Long NHS waiting lists for referrals to a specialist menopause clinic
A woman who lives in Scarborough says it took her two years to get treatment
We’re hearing more women are waiting around 32 weeks to be referred to a specialist menopause clinic on the NHS.
Figures from Savage Cabbage show nearly 6,000 women across England are on the list to be seen
Louise Farey who lives in Scarborough tells us she suffered going through early menopause, she said:
"Going through the menopause was horrendous, it turned me into a monster, and I still worry to this day about the impact it had on my children growing up.
“In the two years it took for me to get treatment, menopause ruined my life. My marriage broke down, I was having daily anxiety, I even had a panic attack so bad I was put on a 72-hour ECG because I thought I was dying.
“I lost who I was, the anxiety and pains took over my life. It was unbearable. I’d sit in my car, after work, for hours, not daring to enter the house as my emotions were a mess, I was so angry, upset, and anxious, I was in ruins.
“It started when I was in my early 40s and I just knew something was changing in my body. I started getting bad anxiety, extreme mood swings, and aches and pains that would keep me stuck in bed – I was in absolute agony.
“I remember going to the doctors, telling them how I felt, and them just saying I was depressed, but I knew they were wrong. Every time I went back to the doctors, I was told the same thing: it’s some sort of anxiety or depression, take these tablets and things will be ok, but I just knew that wasn’t the case because everything I was experiencing was on a 4-week cycle, but each cycle I’d experience something new.
“Thankfully, I got lucky, I ended up seeing a nurse who was a friend of mine and she listened properly. We filled in a questionnaire, and in less than 5 minutes she’d diagnosed me with menopause and offered me specialist treatment.
“I’d suffered, badly, for 2 years up until this point, that’s 2 years of being told “I’m too young to be going through the menopause,” two years of absolute pain and suffering, and it was all sorted within 5 minutes because somebody listened and took my concerns seriously. I was given patches, and within 24 hours, I was a completely different person.
“People need to know more about menopause, it’s like reverse puberty. Everyone goes through it as a kid. You start having periods, your body becomes mature, and it takes its toll on you. But menopause, or older person puberty, is ten times worse, if not 100 times worse, because you’re losing all those abilities your body developed all those years ago.
“The figures are disgusting, its horrendous, the anxieties and low mood these women will be feeling is a lot to cope with, and it genuinely makes me fear for their lives.
“Things NEED to change.”