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Welcome to "No F**ks Given," where we redefine menopause as a superpower. Hosted by Holly Lamb, a women's health coach, who is navigating early menopause. This podcast offers empowering guidance on women's health and navigating perimenopause with confidence. From nutrition tips to fitness advice and mindfulness practices, we cover it all. But here's the twist: it's all about embracing your most authentic, unapologetic self. We're here to help you reclaim your power, say goodbye to societal norms, and live life on your own terms—no f**ks given. Welcome to the revolution!
Holly Lamb (00:07.926)
Hello and welcome to episode two of the No Fucks Given podcast with me your host Holly Lamb.
Holly Lamb (00:20.942)
This week's podcast is all around menopause and what you need to know. There's so many terms being thrown around these days and so much information on social media. It can be so difficult to stay informed with what's actually relevant. So what I'm going to do is I thought I'd break down each term, explain what it actually means so that you can better navigate your own personal journey. So we're going to start with...
premenopause. So when you're premenopausal, it just means you're having your usual menstrual cycle. So you have your typical, for most women, 28 day cycle. You don't really experience any symptoms of perimenopause yet. And this is usually when a woman starts to menstruate up until average age for menopause is 51.
Holly Lamb (01:18.478)
Thank you.
Holly Lamb (01:22.862)
This usually starts when you begin to menstruate and it's what you would call your typical cycle. So then we get into perimenopause. So this is clinically the transitional period that...
Holly Lamb (01:43.822)
So then we get into perimenopause. So this is clinically the transitional period between the reproductive and non -reproductive phases of your life. Perimenopause can start several years, sometimes up to 10 years before menopause. So it isn't unusual that women in their late 30s and early 40s start to experience symptoms. The average age for menopause is 51. So it's no surprise that women...
as young as, say, me, 36, start to experience symptoms. There's women that are a lot younger in their 20s that can start to experience symptoms as well. So really, yes, that's the age bracket that we put on it, but they can happen at any age.
Holly Lamb (02:35.79)
So then we're into menopause. And menopause is when you haven't had a period for 12 months and one day. And did you actually know that you're only in menopause for one single day? Not many people know that. A lot of women's minds are blown when I say that because the term menopause is used again and again and again to define this phase of our lives, which is correct, but it's only really.
one day after you've not had your period for 12 months and one day. So menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, but as I touched on before, the average age is 51 in the United Kingdom. And during menopause, the ovaries gradually reduce their production of estrogen and progesterone, and as a result, your periods will eventually stop.
Holly Lamb (03:31.15)
So then we get into postmenopause. So the period after menopause, and basically this is the rest of your life. It is considered to be a distinct phase in a woman's life and a time for rebirth and reinvention.
Being post -menopausal is a natural and completely normal stage of life and it can last for several decades. It's important to be mindful of all the health considerations such as changes in bone density and an increased risk of conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease and therefore maintaining a really healthy lifestyle including regular exercise with strength training included, a balanced diet or preventative measures.
so that you don't fall to diseases such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, and muscle wastage. And all of these things become a major part in your overall wellbeing post -menopause. Again, it's another topic I'm gonna dive into on the podcast, how to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle when going through menopause. But I just wanted to touch on all the different stages so you have a better understanding of what's going on in your body.
Holly Lamb (05:05.614)
So they're the three stages that women will go through on their menopause journey. And it's really, and I find a lot of women really struggle to work out where they are. And it's not that they, it's not that.
Holly Lamb (05:34.99)
I find a lot of women just want to know what kind of...
From speaking to lots of different women, I find they just want to know at what stage they are at, not for any particular reason, just for their own peace of mind and understanding whether you're truly in perimenopause can be such a significant challenge for so many women. You know, it's essential to remember that menopause is technically just one day. And with all these...
terms and conflicting information out there. I just want this to be as simple for you to understand as possible. And especially if you're going to go and see your GP or your doctor about your symptoms, having this clear information can really help to get the result that you want.
Holly Lamb (06:35.598)
So if you did want to go see a doctor to gain clarity on the situation, then these facts are going to help you. So if you are 45 or over and you're experiencing menopausal symptoms, then blood tests are not required in order to diagnose. You would not believe the amount of women who speak to me and said, oh, I'm, you know, 47, 48, doctor did my bloods and they're normal. Well, most blood tests will be normal because they don't test the right blood levels.
Thank you.
