10th October 2024 Menopause

Dear Readers:

All women experience the menopause and - according to My Menopause Centre - “50% of women in the UK are in menopause transition”. That’s about 25% of the population who are going through the menopause right now. The rest of the population live and/or work with those women, so it affects everyone…..

….. It is Menopause Awareness Month…..

Symptoms are different for all women and can include fatigue, brain fog and confusion, increased stress and anxiety levels, sleep problems and mood changes. The list goes on but it is clear that these symptoms can seriously effect the physical and mental health of those women. This matters in the world of work.

According to the Deloitte Women @ Work 2024 - Global Outlook:

• One in 10 women [with menopause symptoms] say that an employer’s lack of support was a factor in them leaving the organization - double the proportion who said this in 2023.

• About 40% of women who report experiencing high levels of pain or discomfort due to menopause say they work through it.

• Fewer women also feel comfortable discussing their symptoms with their manager (14% feel uncomfortable in 2024 compared with 10% in 2023).

• And a lot more say that previously giving menopause as a reason for taking time off work negatively affected their career (16% in 2024 compared with just 6% in 2023).

There are clearly some women in the workplace who are struggling with symptoms and this will impact their performance at work - and also inevitably have a knock-on effect in their personal lives too. So, awareness is key to empower women to seek the medical help when needed so that they can continue to feel their normal selves and thrive at work and at home!

What about low testosterone in men? Here’s a reminder that 1 in 4 men suffer with low testosterone (also known as the andropause) so men can experience several symptoms of their own, such as low energy, depression, weakness, and more. Dr Max Draper addresses low testosterone in our ‘Men’s Health’ issue: https://yoomuse.beehiiv.com/p/10th-june-2024-mens-health.

Thank you for subscribing!

If you are reading this as a web version, please sign up to receive our newsletters via email on the day they are published.

Katherine

A special thanks to DMH Stallard LLP for supporting us.

Menopause

Recognise, Research, and Recover - Nina Adamenko, Head of Research at Verso Investment Management, shares her personal menopause experience, and her thoughts on ways the workplace can support its staff.

Anxiety and Menopause - Kat from The Health Boost suggests ways to help ease stress and anxiety triggered by fluctuating hormones during the perimenopause.

Take the Menopause Questionnaire - and check out the symptom checker, to work out if and where you are on your menopause transition.

Recognise, Research, and Recover

Nina Adamenko, Head of Research at Verso Investment Management LLP, shares her menopause experiences with us.

You have always been highly driven in your career and very attuned to your body. What has been your greatest hurdle in terms of hormonal health and how you perform at work? And how have you overcome those difficulties?

My main issue was that I didn’t realise what was going on. I went from a healthy and energetic person to being very ill rather quickly. My symptoms weren’t classic and I ended up undergoing many tests and investigations. In the meantime, I was suffering from lack of sleep, energy and an enormous amount of anxiety.

Work was helpful as it provided a much needed distraction for the mind, but outside of that my personal life took a toll - too tired in the evenings/weekends, snappy and short-tempered with people around me. Quite often I simply needed to lie down.

In terms of overcoming this, it was really about realising that I was dealing with the menopause. Once I knew what the problem was, I could work on solving it. For me personally (and this comes with caveats as everyone is different), HRT became the way forward. It wasn’t a smooth journey either but eventually I got back the control of my body.

What are your thoughts on the Deloitte Women @ Work 2024 - Global Outlook report which says 40% of women report experiencing high levels of pain or discomfort due to the menopause and work through it, and that 1 in 10 women said that lack of support was a factor in them leaving their job. 16% have previously disclosed menopause symptoms as the reason for time off and it negatively impacted their career?

Having been through it, I am not surprised. It’s amazing how it remains such a taboo topic. Half of the population is set to go through this stage of life (and experiences can be quite dramatic), yet it gets very little attention in the corporate world. I wonder how many staff handbooks have a menopause chapter in them? Neglecting the issue means that companies are at risk of losing their most experienced and dedicated female employees with adverse implications for productivity and competitiveness.

