Ask Dr Anne Henderson your questions about menopause - £100 voucher to be won

I lost my mother recently and this was something we never got round to discussing. At what age should I expect to start showing symptoms and what should I be aware of ? I have no idea how old she was and have no idea what to expect only that stories I hear scare me !

At 64, it's years since I went through night sweats, however I still have occasional occurrences of waking up feeling hot. Is this normal, or unrelated to the menopause.

Hi
I'm also in mid fifties,menopausal and gone completly off sex with my husband of 26 years;can you offer me any sensible advice please.

My family and I have a very strong history of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation: I have lost many members of my family. I was told I cannot have hormone replacement.
I have had all the normal symptoms of menopause quite badly. Then 3 years ago I developed other symptoms mostly at night, that have made my quality of life very poor. These include, very dry painful eyes (to the point of not being able to open my eyes) a very dry mouth, chronic pain, a chorionic itch all over my body. These symptoms are severe pain and mean I get very little sleep. My mood is low and I suffer anxiety
I was told I had an autoimmune disease, however recently a specialist said she believed my symptoms are hormonal and linked menopause and that I should go on to hormone replacement and the risk was very low.
I feel confused and do not know if my symptoms are indeed, due to menopause or whether, I should risk HRT. I have been taking sage but don’t find it very effective. I would really value your opinion on this. Thank you.

How safe is HRT?

I am on Evorel 25 but still feel rubbish, the reason I am on a low dose is that I had a full hysterectomy with ovaries removed at 44 and due to headaches and bad veins they though this would be the best option as ones including progesterone made me feel depressed, is there any way I can feel better on these naturally or should I increase my patch dose? Main symptoms are tiredness, achey joints, anxiety and hot flushes.

I'm 51 and my periods have been awful for years. How long before they stop? It's really affecting my everyday life and relationship.

I'm 56 and my periods have been stopped for around 4/5 years now, the hot flushes I have are fairly mild in that I have no sweating or red face but I do go extremely hot extremely quickly, I thought they would be gone by now, how much longer do these go on. Other symptoms of menopause are quite mild thankfully.

I have lots of menopausal symptoms, hot flushes, irregular periods, forgetful etc, but the doctor was sure I’m not in menopause following blood tests, I’m 46 so unsure what’s going on?

Anything that I can do to help heavy periods that are causing anaemia?

When do the symptoms finally fade away ?. been 6 years now and still the same, anxiety has been a particular problem for me

I stopped having periods completely at 50 and had very mild symptoms of menopause I am now sixty am I likely to get menopausal symptoms now or has it completely gone

I'm sure I am starting the menopause as my periods got very heavy and now it's 12 weeks since my last one, I am having random hot flushes and hair has definitely got thinner.
Is there any natural remedies I can take to help with the hot flushes as they make me feel faint and sick?

I'd love some tips to cope with a heightened sense of anxiety. I've always suffered slightly but the menopause has sent it through the roof.

I'm really fed up with it all. Despite having the Mirena coil fitted 3 years ago, due to extremely severe bleeding, I still have many of the symptoms including palpitations and hot flushes, not to mention anxiety. I shall need a replacement coil in two years. I always know when I would have had a period so I know it's not over yet and the symptoms have been with me for about 7 years now. God, I can't wait for it to be over - when will that be?

I started the menopause early I was in my 40s at the same time I lost my sex drive, my question is is this to do with the menopause and will it return? the sex drive that is

I have little knowledge of possible symptoms and would like to read up about it. Can you recommend a good and helpful book?

A friend suffered a lot before, during and after menopause, losing interest in sex and many other things.
She was also diagnosed with osteoporosis at that time followed recently by a diagnosis of thrombocythaemia. Would both of these have been brought on by the menopause or are they not related in any way? What recommendations would you have for her regarding this?

Having been diagnosed with womb cancer, I would like to know what part oestrogen Plays in causing this after the menopause? If being overweight contributes to excess of this why isn’t there more information available to us?

I am well past the menopause, and didn't have many problems, my two daughters are now approaching this stage in their lives, do you think they should be relatively symptom free because I was?

I am menopausal should I start taking vitamin supplements and if yes which ones?

Is the menopause the reason a lot of women have a diminished sexual appetite as they get older?

I have started suffering hot flushes, mood swings and irritability. I have also started getting dry eyes. Can you recommend any foods and/or supplements that can help with any or all of these please?

I'm nearly 66. I used to be able to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow but since the menopause I'm still usually awake until 4am or later. This last week I've looked at the clock and I'm still awake at 5am gone.
These last 3 years I've been diagnosed with Lichen Sclerosis . I am prescribed Dermovate cream which I only use when needed. I dread to think I will have this for the rest of my life. My doctor refuses to give me a low dose HRT. Any other suggestions please?
I also suffer anxiety, not as bad as it used to be but wish I could be "me" again. I often have can't be bothered days. I used to be so energetic and on top of things.

Had hot flushes for about 5 years, poor sleep too, driving me crazy! Any advice greatly received!