95 per cent of women have negative experiences attempting to get menopause help, campaigners say

Menopause campaigners say 95 per cent of women have had negative experiences attempting to get medical help.

Charity Menopause Warriors, which has almost 7,000 members, say four years after they launched to highlight inadequacies in menopause support, services are still woefully inadequate.

Caroline Spalding, 62, one of the two founding members said: “It’s hugely frustrating that very little has really changed in that time.

“We have almost seven thousand women in our group, and a poll asking if they were satisfied with the support from their GPs produced shocking results.

“We found 95 per cent of women had a negative experience. That is shameful.”

The Scottish Government insist menopause is one of the main areas of focus in its Women’s Health Plan. 

But Caroline said: “Women still do not feel they and their needs are understood.

“We find widespread difficulties getting HRT despite the many health benefits it can bring.

“Heart disease is one of the biggest killers of older women here in Scotland and it is the subject of World Menopause Day.

“HRT can help, but many of our older women still find barriers to access it.”

Caroline said women are so desperate for help, they are turning to private clinics.

She said: “There is a waiting time of almost a year for NHS services in cities like Glasgow.

“This should not be happening.

“I know of women who have spent around £1,000 on private prescriptions.

“But what about all the others who cannot afford this?”

The campaigner believes much more still has to be done to improve education.

Caroline said: “It should start in schools so everyone is taught about menopause so they can understand what happens to one half of society.

“The medical profession must do much more, particularly in the more deprived areas where women are really suffering and isolated.”

The issue is highlighted in a new programme on BBC ALBA, available on iPlayer, as part of its Trusadh series presented by broadcaster Cathy MacDonald.

Women across Scotland talk about their experiences and highlight how 1 in 10 quit their jobs because of lack of support, costing the economy £billions.

Gaelic stand-up comedian Carina MacLeod talks about her attempts to demystify the myths and fears about menopause, encouraging women to be far more outspoken about the condition to ensure others do not feel isolated.

Carina, who turned 50 last year, said: “All women go through it, but far too many of us still don’t talk about it.

“That makes it far more difficult for other women to reach out and share their own experience.

“We all get sex education in schools.

“But I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning the menopause.

“It should be a subject taught in schools because it has a huge effect on a woman’s life.

“I reckon teenage boys should be taught about it too, so they can be more understanding.

“My husband Alan was taught about the menopause by his mother, so when I began having difficult symptoms like dreadful sweats and brain fog, he knew what I was going through and was hugely supportive.”

Carina grew up on the Isle of Lewis but is now living in North Lanarkshire.

She found nobody ever talked about the menopause when she was growing up, something she wants to change.

The comedian said: “Where I come from people don’t tend to ever talk about things like that.

“It is seen as “over-sharing”.

“I remember my cousin talking about having terrible sweats, but that was it.

“Even now, it’s still not really talked about. That’s a shame because I’ve found tremendous support and friendship from other women.

“I’d encourage women to get talking to each other, set up support groups.

“Everyone has individual experiences, but there is much positivity just having others around you who are going through the same thing and you can share learning.”

Carina is no stranger to confronting what life throws at her.

Her stage act talks about the frustrations of dealing with the silent and invisible chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, so Carina is taking no prisoners when she talks about the persistent lack of support for menopause.

She said: “Funnily enough, the two are entirely different but share a number of the same symptoms.

“They are both invisible, and they can both cause havoc in your life.

“I’m a great believer in getting things out there, talking about it. It makes things far less scary.”

The Menopause Warriors are running an all-day drop-in clinic at Glasgow Central Station on Wednesday (Oct 18) and at the Central Grand Hotel on Saturday (Oct 21) to offer support in World Menopause Week.