Holly Lamb (07:11.374)
So if you are 45 and over and you're experiencing menopausal symptoms, then you do not need to have a blood test. It also states these in the NICE guidelines for menopause, which I will put a link to in the show notes so you can read up on those. And it's just having this information and having this knowledge to go armed with to your doctor. Now you may not be going to the doctor for any other reason that you just want clarity on the situation. You may be going to see the doctor because you want to...
explore HRT, that's something that you need to personally think about and you need to decide what you want to do.
HRT is such a personal thing that only you can make that decision with the right information. I was on HRT for about eight, 10 months. And for me personally, it's not the right path for me now. I've since come off it. And yes, some symptoms have started to come back and 100 % more irritable and angry, which I'm definitely feeling today. So I'm just trying to ground myself.
do my breath work, come back to myself and know that this isn't me, it's just a symptom of what I'm going through and doesn't define me.
Holly Lamb (08:32.718)
So then if you are under 45, bloods are usually used to rule anything else out, but they aren't always reliable in order to diagnose perimenopause. So the doctor will usually take a family history and you could be sent for internal, external scans, but the blood tests are super unreliable. If I was to show you a graph of your...
LH levels, your FSH levels.
Holly Lamb (09:37.39)
If I was to show you a chart of your estrogen, your progesterone, your FSH, which is follicle stimulating hormone, and your LH, which is luteinizing hormone, they're the two.
Holly Lamb (09:55.448)
Cool.
Holly Lamb (10:17.006)
They are the two hormones that most doctors will check in the first instance. But if you looked at the graph, when you're premenopausal, all of those hormones are in symphony and they go up and down and they go in a flow with your cycle. But estrogen can dip, it can grow, same with progesterone. And basically, if you just got a kid with like four crayons and just like scribbled, that's what your hormones are doing.
So no wonder you go to the doctors and the doctor says, your bloods are normal. Well, of course they're normal because you've not caught them on the right day. You basically have to go for a blood test every few days to catch these things. So this is why these blood results, these blood tests are just completely unreliable.
Holly Lamb (11:21.966)
So what the doctor should be running is an estradiol hormone test. This will indicate how well your ovaries are working and whether levels are dropping. They should test for your testosterone. So this would be total testosterone in a blood sample. And this is vital for our core body characteristics. And that includes growth and preventing things like osteoporosis. They should also check your free testosterone, which is a minor amount.
which...
Holly Lamb (11:57.774)
They should also test your free testosterone, your free androgen index.
your free androgen index, FAI, or your...
and your sex hormone binding globulin, SHBG. So these are the blood tests that the doctor should be running in order to diagnose you with perimenopause or early menopause. Remember, these blood tests are usually for women under 45 in order to get a clear result of what's going on in their bodies. If you're over 45, 45 and over, you don't need these blood tests. Symptoms alone are enough to...
diagnose perimenopause. So you have to remember as well, there are so many factors that can affect the accuracy of blood tests, you know, such as medication, if you are on any form of contraception, that's going to mask a lot of the symptoms. If you're stressed, if you have been doing any kind of vigorous exercise, and if you've had an illness. So yes, blood tests can be helpful, but...
In your standard GP practice, they're probably not going to run these tests. So this is why you have to become your own advocate and you have to ask to be referred to a specialist. So that could be a menopause clinic. That could be a specialist at the hospital. Depending on where you are and what postcode you're in, it is a little bit of a postcode lottery. Or if you can afford it, maybe go private to a menopause clinic. If you truly believe that the symptoms that you're experiencing and you know in your own body, if it's right.
Holly Lamb (13:41.454)
then you need to be your own advocate and you need to get the help that you need in any way that you possibly can.
Holly Lamb (14:00.622)
So then if we look at symptoms of menopause, because there are over 50 symptoms of menopause. So this is why I feel like as women, it's really, really difficult for us to kind of get anywhere with GPs because we could go in with completely different symptoms to our friend. And they would say, no, that's not perimenopause because you're not having hot flushes. I don't have hot flushes. I've never had hot flushes. I get cold flushes sometimes.
but I don't get the typical symptoms of perimenopause. So I was dismissed for quite a while until one very good junior doctor listened to me and ran the tests and I finally got somewhere, but not everybody is as lucky as I was. So if we touch on some of the symptoms, then maybe you can get a better idea of how you're feeling and if...
perimenopause is something that you might be going through. So physical symptoms would include things such as regular menstrual cycle, hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal changes, that could be dryness, soreness, you could have more urinary tract infections, bone density loss, again, that's not something that you would know unless you had a dexascam, changes in skin and hair.
weight distribution changes so it sits around our middle more, we can get breast changes, fatigue, gut problems and aching joints. Now for me it was the skin changes, I was getting really bad skin, really dry, sore skin under my nose, around my lips and it was really really painful. I actually got told by one doctor that it was because I wore makeup and I was a woman which was extremely helpful and then I was given a steroid cream and sent on my way.
