Functioning through menopause

Our Women in Aesthetic Medicine podcasters discuss how aesthetic professionals can help patients going through menopause

OUR EXPERTS

Dr Mayoni Gooneratne best describes herself as an integrative aesthetics practitioner, with a functional medicine approach to women’s health. She’s the medical director of The Clinic by Dr Mayoni, and the founder and chief executive of Human Health and Skinfit.

Tracey Dennison is a consultant nurse practitioner, specialising in women’s health, particularly menopause. She runs East Riding Aesthetics and Wellness, which is also home to the Menopause Advocate Programme, training women and men in the workplace about perimenopause and menopause.

Founding editor of Aesthetic Medicine magazine, Vicky Eldridge, has a wealth of experience writing about menopause, and is part of the team that launched the Menopause in Aesthetics conference, alongside its consumer event, Pause! Live, that supports women going through the menopause.

HOT TOPIC

For many years, menopause wasn’t spoken about, and women were expected to suffer in silence with symptoms that were affecting their ability to function in their daily lives. Recently, the topic has seen a rise in interest, with new and innovative solutions being offered, as more women speak up about their struggles.

Dr Gooneratne explained, “I think on a societal level and from a medical point of view, the people that are now experiencing the perimenopause and the menopause are the generation of women, like me, that were told that we could have it all.

“From a medical point of view, our bodies were not designed to live this long. As a result, there are many more of us who are perimenopausing and menopausing than ever before, and as a result we are experiencing challenges that we were never really designed for, physiologically and anatomically. So, there are women experiencing things and wanting help, but not necessarily getting the help.”

Dennison also noted that, in the past, even when women were surviving through menopause, they were likely not working through it, which has created struggles from symptoms that previously weren’t as disruptive.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

From a treatment perspective, our experts agree that a functional and personalised medical approach is the best path forward.

Dennison explains, “It’s about putting people in charge of their own health journey and helping to give them that power.

“If we understand what things do, how things work, and we can then make that accessible to our patients, we can improve their health and wellbeing generally, and give them the power to take back control.

“Interestingly, one of the most common symptoms I see in my clinic for people who are struggling with menopause is anxiety, and one of the biggest drivers for that is not feeling in control. Giving patients knowledge puts them back in control and therefore also reduces this overwhelming anxiety.

“It should be integral to what we do, and it absolutely should be part of all healthcare training, without a doubt.”

Dr Gooneratne is a co-founder of the British College of Functional Medicine, which aims to help doctors safely deliver functional medicine to patients. It is currently working to raise awareness in the government and get functional medicine integrated into NHS training.

Listen to the full discussion on our WiAM podcast, available now on all good podcast platforms.