McCall is part of a wider menopause movement that is challenging the notion of “keep calm and carry on and shut up”. She added. “Women themselves until recently somehow felt they didn’t deserve this [HRT] and they felt ashamed of it and ashamed to ask for it. They felt it was a sign of weakness. And now it’s a sign of strength.” Kate Muir, producer said: “We’ve discovered making this film how much better-informed women - and their doctors - could be about hormones and the menopause. Women’s silence around the menopause needs to become a cacophony, and one day a symphony.” Everyone’s skin reacts differently – you might have no issues at all, but for many women, perimenopause means being prone to redness and spotty skin. When I turned forty, I developed adult acne out of nowhere. I had what I would call the ‘heavy-duty’ spots that never come to a head and linger like a volcano that just wouldn’t erupt, especially around the chin area.

At the time of listening, I am 45 and not experiencing any signs of being peri menopausal or menopausal. However, this book was a fantastic introduction to the topic and very easy to listen to and to understand. Davina MaCall is incredibly likable and does a great job of putting the listener at ease and telling it like it is, with plenty of giggles along the way. Things are going to come up in that documentary that people are not going to believe. And we’ll have more and more women rushing to their doctor to get on HRT,” she told the Observer. “The more we find out about what happens to your body when you lose the hormones, the more we recognise that menopause does a huge amount of damage to a woman. But it’s very repairable damage.” I really appreciate Davina McCall's dedication to breaking the silence surrounding perimenopause and menopause. She has made a significant contribution to raising awareness and inspiring women to understand their bodies better. However, while the book offers valuable insights, it fell short in a few critical areas for me. One further thing to note is that parts of this book refer specifically to dealing with the menopause in the UK, for example how it is treated by the NHS and the types of treatments that are available in the different parts of the UK. These sections will obviously be less useful to those living outside of the UK. But, there is still plenty of information in there that would apply to any person interested in learning more about the menopause. Harris, who is a member of the campaign group Menopause Mandate along with McCall and fellow broadcasters Mariella Frostrup and Penny Lancaster, called for a national formulary to increase availability.For too long, women have had to keep quiet about menopause – its onset, its symptoms, its treatments – and what it means for us. Menopausing will build an empowered, supportive community to break this terrible silence once and for all. By exploring and explaining the science, debunking damaging myths, and smashing the taboos around perimenopause and menopause, this book will equip women to make the most informed decisions about their health… and their lives. The compounded oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone worked brilliantly at first – within four days my hot flushes and palpitations disappeared forever, my memory returned and – unexpectedly – my mood lifted and my joints became supple. Oestrogen was the oil I needed in my engine, but a year later, I got a bad batch of the compounded hormone lozenges, which turned out to be from an unregulated pharmacy, and ended up having bleeding and then cervical and uterine biopsies.

Find out more about how perimenopause and menopause affect your brain, memory and mood, and how HRT can help: That’s how this book has come about. We are going to tell you the truth, so you can make an informed decision about your life and your body … mic drop.’One glaring issue I found with Menopausing is its repetitiveness. Certain points and concepts are reiterated to the point of redundancy, which I found quite tiresome in my search for new information and perspectives. For too long, women have had to keep quiet about the menopause – its onset, its symptoms, its treatments – and what it means for us. Menopausing will build an empowered, supportive community to break this terrible silence once and for all. By exploring and explaining the science, debunking damaging myths, and smashing the taboos around the perimenopause and menopause, this book will equip women to make the most informed decisions about their health… and their lives. I believe the book should perhaps have been titled "Menopausing: How HRT Can Help". Okay, that's a terrible title but something in a similar vein to reflect its heavy focus on hormone replacement therapy being the be-and-end-all solution for some women. Menopausing is more than just a book, it’s a movement. An uprising. Menopause affects every woman, and yet so many approach it with shame, fear, misinformation or silence. Why is no one talking about this? Who has the correct information? And how can we get it? That’s how this book has come about. We are going to tell you the truth, so you can make an informed decision about your life and your body … mic drop.