Being told it was menopause for three years

The stage I am at came with a lot of unsolicited opinion from other people, and this circle has been notably free of that.

Something practical: I keep two columns in my notes so that each thing gets recorded against its own story rather than in one undifferentiated list.

Bettina said something I want to sit with for a second.

I found this circle because I could not find anybody talking about both at once, and it is still the only place I have found where people do.

I would say push for a proper conversation about the interaction rather than two separate consultations that never meet.

My sleep, my mood and my appetite all changed in the same six months and I attributed all of it to the wrong cause for a while.

What helped was writing everything down and then reviewing it with somebody who knew about both, because separately neither clinician could see the pattern.

Thank you for writing this down. It helped.

The hot flushes were unrelated in my case, as it turned out, and finding that out took a specialist appointment and a lot of patience.

Something I did not expect was how much the strength side mattered at this stage. Two sessions a week has done more for how I feel than anything else.

My bone health conversation happened because I asked for it, not because it was offered, and I would encourage anybody here to ask.

The bit in the middle is the bit I needed to read.

Three things happening at once and no way to tell which was doing what. That was my whole first year and I know I am not alone in it.