Limerick woman Fiona Robinson experienced symptoms of menopause for eight years until she finally joined up the dots and now she wants to help prevent other women from making the same mistake she did.

When she was in her mid-40s, the mum of one started to feel unusually exhausted, with aches in her ankles, but put it down to age and her busy job.

She told RSVP: I would have been very active previous to this. I played basketball and I was always on the go! I was working full-time as an executive assistant and it was very busy, I spent a lot of time on the road.

Then I started having these symptoms I was exhausted, and getting out of bed in the morning was nigh-on impossible. Id put my feet on the ground and my ankles would ache. When I did get up and go to work, after Id come home Id basically just go to bed again.

Read more: Dublin woman Catriona Doyle diagnosed with two cancers after experiencing menopause symptoms

After a while, Fiona also started to experience low motivation, anxiety and hot sweats.

She said: I went to the doctor with a list of complaints, and he took bloods but they didnt show that my symptoms were connected to oestrogen depletion. We now know that bloods arent going to give you the right answer because your hormones fluctuate so much!

One day she was playing basketball and by chance, she got chatting to a woman named Loretta Dignam, who told her that she had quit her marketing job to set up a clinic called The Menopause Hub.

She was talking about the different symptoms of menopause and perimenopause and it finally clicked, Fiona admitted.

She went into The Menopause Hub, where she got seen by a doctor who prescribed hormone replacement therapy.

I couldnt believe the difference it has made. My ability to get up and do things has definitely improved, and the sore ankles and achy bones are much better.

Weight gain has been huge for me, unfortunately. That was partly down to the fact that for so long, I just had no motivation to do anything. If I did, I was so tired the day after that I decided it wasnt worth it, or I wasnt going to do it again. Im going to see a nutritionist to see if I can balance things out.

Fiona says many women out there are in a similar position to her, and dont realise or want to believe that they are going through menopause.

She added: A lot of women dont want to recognise that they are menopausal. They are like No, dont mention that, that means Im getting old!

I know someone who came out in a rash on her chest, and she had sore, dry eyes. I said Thats oestrogen depletion and she just did not want to hear it! We can be our own worst enemies.

Im 58 now and I still have bleeds. I get told I have a lovely healthy womb and Im like Yeahit can stop working now! [laughs]"

Theres also the issue that many doctors dont have much understanding of menopause.

Its like they did a one-hour tutorial on menopause and then that was it! And then there was all the bad publicity around HRT and the inaccuracies around the links to breast cancer.

I was put on anti-depressants to try to relieve my anxiety, and I stayed on them for years, when really my anxiety was down to lack of oestrogen. Hopefully doctors are getting better educated on how to treat it and deal with menopause.

Fiona is glad that menopause is less of a taboo subject than it was, and she believes that talking about it more will help women.

If we talk about it honestly, that makes a big difference, she said. Barbara Taylor M.D. has a great quote: If it was a male issue, there would be an ATM every corner an Automatic Testosterone Machine on every corner..

Sharing her advice for others, Fiona said: Dont be afraid of menopause. You cant stop it, you cant change it, its going to happen, and you should listen to the symptoms that others have had. There are so many different help groups out there now you dont have to go through it on your own.

Visit The Menopause Hub's website here for more information.

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Limerick mum says hormone replacement therapy has changed her life after menopause - RSVP Live

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