Latest news with #perimenopause
Daily Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. When Shelly Horton found herself in hospital with heavy bleeding in 2020, it never crossed her mind that her symptoms might have been due to perimenopause. The TV journalist hadn't even heard the word before, so she didn't connect it with the raft of physical and mental changes she had been experiencing at the time, including heart palpitations, heightened body temperature, brain fog and debilitating depression. Instead, the now 51-year-old had been told by doctors that she might have cancer, and was sent for an ultrasound – which revealed nothing. 'They said, 'Great news, you haven't got cancer. You must be stressed, and maybe you should take up a hobby,'' Horton recalls. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself. I didn't go and see another doctor for nine months.' Media personality Shelly Horton has opened up about her health journey through perimenopause. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar It was only when she spoke to her friend, menopause expert Dr Ginni Mansberg – who she first met while appearing on the Seven Network's breakfast show Sunrise in 2008 – that Horton was able to make sense of her suffering. Before that defining conversation, she hadn't considered herself in the target market. 'I thought menopause was for women in their late 50s, [when] their period stopped and they got hot flushes,' she recalls. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves. 'I was like, 'I'm a fox. I'm way too young and fabulous.' 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last for 10 years so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar Once she got the right help and started to feel better, Horton got mad. Specifically about the menopause cone of silence, which perpetuates the poor treatment options and dearth of knowledge for women. 'We've been taught by our mothers and past generations that it's just women's problems so you keep it to yourself,' she tells Stellar. 'A heads-up would have been nice. I felt like the sisterhood had let me down. Secret women's business holds women back. This whole 'soldier on' of the Boomer generation, I'm like, 'No, I'm Gen X. We're going to get loud about this.'' In 2023, Horton shared her experience at the first parliamentary roundtable on menopause, alongside respected experts, in what was the first time 'menopause' had been mentioned inside the Parliament of Australia. It sparked a Senate inquiry, and Horton inadvertently became a spokesperson on the subject. Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About below, featuring US author and podcaster Glennon Doyle: The Today Extra panellist reveals how she got through 'dark times' and rebuilt herself. Picture: Supplied It wasn't the first time that Horton had found herself leading the charge on destigmatising taboo topics for women. In 2013, when she wrote about her decision to stay child free, she copped a pile-on from dissenters and was trolled on social media. But she takes heart in knowing her words started a national conversation. 'I had comments like, 'A woman who doesn't want kids is not a real woman. She's a waste of a uterus.' It was awful,' she recalls. 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' As the TV presenter sees it, one of the many upsides of being child-free is having the freedom and funds to travel as she wishes. She and her husband Darren Robinson – who she met 'the old-fashioned way' in a bar in 2012 – renew their vows in every country they visit. In 10 years of marriage, that's 25 vow renewals. 'Sometimes it's been incredibly romantic, like in the Maldives with the sunset. Then we nearly forgot in Iceland and did it on the plane as we were taking off,' she says, laughing. The couple also run a production company together, Robinson behind the camera ('the workhorse') and Horton in front ('the show pony'). They share their home with rescue dogs Mr Barkley and Maui, whom Horton describes as a salve during her three years of depression. 'My wonderful husband would put me to bed and hand me a puppy.' Adhering to her own motto of 'adapt or die', Horton's career trajectory has been, as she puts it, eclectic. She was a producer for Entertainment Tonight in the US, a crime then health reporter for the ABC, a Sydney gossip columnist, a panellist on Today Extra, and host of Married At First Sight's spin-off TV show Talking Married. It's all a long way from home for the girl from Kingaroy in regional Queensland. Or, as she puts it, 'From the red soil to the red carpet.' Now she can add author to the list since she has documented her harrowing menopause experience – along with evidence-based advice from experts – in a book to support other women going through it. Despite enduring all the turmoils of menopause, Horton says the experience has also helped her. 'I wish I could just say, 'Slap on some HRT [hormone replacement therapy], you'll be fine,' but it's not as simple as that,' she explains. 'I had to do the work. I'd treated my body as a rental. I had to have the appointments with the psychiatrist. I had to change my lifestyle, improve my sleep, increase my exercise. I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. Perimenopause broke me, but then I rebuilt me.' I'm Your Peri Godmother by Shelly Horton (Murdoch Books, $34.99) is out Tuesday. For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"We Don't Care": Ashley Judd Shared An Insightful Message To Women That's Changing People's Perspectives
