WHEN Andrea Newton found herself planning her suicide at the age of 52, she couldn’t believe that just a few years before she was a happy, successful mum-of-one without a mental health problem to list. Despite numerous visits to her GP describing common symptoms of menopause, Andrea says he doctor was unable to identify her issues as hormonal and instead was told she was clinically depressed. After a failed suicide attempt Andrea, now 56, was handed leaflets on counselling and told she could join a waiting list of six to eight months.
It was only after hearing about menopause in the news that Andrea self-diagnosed her years of turmoil and, after booking herself in a private appointment with a women’s health specialist GP, had her suspicions confirmed. She wasn’t suffering clinical depression, she was suffering the symptoms of menopause , which can include mental health illnesses. Andrea, a corporate trainer and podcaster from Cheshire, was prescribed menopause treatment HRT , and says: “Within two weeks of taking it I felt like a new woman.
"I got my first good night's sleep in years, the anxiety was easing and I felt like I could feel again. “Although I am so relieved and happy to have my life back, I can’t help but feel angry about how things went with my treatment. “I explained to my GP multiple times that I was experiencing confusion, brain fog, low mood and insomnia - all (I now know) are common symptoms of menopause , but all I was given was antidepressant.