What support can the workplace provide to women who are experiencing menopause symptoms?

• Acknowledging the issue and creating appropriate policies would be a good start (i.e. flexible working and working from home when required).

• Removing the stigma around the topic, so that employees can freely raise their concerns.

• Directing employees to a support line/service, where they can talk to a menopause specialist/nurse.

• Maybe even offer free testing for hormones for all women over 40.

• Include it in the staff handbook. This really sends a positive message to an affected employee….. “I’m not alone, other people have been through similar difficulties before”

We are making progress in parental leave, mental health and other areas so we can certainly make an effort for menopause as well.

What advice would you give to other women at peri/menopausal age who may not feel comfortable talking to managers or colleagues about symptoms which are affecting their work?

We need to recognise that menopause is a normal part of life. People became more open talking about the challenges parenthood presents and looking for support/flexibility. Menopause is no different. We just need to raise awareness.

What do you recommend women of peri/menopausal age do if they begin to experience symptoms that are effecting their day-to-day lives?

My view is that knowledge is everything. Research the topic, test your hormone levels to see where you are in this journey. Have an action plan in place. What measures would you be open to - natural remedies or HRT? What if your symptoms intensify? Consider having a plan B. And find someone in your life you can talk to openly about how you feel - a friend, a colleague, a specialist service.

The important thing is that there is no right or wrong solution, it’s what works for you (and that can also change with time!). I do fall out of my happy zone from time to time, I just need to remind myself in these situations not to get sucked into the ‘this is a new reality, live with it’ mindset, but step back, assess what has changed and adjust my approach.

Nina Adamenko

Nina has been working in investment research for 17 years. She is a member of the Verso Strategy Committee, overseeing the firm’s macro view, asset allocation and management of the discretionary investment offering.

Anxiety and Menopause

Most of the mood symptoms associated with this time of life occur in the perimenopause stage as a result of low progesterone combined with high fluctuation oestrogen. The mood symptoms occur less during the lowered oestrogen phases - and if present may respond well to oestrogen therapy. Oestrogen is your ‘get up and go’ hormone, while progesterone is more the ‘calming best friend’. For many women if they have the foot on the accelerator all the time and are in a heightened cortisol response then this will turn to adrenaline and give a much more heightened response to stress and anxiety.

What can you do?

• Alcohol is often used by woman to lessen symptoms of stress or unwind at the end of the day - but it can actually do the opposite of what you are looking for and increase cortisol, your stress hormone. It can also downregulate progesterone which is your anti-anxiety hormone. A trial removal of alcohol is recommended for a few weeks to see if this improves symptoms.

• Making sure you are getting adequate sleep is important. Elevated cortisol can suppress melatonin making this harder. On average British adults are only getting 5.91 hours of sleep a night. Ideally, we need to be hitting 7-9 hours sleep. Sleep hygiene such as limiting phone use at night; taking a warm bath before bed with some magnesium salts in; using blackout blinds or shutters and keeping the bedroom cool all help. Women might benefit from some targeted supplements to help their sleep.

• A 2023 study found that 1000mg of vitamin C daily for 2 months reduced cortisol in chronically stressed women. Vitamin C can also support progesterone and so would be excellent to include as a perimenopause supplement. It’s also a relatively cheap supplement. Look for a buffered or liposomal vitamin C to avoid digestive issues.

• A 2023 study of over 31,000 women found that those with the highest intake of ultra processed food had a higher risk of depression. An excellent book on this topic is Ultra Processed People by Dr Chris Van Tulleken.

• Physical activity has been shown to be more effective than medication in the treatment of depression and anxiety with higher intensity exercise having the greatest benefit. This is best done earlier in the day so it doesn’t leave you wired for bed.