Actor and activist Ashley Judd shared a powerful message about being a woman of a certain age and why she supports the "I don't care" mindset. Related: Ashley, who starred in some of my favorite movies from the '90s thrillers like Heat (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), and Double Jeopardy (1999), posted a playfully encouraging video in the Baltic Sea about how she's kicking people's opinions to the wayside. "When I'm in my swimsuit, sometimes I get a little chafing, right down there, so I put on constatrch," she said in a July 22 Instagram post. "And then there's like a white thing there, and if you see it, I don't care." Ashley cited the "We Don't Care" club, a trend that includes hundreds of thousands of women around the world in perimenopause and menopause sharing what they no longer care about, which was founded by influencer Melani Sanders. The She Said actor explained how her inner child is also part of the "Make Stuff Up" club. Related: "And I have a jellyfish, it's the non-stinging kind, and I think the central nervous system is that part, and that may not be right, and I don't care," she added, picking up an actual jellyfish. "Because there's another club that my inner child belongs to and it's called the MSU club." "I'm also picking my crotch, and I don't care. The MSU club is the 'Make Stuff Up' club. And that's for inner children. As a post menopausal woman, I don't care if you don't like the MSU club for inner children," she continued. Related: Ashley did playful "tricks" in the water and expressed the importance of embracing our child-like behavior and wonder. "Because when we were little, it was really fun, and we don't care what people think of us." In the caption alongside the video, Ashley urged people to join her in this empowering movement. "If you let yourself be free, how would your True Self & Inner Child spend your Carefree Timelessness?" she wrote. "How can you let go of what others expect, think, need, want? What do YOU feel, need, want, from yourself?" In a world inundated with negativity, violence, and judgment, Ashley provided a necessary reminder that we can "let go of caring about stupid, controlling norms" and to "bask in the the unselfconscious being-ness" of our true selves. Responding to Ashley's message, one fan wrote, "Women are healing ourselves—in all the ways we feel intuitively called. And we don't give AF what the world thinks about it. Keep on keepin' sister Ashley." Related: "I❤️you Ashley! You are the best! Absolutely! So over worrying about all the gazes-the male gaze, the female gaze, the mother's/grandma's/judgemental auntie/HOA Karen/Chad, the total stranger gaze. The only gaze that matters is OURS!" another wrote. Someone else wrote, "Ohhh Ashley , I dream of having friends like you ! Society is so critical and judgemental , particularly toward aging and appearance. You are a joy to behold ❤️🥰👏 Please continue to share posts like this .Love you lots ❤️💯🥂." To learn more about the "We Don't Care" club, check out this insightful piece on Melani Sanders and the women of the trend. Now let's answer Ashley's question: "If you let yourself be free, how would your True Self & Inner Child spend your Carefree Timelessness?" Share your responses in the comments. Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Women's symptoms 'overlooked' in menopausal stages
Women going through perimenopause are experiencing debilitating hot flushes and night sweats that are often untreated, as a study reveals the prevalence of symptoms during hormonal transitions. Perimenopause is a transitional period before menopause, where levels of oestrogen begin to decrease, bringing with it a range of symptoms. A first of its kind study of more than 5500 women by Monash University published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology examined the similarities and differences in symptoms across the stages of menopause. Almost 40 per cent of perimenopausal women in the study experienced debilitating vasomotor symptoms (VMS) such as hot flushes and night sweats. While it was already known that VMS symptoms were typical in menopause, the study showed a new onset was highly specific to perimenopause, senior author Susan Davis said. Other symptoms such as poor memory and low mood were found at various stages, but vaginal dryness was the most distinctive symptom from pre-menopause to perimenopause, she said. Other symptoms such as poor