MP Harris states in her interview that her medical team and a lot of women are never able to “put together the dots” when severe mood changes occur around the time of menopause.

Her depression began in 2010, which is over 20 years after the tragic loss of her child. She began having continuous bleeding for about 6 months and was becoming so anemic she was passing out on her office floor.

After her surgery, which was ultimately found due to benign uterine tumors called fibroids, she stopped having periods and went into menopause. But she was not being treated for her other menopause symptoms. In fact she received no treatment other than antidepressants, even though she was having hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, body aches and fatigue in addition to her depression.

The point is clear: menopause often goes undiagnosed by both patients and their healthcare team. And that fact that she was a Member of Parliament and her work was being affected did not prevent her from being treated for only one of her symptoms while the others as well as the root cause were completely undiagnosed. In fact, she was initially of the belief that she had “sailed through” menopause.

One day, “as if a light bulb went of,” she realized, “my God, I’m on the menopause.”  At that time she finally began treatment with Hormone Therapy (HT) that included estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Almost instantly she began feeling much better and is now weaning off the antidepressants. But this post isn’t about HT, there are other treatments for menopause symptoms. It is about the fact that untreated menopause symptoms in the workplace affect work-related health at all levels of society, and cause treatable problems for women at work and at home.

The UK is now trying to lower the cost of estrogen and increase its availability as it is in short supply there.

If you want to know more about how menopause can affect women in the workplace, Click Here to discover Working Through Menopause: It’s Impact on Women, Businesses and the Bottom Line.