00:00Well, look, Danny joins us now alongside Dr. Zoe to share her experience of the perimenopause.
00:04Thank you, Danny, for coming in.
00:06Firstly, thank you for being so honest.
00:07I mean, I'd imagine that took some of your TikTok followers by surprise
00:11when you're suddenly telling them all those extraordinary things.
00:14Yeah, I just wanted to be open about it because, obviously, I am on the younger side of it.
00:20And even though I think it's rare, I don't think it's that uncommon,
00:24especially looking through my comments.
00:27And so I just wanted to be quite open about it
00:29because, actually, I had quite a good experience with my GP.
00:33So I just wanted to make people aware that, you know,
00:36going to the GP can really, really help
00:39because I was just having such awful symptoms and I needed help with it.
00:45I think what happens as well with it quite often is the symptoms kind of creep up on you
00:49and it's other people that actually notice them, first of all.
00:54I think your husband, Simon, was the first person that was like,
00:57are you OK?
00:59Yeah.
00:59I was literally, like, a different person.
01:02And to be honest, it was not long after I'd just had my son.
01:06Yeah.
01:06So I wasn't really sure if it was just a case of, like, the baby blues.
01:10Hormones.
01:10Yeah, and hormones, for sure.
01:13But I was honestly like a different person.
01:15It was almost like I was watching myself in a kind of weird way.
01:19I was, I'd always suffered with depression and anxiety,
01:21but this was, like, on a completely different level.
01:24The mood swings were just out of control.
01:28Sometimes, as Kat was saying, it's easy to see from afar.
01:30Yeah.
01:30But I'd understand, for your partner.
01:33My poor, poor partner.
01:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:35That's a sensitive thing to bring up, especially when you are so young, to suggest,
01:40oh, Dani, do you think you might be perimenopausal?
01:43How did that go down?
01:44Do you know what?
01:45It went down all right.
01:46My partner is really quite tactful, and it was fine, and he was a bit like,
01:50you know, you're being a little bit agitated by my breathing.
01:54Is everything all right?
01:56And, you know, it really wasn't like me.
01:58I am normally quite laid back.
02:00Yeah.
02:00I probably disagree sometimes.
02:02Yeah.
02:02But, yeah, I'm normally quite a chilled person, and, you know,
02:06my sleep was all over the place.
02:08I'm normally a good 10-hour kind of gal.
02:11And, you know, that was kind of...
02:13And the hot sweats, oh, they are absolutely rank.
02:17And it...
02:17They really are.
02:18That was not personal.
02:19She's telling it like it is, ladies and gentlemen.
02:21Yeah, it's not great.
02:22And it's affected, like, all different aspects of your life,
02:25like mentally, work, how is it affecting that?
02:28The brain fog when you're an actor is really not ideal.
02:33The worst, I think, was doing panto, and I was playing the fairy,
02:38and you're on your own as a fairy doing monologues
02:41and going completely blank on stage
02:44and having to ask your MD for your lines is not ideal.
02:48No.
02:49But luckily, you can kind of shrug it off a little bit.
02:50The lovely thing about panto, you can make the most of a moment like that.
02:52Yeah, exactly.
02:53And telling an entire audience, oh, sorry, going through menopause, everybody.
02:57Apologies.
02:58I bet there was a lot of sympathy in the audience for you as well.
03:00Absolutely.
03:01And the other thing that, Danny, you are known for
03:03and you talked about in your TikTok there is your hair.
03:07Yeah.
03:08And actually the impact that that can have.
03:10Because, yes, it's very much who you are.
03:13Your hair has always been big and lush and powerful part of who you are.
03:18Yeah, I think this is what I'm struggling with the most
03:20because, for me, my hair is my identity.
03:24It's kind of what I'm almost known for.
03:27So to be losing it is...
03:30I'm not a vain person at all.
03:32Gosh, look at the clumps that are coming out.
03:34Yeah, this was yesterday.
03:35Oh, God.
03:36And this is...
03:37It improved as well.
03:39Like, I'm taking supplements and gummies
03:41and I'm oiling my hair and this is it improved.
03:44It was almost sort of double the amount, you know, a month ago.
03:47And, yeah, it's thinning and I'm having bald patches
03:52and, yeah, it's starting to affect my self-esteem.
03:57You know, I come across very confident
03:58but kind of behind closed doors it is definitely taking its toll for sure.
04:02So, Dr. Zoe, how easy is it for women
04:06who are identifying with exactly what Danny is saying
04:09to go to their GP and get some help?
04:11I think the key thing is you must go to your GP and ask for help
04:14and people often say, at which point do you go?
04:16Yeah.
04:17At any point, really.
04:18You know, if you're having a set of symptoms
04:20that you think could be perimenopause,
04:23go and see your GP, go and see a practice nurse.
04:25Sometimes it's a good idea to ask the receptionist,
04:27is there a GP or a nurse that specialises in menopause?
04:31And I think, you know, I know you hear all these horror stories
04:33of people having terrible experiences with GPs
04:35and I can't personally vouch for everybody that does my job
04:38but it has moved on.
04:39In the same way we've all become much more aware
04:41and educated about menopause,
04:43healthcare professionals have too.
04:44Every week in my inbox there's a training course on menopause.
04:47So, in my opinion, GPs don't really have an excuse anymore
04:50to not be sensitive and not be treating this.
04:53I think the key thing is, my advice is,
04:55make a list of your symptoms.
04:56There are apps, there are downloadable lists
04:58so you can log your symptoms beforehand.
05:01Go in there and say, I want to share my symptoms,
05:04I think it could be menopause.
05:05If you're interested in HRT, say,
05:07I'd like to explore my options including HRT.
05:10Now, your GP may not prescribe HRT on that first appointment
05:13because often we need to rule other things out.
05:16Symptoms of menopause can overlap with just about anything
05:19because there's over 100 symptoms of menopause, perimenopause.
05:22So, they might want to check your thyroid function,
05:24they might want to check you're not anemic.
05:26But they should offer you a follow-up
05:27and usually, in most cases,
05:29if everything else has been ruled out
05:31and it's highly suspicious that this could be perimenopause
05:34and those symptoms are really affecting you,
05:37then unless there's a contraindication,
05:39such as you've previously had breast cancer,
05:41a three-month trial of HRT
05:43is usually not going to do any significant harm.
05:46Make sure you know the pros and cons,
05:48weigh up the risks and benefits,
05:50but for most people who have symptoms,
05:52the benefits outweigh the risks.
05:54And that's been great for you as well, hasn't it?
05:56Yeah, it really has.
05:57I feel a lot better and I feel like myself again.
06:01You know, obviously, I still get moody, don't get me wrong,
06:03and I'm still a bit sweaty every now and again.
06:06I do all of those things and I don't have any of those just...
06:09Yeah, it's like night and day, it really is.
06:12Well, thank you for coming in and talking about it.
06:14No, thank you for having me.
06:15It's usually an important subject, isn't it, of course?
06:17Yeah, for sure.
06:17And hopefully those symptoms continue to improve as well for you.
06:20Fingers crossed.
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