memory and low mood were found at various stages, but vaginal dryness was the most distinctive symptom from pre-menopause to perimenopause, she said. "While other symptoms might emerge in the perimenopausal stage, they lack specificity to that stage as these other symptoms are also common in pre-menopausal women." A major finding in the study was that women with regular cycles but changed menstrual flow and VMS who are classified as pre-menopausal have a similar severity of symptoms as perimenopausal women. "This finding supports the likelihood of perimenopause commencing before menstrual cycles vary by at least a week, and that women whose periods have become much heavier or much lighter and who also have VMS should be considered as having entered their perimenopause," Professor Davis said. The research was expected to transform women's health treatment, particularly in menopause, which had been overlooked for too long, Monash Women's Health Alliance chair Jill Hennessy said. "Too many go untreated for debilitating symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats," she said. "By defining the symptoms that truly mark this transition, this study empowers women and clinicians alike with better knowledge and tools to improve women's health and wellbeing." The study authors hoped the findings would improve how medical professionals identified and managed transitions in menopause. Many women were overlooked in being classified within a menopausal stage if they had regular cycles or no longer menstruated due to a hysterectomy, first author Rakib Islam said. "Our findings support a more symptom-based approach, enabling earlier recognition of perimenopause and more timely care," he said.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Ignoring hot flushes is wrong': study challenges assumptions about perimenopause symptoms
Almost 40% of women going through perimenopause experience moderate to severe hot flushes and night sweats but have no treatment options, new research has found. The study, published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, explored differences in symptom prevalence by menopausal stage among women aged 40-69 years. More than 8,000 participants who self-identified as a woman completed the Australian women's midlife years (AMY) study. After excluding women on medication or those who had undergone a procedure that would affect their hormones or symptoms, Monash University researchers analysed the remaining 5,509: 1250 were classified as pre-menopausal, 344 early perimenopausal, 271 late perimenopausal, and 3,644 postmenopausal. Senior author, Prof Susan Davis, said while vasomotor symptoms (VMS) – such as hot flushes and night sweats – were already known to be typical of menopause, the study found moderate to severe VMS symptoms to be the most defining symptom of perimenopause, the time period leading up to the final menstrual period. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Although other symptoms were commonly reported by perimenopausal women, including poor memory and low mood, analysis showed none differed in prevalence enough from pre-menopause to differentiate between menopausal stages. The study found 37.3% of women in late perimenopause had moderately-to-severely bothersome hot flushes: meaning they were five times more prevalent among perimenopausal women compared with pre-menopause. Severe vaginal dryness was 2.5 times more prevalent among perimenopausal women compared with pre-menopause. Menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT, also known as HRT) is effective for treating VMS due to menopause, but there are no specifically designed or approved interventions for these symptoms for perimenopausal women, the researchers noted. Treating perimenopause is not the same as treating post-menopause because women are still randomly ovulating, contraception needs to be considered, MHT can make bleeding heavier and progesterone worsens PMS, Davis said. The study also challenged the assumption that menstrual irregularity is the earliest sign of perimenopause. Davis said it is common for women to ask their GPs if their heavier periods and hot flushes are a sign of perimenopause, only for the doctor to respond: 'If you're still getting regular cycles, you can't possibly be perimenopausal.' But when the study compared pre-menopausal women with VMS whose periods were still regular but had changes – becoming lighter or heavier – they were the same as women who had VMS but who'd started experiencing changes in period cycle frequency. 'So we're really saying ignoring hot flushes and night sweats is wrong,' she said. Dr Rakib Islam, also a study author, said defining perimenopause and menopause by menstrual cycle overlooks women with regular cycles and those who no longer menstruate, such as those who have had an endometrial ablation or hysterectomy, and users of hormonal contraception. 