Women are waiting up to a YEAR before GP spots menopause: Most patients visit doctor several times with symptoms before they are diagnosed, study finds
- Study has found most women visit GP for a year before getting menopause help
- The survey of more than 5,000 women said 15 per cent saw their GP for six years
- Symptoms include sweating, low moods, anxiety, memory problems or joint pain
Most women are forced to visit their GP several times with symptoms of the menopause before they are diagnosed, a study found.
The survey of more than 5,000 women showed three-quarters suffered symptoms such as hot flushes for a year before they were given help.
A total of 15 per cent said this had been the case for over six years.
Study found most women visit their GP for a year with menopause symptoms before diagnosis
Around 70 per cent of those in the poll were aged 45 to 55 and most of those had experienced sweating, low moods, anxiety, memory problems, brain fog or joint pains.
Menopause symptoms can occur years before a woman’s periods stop – known as the perimenopause.
The survey was carried out for menopause expert Dr Louise Newson, who has worked with TV host Davina McCall, 53, on raising awareness of what women go through.
It showed that 79 per cent of women had visited a GP with symptoms and 7 per cent attended more than ten times before receiving the right help or advice.
Of the women who were treated, 37 per cent received hormone replacement therapy
Of those who underwent treatment, 37 per cent received hormone replacement therapy and 23 per cent antidepressants.
Dr Newson, of Newson Health Research And Education, said doctors were now learning more about managing the menopause, adding: ‘This can’t come soon enough for women who are struggling.’