• Omega-3 fish oil has done well in several clinical trials for major depression. It helps to reduce inflammation and maintain healthy fluidity of cell membranes. If you take blood thinning medication or are about to have an operation, then a fish oil supplement is not advised. It is important to eat plenty of oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and anchovies to get enough omega-3 in diet. Try to include three times a week for the best benefit. You could have salmon once a week and then tinned mackerel and sardines to a salad on two other days.

• Dark green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds are an excellent source of magnesium which helps to calm your nervous system. Try adding more greens to your evening meal. Keeping frozen spinach balls in your freezer and incorporating them to stews, curries and chillies is an easy win. Sprinkle seeds onto your breakfast yoghurt or porridge or salads at lunchtime. Pumpkin, sunflower and sesame are all good sources of magnesium.

Kat Bright is a nutritional therapist. She empowers midlife women to take control of their health and learn to thrive. Her commitment is to ensure that every midlife woman receives the most effective, enjoyable strategies for improving their health and lifestyle.

 What she offers:

• Wellness Check - a comprehensive blood test and analysis that provides clients with a detailed summary of their results. Recommendations for supplements and nutrition are given based on individual needs. An excellent MOT for your body to uncover the root cause of your health issues.

• One-to-one Consultations - Personalised programs ranging from 6 to 12 sessions, designed to address each client’s specific health concerns and goals.

Kat runs her website, The health Boost, with her business partner, Val Simpson, and they offer over 200 healthy, easy and delicious high protein recipes to support women on their midlife journey. Val Simpson is a personal trainer offering one to one strength training sessions, based in a private boutique studio in Sevenoaks. You can find The Health Boost on Instagram and Facebook.

Take the Menopause Questionnaire

Are you menopausal?

In our quest to learn more about the menopause, we discovered a couple of great tools; the Menopause Questionnaire and the Menopause Symptom Checker - both from My Menopause Centre.

The Menopause Questionnaire will help you work out if, and where, you are on your menopause transition. It takes c.4 minutes to complete.

My Menopause Centre say “While our questionnaire is a wonderful tool, it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please speak to your GP or one of the doctors in our menopause clinic if you have any concerns, questions or queries about any of your answers. If you think you might need medical attention, please call your doctor or 111. Dial 999 in an emergency.” 

I took the questionnaire myself. I would consider myself in the perimenopausal stage. I received an email report explaining the outcome of my answers, including advice about each symptom. The results of the report came as no surprise and it was actually reassuring to have a written report to support my view.

My Menopause Centre also provides a Symptom Checker tool, which gives you an overview of 40 symptoms of the menopause. Each symptom has a dedicated section written by My Menopause Centre Co-Founder, Dr Clare Spencer, a GP and menopause specialist.

I wasn’t able to speak to Dr Clare Spencer or Helen Normoyle (co-founder) as it is most likely a very busy time for them (being Menopause Awareness Month), but you can find all the details you may need on the website, My Menopause Centre, which is worth a visit; with access to a wealth of information and experienced menopause specialists.

Dr Clare Spencer is hosting two free events this month on HRT with the first on Demystifying Oestrogen and Progesterone on 15th October at 7.30pm. You can register to attend via the link on their Instagram page.

Here’s a thought….

If you think your workplace could benefit from some menopause training, webinars, workshops and policy support, check out Menopause at Work on Linkedin.

Our Mission

At YOOMUSE we believe that mental and physical health are closely linked, and this plays a huge part in our professional and personal lives. We are passionate about empowering individuals to take control of their health and wellbeing, and believe that the work environment and culture can embrace this notion and benefit massively as a result.

What do you think of YOOMUSE?

Here are some ways you can support us:

• Add us to your contacts, ‘safe sender’ list so we continue to reach you.

• Share our publication with anyone who may enjoy it (see social share links at top of email).

• Follow us to find out what we are featuring each month (see social media links at the bottom of this email).

• Send us your thoughts (by replying to this email) on what else you would like to read about.

• Become a Partner or Sponsor of YOOMUSE and join us in our mission!