How Does This Work?

It's a question we find ourselves asking any younger person when we get a new phone, laptop or a new photocopier in the office.  The rapid pace of development in electronics is certainly partly to blame, but when we find ourselves struggling to remember how to use even familiar items it's only natural to start worrying.

Many women experience a great deal of anxiety about this symptom, fearing that it is the early onset of dementia, or that they are losing touch with reality.  It's a scary experience when you don't know what the cause is, and unfortunately this means women can put off going to the doctor about it for fear of the outcome.  For perimenopausal and menopausal women, this confusion, forgetfulness and feeling “drowned” is a symptom known as brain fog, rather than something which might be considered more nefarious.

Brain fog (sometimes called cognitive fog, or cog-fog) is a symptom of menopause which can also be found in some other chronic health conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.  It's also quite common after a stroke or brain injury, so there are many more people out there struggling with this than we might expect.  This also means there's a lot of ideas and strategies we can use to help us deal with brain fog.

A to-do list or notes on your phone only work when you actually see them, and frustratingly, brain fog can stop us remembering where we made a note of the thing we need to do!  Keeping notes in a single place can help – your phone is a good place but if you're prone to forgetting to charge it you'll need a backup.  Set a designated place for notes, like the fridge door (where you'll see it every day) or by your bed.  Post-it notes can be helpful for tasks you need to remember outside the house – stick them to the dashboard or steering wheel to remind you to get milk, pick up dry cleaning or even fetch children from after school activities.

If brain fog is affecting you at work, or in family life, consider explaining what you're experiencing.  While strategies like reminder notes can help, it's also really helpful if the people around us understand we are not losing our minds, we're just experiencing one of the common symptoms of menopause, and given that there are over 3.5 million women over the age of 50 in the workplace, you can be sure that you are not alone. If your employer isn't understanding, consider seeking the advice of employment law specialists.  While menopause is still misunderstood (or even ignored), awareness is getting better.  Davina McCall's recent TV series is just one of the ways that menopause awareness is improving, while Tena's award winning TV advert (#LastLonelyMenopause) is also pushing the boundaries.

As with many menopause and perimenopause symptoms, HRT can make a huge difference.  Most (if not all) the problematic symptoms we experience are down to dropping and fluctuating hormone levels, so if we can address that, we can see a huge difference in our symptoms and overall health.  Supplements like the MenoShake also ensure we are getting the right micronutrients to address these troubling symptoms, by including ingredients (like pine bark extract) designed to aid blood flow and brain health.  Red clover extract helps regulate mood and promotes calmness, which really helps with cognitive processing, while the range of vitamins we include helps regulate hormone action, improves brain function and helps with fatigue.

We know that access to HRT can vary greatly around the country, so if you're having problems with obtaining a prescription, give our MenoShake a go and see how much things can improve with supplements.  If you're taking HRT or thinking about it, our MenoShake still helps by supporting your body through this transition, ensuring you get the most out of your medication and your own lifestyle changes.  Happily, the MenoShake is easy to make, which is more than can be said for a new mobile phone!