00:00Hi, I'm Rosie, Editor-in-Chief of Hello, and I'm here with Gabby Logan, who, like me, is an advocate
00:06for speaking out about the menopause.
00:08We've decided that now is high time to break down taboos surrounding this pivotal life stage that affects all women.
00:16So we've partnered with Clarence to kickstart some important conversations.
00:20So, Gabby, thank you for joining me today.
00:22Thanks for having me.
00:22And you're somebody that I really admire because you've spoken so openly about your own perimenopause journey.
00:28So when did symptoms first start for you?
00:31During lockdown, I started doing a podcast called Midpoint, and one of my guests was Mariella Frostrop, and she's since
00:38written a book about the menopause, and she was very open in talking about it.
00:40And I was thinking, these symptoms sound really familiar, but I was 47.
00:44I was thinking, oh, gosh, this isn't this, is it?
00:47And they were actually more emotional things than physical things.
00:50I wasn't getting hot flushes, but I was feeling alone in energy.
00:54My anxiety, which I've never kind of suffered from, felt like it was creeping up a little bit.
00:58And I also, I felt a little bit like my hair felt dry.
01:00I didn't feel kind of, I just didn't feel like I had that vroom that I normally had about life.
01:06So I started investigating it.
01:07So what did you do?
01:09Where did you turn at first?
01:11I started reading and talking to people that I knew were experts in the space.
01:15And I booked an appointment to see a doctor and spoke to the doctor about my symptoms.
01:21And then I realised that, you know, with her and collaboration, that I was actually in perimenopause.
01:28And I thought, right, I'm going to do something.
01:30I don't want to feel like this.
01:31I want to feel better.
01:32But what impact then did having that diagnosis make on your life?
01:36What changes could you put into place?
01:38Well, you can decide that you want to do something about it.
01:40And I did.
01:41I thought, well, I'm going to use some bioidentical hormones.
01:43Because, and I love the expression hormone balancing, rebalancing, not hormone replacement.
01:49Because actually, you're not actually trying to kind of top yourself up to a level that you've never had before.
01:53It's just bringing yourself back to what you were.
01:55To a normal level.
01:56Yeah, exactly.
01:57I'm not trying to kind of, you know, go and be Arnold Schwarzenegger and pump the testosterone and do something
02:01kind of that I wasn't.
02:02I wanted to just feel a little bit more like me.
02:05And I felt a few weeks into that immediately a lot better.
02:08And then kind of looking out as well just to see if, you know, kind of other symptoms were coming
02:13or not.
02:14And found I was back, you know.
02:16I felt I was me again, which was great.
02:19Wow.
02:19Amazing that you got that diagnosis.
02:21So many women don't, do they?
02:22Did it take a while to get the levels of HRT right?
02:26I mean, is it a bit of a sort of try and test?
02:28It is a little bit.
02:29You know, you recommended a certain dose at the beginning.
02:32And I found my skin flared up.
02:34Right.
02:34And I got quite spotty.
02:36And I was like, oh, that's not good.
02:38And so I was told just to take the test of gel down a little bit.
02:42And that helped, you know.
02:43So I think that is, you know, that's where you've got to be on it.
02:47You know, it's not something you're just going to pop a pill and walk away and it's all going to
02:49be fine.
02:50And, you know, you want it to suit you.
02:52You're not the next person.
02:53Now, what about in the industry that you're in?
02:56Obviously, quite a male-dominated sports industry.
02:59How has it been sort of, have you been able to have a menopause conversation with peers at work?
03:05Or has that been difficult?
03:06Because lots of women do suffer in the workplace.
03:09I'm not afraid to say something.
03:11Yes.
03:11You know, I feel like that.
03:13And I see more and more women saying, can you open the window?
03:16I'm feeling really hot.
03:17Or, you know, and I think there's that relaxed, slightly more relaxed approach, I think, to discussing things.
03:23How supportive was your husband through this time?
03:25Oh, he was really, really, yeah, very supportive.
03:27Did you have to educate him?
03:29Yeah.
03:29I mean, because his mum's a lot older than my mum.
03:32And so, you know, she had him quite late in life.
03:34Yeah.
03:34So he would never have had that conversation with his mum.
03:37No.
03:37So, yeah, he was kind of, you know, he'd heard the word.
03:40But like a lot of men, I guess there's those kind of two big, you know, symptoms are, oh, you
03:45get a hot flush or you become, you know, really angry and ratty.
03:48And so they're the kind of, you know, sitcom, if you like, symptoms, aren't they?
03:53And there's, you know, dozens of other things that can happen.
03:57And we need our men to advocate for us as well.
04:00Absolutely.
04:00And have that conversation with us and be informed.
04:02Yeah, because I always say as well, you might not be married to a woman, but you'll know one.
04:05Yes.
04:05And you might have a sister or you might work for or alongside a woman.
04:09Yeah.
04:09There'll be women in your life.
04:10It'd be good to know what's going on with them.
04:12So you can have a little bit of understanding.
04:15Now, you mentioned sort of a bit about dry hair and sort of what other kind of midlife beauty symptoms
04:21did you have and how did you deal with those?
04:22Yeah, kind of like skin feeling a bit drier and obviously wanting to use more moisturiser, but also then realising,
04:28you know, actually exfoliating and trying to look for something that was going to be easy to use.
04:33And making sure that I was keeping up with all my supplements as well and, you know, taking on those
04:39omega-3s and the vitamin Ds and things that, because the thing that a lot of women don't realise, a
04:44lot of people don't realise that, you know, your immune system goes down as well.
04:48And it's great to see so many vitamin and beauty brands now putting the menopause sort of right in the
04:53centre and using that word and creating products that are really going to help.
04:57Now, it's been fascinating talking to you.
04:59Thank you so much for sharing your story.
05:01It's been really lovely to meet you.
05:01Why do you think it's so important that we advocate to break down the taboos around menopause?
05:06I think it's important because this is a period of life that for a lot of women can cause all
05:11kinds of anxiety and issues that go well beyond the physical kind of obvious ones.
05:17And, you know, families break down, women pull themselves away from the workplace and actually it's a time of life
05:21when women should be using all of the skills and all of the incredible experience they've got to live their
05:27best life.
05:28And I don't want to lose women of that age from, you know, from society, but also because, you know,
05:33we deserve to have optimum health, you know, look after yourself and you want to kind of keep going and
05:38have energy and enthusiasm and keep doing brilliant things.
05:42So I get the conversation out there.
05:44So well done.
05:45You're so right.
05:45Well, it's great to see you at the top of your game and shining so brightly at the moment and
05:49having this conversation with me.
05:51So thank you so much.
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