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[Aileenf]

I have been wondering if anyone has had to give up work due to the menopause and it's symptoms.  I had asked last year before I started HRT, to reduce my hours at work because of my symptoms and was refused.

[racjen]

Hi Aileenf, I'm in a slightly different position from the norm on here because my menopause was caused by cancer treatment - the extreme symptoms i've had as as result mean I've been off work for nearly 5 months, and I'm struggling to see how I'm going to go back. Officially having had cancer I'm now disabled as far as employment law goes, so they're under an obligation to alter  my working conditions if that would make it possible for me to return to work. But right now I just don't know - the anxiety particularly is just so bad and so unpredictable, plus constant exhaustion, it's impossible to say whether I'd be able to cope or not,  even if my hours were changed to 3 or 4 a day rather than whole days at a time. Financially the alternative is pretty scary though, as I don't have a partner to support me.

[Florence69]

I have been unable to go to work for 7 months now and have recently applied for esa as my ssp has now ended. I'm also classed as having a “disability” due to significant mental health issues over the last 3 years which I believe is when my Peri started but that's another story.
Will I be returning ? Who knows but at the moment I am trying not to stress about it. I am single so have no support financially and having to live on benefits is a learning curve.
X

[Aileenf]

Thank u for the responses so far.

Sonka - I work in quite a stressful job, I wasn't sleeping at night due to the flushes and night sweats.  I felt tired constantly, forgetful, couldn't remember what happened last week never mind yesterday, couldn't concentrate, Flushes at work which I found incredibly embarrassing,mood swings, constantly doubting myself.  Weight gain causing me to become borderline diabetic, a prolapse, and started to feel really down.

Racjen - I hope you are now cancer free and find an alternative solution that helps finanacially, I think when I asked the question I was wondering to myself if the menopause was recognised as a type of illness By the ‘authorities'.

Florence69 - I can understand the peri part as I did a lot of things that were out of character for me and at times I thought I was losing my mind.  I can't imagine what it will be like for u but hope u get through this difficult period and start to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
 ❤️

[sweettooth]

Aileen, had to give up work because due to having breast cancer I had to stop hrt which was a disaster!  I was treated rather unfairly long story and though aware of disability act, I decided the stress was just not worth it.....sad but life goes on and I make the most of my days doing things I enjoy.... for now anyway.  I suppose a lot of women take early retirement in their 50s and then perhaps take on part time less stressful roles.

At the end of the day, we need to look after ourselves, menopause is a dangerous time of life and stress is only putting fuel on the fire!

St xx

[warwick01]

Hi

I was a very confident person until peri hit me nine years ago. I was climbing the career ladder as a manager. Part of my role was to carry out presentations etc. However the last few years I have struggled to carry on working due to anxiety and panic attacks which as led to me almost agoraphobic.

I am 59 and decided to finish work which is making me depressed, but I just could not cope any more. It's annoying for me as the pension age as increased which to be honest they should take into consideration how many women suffer like this in later years.

Wx

[Mabram]

Hi AileenF,

I haven't had to give up work but have been off work sick on and off since January. At the moment I really couldn't manage work and often worry that I might never be able to go back because of how I am feeling. Everyone says to put yourself first and not worry about work but you can't help but worry, I know at the end of the day your health is far more important than work but that's ok if you can afford not to work.  It causes more stress at a time when you need to be getting yourself better. This menopause stuff is all so crap!

[racjen]

Absolutely, it's all very well to say your health comes first, but some of  us don't have the advantage of decent pensions, large savings or  a partner who can support us. I'm single and still supporting two children on the verge of adulthood, but they can't be expected to suddenly go out there and get well paid jobs (they both have mental health problems) . So for me, the prospect of having to survive on disability benefit  (currently around 80 quid a week i think) is pretty scary.

[Wilks]

This topic makes me really angry. Women should be getting far more support when struggling to work and cope with menopause. When people say it's just the natural course of things and your body is doing what it's supposed to do, they obviously don't understand how hideous it can be.
I had a very difficult 4 or 5 months from September last year when symptoms hit me like a train. I didn't even know it was menopause-related. I cried every morning on the way to work, and barely slept. I can't afford not to work so I ended up on an antidepressant just so I could exist!

