Misdiagnosis of the perimenopause is a huge concern to women and understandably so. During your 40s, major life events often overwhelm us, without considering the hormonal changes that are just beginning to challenge us every day.
Your children have become teenagers and they need you almost more than when they were little: you have to guide them rather than bribe them, but with that come the heated debates, uncomfortable silences and challenging behaviours. You’re feeling jaded, faded and irritable. Chaos seems to rule your homelife and the workplace no longer feels like an escape or a morale booster. Then you lose a parent and grief hits you like a juggernaut and you don’t know how you’re going to cope.
An experienced and accredited menopause practitioner can help you differentiate between symptoms and what’s causing them at this delicate time.
The symptoms you are feeling may be connected to the perimenopause, so make sure the practitioner you choose has the right credentials and experience before seeking medical care. You may be advised to follow a course of anti-depressants, without a look at the whole picture. When you’re in your 40s or early 50s, mood swings, low moods, fatigue, brain fog, and a variety of physical discomforts are more likely to come from hormonal changes than mental illness. This could be the perimenopause when the hormones are in a state of flux.
Our experiences and ability to cope with whatever life throws at us are at their peak at this time of our lives, contrary to popular belief and poor media coverage. It’s a question of turning the negatives into positives and understanding what exactly is happening in our bodies. As a practising GP, Menopause specialist and Gynaecologist, Dr Saadia Meyer has the knowledge and experience to look at a client from the inside out and prescribe the most suitable perimenopause treatment for that individual. She uses an integrative holistic approach in her medical practice. Every woman is an individual and her ethos is to formulate a management plan that is personalized.
By separating external stress from internal changes, women can restore balance and self-esteem, enabling them to make positive choices throughout their lives.