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Author Topic: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?  (Read 16580 times)

CLKD

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2016, 03:31:02 PM »

Which is ? some girls start menopause really early  :-[
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CLKD

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #16 on: April 18, 2016, 03:59:31 PM »

Could you not contact your Practice Nurse to see what net-working opportunities are available Sooby?  Or send an e-mail to the local 'special clinic' to see if there is a possibility of sending posters?  Also your Library etc. as I suggested earlier  :-\

The ladies I speak with about meno have been friends for years so we are all 'of an age'.  Once it's discussed then it's never mentioned again  ::).

Perhaps you could have a look at the questionnaire on here as a starter? for your friends. 
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ruthae

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #17 on: April 20, 2016, 10:27:58 PM »

http://www.refinery29.uk/menopause-help-symptoms-tips-counselling-memory

A friend sent me this link today, and I posted it on Facebook, it's a start... 😊
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Dana

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2016, 12:53:15 AM »

Somehow this needs to go viral on social media (facebook, youtube etc), because these days that's the only way to get to the masses worldwide. Look at what a good job the media did of scaring everyone senseless about HRT. We need something like that in reverse to counteract the negativity that is still prevalent around the world. The media was really quick to report on the WHI study, but how many in the media have bothered with NICE?

The MM magazine is okay, but really you are only preaching to the choir because those who read it already know about meno. You need to get to the younger women, and mostly younger women don't read magazines because they're too busy with social media. The unfortunate thing is that will younger women want to know? When I was younger I had no interest in knowing anything about menopause because I'd never had any hormonal problems so always assumed I'd be okay. Younger women also don't really want to know too much about meno because it's a reminder that they're getting older, and in this youth obsessed world, that's a crime.
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ruthae

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2016, 09:22:53 AM »

I've had 2 shares of my post, little by little...  Dana is right social media is vital. 

I think the issue here is not the menopause generally which 50% of the population experience physically and 100% experince through contact with those experiencing it... The main thing to me is the variation in symptoms.  I know many of my colleagues have had some symptoms and have carried on as normal, and I respect them for that, but it is the women who have such severe symptoms that they cannot carry on.  It is about explaining the extent and severity, and availability of  support that is important.  Women need to know what to expect, what is normal, what to ask for before the medical profession will respond.  Young women  should be interested because of their mothers and colleagues if not themselves.

Anyway rant over...  I'm going to keep on posting etc...
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MIS71MUM

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #20 on: April 21, 2016, 09:43:25 AM »

Been to my GP's surgery this morning and there wasn't one leaflet or booklet about menopause. Think awareness could start there.  I wonder how many appointments are ladies going through peri or menopause but don't realise it.
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dangermouse

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2016, 10:37:43 AM »

Yes, maybe going with the perspective of 'How hormone replacement can help us all throughout life' as it speaks to everyone, including men. A lot of women start using the pill during puberty to regulate periods and calm moods so it's just expanding on that really.

The knowledge that our levels start to fall from our 30s onwards would help a lot of people, and GPs in making diagnoses.

The problem with Western medicine though is that it tends to only treat symptoms so the docs may not be interested in the source, as that may demand more testing and expense. I remember a few years back before I got the more debilitating symptoms, I asked for my blood tests from my GP (to take to BHRT private doc) the GP asked me what I thought was wrong with me and I replied that I had no energy and felt imbalanced. She shrugged and said they could only help if I was 'ill' and pretty much insinuated that the NHS weren't there to enhance health and wellbeing! I think this is why, even when hormone symptoms become extreme, they aren't particularly interested in helping us beyond ruling out serious illness as they see that as the point at which they are responsible.

Of course, if many went on HRT sooner they may avoid breast cancer and heart attacks so maybe it's the HRT drug companies that need to be the ones involved in the awareness campaign as they have more financial interest? It seems to work that way for immunisation and statins.
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Dancinggirl

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2016, 12:21:51 PM »

dangermouse - you make some very good points.  Sadly the menopause is still deemed just a quality of life issue and the, sometimes serious, impact it has on a womens health and wellbeing is overlooked.  I think assessing a women from 45 onwards to look at how her hormone journey is progressing - offering advice and choices - would go a long way to keeping women OUT OF THE DOCTORS surgery with all kinds of relatively minor ailments that are probably meno related.  I would hope that one day proper treatment and appropriate intervention with HRT could and should be standard if the NHS wants to keep us healthier and costing less in the long run!!???