[Mazza27]

Hi,
I gave up my demanding sales job in engineering as i couldnt cope with the stress and all the symptons, i had been doing it for 14 years, the last company  i didnt feel supported in my job i had been there just two years, I was sent a letter about my sickness. I was angry about it but the company was dominated by males who did not understand. I moved in to an office job in a smaller company and the best thing i did it has taken a lot of my stress away and i work in an office where my mind is taken off my symptoms. I spent a lot if time on my own in my sales job.

I think  it makes you realise what you want out of life

Mazza

[jojo999]

HI
New to this place but currently off sick from the NHS due to severe psychological menopause symptoms - anxiety, low mood, no confidence, no self esteem etc all the good stuff!!
Off sick and on formal stage warnings so not sure what is going to happen. Work only concerned that you are off, not WHY you are off. At a time when I feel most lost and vulnerable, its shit!
Started HRT this morning so watch this space.

[Lisa1966]

Hi
I can really sympathise,Jan last year it hit me hard,was off work for 7 months,horrific anxiety and feelings of doom,I thought I was going to die I felt so ill,too scared to be alone even for 1 minute. This put a huge strain on my family it was horrendous. I can honestly say I wanted to end it all,but my family removed all my meds. I still don't know if it was peri menopause or not,maybe I was just having abit of a breakdown,nobody said it was menopause so I don't know. My sister even asked psychiatrist to put me in hospital cause they didn't know what to do,I was so frightened. I've tried evorel conti but had trouble with sticking and still didn't feel well,then put on femoston 2/10 still not feeling that good so I don't know what to do now. Sending hugs to all suffering 

        Lisax

         

[racjen]

Just been for an interview with Occupational Health Dept. as I've been off for 5 months (that's on top of the 8 months I had off last year for breast cancer treatment). The Dr. was so sympathetic I spent most of the hour crying, had to go through the entire history of the last 2 years of cancer treatment and then menopause problems, which was pretty upsetting, looking back it really has been 2 years of hell and I'm not through it yet. He's recommended at least another 2 months off work and then a review, which although I know is probably realistic makes me feel so useless and like I'm never going to work again  .

[SueLW]

I've been ill for 4 years.  And the 2 years before that were pretty awful.  Symptoms that have been most disabling for me have been brain fog, loss of ambition, drive, concentration and motivation.  Dreadful fatigue.  Feelings of hopelessness and doom.  Thinking I'd maybe better off out of it.  Anxiety and depression.  Physically exhausted and weakened.  Taking half a day to get ready to go to work!

And through it all I have carried on running my own import/export sales business!  If I think about it, I'm a bloody miracle :-)

It's been very hard.  I lost the ability to decide on anything and couldn't trust myself to price things accurately so my husband has to work pricing out for me.  There have been days when I've cried trying to lift and move heavy boxes about (also have a dicky thyroid) and days when I've achieved almost nothing.  But I've survived the working week better than the weekends when the pressure is off and I just flopped.

HRT isn't right yet.  This morning and afternoon I felt horribly bleak and hopeless again and this evening I'm busy and getting new stock out and listed and photographed!  It's bonkers.  My mood swings are rapid and regular.  I can't plan anything.  I have no home routine anymore because I have to work when I can.  If I don't work my business fails and there will be no income for me so having time off is not, and never has been an option.  It's very unfair what we go through.  My neighbour, in a senior position in a company, said the glass ceiling is in place, but it's also self-inflicted by women hitting perimenopause and failing to keep up/cope.  Men know this and take advantage.  She's taking early retirement!

[Kristy]

I took a voluntary redundancy package 18 months ago from a stressful Government IT role that I just couldn't cope with after being there for 18 years due to the effects of peri/meno. Fortunately, I am able to get my pension from this job as a fortnightly payment so I have that income coming in. I have now started working at an IT contractor in Technical Writing and although it is easier than what I was doing in my previous IT job, I still find having to work full time very challenging and really would prefer part time work only.
My current contract, I have managed OK for 8 months, thinking that HRT had made a difference, however, I have had to take the last 4 weeks off due to a sudden surge in anxiety and depression symptoms which left me unable to go to work particularly as the symptoms were at their worst in the mornings.
I hope this isn't what the remainder of my working life is going to be like!
And I too am frustrated at the lack of support in the workplace for women going through this very challenging phase of life.