A WOMAN has told how she has been trapped in her home for a year by crippling perimenopausal symptoms.

Angela Hamilton has had to quit her university course and put her life on hold as she copes with a myriad of symptoms which include daily heart palpitations, migraines, severe anxiety, mood swings, insomnia and hot flushes.

Doctors have diagnosed the 42-year-old as perimenopausal, but her age and hormone levels mean that she doesn’t qualify for hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Perimenopause refers to the time during which the body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. Also called the menopausal transition, it can occur up to 10 years before the onset of the menopause itself. 

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Angela is now planning to petition the Scottish Government to offer more help to women facing a similar struggle.

She exclusively told the Glasgow Times: “There’s a history of early menopause in my family and I’ve been experiencing perimenopause since 2014.

“Things are so bad that I’ve been unable to go outside for a year because the pain is so debilitating. It’s taken over everything and some days it’s a struggle just to get out of bed.

“I’ve had to give up my health and social care course because my memory is badly affected. Living like this is taking a massive toll on me. I’m stuck in limbo and this condition has gradually taken over every aspect of my life.

“Too many women like me are suffering in silence and that needs to change. Basically, because of my age, I can’t get access to HRT. My hormones are all over the place and I’ve gone from being outgoing and bubbly to stuck at home feeling unwell every day. I'm struggling to cope and my fear is it will only get worse.

Glasgow Times:

Angela is calling on doctors to remove the need for follicle-stimulating hormone blood tests in women aged 40 to 45. She hopes it will be put forward for consideration by the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee.

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The average length of perimenopause is four years, but for some women this stage may last a few months - or continue for upwards of 10 years. Perimenopause ends when women have gone 12 months without having their period.

Angela, from Cumbernauld, believes support needs to be made accessible and more readily available.

She adds: “My hormone levels fluctuate daily, and the blood test is only based on that one day. This can prevent a lot of women from being able to access HRT.

“That’s why I intend to open the petition as I know hundreds of other women feel the same way. There isn’t enough being done for women in their forties who are perimenopausal. Testing hormone levels isn’t easy because it doesn’t capture what’s been going on in the previous weeks and months. There has to be a better way of helping women who are suffering pain daily. 

“For me personally, things are so bad that I’ve had to be taken to hospital because my heart rate was so high - I thought I was having a cardiac arrest at one point. It was very scary and I feel like I'm always on edge.

"I know from the support group I’ve joined that I’m not alone and that's why I'm determined to get this campaign all the way to Holyrood."