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Feeling hot hot hot?

Feeling HOT? HOT? HOT?

Then why not come to our FREE  Menopause Course

9 week course looking at all aspects of the peri-menopause and menopause. Increase your knowledge, learn to manage symptoms.  Leave the course more confident, more able to cope and with increased self esteem.

‘Before the course I felt I was Drowning and now I can Swim’

 Starts Wednesday 16th January 2019

At Whitmore Community Centre

2-4 Philip Street

Hackney N1 5NU

1pm -3pm

This course is free but you do need to book

email: menopause@handsinc.co.uk

or call 020 3051 8626

The menopause can often help women explore and express their more creative side. We ran a focus group with women asking them about their experience of dealing with symptoms and what it was like going through the menopause. One of the participants Ular Germain came up with a brilliant analogy of feeling like a tree with heat rising from her roots and each leaf feeling like the different symptoms she was experiencing. Ular also wrote a poem about her experiences.

Enjoy and talks Ular for sharing your creative juices

LAB RAT

Woke up sweaty, hot and bloated. “Why?” I ask myself.

A shower. Surely that will cool me down.

Whose body is this? Raw, listless, sweating.

Breakfast: surely that’s something I can do.

Breakfast’s done, I should feel better.

But no.

Limp and aching. I need to lie down; curl up into a ball to calm the throbbing in my body.

Why?

Have I been prodded and probed, injected with an illness

That runs rampant through my body, replacing my energy with pain.

Please make the pains stop; the monthly show, I can handle that.

But being a lab rat for the menopausal? No!

 

You can read a lot about the negative aspect of the menopause but it can also be a time of inspiration and creativity for a  lot of women. Here is a lovely piece of prose produced by one of the members of our short 6week menopause group.

So there I was minding my own business and here she arrives,

causing chaos like an old friend you no longer see

making me aggressive and masculine so I’ve been told

Irritated and annoyed for no good reason.

Coming into my life trying to turn it upside down at only 46 years old

“Go away”, I said

Would prefer you to annoy someone else…..

making me wake in the middle of the night

soaking wet from sweating

I never sweated after a heavy gym session or fun session

but here I am sleeping….

minding my business

and you wake me up so I have to change my bed and clothes

“How spiteful are you?” especially when I’m so tired!

You’ve caused me no end of problems down there

Ovarian Cysts

Infections

Swelling

Redness

Lack of sex drive

Pain

Dryness

and almost wilting as if the flower is dying.

I speak to women in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s who don’t even have half of these problems

“So Why annoy me with it?”

“Haven’t I been through enough?”

So I was thinking my symptoms started a year after I got sterilised 4/5 years ago

“Was you angry?”

I cried but contemplated that decision for nearly 5 years

I’m not angry

I just want to know WHY you decided to come when I wasn’t ready !! 

 

By Hyacinth Myers

Course participant 2018

 

 

 

World Menopause Day is held each year on the 18th October to raise awareness of midlife women’s health. To celebrate this Hands Inc will be hosting a Menopause Awareness Event.

If menopause symptoms are getting you down or you just want to find out more about what happens in transition to menopause. Come along to our Menopause Awareness event on Oct 18^th.

We will have lots to keep you entertained and pampered:

• Stalls to find out about ways to manage symptoms,
• Info about our Menopause Support Group and courses,
• Light refreshments and
• Free massage sessions to pamper yourself.

We’ll also have an extract from Paula David’s play Blood Sweat & Vagina’s, featuring a tale of a menopausal woman’s mid life crisis. http://www.claphamfringe.com/blood-sweat–vaginas.html

Don’t let the menopause get you down come out and treat yourself to a good night out.

Date: 18.10.18

Time: 6-8.30pm

Venue: Halkevi Community Centre, 31-33 Dalston Lane, Hackney, E8 3DF

Contact us to book: menopause@handsinc.co.uk 0203 051 8626

Are you experiencing difficult menopausal symptoms or just curious to find out more about the menopause? Join our course to get your questions answered, share experiences and learn how to get the best out of this time of transition in a fun, friendly atmosphere.