'Our findings support a more symptom-based approach, enabling earlier recognition of perimenopause and more timely care,' Islam said. Davis said it was 'critical' that women were recruited to the study with no mention made of menopause, so the sample was not biased. Prof Martha Hickey, the chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne and lead author of last year's Lancet series on menopause called it an important study. The study reached quite a large number of women and provided deeper insight into perimenopause, an area traditionally overlooked in menopause research,' she said. 'More than a third of research in medical treatments is done by pharmaceutical companies. They traditionally have excluded perimenopausal women from the research because the perimenopausal women are still producing their own hormones in a sometimes unpredictable way, and it didn't fit with the study design that they wanted,' Hickey said. Hickey said the study's main limitation was that it was a cross-sectional survey. So while it was helpful for knowing what symptoms women categorised to a particular stage might experience, 'it doesn't tell us how these things change as women go through menopause'.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie TV favourite opens up about heartbreaking menopause battle - and reveals why it almost 'broke' her
Shelly Horton has opened up about her experience with menopause as she prepares to release a tell-all book about her ordeal. The Today Extra presenter, 51, has long been open about her struggle with perimenopause and admitted to Stellar this week that the condition 'broke' her. 'I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. It broke me... but I rebuilt,' she said. Perimenopause typically affects women between 40 - 50 years old, and is the transitional phase before menopause where their hormone levels start to fluctuate, causing symptoms like irregular periods and mood changes. Shelly added she hadn't even heard of perimenopause until she found herself in hospital in 2020 to undergo an ablation – a procedure to stop persistent bleeding. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Doctors at the time told her that she might have cancer, sending her for an ultrasound. When the test proved negative, doctors told her that she must be 'stressed' and to 'take up a hobby'. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself, and didn't go and see another doctor for nine months,' she admitted. Shelly added that it was a consultation with friend and TV medico Dr Ginny Mansberg that helped her understand her experience and dispel her preconceived notions about menopause. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves,' she said. 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last 10 years... so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' Shelly has since become an ardent spokesperson on the matter, sharing her experiences at the first parliamentary round table on menopause. It was a historic moment, as it was the first time menopause had been mentioned in the Australian Parliament. She is also set to release a book this week, I'm Your Peri Godmother, detailing her experiences, as part of a continued effort to de-stigmatise the issue that millions of women deal with. It comes after Shelly shared the shock and heartbreak she felt when her doctor told her she would need to have a hysterectomy due to severe bleeding and perimenopause symptoms. 'I'm shocked at how overwhelmed and teary I feel about it' she wrote in her column for Nine Honey in 2024. Shelly, who has been married to husband Darren Robinson for over a decade, added that while she has never wanted children, she has still felt some 'grief' over losing the reproductive organ. 'I'm proudly childfree by choice, so I am furious this organ that I haven't ever needed gives me so much misery,' she wrote. 'I've joked to friends I want to sell my uterus on eBay – "One uterus. Never used. Still in box!" 'Yet, just as I laugh, I also feel a mix of anger, sadness and a sense of betrayal by my own body.' Shelly stressed that 'a uterus does not define a woman' and added her story is a 'call to action for all of us to redefine womanhood beyond biological functions.' She has been open in the past about why she doesn't want to have children with her husband, and they are perfectly content to be raising a family that includes two dogs instead. But Shelly admitted she was rattled by an email from a troll which labelled Horton as an 'obese feminist' he would like to see 'get off TV'. The full email read: 'I'm so happy you don't have kids, now just to get you off TV would be the best Christmas gift any man could ask for. Obese feminist is nothing to be proud of.' 'Trolls don't normally worry me. I get messages like that a lot as do most women in the media,' she said the following day. 'But I've been working very long hours on some big new projects, so I was tired, he got under my skin. Thank you all for being my cheer squad... felt like a warm hug. Suck on that,' she added, referring to the email's author.
