Health The advice you need
Now there’s not a dry eye in the house!
As the familiar hot flush crept up my neck, I took a deep breath. My skin was on fire.
About to head off to a meeting, I felt like I was burning up.
‘You all right?’ a colleague asked.
‘It feels like the worst sunburn,’ I replied, fanning myself.
Truth was, I didn’t know why I was suddenly always so hot.
I’d been working as a nurse for 20 years.
Always had a good memory, too, but lately I felt like a different person.
It was summer 2019 and, aged 42, I’d been struggling to concentrate or sleep.
The hot flushes were the latest symptom.
My husband Simon, then 50, did his best to reassure me.
‘You’re busy, love,’ he insisted.
He was right.
Not only was I a full-time nurse, but I was also a mum to a son and daughter, then 13 and 14.
My first thought was that I was suffering from dementia.
I was struggling to remember so many things. A year later, I saw my GP. I mentioned my worries, but my GP wondered whether it was linked to my endometriosis.
Something I’d suffered from since my early 20s.
I resolved to mention it to my gynaecologist at my next appointment.
But life got in the way.
Not to mention COVID-19.
It wasn’t until November 2022 that I got the chance to speak to my gynaecologist. By now, my symptoms were worse.
Dry eyes were added to the list.
As a contact lens wearer, it was frustrating.
The lenses stuck like glue to my eyes.
My gynaecologist examined me, and had news. ‘You’re perimenopausal,’ she said.
With my symptoms managed, I feel much better
I’d assumed I was a little young for that, but now everything slotted into place.
I was prescribed combined HRT and, within days, I felt like my old self.
Everyone noticed.
Colleagues said I seemed less stressed.
Simon and the kids found me less moody and snappy. I felt incredible, apart from one thing.
My
