Being menopausal and needing recognition of any severe symptoms whilst at work is a left wing thing apparently

I was very lucky with the menopause. For me it just meant taking a cardigan off because I was hot or putting one on because cold. My neighbour who went through it at the same time had a very different experience. She often had to change the bed sheets during the night because they had become drenched.

Whitewavemark2

suninthewest

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a left wing thing or not. If it is a left wing thing it doesn’t mean that it is wrong

It does to Badenoch. She sneered when she described it as a left wing issue.

She's good at sneering!

Unfortunately, she's my MP and she sneers at her constituents - it's her "modus operandi".

Badenoch is 43 years old so give her a few more years to change her mind.
Empathy seems in very short supply these days. I am disappointed in Badenoch and had hoped for better. Oh well….

suninthewest

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a left wing thing or not. If it is a left wing thing it doesn’t mean that it is wrong

It does to Badenoch. She sneered when she described it as a left wing issue.

She should beware of karma as she is still too young to have first-hand experience of the menopause.

Some women have such a hard time, both with their monthly cycles and the ending of them.

I'm in perimemopause and honestly, managing my moods, the hot sweats, the absolutely awful dreams and frequent wakeups, the indigestion, the nausea, the headaches....

Urgh

I'd happily hibernate until it is all over.

I don't know why people wouldn't have empathy for that and I think when you make allowances, the outcome is probably a happier more productive workforce

Whitewavemark2

According to Badenoch who equates it to having ginger hair, being short or a carer.

The culture war is well and truly underway.

My goodness, this current Tory party really does pick 'em doesn't it!

Fortunately during the worst of the menopause I was working in Norway for a medium sized company where all the male bosses had wives and daughters, and they were all sympathetic.

I didn't take much time off, and we had a rest-room where I could pull two chairs together and put my feet up for a while. My immediate boss even used to make me a cup of (awful) tea, which was the last thing I wanted. But his understanding and kindness meant a lot.

And because they 'understood' - I found it easier to go to work and just work through it.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a left wing thing or not. If it is a left wing thing it doesn’t mean that it is wrong

My Dsis had a terrible time when she started her periods - lots of pain and fainting fits. A year later I sailed through = light flow, little pain, 4 days every 4 weeks.

Fast forward to menopause. One day Dsis suddenly realised that she had not had a period for months and that was that. I was not so lucky, main problem was heavy bleeding, which could go on constantly for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, leaving me 'peely wally' exhausted and depressed. After 2 or 3 years of this a new trainee GP arrived in our practice. I had an appointment with him which he filmed (with my permission) . It was a textbook consultation, where he explained all the various (modern at that time), ways of tackling menopause. As a result he recommended putting me on a contraceptive pill - the type that was taken every day and stopped all periods. It worked like magic and after 3 years I had a trial of stopping this pill and never bled again - result

Badenoch is another Tory who should not hold high office.

The menopause can be extremely debilitating, I think like most conditions it has a spectrum, from the mildest hardly noticeable symptoms to those that are extremely severe, and if you are a woman that has got off light then you cannot assume that others are that lucky. I certainly haven't enjoyed what I've experienced, sleepless nights, albeit not drenched in sweat but pretty hot, tiredness, brain fog, occasional palpitations. The practice nurse at my previous GP told me there are so many symptoms relating to the menopause not all of them are classified. I was chatting to my dental hygienist, not easy when you have your mouth wide open, when we were both going through the throes of the early menopause, she was having a really bad time and told me she felt very ill and at times she wanted to kill her husband. When I saw her again she had started on HRT which she said had been a complete life saver she was 100% better in every respect. I did start on it but had problems with intermittent bleeding and raised blood pressure. Sometimes I wish I had persevered with it, now contrary to what I was told then, it seems as if it gives all sorts of protection as far as the heart is concerned anyway.

Slightly off topic I do remember having quite excruciating period pains from time to time back in my younger days when I was at work and had to excuse myself when I occasionally went home with a "I'm feeling sick" I think my male boss knew what the problem may have been but accepted my vague explanations.

Listening to other menopausal women on a phone in this morning, I realise now that my menopause was pretty severe and ended in my having a complete and serious mental breakdown.

If my struggle could have been recognised and supported by my employer I suspect I would never have got so ill.