life is seriously affected for more than 6 months, it's serious.
What we really need is a clinic covering all of the menopause at each hospital.
I also suffer from CFS so i have virtually no life, zero treatment for that. I've already suffered 15 years of limited living social i guess any reduction in that which can be treated i really resent not getting.
I'm not sure what, if anything i intend to do but i do hope to achieve some improvement & once achieved i will try & pass that on somehow.
I've found the British menopause association website quite useful & if you're lucky enough to be able to afford private treatment there's a list on there according to your area.
Oh & Sarah i came off my hrt for a while & 3 of my teeth broke! Back on it, no problem. You haven't mentioned any treatment but poor teeth is definitely in the menopause remit, same with poor eyesight.
If you're worried about using hrt don't be, insist on patches, far fewer potential side effects & long term issues.
And if you're worried about breast cancer linked to hrt just to put it in perspective, you're almost twice as likely to get breast cancer from being overweight than from hrt.
It's all out there to check on the net.