It’s said that only women and a few toothed whales undergo menopause, so you’d think that far more attention would be paid to such a rare and special phenomenon. Yet despite half the human population experiencing menopause, it remains an uncomfortable and taboo subject, so much so that many women are left scared, confused or even traumatised by their perimenopause and menopause symptoms. I was one of those women who experienced sleepless nights, joint pain, fatigue and hot flashes so spectacular they could heat all of Sydney on a cold winter’s night.
And if that weren’t bad enough, enter stage left the brain fog. I could have heated Sydney during winter. Credit: Getty Images Like other women, I was expected to suffer in silence.
One GP was so dismissive, lacking any empathy or care, that it was a very long time before I again raised my symptoms with a medical practitioner. It wasn’t worth the abject disregard. Sadly, my experience is not unique; many women are left to endure intolerable symptoms.
I’ve learnt that scores of women have had to search extensively to find a GP who is even willing to recognise menopausal symptoms, let alone offer proper treatment options. This is not a slight against GPs. There are many excellent ones.
This is a slight on a system that doesn’t prioritise appropriate care. How can it, when most people don’t want to talk about it? A lack of education and awareness leaves wide open the possibility of misdiagnosis or mistreatment. These.
