Menopause meetings helping hundreds of women

Dr Helen Jervis says the meetings have helped normalize symptoms

BBC Dr Helen Jervis, who has grey hair, glasses and is wearing fuchsia-coloured scrubs, sitting in front of her monitor and telephone in the Temple Sowerby GP surgery. — Dr Helen Jervis says the meetings have helped normalize symptoms

What started as a conversation about the menopause in a coffee shop has resulted in meetings helping hundreds of women better understand their symptoms, organisers say.

A year ago, the Cumbria Radical Birds' first event in a village hall in Temple Sowerby, in the Eden Valley, gave women the opportunity to discuss and learn about the menopause.

Now, it is a flock of women so well informed it is credited with reducing pressures on the local GP.

Dr Helen Jervis said: "Ultimately we are getting patients approaching us who are already educated [about the menopause] and are approaching us when they need our help, rather than needing the background."

She said by the time women contacted her, they had usually "decided they want a prescription, which is the bit we can assist with really well".

"Whereas the education side of it we can do," Dr Jervis added, "but people can do that in a different way and that frees up GP time."

What is the menopause and what are the signs?

About a hundred women attend each of the meetings around the Eden Valley, organisers say

Cumbria Radical Birds Groups of women sitting around circular tables in a village hall. — About a hundred women attend each of the meetings around the Eden Valley, organisers say

Founder member Venetia Young said since Covid-19, people were more isolated and meeting to talk in groups was more important than ever.

"Women talking to women makes the bits that are normal, the bits they can cope with, easier to bear," she said.

The retired GP and family therapist said it was important for women to understand the range of hormones "going awry", including stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, as well as the changes in oestrogen and progesterone.

Venetia Young wants women to share their experiences to help each other

Venetia Young, who has a blonde bob and wears tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, standing in front of a fence. — Venetia Young wants women to share their experiences to help each other

Mood swings, rage, hot flashes and brain fog are all common symptoms but some women do not always recognise the signs.

Group member Tish Fisher was so frustrated by a lack of information when she started the menopause about five years ago she went on a course to learn more.

"I was driving to work crying and I had no idea what was going on, and about two to three months later I started with the hot flushes, and that's when I connected the dots together and thought, 'blimey'."

She said Cumbria Radical Birds was a "very supportive, confidential and non-judgemental" group which allowed women to "be more vulnerable and share stories that haven't been shared before".

Trix Jones said she wished she had been able to talk to other women when she went through an early menopause

Trix Jones, who has shoulder-length hair and glasses, looking thoughtfully at the camera, smiling. — Trix Jones said she wished she had been able to talk to other women when she went through an early menopause

Fellow group member Trix Jones found herself going through early menopause while undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy for breast cancer several years ago.

"I could've done with more help personally on a woman-to-woman basis and although I had supportive friends I didn't have anyone who was going through a similar experience," she said.

The group is now expanding its remit beyond the Eden Valley in the hope of bringing more women together.

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