Pennod 1 Bethan Gwanas: Y Menopos a Fi

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-Yes, this is a series

-about the menopause.

-Don't dare switch channels,

-because it affects us all.

-Yes, men too.

-I'm 53.

-I should be prepared.

-But I have no idea what to expect.

-I'm determined to find out more.

-How do women react to it?

-I feel I've joined a club.

-What are the available treatments?

-What are the available treatments?

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-I told the doctor...

-"..Take me off HRT and it'll

-be your fault if I kill someone."

-How do women all over the world

-deal with it?

-Oh. Lovely.

-This thing,

-the change, the menopause.

-Don't put that in!

-I can't say.

-Whatever you call it,

-I'm determined to understand it.

-What do you call it?

-The change, the menopause?

-I haven't heard

-a sensible Welsh word for it.

-It's time ask one of our girls.

-What do they call it?

-The English word, sadly.

-Going through the change.

-Going through the change.

-

-I don't know.

-I thought of a Welsh term

-for hot flushes in bed last night.

-That's what came over me, too,

-about sixteen times!

-The term I thought of was

-"crazy heat." That's what happens.

-What does it say in the dictionary?

-"End of menstruation."

-I haven't heard that.

-Blimey!

-What the hell is that?

-Yes, it flows.

-Well no, actually.

-What?

-Say it again?!

-"End of menstruation."

-"End of menstruation."

-

-Right. It makes sense.

-That's what happens.

-What about "the end of an era" then?

-Ugh!

-I thought you were going to say

-"the end of life!" Perhaps it is.

-Sounds clumsy.

-Oh, my goodness! Really?

-"The end of an era?!"

-It makes me feel flippin' older.

-I don't like it.

-I'd rather say menopause.

-Men-on-pause.

-I'm finished.

-That's horrible.

-I don't like that term.

-It might have been true

-centuries ago, but not now.

-It sounds like something

-you'd hear in a funeral.

-Oh, no. That's worse, if anything.

-Anything else?

-"Change of life."

-It is life changing,

-that's for sure.

-That isn't right, either.

-It was "a change of life"

-when my husband told me...

-..he'd fallen for someone else.

-This is about adapting.

-No more than that.

-I don't like it. There are

-many things that are life changing.

-I feel like saying,

-"Hooray, they're finished!"

-I can face new challenges

-at a different time of my life.

-It isn't the start of a new life.

-Isn't there a medical term?

-There is. "Climacteric."

-What?!

-Let's stop there.

-Menopause is a Greek word.

-"Men" stands for month,

-and "pause" for stop or wait.

-We'll use menopause on this series.

-We'll glimpse the experiences

-of women from different cultures...

-Today,

-the moon shines on other women.

-It's not our problem now.

-..the menopause

-from the standpoint of history...

-It's easy for a man to say, "I

-know how to improve your behaviour.

-"You'll lose your womb,

-and lose everything else as well.

-"But you'll behave better."

-..the different treatments,

-a little psychology...

-..and society's attitudes

-with all sorts of experts.

-Hormone Replacement Therapy.

-She's going through the menopause.

-That's why she's angry.

-The skin in the womb and

-around the clitoris changes.

-It's more sensitive than it was.

-There's pressure on us

-to look good...

-..and sexy...

-..until we're ninety.

-But first, what do people

-know about "this thing"?

-So I set off, like some

-sort of menopause missionary...

-..to find out what

-you know about the menopause.

-I've never heard about it.

-I've never heard about it.

-

-Should I know?

-No.

-No.

-

-Yes.

-What does the menopause mean to you?

-Nothing!

-It happens when women get older.

-Women go through it,

-and they go crazy.

-Everything goes hot.

-Hot and cold!

-He hasn't reached it yet!

-I knew what was going on.

-I'm sure a lot of young people

-don't understand at all.

-Serious, you want me to tell you?

-What did my mother say?

-It's when periods stop.

-It's when periods stop.

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-Anything else?

-Are they happier? I hope so!

-I didn't know what to expect.

-I searched online.

-I didn't realize

-it would last this long.

-I don't know anything about it.

-Did you know about the menopause

-when you were younger?

-I learnt quickly enough,

-when I started to go through it!

-Nothing at all.

