Topic Tuesday // Mental health and menopause // 15 Aug, 7pm AEST

Yes, @NikNik, my GP has helped me in really important ways, especially with the physical symptoms of menopause. I believe she is also paying more attention to my general health now than at times previous, which is appropriate given that it is a time when we become more vulnerable. I also make sure my psychiatrist and others supporting me know that I am menopausal, though there has been no real change to my treatment needed at this time.

Thank you for tonight @NikNik : for an interesting night smileyhappy:

Thank you @Mazarita, @BlueBay, @CheerBear, @Former-Member

That's awesome @Mazarita I hope others can find great GPs and support team who provide the well-rounded support you did.

Thanks for a good discussion @NikNik and everyone.

No worries @BlueBay - a big thank you to you all for sharing your own experiences about something that's not often talked about.

Rather than close this thread, I thought it would be helpful to keep it open so you and others can share tips and strategies to manage Perimenopause, Menopause and Postmenopause.

I'll start by sharing this great table I found on managing hot flushes

You can find more resources here and here

Thank you @NikNik for this thread/discussion! I wish I hadn't missed it. But the magic of this Forum is that I haven't really 🙂

I think peri/menopause effects me a great deal. The hot flushes, though a little annoying, don't bother me a too much and they've slowed right down since I started taking the herbal supplement @Mazarita mentioned (Thanks Maz :))

But it's like that cycle has changed from the obvious physical one (periods) - to one of those invisible physical ones; it's like I loose intelligence - although it's not a regular cycle (I never was regular), but I have definitely noticed a recurrance of things like, not being able to spell things I ususally can, loosing what typing skills I might have - just memory problems in general I suppose (which is something I've always had problems with, throughout my life I loose 'chunks' of memory like a bracket of time, not the memory of skills and the likes!).

So I'm glad to read through here and read that's kind of normal - but I'm wondering, is it permanent, am I going to wake up one day (because that's kind of how it feels, I wake up dumber out of nowhere!) and be stuck like that?!? Or will it go back to normal when all these levels settle?

I've got lots of the other symptoms, my skin is worse (I have psorisis and some scarring), my arthritus is getting worse, I've put on a little weight (I have been diagnosed with anerexia, but I haven't cared about my size or weight for many years), my teeth . . . well gums are worse (almost wouldn't have thought that possible :)) But I kind of expected those sort of things, it's the invisible physical things I had no idea about. I'm guessing the whole stigma around natural brain processes or Mental Health, is the reason women don't tend to talk about it?

Thanks again, and thank-you to all who contributed to the conversation. @Shaz51 @BlueBay @Former-Member