Health REAL LIFE
Sharon Clapp, 56, from Sidmouth, Devon, wants to break down barriers when it comes to menopause...
Fanning my face with a scrap of paper, I was burning up.
This can’t be normal...
I thought, sweating.
It wasn’t a hot summer’s day though – I was going through the menopause.
And the symptoms were truly brutal – from hot flushes and night sweats that left my sheets drenched, to brain fog, angry mood swings and stress incontinence, too.
And at only 42, it was a lot to deal with.
But I’d known it was coming for me.
I’d had a full hysterectomy months earlier, after suffering with heavy, painful, debilitating periods for my whole life.
After going through traumatic experiences, including an ovary removal, an agonising but ultimately unsuccessful endometrial ablation and having a grapefruit-sized fibroid in my womb, it was my last option.
But I’d had my two daughters in my 20s, my family was complete and I was more than ready for it.
I just wanted the awful pain that I suffered every month to finally stop.
Even so, the menopause side effects that came with my hysterectomy knocked me for six. I was the first of my friendship group to go through it, and even though my mum obviously had, she was from a generation that just didn’t talk about that kind of thing.
So I had no idea what to expect.
I’d take the menopause effects over the period pain any day – until my hysterectomy, I hadn’t realised quite how bad it really was, I’d just got on with things because I had to.
I found a new passion
And once my doctor put me on HRT, my symptoms were soon under control and thankfully I’ve had a great experience with it – I do still experience some symptoms like brain fog, but it’s made a world of difference.
With no more pain, I was able to start exercising again, which I hadn’t done since my kids were little. And I found a passion for fitness.
Getting back into gym classes, I felt better than I had in years.
My youngest daughter was a qualified fitness instructor and personal trainer with her own studio, so of course I went along to all her classes – and inspired by her, I decided to train as a fitness instructor myself, too.
Standing up and leading dance box, circuits and legs, bums and tums classes at 52 felt amazing – after spending years being crippled by pain, I felt strong again.
Looking online for support, too, I stumbled across a page on Facebook