To simply have a poster in every sugary with a list of some of the typical symptoms associated with the menopause that then suggests a women seeks advice from either a doctor or trained practise nurse would be a very good starting point.  Things like vaginal atrophy and bladder problems must be so prevalent and women will often suffer in silence because they feel ashamed or shy about this. My mother went to her GP complaining of her pee stinging and burning and was sent away will ABs, the GP assuming it was a typical post meno UTI.  She went back 3 months later because the pain had got so much worse, the GP finally examined her and sent her straight to the hospital - she had advance stage vulva cancer!!!  She must have had awful discomfort for ages but obviously believed she simply had to put up with this!!??
So much emphasis is placed on the very,very small risks of breast cancer, stroke and ovarian cancer, the protective elements of HRT are undervalued - not only are there protective benefits for bones and heart but there is the reduced risk of bowel cancer and those bladder problems that often bring an increase in UTIs and related issues.
If we want to have a healthier, productive older generation who can work well into their 60s and possibly their 70s then hormone balance should be part of this.
My rant over!!!  DG x
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dangermouse

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #23 on: April 21, 2016, 01:56:56 PM »

Yes that's true, they may be more interested if it saves them wasted GP hours in the long run. I must have had about 20 plus 5 A&E visits!

It would also be good to change some doctors assumptions that women in their 40s are prone to anxiety, regardless of their hormone levels. I was dismissed many a time by junior doctors in A&E as 'being anxious about nothing' with one even refusing to sit down opposite me (as I had vertigo so couldn't look up at them) after I'd waited 8 hours to see them as they clearly saw me as a time waster! I bored them into sitting down in the end but that kind of attitude can stop you from seeking further help.

Perhaps they need to understand that physical anxiety has more probability of being linked to hormones than hyperchondria, so they can direct us to our GPs to be tested rather than sent home to have a cup of tea and stop worrying  ::)
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coldethyl

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2016, 02:19:58 PM »

I'm so with you on all of that DM.i have suffered anxiety on and off all my life so it came as no surprise that it reared it's head again in the peri. Yet that is all my doctors have focused on even though I have a whole host of clearly hormonal symptoms going on as well. Currently it's a resurgence of migraines coupled with an off balance feeling due to my ear being bunged again and a problem with my neck , but I can't see the point in going to GP again as I'll only be offered ADs again. I have been told I can try HRT but I have endometriosis and these migraines so suggested that I might benefit from a referral to a specialist clinic. You'd think I'd asked if I could murder their children in their beds. I suffer from Health anxiety and have taken ages to get on top of the worst of it so am not prepared to jeopardise it all for a five minute appointment and bog standard prescription of HRT.
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CLKD

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #25 on: April 25, 2016, 03:55:41 PM »

I don't 'do' facebook ………  :-\

I remember when I was trying to promote PAT-dogs, in the days before internet, it meant trawling through local phone directories for all the Vets. in the area  ::) and then buying and stuffing info into envelopes ……. took ages. 

What breeds of piglets are you expecting? and is the price of wool good right now?
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Hurdity

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #26 on: April 25, 2016, 08:49:26 PM »

Sounds a good idea Sooby - I do think that women are not educated about this time in our lives and the consequences can have devastating effects.  I am often chatting with women about the meno and HRT and it staggers me how ignorant they are on this  - it's something we all go through without any preparation. 
I'm surprised that magazines like Good House Keeping don't do a good article based on the new NICE guidelines - the articles I read all tend to push 'the Natural way', making those of us who need HRT feel a failure - we shouldn't feel we need to justify why we use HRT as it is often the best option - a good diet and exercise regime won't be enough for around 40% of women.
Good luck.  Dg x


Somehow this needs to go viral on social media (facebook, youtube etc), because these days that's the only way to get to the masses worldwide. Look at what a good job the media did of scaring everyone senseless about HRT. We need something like that in reverse to counteract the negativity that is still prevalent around the world. The media was really quick to report on the WHI study, but how many in the media have bothered with NICE?


Just very late to this thread as I was on holiday so only on the first page so far although skimmed some of it on my phone - so apologies if this has already been said...

There is an excellent article in this month's (does it come out monthly?) Good Housekeeping about the menopause and the NICE Guidelines, and HRT! Someone sent it to me yesterday.

