Managing Menopause - my Journey.
For many women, menopause arrives gradually — through small shifts in sleep, mood, memory or energy. But for me, it arrived suddenly.
After years of living with the pain and disruption of endometriosis, surgery eventually became unavoidable. The disease had wrapped itself around my ovaries, and when the endometriosis was removed surgically, their function rapidly declined. Within a matter of weeks, I found myself plunged into menopause.
Driving became difficult whenever I broke into sweats – every 20 minutes!! Concentration felt unreliable. Sleep was a thing of the past and so even simple social interactions were hard work as I was constantly exhausted.
Despite having medical knowledge, I realised that, on a human-to-human level: Nobody told me this.”
In general, our mums weren’t very well informed about menopause so they often didn’t pass much useful information on to us and now conflicting advice confuses us when we try to find answers for ourselves. The menopausal transition is very complex. Hormones like oestrogen and progesterone influence more systems throughout the body than we expect — including the brain, metabolism, sleep regulation and cardiovascular function.¹
First off my sleep changed dramatically. Night after night I found myself waking up regularly in puddles of sweat and not being able to get back to sleep. Progesterone normally has a calming effect on the nervous system, helping us fall and stay asleep. At the same time, oestrogen supports serotonin pathways that regulate sleep cycles so when these hormones decline, the brain’s sleep–wake rhythm becomes much less stable.²
And when sleep changes, everything else in life becomes harder. Energy, mood and focus soon followed. Even familiar routines — exercise, work, daily tasks — began to feel different.
Oestrogen also plays an important role in regulating metabolism, insulin sensitivity and muscle maintenance. As levels fall, the body can shift towards storing fat more centrally and losing lean muscle more easily, even if diet and exercise habits remain unchanged.³ Nobody told me that would happen – but it did!
Then there was the unexpected mental fog. Forgetting a word mid-sentence or losing track of a thought was unsettling. Research suggests this may occur because oestrogen interacts with brain chemicals such as dopamine and acetylcholine, which help regulate memory and attention.⁴ The reassuring news is that studies show cognitive function usually stabilises once hormones settle after menopause.⁵
Understanding the biology doesn’t make symptoms disappear, but it does make them far less frightening. Hormonal shifts can also influence the brain areas responsible for emotional regulation, which is why anxiety, irritability or sudden waves of emotion can appear during this transition.⁶
Looking back, the turning point for me was beginning hormone replacement therapy. Slowly, things began to stabilise. Sleep improved. Concentration returned. Life became navigable again — not the same as before, but a new and workable normal.
Despite affecting half the population, menopause remains surprisingly under-discussed and historically under-researched.⁷ Many women reach this stage of life with little preparation for the breadth of changes they may experience.
No one should have to navigate such an important transition without clear information and support. Understanding does not remove the transition, but it changes our relationship to it.
This belief sits at the heart of what we are building: a place where women can understand their bodies, find trusted science-backed guidance, and feel less alone in experiences that are far more common than we are often led to believe.
If you have ever found yourself thinking “Nobody told me this,” you are not alone.
And perhaps, together, we can make sure that the women who come after us hear the story sooner.
References
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