‘It’s my next phase of life and I don’t want to fear it’: Holly Willoughby, 40, says she plans to ‘educate’ herself on menopause in chat with Lisa Snowdon, 49, who details ‘debilitating’ symptoms
Holly Willoughby revealed she wants to ‘educate’ herself on menopause in a candid chat with Lisa Snowdon on Wednesday’s This Morning.
The presenter, 40, told how she wants to ‘go in it without feeling fearful’ and that she plans to do that by listening to other women and hearing their stories.
During the segment Holly was joined by Lisa, 49, who detailed her ‘debilitating’ symptoms, as well as GP and renowned menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson.
Honest: Holly Willoughby revealed she wants to ‘educate’ herself on menopause in a candid chat with Lisa Snowdon on Wednesday’s This Morning
At the start of the conversation Holly explained: ‘So I am sitting here like a sponge, this is my next phase of life, this is coming to me and I want to go into this without being fearful.
‘I think the best way of doing that is to listen to other women, hear the stories, educate myself and learn.’
She continued: ‘I think this is a really important conversation that we are just going to begin today and that we are absolutely going to continue.
‘Already the response to this has been huge so there are a lot of women out there that have questions…it affects half the population and not many people know enough about it.’
Candid: During the segment Holly was joined by Lisa, 49, who detailed her ‘debilitating’ symptoms, as well as GP and renowned menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson
Lisa, who turns 50 later this month, is passionate about sharing her experience of menopause and also joined Dr Newson to explain the physical and mental impact it has had on her.
Lisa said: ‘I started about eight years ago 42… I didn’t even know what the perimenopause was! I knew about the menopause – ish – but at school you learn about your periods, puberty, pregnancy, but never was perimenopause or menopause mentioned, so I was completely in the dark and I thought it would happen many, many years in the future.
‘But looking back I think the first symptoms were this depression and anxiety, this feeling of being completely out of control and things I’d usually do every day, I couldn’t do, it just felt very strange, I just couldn’t process things.
Chat: The presenter, 40, told how she wants to ‘go in it without feeling fearful’ and that she plans to do that by listening to other women and hearing their stories
‘And then your menstrual cycle starts changing and becomes really erratic, so some months you just don’t have a period and the next few months you don’t stop bleeding and it’s so heavy and so debilitating you cannot leave the house.’
She continued: ‘You can’t go to work for fear of just bleeding everywhere, just awful. And the pain and anxiety that goes with it.. And the depression.
‘I went to see a gynaecologist and it was never mentioned , ‘Could you be perimenopausal?’ So when I was 42 the doctor prescribed antidepressants and I took them for about six months, but I just knew it wasn’t what I needed.
Taboo: Lisa, who turns 50 later this month, is passionate about sharing her experience of menopause and also joined Dr Newson to explain the physical and mental impact it had on her
‘And I was getting these rages out of nowhere, uncontrollable over emotional rages and my poor partner George, he was just like, ‘What is going on?’…’
Revealing why she wanted to speak about it on the show, Lisa said, ‘I just had the thought of other women suffering and not recognising themselves, giving up work, breaking up with their partners, just not wanting to be here anymore because it is just miserable, so this is amazing what you’re doing, we have to talk about this.
‘You said it affects 50% of the global population the men in our lives get affected to… the younger generation need to know, men need to know, people at work need to know, it needs to be talked about it can’t be taboo anymore and HRT was demonised for so long – it is safe to take.’
It comes after last month Lisa revealed her fiancé George Smart, 41, has been a rock through her menopause and they are happy to not have kids.
The star candidly said in an interview that ‘kids are amazing and enrich your life, but let’s be honest, there are enough kids in the world.’
She also explained that George was ‘patient and kind’ to her during the menopause when she would have ‘crazy rages’ and fly ‘off the handle’.
Speaking to The Sun, Lisa revealed that hormone replacement therapy and the support of her partner allowed her to be ‘the happiest’ she has ever been.
Sweet: It comes after last month Lisa revealed her fiancé George Smart, 41, has been a rock through her menopause and they are happy to not have kids
She continued: ‘Some days I couldn’t get out of bed because of debilitating bleeding during my monthly cycle but George would just hold me, and tell me everything would be OK.
‘There were periods when my clothes didn’t fit me and I felt really down. When you’re in the thick of it you think it will never end. Why am I angry, over-emotional — you just don’t know what is going on. George was there for me every step of the way — I’ve really lucked out with him.’
Lisa went on to share her feelings around children and revealed even though she loves her sister’s children she is happy to hand them back at the end of the day.
The star admitted there’s ‘too much screaming’ but she enjoys watching ‘them grow’ – while George said he didn’t feel he was ‘missing out’ by not having children with Lisa.
MENOPAUSE EXPLAINED
The menopause occurs when a woman stops having periods and can no longer fall pregnant naturally.
It is a natural part of ageing, which occurs in women between 45 and 55 years old.
However 1 in 100 women can experience menopause before the age of 40, which is known as premature menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency.
Symptoms often include hot flushes, night sweats, low mood, reduced sex drive, vaginal dryness, an increase in facial hair and difficulty sleeping.
According to NHS advice, symptoms can begin months or even years before your periods stop and last around four years after your last period.
Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases, there’s no clear cause.
Source: NHS
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