This broke my heart and I’m sending so many virtual hugs.
I’m 47 and thought I had early onset Alzheimer’s. My vision was also blurring, and despite having an English degree I couldn’t find words.
I forgot the word for analysis at work. I was just sat there saying ‘you know, when you look at data and think about it’
I got very low and I just don’t feel like there was any point in anything. I was just failing and I didn’t understand why.
The night I was in that place, I was scrolling through my recordings to find something to watch and found Davina McCalls ‘’Sex, Myths and the Menopause’. I watched it. It was me.
I then found my copy of her book (which I bought as it would be helpful in my mid fifties) and read it cover to cover.
I was incredibly lucky. I booked an emergency GP appointment the next morning.
My doctor was a fabulous 40 something who was very knowledgeable. She asked me about my symptoms and when I’d finished telling her, I burst in to tears and said ‘I’m just broken’.
Her response was ‘You are not broken, but at the moment your hormones are. This can be fixed and I’ll help you’
I was already taking Sertraline but that wasn’t even mentioned. I asked if she needed to take blood and she said it wasn’t necessary. She asked how much I knew about HRT so I reeled off all my research and said I thought patches might be the best.
I walked out with a prescription.
That was two months ago and I’m already feeling like I’m alive again.
I know how incredibly lucky I was but please don’t let any doctor try to minimise what you are going through or just throw antidepressants at you. This isn’t right and in most cases they don’t help.
Request a different GP and push for the care you deserve. I didn’t expect perimenopause or what it would do to my life. Women just aren’t educated and it’s appalling.
Also, take along a friend to see the GP with you. Just to help advocate for you. No, it shouldn’t be necessary but hopefully with enough of our voices one day this will change
Just stay strong. You aren’t broken, I promise. In fact, going through all you have, you are incredibly strong.
Never ever forget that xxx