So I know so many women are dismissed just because we're women and we wear makeup. So therefore that will be the cause of our skin issues, which is just not the case. And then another one for me, obviously my menstrual cycle had changed when I was extremely regular and vaginal changes. So vaginal dryness, it was quite sore.
Holly Lamb (16:15.502)
as well as aching joints. Like some days it would feel like I was getting flu. I was feeling really run down, but that's what it was. It was just a symptom of perimenopause. But it's not just the physical symptoms. It's also the mental symptoms as well. So mood swings, which a hundred percent is happening today for me. So my husband is very understanding and I just tell him I'm having a moment and it's okay.
Sleep disturbances, because sleep can just affect your overall mental health as well. Feeling really overwhelmed. Body image and identity issues. Anxiety. You can lose your train of thought. That happens quite a lot with me. I'll be mid -sentence and then I just stop and I just don't know where I was going. Even difficulty finding words, like looking at something and not being able to remember the name of it. That is bizarre. Brain fog.
low mood and forgetfulness. So yeah, there are physical symptoms, but for me personally as well, it was the mental symptoms that I found a lot more difficult to deal with because anxiety, overwhelm, all those kinds of things is something I'd never experienced before. And I'd never really dealt with any kind of mental health issues or no one that I knew knowingly had any kind of mental health issues. So navigating that has...
been like a personal journey as well. And for me, what helps is the groundingness, the breath work, doing the inner work and a really good book I recommend for menopause and for menstrual cycle is Wild Power, which is all about tracking your menstrual cycle and Wise Power, which is all about...
menopause and going through that transformative change. And what I've kind of come to realise as I'm still going on my own personal journey is the more we are in tune with our body and the more that we track our cycle and learn the different seasons and how it affects us, the easier our menopause journey will become in the end, because the more you understand your own body, the easier the transition will be.
Holly Lamb (18:39.406)
when everything starts going a little bit haywire inside, because if you can come back to your inner self, your true identity, then this transition will not be as difficult as a lot of the media like to make out. Now, I'm not dismissing anything in regards to there are some women who are severely suffer and to the point they may even decide to take their own life. But if we can...
do the inner work now before we get to that stage, then hopefully no woman would ever reach that point.
Holly Lamb (19:23.662)
So if that's something that you are interested in then, Wise Power Around Menopause and The Wild Power Book, I would read both of those because they are very, very insightful.
And then I wanted to touch on some lesser known symptoms that maybe you just think, oh, I've had a few of those and not put it down to anything. As women, I think we just dismiss our symptoms and we just dismiss things because we're women and we should just get on with it and we should put up and shut up because that's been the mantra for so, so many years. Whereas now it's time to not shut up and put up. It's a time to step into our true authentic on apologetic era.
And I think that is 100 % happening now. And especially with this podcast, that's why I called it No Fug's Given. Because it is a time to literally not give a fuck. So yes, lesser known symptoms. So watery eyes, dry eyes, tinnitus, that is one that drives me insane. Gum disease, burning tongue, low libido. Some women have high libido. That's not me, unfortunately, I wish it was. Palpitations, fatigue.
leakage, dry eyes, itchy eyes, itchy skin, sore mouth, bloating, loss of joy and loss of hair. So there are so, so many symptoms that women are suffering with and struggling with that maybe they have never even put down to menopause.
Holly Lamb (21:15.214)
So what I would recommend is download an app or get a journal and track symptoms, track your menstrual cycle. Balance is a good app for menopause. You can track your menstrual cycle. You can track physical symptoms, mental symptoms. And if going to your GP for clarification or to go on medication is something that you are looking to do, then tracking everything for three months and giving them a...
good overview of what's happening in your body will really, really help you to get the result that you want in the end.
Remember that it's your body and nobody knows your body better than you. When I started experiencing symptoms, I knew something wasn't right because I knew what was happening in my body. When it was the menstrual cycle changes that I wanted to get checked out because it's never something that I have struggled with. And then once you start putting two and two together with all the other symptoms, it was obvious that it was early menopause symptoms.
So my invitation to you is to track your symptoms.
Holly Lamb (22:37.742)
So my invitation to you is just to be really in tune with your own body.
Research the outcome that you would like to achieve with your doctor and be your own advocate no matter what they say. And if you don't like their opinion, then get a second opinion.
Holly Lamb (23:15.342)
Thank you for joining me for episode two, Menopause, What You Need to Know. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode.
Holly Lamb (23:27.214)
Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss next week's episode.