0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:03 > 0:00:07- Yes, this is a series - about the menopause.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11- Don't dare switch channels, - because it affects us all.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14- Yes, men too.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18- I'm 53.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22- I should be prepared. - But I have no idea what to expect.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- I'm determined to find out more.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- How do women react to it?
0:00:29 > 0:00:31- I feel I've joined a club.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- What are the available treatments?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38- What are the available treatments?- - I told the doctor...
0:00:38 > 0:00:42- "..Take me off HRT and it'll - be your fault if I kill someone."
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- How do women all over the world - deal with it?
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- Oh. Lovely.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51- This thing, - the change, the menopause.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53- Don't put that in!
0:00:54 > 0:00:55- I can't say.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02- Whatever you call it, - I'm determined to understand it.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- What do you call it? - The change, the menopause?
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- I haven't heard - a sensible Welsh word for it.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22- It's time ask one of our girls.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25- What do they call it?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- The English word, sadly.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30- Going through the change.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32- Going through the change.- - I don't know.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38- I thought of a Welsh term - for hot flushes in bed last night.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43- That's what came over me, too, - about sixteen times!
0:01:45 > 0:01:49- The term I thought of was - "crazy heat." That's what happens.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- What does it say in the dictionary?
0:02:00 > 0:02:02- "End of menstruation."
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- I haven't heard that.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07- Blimey!
0:02:08 > 0:02:10- What the hell is that?
0:02:17 > 0:02:19- Yes, it flows.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21- Well no, actually.
0:02:22 > 0:02:23- What?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- Say it again?!
0:02:26 > 0:02:28- "End of menstruation."
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- "End of menstruation."- - Right. It makes sense.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- That's what happens.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- What about "the end of an era" then?
0:02:39 > 0:02:40- Ugh!
0:02:40 > 0:02:45- I thought you were going to say - "the end of life!" Perhaps it is.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- Sounds clumsy.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- Oh, my goodness! Really? - "The end of an era?!"
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- It makes me feel flippin' older.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58- I don't like it. - I'd rather say menopause.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- Men-on-pause.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- I'm finished.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08- That's horrible. - I don't like that term.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13- It might have been true - centuries ago, but not now.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21- It sounds like something - you'd hear in a funeral.
0:03:21 > 0:03:27- Oh, no. That's worse, if anything. - Anything else?
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- "Change of life."
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- It is life changing, - that's for sure.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42- That isn't right, either.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- It was "a change of life" - when my husband told me...
0:03:46 > 0:03:48- ..he'd fallen for someone else.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54- This is about adapting. - No more than that.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- I don't like it. There are - many things that are life changing.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06- I feel like saying, - "Hooray, they're finished!"
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- I can face new challenges - at a different time of my life.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- It isn't the start of a new life.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- Isn't there a medical term?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24- There is. "Climacteric."
0:04:25 > 0:04:26- What?!
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- Let's stop there.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- Menopause is a Greek word.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- "Men" stands for month, - and "pause" for stop or wait.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- We'll use menopause on this series.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57- We'll glimpse the experiences - of women from different cultures...
0:04:58 > 0:05:02- Today, - the moon shines on other women.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- It's not our problem now.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- ..the menopause - from the standpoint of history...
0:05:11 > 0:05:16- It's easy for a man to say, "I - know how to improve your behaviour.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20- "You'll lose your womb, - and lose everything else as well.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- "But you'll behave better."
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- ..the different treatments, - a little psychology...
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- ..and society's attitudes - with all sorts of experts.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- Hormone Replacement Therapy.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42- She's going through the menopause. - That's why she's angry.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47- The skin in the womb and - around the clitoris changes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49- It's more sensitive than it was.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- There's pressure on us - to look good...
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- ..and sexy...
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- ..until we're ninety.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11- But first, what do people - know about "this thing"?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- So I set off, like some - sort of menopause missionary...
0:06:15 > 0:06:19- ..to find out what - you know about the menopause.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22- I've never heard about it.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23- I've never heard about it.- - Should I know?
0:06:24 > 0:06:25- No.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26- No.- - Yes.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- What does the menopause mean to you?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- Nothing!
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- It happens when women get older.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- Women go through it, - and they go crazy.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- Everything goes hot.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Hot and cold!
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- He hasn't reached it yet!
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- I knew what was going on.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07- I'm sure a lot of young people - don't understand at all.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- Serious, you want me to tell you?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- What did my mother say?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18- It's when periods stop.
0:07:18 > 0:07:19- It's when periods stop.- - Anything else?
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- Are they happier? I hope so!
0:07:25 > 0:07:29- I didn't know what to expect. - I searched online.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34- I didn't realize - it would last this long.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- I don't know anything about it.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- Did you know about the menopause - when you were younger?