Also re the publicity and awareness. The British Menopause Society is launching just such a media campaign at their conference in May which will involve outreach to major national media (I'm assuming this is not confidential - I haven't been told it is), and including earlier to some consumer magazines. The campaign will focus on empowering women to visit their healthcare professional to discuss their menopausal symptoms and to seek appropriate treatment, but also to launch the results of a recent survey conducted in light of the new NICE menopause guidelines. This will be 6 months since the launch of the guidelines so the idea is to see if it has made an impact on women and where gaps for improvement might be.   

I got involved in this (as other members might also have done) because there was a call put out on this forum back in November for women to share their stories with a view to speaking to journalists if necessary when the campaign was launched. I responded so my case study was submitted and will be sent out next month along with others – so that journalists can talk to real live women about the issues. I doubt they will want to use my story though as it's not dramatic enough – far too dull!

So things are going to be happening – but the more other women do the better so great to tackle it from a different angle through social media – and also as said for individual women to do their bit at a local level.

Also the Guidelines themselves suggest specific actions that could be taken to improve implementation of the guidelines and communication which can be found here:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Menopause-implementation-getting-started and which may give you some ideas.

Menopause Matters does have a facebook page but I do think there is a taboo about such things – even though I'm in my 60's I have friends of all ages and certainly don't want to be seen by any of my friends to comment on menopausal issues!!! There is no way I would share anything to do with the menopause on Facebook, but I have put myself out there as above so prepared to share my story with magazines/newspapers etc!! I did draw the line at live TV and radio though so said no to this  ::).

There should be hard copies of leaflets about this site for example or something about menopause which any of us could send off for and which we could drop in our local surgery - just think how many would be covered if we all agreed to do that? Perhaps Dr Currie could commission someone to do this - she is current Chair of the BMS as well as director of Menopause Matters? Maybe something like this is happening already?

Women's Health Concern is the patient arm of the BMS so maybe something could be done through their work rather than re-inventing the wheel - although I would think anything that could be done anywhere to raise awareness is an improvement!

https://www.womens-health-concern.org/


The subject of BMS conference this year is "NICE Menopause Guideline, from publication to practice" so that should have a major impact.

https://www.thebms.org.uk

Hurdity x

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CLKD

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #27 on: April 25, 2016, 09:30:25 PM »

Maybe local professionals should be made aware of this and ask human beans to attend meetings, similar to the 1 to which I went a few weeks ago, relating to the Government's drive for better mental health services.  However, I found out by chance that meetings were being held across my County - apparently though all Councils have been pushed to contact users.  I found out because I was browsing the local County Council Web-site  ::)
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dangermouse

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #28 on: April 29, 2016, 08:21:18 AM »

There is still very little written on perimenopause though. If I saw articles about the menopause last year when trying to figure out what was wrong with me, I may not have read them. Although we know there's a fine line between the two, I had assumed it was out of my age range at the time.

I've tweeted a link to @menomatters with regards to peri and will do similar on Facebook for my business page and personal as have a lot of similar aged women on there who may find it of help. I think the more we talk about it the more others will and then it won't have such negative connotations! Completely understand those who prefer to keep it out of their personal FB though.
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EllaM

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Re: Can we make perimeno awareness go viral?
« Reply #29 on: April 29, 2016, 09:22:54 AM »

Hi everyone, just want to say I agree with everything said on this thread about the need to educate women on this issue but equally important we need to educate our GPs.
I'm going through a very difficult period of horrible fluctuations so whilst visiting my GP yesterday to ask for another referral to the meno clinic (it was over a year since my last visit so I need to go to the back of the queue) I took the opportunity to be frank and tell them how frustrated I felt at no one putting 2 & 2 together to make 4 but instead I was made to feel it was all in my head, that ADs were the solution and that it probably was my thyroid to blame despite normal levels.
Even yesterday I was too there was very little they could do for me. I just wanted to scream at them about getting someone in the practice clued up. There was no information about this site on display either and i do believe that would help as I am sure there are many other women whose symptoms are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all and they are left feeling hopeless.
I like the girls and women I work with knew very little about the the devastating impact the peri/menopause can have on a woman's life. More definitely needs to be done to spread the word and improve women's lives. When I get back to work I will definitely be spreading the word xx
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