The Menopause Diaries: I’m considering Bio Identical Hormones – a more natural form of HRT

Helen Seymour is in Peri-Menopause, or at least she thinks she is. In her new weekly column we will follow her on her journey towards the menopause, learning as she does all about the big M.

So the combination of the Lachesis Homeopathic Remedy and the Vitamin B Complex the lady in Down To Earth recommended are working a treat. Headaches are completely gone, and honestly, the hot flushes have all but disappeared. To the point that I’m wondering is that it? Have I Menopaused and will everything be okay if I continue to take these two magic potions?

Despite the miraculous recovery, I still ring Professor Studd’s clinic in the UK to book an appointment. Professor Studd runs a menopause clinic in London and Carole Vordeman is one of his clients.

There are other issues to contend with, depression being one of them.

Between January and June this year I had three bad bouts of depression. I have (hashtag so grateful) never suffered from depression. Yes I’ve had up days and down days like everybody, but I’m very in tune with my body, and from the get go, I knew there was something different about these feelings. They weren’t like anything I’d ever felt before. It was like my happiness had left, that’s the only way I can describe it. And on the second burst, I felt like I was plummeting. It was like a sharp fast downward spiral. The sun was shining, yet everything felt bleak. And I instinctively knew that this was hormonal.

Related: I’m hoping someone will help with the Peri-Menopause headache
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I watched a TV interview with Carole Vorderman and Lorraine (kindly ITV lady), where Carole told Lorraine that it was only 2 years AFTER the menopause that her depression kicked in. She had breezed through it up until then. No hot flushes, nothing. But the depression she got was so black, and so bleak, she knew she had to do something about it.

Professor Studd (he really should have been a Fertility Doctor with that name), put Carole (I feel like she and I are friends now so I don’t have to use her surname) on a blend of Bio-Identical Hormones which included Oestrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone. All natural, all derived from plants.

My logic is that if I had three bouts between January and June, chances are I will have three more between July and December. As I’m only starting Peri Menopause (I think), and medical facts state that your Post Menopause can last as long as your Reproductive Years, there is every chance these bouts of depression will increase, or at least stay the same. And I am not going through that. No way. For now, I would prefer not to take anti-depressants. Not if Bio-Identical hormones can sort it out.

More natural form of HRT

So what are Bio-Identical hormones? And how do they differ from traditional HRT?

Bio Identical Hormones are quite simply a more natural form of HRT, customized specifically for you based on the results of a detailed set of blood tests. Bio-Identical Hormones are derived from plants and applied in gels or gel patches, which is a better way for them to absorb into the body. So they’re more natural, they’re tailored for you, and they work more effectively than traditional HRT.

The way Carole Vorderman described her depression was pretty much an exact mirror of my own, except hers hit Post Menopause, and the few small bouts I have had are in Peri Menopause, but the feelings she described were the same. And  Professor Studd’s Bio-Identical Hormone Treatment fixed her. Immediately. She said literally within hours of applying the gels her depression lifted. So Professor Studd is the man for me.

The first appointment he has is October 4th and I am happy to wait because I want to get my blood tests done locally to save money. So I make the appointment, get the confirmation email, and the Secretary tells me a detailed form will be posted out to me, which I have to fill in and bring with me on the day.

Then … weirdly, I turn on the TV (because my friend Orla WhatsApps me and tells me to), and there is a programme on RTE talking about the Menopause. Apparently, over 250,000 women in Ireland are going through this right now. As I type.

Good to know I’m not the only one.