0:07:44 > 0:07:49- I learnt quickly enough, - when I started to go through it!
0:07:49 > 0:07:50- Nothing at all.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52- Do you know anyone who's had it?
0:07:52 > 0:07:53- Do you know anyone who's had it?- - No.
0:07:57 > 0:07:57- Sweating a lot.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00- Sweating a lot.- - I hope it's a long way off!
0:08:00 > 0:08:02- I know a little about it.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06- Hot flushes...
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- ..and mood swings.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- I have a wife, - so we'll leave it at that!
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Oh, no. I'm not married.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- They can get depressed.
0:08:26 > 0:08:32- The menopause is important - to a lot of people...
0:08:32 > 0:08:34- ..not just to the woman.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- I haven't been a woman, - and I don't want to be one.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- I don't know what they feel.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Well, not bad.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50- I'm not the only one who needs - to learn about the menopause.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- That's why - I wanted to do the series.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- To be honest, it all started...
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- ..when I appeared in a programme - about returning to Nigeria.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- I saw former pupils - for the first time in 25 years.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- I didn't think I'd see them again. - I cried a lot.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- OK, finish now.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- When the series was broadcast...
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- ..someone said - that I was menopausal.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20- I was quite angry.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- Menopausal? That was emotion!
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- Haven't I got the right to cry?
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- That made me cross.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- The fact someone - called me menopausal angered me.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39- Why did it make me angry? - It's not a negative thing.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42- It's completely natural.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- The fact of the matter is...
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- ..if you're menopausal - it means you're getting older.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51- They more or less said I was old.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56- Growing old is natural, too. - It happens to us all.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- The menopause happens to us all.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- I didn't know enough - about the menopause.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- In fact, I knew nothing.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- What exactly is the menopause?
0:10:07 > 0:10:09- Why doesn't anyone talk about it...
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- ..make us think about it - and discuss it...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- ..and things like that.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17- I've dried up now. Oh, god!
0:10:21 > 0:10:26- Coming up, what happens - to our bodies during the menopause?
0:10:30 > 0:10:30- .
0:10:33 > 0:10:33- Subtitles
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- Look at this. - It's the inside of a woman's body.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47- I haven't seen it in 3D before. I - remember drawing pictures in school.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- We learnt about growing up...
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- ..and how our hormones would change.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58- Later, if we wanted babies, - we found out everything.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01- There was a load of stuff to read.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06- But what happens to a woman's body - during the menopause?
0:11:09 > 0:11:13- During the years - leading up to the last period...
0:11:13 > 0:11:17- ..the main hormone, oestrogen...
0:11:17 > 0:11:19- ..becomes unpredictable.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- By the last period...
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- ..the oestrogen levels are very low.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31- This unpredictable hormone - produces unpleasant symptoms.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- HOT FLUSHES
0:11:36 > 0:11:37- Flush.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44- I've suffered from hot flushes - for three to four years.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- They're not showing - any signs of going away.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- They come from nowhere.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- I'd be sweating buckets - while serving a customer.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03- When I'm embarrassed, - and feel myself blushing...
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- ..I think, 'Oh, my goodness.'
0:12:05 > 0:12:08- People think - I'm losing my marbles.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13- At night, I'd walk round - and wait for the bed to cool down.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- I was so hot!
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- The words that came out were - "Hot, hot, hot!"
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- I threw the duvet off.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- I'd get up several times a night - to dry myself with a towel.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31- I'd go downstairs, - open the back door...
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- ..and stand there, naked, - wishing it would snow...
0:12:36 > 0:12:38- ..so I could roll in it!
0:12:39 > 0:12:44- I can feel it from my toes, - coming up.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- I can't do anything about it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- I hope it won't last a long time.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- It's a blinkin' nuisance.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01- EMOTION
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- I feel I'm going nuts sometimes.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- It's a bit frightening.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10- SCREAMS
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- Then I tell myself it's my age.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- Then I tell myself it's my age.- - I felt a lot more emotional.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- It's ending now, thank goodness.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23- I was definitely more emotional.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- I'm quite low most of the time.
0:13:29 > 0:13:35- It takes an effort - to leave the house.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41- My boyfriend says my brains - is like Swiss cheese...
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- ..full of holes.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- UNWANTED HAIR
0:13:48 > 0:13:51- There are women that I know well...
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- ..who sit there...
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- ..with moustaches.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- The answer is more - than one tweezers.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05- Use your tweezers.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Good tweezers are a godsend.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15- They look like Lloyd George in drag. - What's the point of that?
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- I feel like shaving them.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- You don't have to let yourself go.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- MENSTRUATION
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- The first sign was a missed period.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- Then, when I had them, - they were very heavy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- That was horrible, - especially if I was out somewhere.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- There was no warning.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- I had to find a shop...
