Talking Through Menopause

After 16 years of working as an NHS doctor in women’s health, Dr Naomi increasingly specialised in menopause. She realised how little training in menopause GPs receive, even though symptoms are highly treatable if you know what to do. Dr Naomi now dedicates her life to giving menopausal patients a voice, and helping them live their lives to the fullest.

How can I tell if I am perimenopausal?

Dr Naomi stresses how hard it can be to tell – especially in the early stages. It’s often an extremely gradual change, with many different symptoms. It can vary from woman-to-woman – menopause is an extremely personal experience, and everybody feels it differently. Her main advice is to remain aware of what to look out for once you enter the perimenopausal age range and seek help early if your symptoms are debilitating even if they come and go. You can head to her website for the full symptom checklist.

What can I do if I am perimenopausal?

She stresses that you might not always need medical help – there are lots of ways to relieve symptoms of menopause from the comfort of your own home. Reading ‘Menopausing’ is a great place to start if you’re unsure what to do. There are also loads of amazing resources provided by Dr Naomi on her website and Instagram channel with plenty of balanced, evidence based expert advice. Many women worry about other underlying conditions and how these may impact or be impacted by menopause. There is overlap and interaction with other conditions such as migraines, breast cancer, ADHD etc. Her team understand that every woman is unique and her doctors all have particular specialist areas of expertise. There is more information about these conditions and the impact of menopause on her website.

What is your advice for living the best life you can with menopause?

“Be kind to yourself” is the mantra Dr Naomi champions. Women juggle so much in life, from careers to families, and it’s important to have self-compassion. Ring-fencing self-care is important from exercise, diet and other lifestyle choices. to think about how your body moves and to exercise it regularly. Dr Naomi believes in the holistic approach to menopause. This is why not only does she have a team of specialist expert doctors on her team, they also provide cognitive behavioural therapy and specialist dietetic advice via online appointments and face to face. Most importantly: don’t be afraid to seek medical advice if you need to. It’s not shameful to accept extra help if you need it, and there are many compassionate voices in menopause care ready to help.

Clinics in Chiswick, Barnes, Wimbledon, Richmond and Mayfair.

For more information call 020 8164 4090 or visit www.menopausecare.co.uk 

Instagrams   @dr_naomipotter and @menopause_care