STV NewsA Scottish woman is helping hundreds of women experiencing “debilitating” menopause symptoms with her support group in Aberdeenshire.
Fiona Chapman founded the first menopause support group in the North East after her own symptoms had an enormous impact on her life.
Ms Chapman described the mental health side effects of menopause as “hugely debilitating”.
“The nausea was horrific, the anxiety, the low moods, the lack of sleep and then you bring in the hot flushes and brain fog, which is a huge one for a lot of women,” she added.
STV News“Having gone on hormone replacement therapy myself, I found that it really did help.”
Ms Chapman’s experience encouraged her to help others and start a support group, which has created a safe place for hundreds of women to speak about their experiences.
“I didn’t want people to go through what I had gone through. The symptoms can be really debilitating for a lot of women,” she said.
“I started it thinking that there might just be a few people coming along, and now we’re over 1,000 people, and this is a small area, so I’m really delighted we’ve got loads of people coming into the group and helping each other.”
Ms Chapman believes this is just the beginning of opening up the stigma attached to menopause.
Charlene Ogg said increased anxiety was a major symptom for herself.
“I’ve struggled with my mental health throughout my adult life anyway, but I did notice that it got a lot worse in the last couple of years, anxiety especially,” Ms Ogg said.
Changes to hormones during perimenopause and menopause can have an impact on mental health, with symptoms ranging from brain fog and low mood to mood swings and depression.
Hormone Replacement Therapy is a common treatment that is seen to be the most effective in relieving symptoms, but it’s not suitable for everyone.
Emmeline Balston said her initial symptoms were her periods getting irregular, but she has recently begun experiencing hot flushes and difficulty with her memory.
“Treatment is down to each individual because what works for one doesn’t work for somebody else,” she said.
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