0:14:54 > 0:14:58- ..to buy underwear, - because they were soaking.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- I put newspapers on the car seat, - just in case.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- I went through three pairs - of trousers and two shorts...
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- ..in a few hours - because the bleeding was so heavy.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15- The periods can change.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20- We might assume - they'll be less regular.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25- But they can become more regular, - which can be confusing and worrying.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- Because the hormones - are all over the place...
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- ..the bleeding can be irregular.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34- That isn't uncommon.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- I googled the symptoms of - the menopause. It's frightening.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- I feel better, after googling it.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49- I could see similarities - with what I was experiencing.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54- I decided not to worry - because I knew it would pass.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- But oddly...
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- ..not everyone has symptoms.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13- My periods ended and I thought - this must be the menopause.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- I didn't have a test or anything. - I carried on with my life.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- I had no trouble at all.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31- I gained a lot of weight. But maybe - that's because I like chocolate.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- I had no flushes, or any of - the symptoms people talked about.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46- I've never had any symptoms. I'm - sure people will be annoyed with me.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Perhaps they're yet to come!
0:16:54 > 0:16:56- Who knows?!
0:16:57 > 0:17:02- The symptoms weren't extreme. - It was uncomfortable.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- I'm sure women suffer - a lot more than me.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- Extremely uncomfortable.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14- Perhaps that's why - we don't like to talk about it.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- Is the menopause taboo?
0:17:17 > 0:17:21- We shouldn't be embarrassed. - Perhaps some people are.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27- It happens to women - of a certain age.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34- People don't want to show - they've reached that age.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- There's no need to be - embarrassed about it.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44- It's never mentioned on - the television, radio or newspapers.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49- Is it talked about in schools? - That's where we should start.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- It would help if we all knew - about it, so it wouldn't be taboo.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- People would feel - they could talk about it.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01- People find it awkward to discuss.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- It's personal to me. - We're all different.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- People avoid talking about it.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12- Because they're getting old!
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Because they're getting old!- - It's embarrassing.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17- It isn't taboo.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- It isn't taboo.- - We should talk more about it.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- A lot of women go through it...
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- ..without knowing what's happening - to their minds and bodies.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- I think you're doing - the right thing, love.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34- It isn't taboo.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- We have better things - to talk about...
0:18:38 > 0:18:43- ..like going to Bala or Caernarfon - on Saturday nights...
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- ..or to the rugby, or the Cnapan.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- Who wants to discuss the menopause?
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Years ago, - it was brushed under the carpet.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- "Ssh. - She's going through the change."
0:18:59 > 0:19:02- Mam never mentioned it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07- When we were children, - we had a village shop.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11- We took a list to buy things there.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- One of the things we went to get...
0:19:15 > 0:19:20- ..were STs, wrapped in newspaper.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- We didn't know what they were.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- I found out later.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- The embarrassment has gone.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34- People don't use the word menopause. - It's always "women's problems."
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- I don't feel, - "Great, we can discuss it now.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43- "Let's talk about the menopause - all the time over a coffee."
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- I'm happy to discuss it, - and so is my husband.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- We've been quite open about it.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- If I disappeared on a night out...
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- ..he'd say to friends - that I needed fresh air...
0:19:56 > 0:19:59- ..because I was having a flush.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- I feel I've joined a club.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07- It's nice to talk about it - with friends.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- The shop is like a consulting room.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16- We share our problems. - There's something healthy about it.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20- We've moved on enough - to discuss these things.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24- In my time...
0:20:24 > 0:20:28- ..we talked about it - with women of the same age.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- It's more common to talk - about it now.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- People, in general, are more open.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40- None of my close friends - have ever discussed it.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- Perhaps they were embarrassed - about it.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- I think women - are embarrassed about it.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53- They don't want to talk about it.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59- It is the end of an era, - there's no doubt about that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- One door closes, and another opens.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07- Some women can't open - the other door.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- They feel they're old, - they can't have more children.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- They get depressed.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20- They should think, - 'That's finished. Lovely jubbly.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- 'Let's open this door - so I can live my life.'
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- As a society, we find it difficult - to discuss physical things.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- The menopause is like that.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45- It affects - half the population directly...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- ..and the other half indirectly.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- It can make it - more difficult to discuss.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- Women can be quite open about it.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- It's harder to discuss it - with the family...
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- ..especially if - there are young men present.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09- The more it's talked about, - the better it is.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14- I'd encourage people - to be more open about it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- It's high time we talked about this.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21- What have I learnt so far?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Our symptoms are different.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- Some go through it - without any symptoms.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32- I wonder how I will be?
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- In the next programme...
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- ..a little history, - and how we can help ourselves.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01- S4C Subtitles by Gwead
0:23:01 > 0:23:01- .