BBC presenter Kirsty Wark endured a ‘hard menopause’ after ditching HRT over cancer fears – The Sun

Kirsty started HRT immediately after her hysterectomy to reduce the symptoms of menopause

NEWSNIGHT presenter Kirsty Wark has revealed the struggles she endured going through the menopause after ditching a common therapy used to treat its symptoms.

Kirsty was using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after she began her menopause at the age of 47.

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But research suggesting the therapy could increase a womans chance of breast cancer prompted Kirsty to cease the treatment, after which she suffered adifficult menopause.

Kirsty, now 62, began her menopause after having a hysterectomy.

The operation caused her body to stop producing the female sex hormone oestrogen because her ovaries, which are responsible for the secretion o the hormone, were removed.

She began HRT immediately to limit her symptoms but revealed in aBBC Scotland documentary, The Insiders Guide to the Menopause, that the cancer link made her abandon the treatment after three years.

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She said: I was on HRT for three years after my hysterectomy but stopped suddenly because of this scare.

I came off HRT and actually my symptoms have not really gone away in the last 10 years.

My main symptoms are night sweats and bad sleep patterns.

She told the Telegraph:Suddenly I had no oestrogen at all. The most disconcerting side effects were disturbed sleep and night sweats, waking up literally wrung out, with no discernible pattern to either.

I learnt to be thankful for the nights when I had a good sleep, and kept and still keep a notebook beside my bed to write things down so I dont fret about forgetting.

The tumultuous nights have persisted, though to a lesser extent.

A woman is considered to be in menopause when she has no longer had a period for 12 consecutive months meaning she is coming to the end of her reproductive years.

Symptomsusually starta few months or even years beforeperiods stop, known asthe perimenopause, andcan persist for some time afterwards.

On average, mostsymptoms last around four years from your last period.

However, around1 in every10 women experience them for up to 12 years, according to the NHS.

Symptoms:

Treatment:

Not all women want treatment to help manage their symptoms.

But for those who do, they can use hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

There are two types of HRT:

HRT is available as tablets, skin patches, a gel to rub into the skinor implants.

Source: NHS Choices

A woman is considered to be in menopause when they have not had a menstrual cycle for 12 months meaning she is coming to the end of her reproductive years.

Symptomsusually starta few months or even years beforeperiods stop, known asthe perimenopause, andcan persist for some time afterwards.

On average, mostsymptoms last around four years from your last period. However, around1 in every10 women experience them for up to 12 years, according to the NHS.

HRT is often used to treat the symptoms, including hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and reduced sex drive.

It works by replacing the hormones that are at a lower level as you approach themenopause.

A 2002 publication of the womens health initiative study in America linked HRT to breast cancer.

Other studies dating back to the 1990s have also highlighted the risk, which has left some doctors reluctant to use it sparking a 20 years debate on whether we should be using it.

BBC

In the documentary, which will air tonight, Kirstycuts through the confusion about the menopause as she says many women are still shockingly misinformed about how to actually deal with it.

She said: I want to hear from women about how detrimental that is to their lives.

Every woman goes through the menopause but there is something about the word itself which has these negative connotations of ageing and atrophy.

We need to talk about it, to deal with it as a fact of life.

I want mothers to talk to their daughters about their experience and also talk to their sons about it.

And I want men to feel they can talk to their partners about it. We have a responsibility to have those conversations.

Kirsty has now started taking HRT again after meetingDr Heather Currie, chairman of the British Menopause Society, while filming the documentary.

The Insiders Guide to the Menopause will air on BBC Two Scotland tonight at 9pm.

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BBC presenter Kirsty Wark endured a 'hard menopause' after ditching HRT over cancer fears - The Sun