At times Lynne felt like she was losing herself, as if the menopause had created some kind of fog in her brain and long covid affected the balance of her gut. But slowly, bit by bit, the clouds are clearing.
Lynne’s gut story
This episode sees retired ICU nurse turned yoga teacher Lynne join Susannah Constantine and Dr Chris George to share how the menopause and long covid had a drastic impact on her day-to-day, and how she’s finding her confidence again.
Lynne prides herself on being active and healthy, but experienced her life being turned upside down by symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, bloating and low mood.
She shares with Susannah how she lost the strength to do the most basic of things and felt she was losing control of herself. Slowly, with the support of her husband, pushing herself out of her comfort zone at the gym to rebuild strength, Lynne has started to rebuild her confidence.
Thank you, Lynne, for sharing your gut story with us.
Over to Dr Chris to explain the connection between the gut and menopause
“What we see a lot as doctors is patients mainly coming in to see us based on troublesome menopause symptoms such as brain fog, anxiety, depression, and effects on digestion. We need more research to look at the menopause and the role with the gut to determine exactly what the link is. But what we do know in menopause is that there’s a reduction in the hormones, predominately oestrogen and progesterone, and that fall in the hormones may impact the gut microbiome.”
What lifestyle actions can we take to help with menopause?
“Look at things like exercise, the role of nutrition and a healthy balanced diet, keep hydrated with water, and I’d also recommend yoga or meditation to help with anxiety symptoms which are quite common in the menopause.”
Thank you, Dr Chris.
If you have any concerns about the issues discussed here, please contact your GP for further advice and support.
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