-Do you know anyone who's had it?

-Do you know anyone who's had it?

-

-No.

-Sweating a lot.

-Sweating a lot.

-

-I hope it's a long way off!

-I know a little about it.

-Hot flushes...

-..and mood swings.

-I have a wife,

-so we'll leave it at that!

-Oh, no. I'm not married.

-They can get depressed.

-The menopause is important

-to a lot of people...

-..not just to the woman.

-I haven't been a woman,

-and I don't want to be one.

-I don't know what they feel.

-Well, not bad.

-I'm not the only one who needs

-to learn about the menopause.

-That's why

-I wanted to do the series.

-To be honest, it all started...

-..when I appeared in a programme

-about returning to Nigeria.

-I saw former pupils

-for the first time in 25 years.

-I didn't think I'd see them again.

-I cried a lot.

-OK, finish now.

-When the series was broadcast...

-..someone said

-that I was menopausal.

-I was quite angry.

-Menopausal? That was emotion!

-Haven't I got the right to cry?

-That made me cross.

-The fact someone

-called me menopausal angered me.

-Why did it make me angry?

-It's not a negative thing.

-It's completely natural.

-The fact of the matter is...

-..if you're menopausal

-it means you're getting older.

-They more or less said I was old.

-Growing old is natural, too.

-It happens to us all.

-The menopause happens to us all.

-I didn't know enough

-about the menopause.

-In fact, I knew nothing.

-What exactly is the menopause?

-Why doesn't anyone talk about it...

-..make us think about it

-and discuss it...

-..and things like that.

-I've dried up now. Oh, god!

-Coming up, what happens

-to our bodies during the menopause?

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-Look at this.

-It's the inside of a woman's body.

-I haven't seen it in 3D before. I

-remember drawing pictures in school.

-We learnt about growing up...

-..and how our hormones would change.

-Later, if we wanted babies,

-we found out everything.

-There was a load of stuff to read.

-But what happens to a woman's body

-during the menopause?

-During the years

-leading up to the last period...

-..the main hormone, oestrogen...

-..becomes unpredictable.

-By the last period...

-..the oestrogen levels are very low.

-This unpredictable hormone

-produces unpleasant symptoms.

-HOT FLUSHES

-Flush.

-I've suffered from hot flushes

-for three to four years.

-They're not showing

-any signs of going away.

-They come from nowhere.

-I'd be sweating buckets

-while serving a customer.

-When I'm embarrassed,

-and feel myself blushing...

-..I think, 'Oh, my goodness.'

-People think

-I'm losing my marbles.

-At night, I'd walk round

-and wait for the bed to cool down.

-I was so hot!

-The words that came out were

-"Hot, hot, hot!"

-I threw the duvet off.

-I'd get up several times a night

-to dry myself with a towel.

-I'd go downstairs,

-open the back door...

-..and stand there, naked,

-wishing it would snow...

-..so I could roll in it!

-I can feel it from my toes,

-coming up.

-I can't do anything about it.

-I hope it won't last a long time.

-It's a blinkin' nuisance.

-EMOTION

-I feel I'm going nuts sometimes.

-It's a bit frightening.

-SCREAMS

-Then I tell myself it's my age.

-Then I tell myself it's my age.

-

-I felt a lot more emotional.

-It's ending now, thank goodness.

-I was definitely more emotional.

-I'm quite low most of the time.

-It takes an effort

-to leave the house.

-My boyfriend says my brains

-is like Swiss cheese...

-..full of holes.

-UNWANTED HAIR

-There are women that I know well...

-..who sit there...

-..with moustaches.

-The answer is more

-than one tweezers.

-Use your tweezers.

-Good tweezers are a godsend.

-They look like Lloyd George in drag.

-What's the point of that?

-I feel like shaving them.

-You don't have to let yourself go.

-MENSTRUATION

-The first sign was a missed period.

-Then, when I had them,

-they were very heavy.

-That was horrible,

-especially if I was out somewhere.

-There was no warning.

-I had to find a shop...

-..to buy underwear,

-because they were soaking.

-I put newspapers on the car seat,

-just in case.

-I went through three pairs

-of trousers and two shorts...

-..in a few hours

-because the bleeding was so heavy.

