Help during the peri menopause

Most of us have our first period as children/teenagers and have to have this monthly event for most of our adult life. The only respite we may have from this monthly ‘visitor’ is during pregnancy, breast feeding or side effects of medication.  We all know the impact of this can include mood swings (anyone else crying at EastEnders?), stomach cramps and unexpected bleeding, usually when you have no supplies to hand.

So how does the monthly bleeding change during peri-menopause?

Peri-menopause symptoms can occur for 4 years on average, however this can be anything from a few months to nearly 10 years. During this time we will still have bleeding in some way. Due to the hormones oestrogen and progesterone being in flux, this may result in different bleeding patterns and symptoms.

This can result in erratic ovulation and the rest of your cycle which can result in shorter, longer cycles, missed periods or spotting in between. Other results can be heavier bleeding and more pain than usual. Alongside all the other symptoms during peri-menopause having erratic, heavy periods can be hard to manage.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, local reps can help with speaking to managers to look at identifying what reasonable adjustments can be made. For example I have worked with managers to support working at home whilst members are bleeding heavily so they are able to access change of clothes and not worrying about bleeding in the office. We can also support staff who are absent through sickness whilst they are going through these symptoms.

We can campaign to raise awareness for staff and managers to talk about how this may be impacting on them, we can ensure staff have specific risk assessments and adjustments are made if necessary. We can also campaign to ensure period products are made available to all staff in buildings. In my workplace we have many shift workers who are unable to access period products at 1:00 in the morning.

If you need support please contact your local rep. You can find their details on PCS Digital.