Women who lead
To make a difference in society and alter attitudes for the better, we need to be bold, shift the conversation and challenge the status quo. GH meets four women doing just that
TV presenter Lisa Snowdon’s confidence was crushed when she was going through perimenopause. Now, she’s campaigning for greater awareness to make sure other women are better prepared than she was.
Standing in Parliament Square on World Menopause Day last October, the atmosphere was buzzing. I was there in my role as patron of Menopause Mandate, alongside hundreds of women, including celebrities such as Carol Vorderman, Mariella Frostrup and Penny Lancaster. The aim was to raise the noise when it comes to perimenopause and menopause, campaigning for increased awareness and support.
I was in my early 40s when I started suffering low moods, panic attacks, anxiety and depression. My menstrual cycle became unpredictable. I had mood swings, which were unpleasant for my fiancé, George. It felt like I had an angel and a devil on my shoulders – the devil encouraging me to let rip, the angel desperately imploring me to stop. It was scary because I couldn’t control it.
When I went to the doctor, I was prescribed antidepressants. Perimenopause wasn’t mentioned; at the time, I wasn’t aware of it. Over the next couple of years, the symptoms got worse and I experienced sleep deprivation, thinning hair, skin changes, weight gain and hot flushes. I’d wake in the night drenched in sweat. Shivering, I’d cuddle close to George, only to jolt away from him a few minutes later, suddenly burning hot like a furnace.
For seven years, I juggled trying to hold down a career and a relationship. There were days when I didn’t want to say yes to jobs, times when I’d lose sleep because work seemed terrifying. I’ve been working in media for more than 20 years yet I’d wake with palpitations, panicking about not being good enough, having hot flushes and forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence. It was like I no longer trusted my brain. I felt like a shell of myself, my confidence at an all-time low.
I saw four doctors before I found a treatment plan that worked for me. In the end, I went down the HRT route and I’m on body identical hormones – oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone – which have been working for me. I eat well and move my body, whether that’s walking or doing an exercise class. Now, aged 50, I’ve finally found a balance that works.
