Perimenopause and menopause are stages of a woman’s life that are becoming more present in conversations socially and even in the workplace. But still, so many women go through perimenopause without realising it, often suffering a multitude of symptoms. It’s difficult to untangle these same symptoms from the heavy stressors of life sometimes, as perimenopause hits us during particularly intense periods of our lives, and can continue for years.
During this time, many of us may be raising children, managing a household with a career, caring for parents or other family members, or living away from ‘home’ — so there is very little time for ‘us’, to pause, listen and feel what is going on inside our own bodies. The irony is that when life demands so much of us, perimenopause can significantly diminish our natural capacity for work and resilience.
After a weekly news round-up with Sasha, my guests this week are Guy Brandenbourger,Diane Elsen, Annabelle Parkhouse and Victoria Honey.
Diane Elsen is a certified menopause coaching specialist. After 26 years working within a European institution, raising two children, and helping her partner manage a successful restaurant, Diane was hit by post-traumatic depression at 48 years-old and at the peak of her career. With no answers from her GP, Diane threw herself into researching perimenopause.
Guy Brandenbourger was a Partner at PwC Luxembourg from 2011, leading their healthcare sector — including the government and public sector practice in Luxembourg. Guy is now the founder and partner of his own company called ‘Health A Gesondheet, Luxembourg Blue Zone (HAG)’, dedicated to developing a preventative health care structure in Luxembourg, with aims to become the 6th ‘Blue Zone’ in the world.
Annabelle Parkhouse has just completed Medical School at Imperial College London. She also completed an MBBS diploma and an Intercalated Bachelor’s in Health Management at Imperial Business School. Her thesis was on “Making Menopause Manageable, barriers regarding the safe discussions of menopausal symptom experience and management”.
Victoria Honey, a sexologist and perimenopause specialist, supports female executives who want to manage the emotional changes that come with perimenopause, so they may flourish in their careers and live un-shakeable lives.
🎧Listen to the full show here:
Still slightly taboo in the workplace, still often unrecognised by medical professionals, perimenopause is a long & difficult stage of life for many women
Menopause is still rather a taboo topic in Luxembourg, and the symptoms of perimenopause are still catching women by surprise. It is frequently only after a woman hits menopause that they realise they have lived with many of the symptoms of perimenopause. 86% of women aged 50 to 65 experience at least one symptom (among a list of at least 34), and almost half have not discussed the subject with their doctor, 60% talk to their gynaecologist and only 39% talk to their partner.
As Annabelle says, going through the period of perimenopause to post-menopause is actually a privilege, but it’s not always easy for women. Medication differs depending on where you live and who your doctors are. There is so much more to learn about the effects of menopause on the body and we are a long way from personalised hormonal treatment.
We have moved on from the 2002 WHI study that deprived a generation of women from hormone therapy and the link between HRT and breast cancer has been successfully disbanded. Moreover, HRT used at the right time can reduce cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
Diane Elsen talks about her own very difficult experience of perimenopause, not knowing what she was going through at the time, and nor did any of her healthcare professionals spot it. During her many years of research, Diane has found a number of sources she would recommend to others, including:
Dr Louise Newson
The Balance app
Balance-menopause.com (particularly for a list of symptoms)
Dr Lisa Mosconi(The Menopause Brain)
Dr Avrum Bluming & Carol Tavris (Oestrogen Matters)
Dr Mary Claire Haver (The New Menopause)
As well as guideline sources from EMAS (European Menopause and Andropause Society), the BMS (British Menopause Society) and the IMS (International Menopause Society).
You can also follow Diane on instagram at Womanhood Luxembourg.
Menopause can significantly affect women at work: those with symptoms have a 60% drop in productivity versus women without symptoms (FORBES 2019), 1 in 2 women say that menopause has negative effects on their work, and 21% have experienced the need to stop working for several days at a time.
It turns out there are many risks, as well, that so many women don’t realise are associated with menopause, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and sleep disorders. Heat flashes, one of the more commonly known symptoms of menopause (70-80% of women), can lead to cardiovascular disease, night sweats may lead to silent nocturnal hypoglycaemia (type 2 diabetes), insomnia can lead to depression, muscular and joint pain to osteoporosis and fractures and brain fog can lead to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
In Luxembourg we only have one bone density scanner, with a waiting list of 1.5 years. We really need to have about 7 such devices for a population of this country’s size. Guy Brandenbourger is working hard to put forward a manifesto of very actionable steps in order to help produce change for everyone in our society.
An easy one is for GPs to conduct annual medical menopause check-ups. Guy also suggests that from the age of 40 women should have a complete cardiac checkup. From 50 (I would say younger, being affected by this personally) Guy suggests having a mandatory bone mineral density scan.
Of course, part of the issue is that medical practitioners are not very knowledgeable about menopause, as the information and research continues to unfold. There are personal issues we as women must take care of too: our own nutrition (with enough protein) to stave off sarcopenia, plus exercise for bone density and sarcopenia.
Victoria works with women in leadership roles and also highlights the need for diversity and equality in all its forms. When women are suffering from perimenopause symptoms and lower self-confidence, she encourages them to put their own needs first, and then other things can fall into place as a ‘pyramid’ behind this correction.
Victoria explains there are so many different factors which affect the way we experience menopause. These obviously include genetics, nutrition, race and ethnicity, but there are other factors such as our socio-economic situation and how we arrange our lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, sleep etc). As part of her work with corporate entities and employees, Victoria engages with women and leaders to create menopause policies, workshops and enable small adjustments to the workplace aimed at reducing a woman’s discomfort.
We would love to know about your own perimenopause and menopause journeys feel free to contact Lisa here with your thoughts or add in the comments below!
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