To register or to know more please call us on 020 3051 8626 or email menopause@handsinc.co.uk

Bladder weakness doesn’t have to run your life. come to our workshop this Thursday 9th August to find out more.

Navarino Mansions Community Hall

Dalston Lane E8 1LB

For more info contact Juliet

020 3 0518626 or email menopause@handsinc.co.uk

 

 

What are “body identical” hormones? Are they the same as “bio-identical hormones”?

There are so many different types of HRT available.  This means that the dose and type of HRT can be altered to suit your individual needs and will also depend on your health and risk factors for other conditions, for example if you have had a clot in the past or have high blood pressure. Many women want to take “natural” products for their menopause but you have to be very careful how you define “natural”. There are many medicines available which are derived from plants, so therefore they are “natural”, but many are unsafe and have been shown to be harmful to your bodies. For example, although black cohosh has been shown to be of some benefit in the treatment of hot flushes, some types of black cohosh have been shown to be associated with liver toxicity.

The oestrogen that I usually prescribe for women is a type of oestrogen called 17 beta oestradiol. This is a “body identical” oestrogen and has the same molecular structure as the oestrogen which decreases in your body during the menopause. It is safer having the oestrogen as a patch or gel as this then is absorbed directly through the skin and has less side effects and risks. These types of oestrogen can be given to women with migraines and those with a higher risk of clot as there is not increased risk of clot using these types of oestrogen. It is also natural in that it is derived from a plant chemical which is extracted from yams, which are tropical root vegetables.

Some types of older HRT contain a mixture of different types of oestrogens and are made from pregnant mares’ urine. So this type of HRT is “natural” but it is not “body identical” as it contains many types of oestrogens that you do not need in your body. This type of HRT is not often prescribed by doctors any more.

There are many different types of progestogens (progestogens is the name for a synthetic progesterone) available for women. If you still have a womb (uterus) it is important that a progestogen is combined with the oestrogen for your HRT. When you take oestrogen the lining of your womb can build up which can increase your risk of cancer. However, taking progestogen completely reverses this risk which means there is no increased risk of cancer when you take HRT.

The type of progestogen I commonly prescribe for my patients is called micronised progesterone (Utrogestan). This is a “body identical” progestogen as it has the same molecular structure as the progesterone in our bodies. This means that is usually is associated with fewer side effects than other types of progestogens. Side effects of progestogens can include bloating, spots and mood swings. Micronised progesterone is also made from yams.

The additional advantage of micronised progesterone is that studies have shown that it is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer for the first five years of taking it. After this time the risks of breast cancer are very low and seem to be lower than the risk for a woman taking the older types of progestogen.

All these body identical hormones are usually available on the NHS although micronised progesterone is not available in Scotland.

Many private clinics are using “bio-identical” hormones

These are not the same as the “body identical” hormones I have just described to you. These are not regulated and are not subject to any quality control. It is important that you do your research before you commit to anything you buy. Also, check that the HRT is NICE-approved (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).

These bio-identical hormones are compounded. This means that they are custom made in order to prescribe hormones in combination doses or preparations that are not routinely available.

Some of the hormones used in these bio-identical hormones contain hormones that are not approved for women such as a hormone called DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) or prednisolone. Many women are given progesterone creams which are actually not well absorbed in the body and are not available on the NHS.

Some “natural” progesterone creams for your skin are available in some places over the Internet. These are not recommended as they are not absorbed into the body well and also many contain too little amounts of hormone to be effective.

I see many women in my clinic who have spent considerable amounts of money on these bio-identical products and have experienced numerous side effects. The products used in this way are not regulated or approved and so could potentially be harmful. They have not been subjected to the same tests of safety, efficacy or dosing consistency as the type of HRT that are prescribed to you. In addition, there is no evidence that these compounded hormones have fewer side effects or are more effective that “body-identical” HRT.

In summary, the risks of the hormones you are taking depend on your type of HRT and also your individual risk factors and health. It is very important that you are given the right type and strength of HRT for your individual needs and that the benefits and risks of your HRT are discussed with you by your GP or menopause doctor.

Date updated: May 2018