and me Menopause

Zoe is 49 and was diagnosed with idiopathic PAH just over three years ago. She has recently gone through tests to confirm the start of perimenopause.

“Around 18 months ago, my already painful periods became worse. This was at the same time that I started taking selexipag [for my PH], so I assumed it was medication related. I didn’t realise it was linked to the onset of early menopause.

This progressively worsened to the point where I experienced blood clots for two consecutive months and the frequency of my periods increased to every other week. The pain was making me physically sick and once, whilst driving, I had to pull over to lay on the back seat for half an hour.

I recently had my bloods tested by my GP who confirmed that the results indicate that I am perimenopausal. I feel relieved as I can now move forward and hopefully gain the appropriate help.

I do feel disappointed too as I have yet another medical condition that will hinder me getting on and achieving what I would like to. My experience of PAH in the workplace is one of lack of support and understanding, so I would be reluctant to mention another medical condition that may impact my work.

As most of my close friends are of the same age, we all share stories and advice about menopause, and support each other.

My advice to others would be don’t wait as long as I did to seek help. Talk to others on private Facebook groups [see section 5 for details of one specifically for women with PAH]. Never suffer alone.”

DID YOU KNOW..?

If you live in England, you can access a scheme that gives you a year’s worth of HRT for the cost of two single prescription charges.

The special prepayment certificate (PPC) can be used as many times as needed over a 12-month period, and it can be used against an unlimited number of HRT items including patches, tablets, and topical preparations.

You can purchase the PPC online by scanning the QR code or visiting www.bit.ly/PPCforHRT

It can also be bought in-person at some pharmacies.