AuthorTeam MM

I AM GOING MAD, I AM GOING MAD, I AM GOING MAD…..I THINK I’M MAD!! This was my mantra for the last two years.

I wrote the piece below as a result of my own experience of ageing and the menopause. I started the menopause relatively young at 46 and although it came with its challenges, I also gradually came to see how it also came with many more gifts. Since my menopause I have found that I am more comfortable in my own skin; I no longer feel the need for external validation and feel sensual rather than sexy.

I am 50 years old and a solicitor partner in a small legal aid practice specialising in social welfare law, specifically housing. I had IVF treatment years ago and it was not successful so I have no children. I carry a lot of sadness about being childless so as you can imagine the concept of menopause emphasises that feeling.

I had a very similar experience to Meg’s in that four years ago I started having very strange symptoms that I put down to the menopause but just got shooed out of my doctor’s surgery as a bit of a hypochondriac.

I am 58 (gah!) and my menopause is in its second decade! Hurrah! Like Meg, I had never been debilitated by periods, not particularly heavy flows and free from the pain that some of my school friends, colleagues, girlfriends and even daughter have had to endure.

I live in Hertfordshire where I work, write and look after my husband and two teenage children. My career background is special event management and PR support, but I have been working as a part-time administrator in a primary school for the past few years which accommodates family life better and gives me a few extra precious hours to write creatively.