Understand
The symptoms women mention last
Vaginal dryness, discomfort and urinary changes are common, treatable, and rarely raised.
5 minSource: The Menopause Charity
What is commonly described
Dryness, soreness, itching, discomfort during sex, needing to pass urine more often, or repeated urinary infections.
These are described as among the most common experiences after menopause and among the least likely to be mentioned in an appointment.
Unlike flashes, they tend not to settle on their own with time.
Why it is worth saying out loud
There are effective treatments, and this is a routine conversation for a clinician even if it does not feel routine to raise.
If saying it is hard, writing it down and handing it over is a completely legitimate way to start.
Source
Background from The Menopause Charity. Treatment options are a conversation with your own clinician.
The years around menopause are when bone and heart risk shift most. Understanding them early is what makes them manageable.
General information, not medical advice. Narrated never diagnoses.
More in Narrated Body
Hot flashes and what women try
What is commonly described, what tends to help day to day, and what belongs in an appointment.
5 min · NHS
Aching joints in midlife
One of the most common and least expected complaints of these years.
4 min · Narrated
When cycles start changing
What tends to shift in perimenopause, and which changes should always be checked.
5 min · NHS
Get the weekly letter
One useful email a week on perimenopause and menopause. What the studies say, in plain words. Free.
Or find out what is happening to you, free, in two minutes.