Two thirds of women experiencing menopause symptoms delay seeking support or never seek it

MARRIED mum Madhu Kapoor hailed the Holland & Barrett nurse-led helpline, telling the Daily Express: "I wish this was available when I went through the menopause."

Madhu, now 58, left her HR and recruitment job after 23 years working to become a civil servant due to her horrific perimenopause symptoms.

Then in her early 40s, she began to notice a range of physical and mental changes such as dry, itchy, burning skin, night sweats, sleepless nights, weekly migraines, joint aches and pains.

Madhu tried to continue being the independent, confident woman her colleagues knew her as, but over time these symptoms took a toll and she could not cope.

Madhu, from north London, said: "I didn't really know what was happening. I was losing myself and didn’t like the person I was becoming."

Unfortunately GPs failed to explain her symptoms and Madhu said her South-Asian upbring made her feel uncomfortable discussing private health matters with colleagues or friends.

Instead she suffered in silence explaining: "I wasn't only impacted at work, I was impacted at home as well. I got to the stage where I felt emotionless.

"I went from being a loving mother and wife to not caring about my daughters and husband. I was just drifting away from everyone and into the unknown.

"Being in my 40s, I thought it was going to be a decade of enjoying life and progressing in my career because my daughters were older.

"I was looking forward to building that relationship up again with my husband as the girls didn't really need me that much.

"But the perimenopause symptoms controlled me and this delayed the relationship from growing."

Discussing how the Holland & Barrett helpline could have helped her she said: "It’s fantastic Holland & Barrett is committed to helping women and providing a service often missing in menopause support.

"There was nowhere to go for help back in 2014 and 2015 when I needed it, I felt isolated."

After turning her menopause journey around, in 2019 Madhu founded 'M for Menopause' having learnt many lessons along the way - to ensure no individual faces the same challenges she did, and began helping others with theirs.

She aims to raise awareness in different communities, while also normalising menopause conversations, through workshops, training, and supporting women.

* To visit M for Menopause's Facebook page go to https://www.facebook.com/mformenopause/