-The periods can change.

-We might assume

-they'll be less regular.

-But they can become more regular,

-which can be confusing and worrying.

-Because the hormones

-are all over the place...

-..the bleeding can be irregular.

-That isn't uncommon.

-I googled the symptoms of

-the menopause. It's frightening.

-I feel better, after googling it.

-I could see similarities

-with what I was experiencing.

-I decided not to worry

-because I knew it would pass.

-But oddly...

-..not everyone has symptoms.

-My periods ended and I thought

-this must be the menopause.

-I didn't have a test or anything.

-I carried on with my life.

-I had no trouble at all.

-I gained a lot of weight. But maybe

-that's because I like chocolate.

-I had no flushes, or any of

-the symptoms people talked about.

-I've never had any symptoms. I'm

-sure people will be annoyed with me.

-Perhaps they're yet to come!

-Who knows?!

-The symptoms weren't extreme.

-It was uncomfortable.

-I'm sure women suffer

-a lot more than me.

-Extremely uncomfortable.

-Perhaps that's why

-we don't like to talk about it.

-Is the menopause taboo?

-We shouldn't be embarrassed.

-Perhaps some people are.

-It happens to women

-of a certain age.

-People don't want to show

-they've reached that age.

-There's no need to be

-embarrassed about it.

-It's never mentioned on

-the television, radio or newspapers.

-Is it talked about in schools?

-That's where we should start.

-It would help if we all knew

-about it, so it wouldn't be taboo.

-People would feel

-they could talk about it.

-People find it awkward to discuss.

-It's personal to me.

-We're all different.

-People avoid talking about it.

-Because they're getting old!

-Because they're getting old!

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-It's embarrassing.

-It isn't taboo.

-It isn't taboo.

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-We should talk more about it.

-A lot of women go through it...

-..without knowing what's happening

-to their minds and bodies.

-I think you're doing

-the right thing, love.

-It isn't taboo.

-We have better things

-to talk about...

-..like going to Bala or Caernarfon

-on Saturday nights...

-..or to the rugby, or the Cnapan.

-Who wants to discuss the menopause?

-Years ago,

-it was brushed under the carpet.

-"Ssh.

-She's going through the change."

-Mam never mentioned it.

-When we were children,

-we had a village shop.

-We took a list to buy things there.

-One of the things we went to get...

-..were STs, wrapped in newspaper.

-We didn't know what they were.

-I found out later.

-The embarrassment has gone.

-People don't use the word menopause.

-It's always "women's problems."

-I don't feel,

-"Great, we can discuss it now.

-"Let's talk about the menopause

-all the time over a coffee."

-I'm happy to discuss it,

-and so is my husband.

-We've been quite open about it.

-If I disappeared on a night out...

-..he'd say to friends

-that I needed fresh air...

-..because I was having a flush.

-I feel I've joined a club.

-It's nice to talk about it

-with friends.

-The shop is like a consulting room.

-We share our problems.

-There's something healthy about it.

-We've moved on enough

-to discuss these things.

-In my time...

-..we talked about it

-with women of the same age.

-It's more common to talk

-about it now.

-People, in general, are more open.

-None of my close friends

-have ever discussed it.

-Perhaps they were embarrassed

-about it.

-I think women

-are embarrassed about it.

-They don't want to talk about it.

-It is the end of an era,

-there's no doubt about that.

-One door closes, and another opens.

-Some women can't open

-the other door.

-They feel they're old,

-they can't have more children.

-They get depressed.

-They should think,

-'That's finished. Lovely jubbly.

-'Let's open this door

-so I can live my life.'

-As a society, we find it difficult

-to discuss physical things.

-The menopause is like that.

-It affects

-half the population directly...

-..and the other half indirectly.

-It can make it

-more difficult to discuss.

-Women can be quite open about it.

-It's harder to discuss it

-with the family...

-..especially if

-there are young men present.

-The more it's talked about,

-the better it is.

-I'd encourage people

-to be more open about it.

-It's high time we talked about this.

-What have I learnt so far?

-Our symptoms are different.

-Some go through it

-without any symptoms.

-I wonder how I will be?

-In the next programme...

-..a little history,

-and how we can help ourselves.

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