TV’s Lisa Snowdon suffered ‘insomnia and angry rages’ during menopause

Dr Naomi Potter is a specialist menopause doctor and founder of the menopause clinic, Menopause Care.

Passionate about communicating evidence-based information, she says the biggest misconception about menopause is the symptoms. ‘You expect it to be night sweats, hot flushes and periods changing but actually, there are around 60 different symptoms,’ she says.

‘Perimenopause is the master of disguise and can present as so many different things. We have patients coming to us who have seen cardiologists, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, neurologists, orthopaedic doctors, bowel doctors etc.

‘That’s why it’s so hard for GPs. They have ten minutes and if someone comes in with palpitations, they would automatically think that it’s a heart problem and don’t necessarily put the pieces together.’ According to Dr Potter, no two women have the same menopause experience and each journey is constantly evolving.

‘Symptoms might get better, worse, or change. The only absolute certainty is that your periods will stop.

‘When you have not had a period for 12 months, that’s classed as menopause. Every decade that goes by, we will have more data, so it’s our daughters who are going to benefit from this revolution.’