Gibraltar Conference Raises Awareness of Menopause

First published in the Gibraltar Chronicle - Monday 30th May 2022

A half-day conference held by Vitality 40 Plus’ Trudi Roscouet recently raised awareness of menopause and its symptoms.

Ms Roscouet decided to launch her business and awareness campaign when she became menopausal at 50 and found she really didn’t know much about it.

She researched online and when she spoke to friends, she found many women were not taught about the menopause.

The conference held at the Sunborn Hotel, bid to raise awareness for both men and women.

She highlighted the need for partners and men in the workplace to understand the menopause.

Ms Roscouet told attendees the national average age for menopause was 51, with symptoms lasting up to 10 years.

A major factor on what age a woman will become menopausal is their genetics, and she recommended women to have open conversations with their mothers and sisters.

Understanding how menopause affected women in the family and at what ages, could be a helpful indicator, she described.

There are 34 symptoms all in all, Ms Roscouet listed this could include sleepless nights, mood swings, memory loss or brain fog, and weight change.

Oestrogen, the female sex hormone, fluctuates heavily during the perimenopause stage, when the body makes the natural transition to menopause.

Oestrogen, she added, controls the menstrual cycle, weight management, bone density, skin elasticity, heart disease, memory functions, metabolism and sleep.

During the years this hormone is in flux, women will suffer symptoms including heart palpitations and hot flashes.

Ms Roscouet described how heart disease is the number one killer of women, as when oestrogen drops this increases the risk of the coronary arteries narrowing.

The conference was sponsored by Lottoland, William Hill and Sovereign Trust (Gibraltar) Limited.