MENOPAUSE –Let's Talk Hot Flushes

Let’s start with – “What is Menopause?”  Menopause is typically defined as having no menstrual period for one year.  The age you experience it can vary, but it typically occurs in your late 40s or early 50s.  Menopause can cause many changes in your body.  The symptoms are the result of a decreased production of estrogen and progesterone in your ovaries.  Some research indicates that Menopause has 34 symptoms.  The UK National Health Service (UK NHS) research states hot flushes are the most common symptom and that 75% of menopausal women suffer with this symptom.  Other common symptoms are Night Sweats (like hot flushes but occur at night), sleeping problems, reduced sex drive,  vaginal dryness, problems with memory & concentration, headaches, joint stiffness and aches & pains, dry itchy skin, skin elasticity, mood changes, anxiety, palpitations and reduced muscle mass to name but some.  

My own Menopause journey stared with irregular periods.  Prior to Menopause my periods were very regular and predictable.  When they started becoming erratic, I thought here we go.  After about two years of irregular periods, with the gaps between each period becoming longer, I started to get night sweats.  I would wake up and my upper body would be drenched in sweat.  This interrupted my sleep and that in turn caused me to be tired and not firing on all cylinders during the day.  This then progressed to hot flushes during the day.   The overwhelming tidal wave of heat that would come out of the blue at work became unbearable and extremely distracting.  This coupled with tiredness from interrupted sleep led me to feel that I was not preforming well personally or professionally.  I used to have a battery fan on my desk, one in my handbag and carry one with me to meetings.  I also carried wet wipes with me to help me cool down and wipe away sweat.  I would also place wet wipes in certain areas of my body to try and keep cool e.g. under the breasts.

A recent article published by Harvard Business News on “Working Through Menopause (at Work)” highlights some of these issues and the fact that Menopause remains a taboo topic at work and that the majority of women tend to hide the symptoms. In one of the podcasts Jeneva Patterson highlights that

“Since menopause generally lasts between seven and 14 years, millions of postmenopausal women are coming into management and top leadership roles while experiencing mild to severe symptoms such as depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and cognitive impairment, to name a few.  A recent Korn Ferry analysis finds that women hold only around 25% of C-suite positions.” 

 In the Harvard Business Review article “Is Menopause a Taboo in Your Organization?” by  Megan Reitz, Marina Bolton and Kira Emslie they state that

A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) survey in the U.K. found that 59% of women experiencing menopausal symptoms said they had a negative impact on their work and around half found it difficult to cope with their tasks.  Another study of nearly 900 professional women found that lowered confidence, poor concentration and poor memory associated with menopause symptoms caused them particularly significant difficulties at work.

I can really resonate with these articles (link to articles below – registration may be required). 

To help combat some of the symptoms I became curious about natural remedies and I began to investigate and educate myself about essential oils.  Research at Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM on Aromatherapy Massage Affects Menopausal Symptoms in Korean Climacteric Women: A Pilot-Controlled Clinical Trial showed that

“results of the present study suggest that aromatherapy massage may improve menopausal symptoms of climacteric women”…….. “Our study also supports the proposal that several aromatic essential oils have phytoestrogen effects on menopausal symptoms in climacteric women.  Furthermore, aromatherapy massage improved hot flushes, depression and pain in the experimental group compared with the control group. These results are consistent with previous reports of the use of essential oils in treating each of these symptoms” 

Encouraged by these results I started creating Essential Oil blends to help reduce my symptoms.  I trialled products that help to lift the mood and reduces hot flushes.  During trials ladies reported feeling calmer and the reduction of hot flushes.  I called this product MUTO - latin verb for change, alter, transform, shift – which I thought aptly describes what happens to us during menopause. 

Something some of my clients mentioned is that they experience dry itchy skin during menopause.  To combat this, I have incorporated the MUTO blend into a moisturising body oil.  This helps to ease Menopause symptoms and dry itchy skin and can be incorporated into your daily routine.  Apart from combating some of the symptoms of Menopause I wanted my products to smell nice.  I think a nice aroma can help you feel better.  MUTO has fresh spicy floral and citrusy top notes with lemony herbaceous undertones, so sometimes I use this blend just because, in my opinion, it smells so nice. 

The product is available as a body oil and also in roller ball form. 

Click here to view. 

 

Link to Harvard Business review.

 #menopause #hotflushes #JenevaPatterson #MeganReitz #MarinaBolton #KiraEmslie #menopausesymptoms #menopauserelief