Perimenopause and Mental Health

I would like to see that any woman presenting with perimenopause/menopause symptoms presenting to their GP is screened for mental health concerns and vice versa.  GPs and mental health need to work more collaboratively to ensure that women receive appropriate care.  There needs to be more education and a spotlight placed on women's health during this stage of life.  HRT needs to be funded for those who are wanting to go on it.  This in turn may benefit the health of many.

Why the contribution is important

Women presenting to their GP for a 15-minute consultation around menopausal symptoms are anecdotally unheard.  They may present with Psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression etc and hormone imbalance is not considered.  A collaborative approach would see much more support for women who are going through this difficult time of life.

by mimiloveslatte on March 05, 2023 at 07:37AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.9
Based on: 19 votes

Comments

  • Posted by SarahLM March 05, 2023 at 09:14

    There needs to be a greater awareness overall
    GPs cannot assess a peri menopause in 15mins, let alone menopause
    There needs to be more access to HRT and testosterone and the varying ways these are available
    There also needs to be information about how nutrition and changing movement can also specifically assist
    Finally there needs to be information on sleep

  • Posted by Vharding March 05, 2023 at 10:22

    Totally support this idea. My experience is that there is little to no discussion regarding perimenopause symptoms which are generally noticeable years before the major symptoms set in. Insomnia, depression, anxiety, brain fog, low libido, joint aches, restless leg etc etc to name just a few symptoms are often looked at in isolation rather than the onset of menopause. By the time the discussion happens with your GP your symptoms have often accumulated over the years to a desperate level of misery and it’s within a 10 min conversion that is straight to HRT with all the nasty side effects, which can be very worrying (but of course doesn’t need to be). I ended up finding private care which specialises in hormone imbalance using bio identical hormones to adjust hormone levels. This provided immediate relief from many symptoms , however, it is expensive. Every 3 months levels are tested and adjusted with different hormones being tested if things do not improve after the initial progesterone prescription. This tells me that GPS need not only a lot more understanding and training about menopause, but hormones in general and obviously since hormones fluctuate and change ( for example stress consumes progesterone quickly so if experiencing a particularly difficult time you may need an increased dose of progesterone) then they need to be monitored frequently- more in the early stages of taking hormones then less as stability occurres. Generally female health needs more input overall and we shouldn’t be constantly disadvantaged due to cost for a health system we have a right to! Further, how many women are being prescribed antidepressants or anxiety medication during this time but not receiving the hormone support they need? Of course if you are suffering from insomnia for long enough like I was, you would certainly begin to feel depressed and anxious. This was immediately alleviated on the first night on bio identical tablets and a good nights sleep!

  • Posted by lw April 23, 2023 at 07:49

    Yes! 100% support this
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