My personal experience of a private menopause specialist

Navigating Menopause with a Private Women's Health Specialist: A Personal Journey of Discovery and Empowerment

Stepping onto the uncharted path of menopause at just 40 was a surprise twist that caught me off guard. As I grappled with the onslaught of symptoms, the connection between these perplexing changes and perimenopause eluded me. The initial lockdown marked the onset of sleep disturbances, which I attributed to external stressors. Little did I know that this was merely the prelude to a series of perplexing symptoms that would gradually weave a complex tapestry of perimenopausal challenges.

My menopausal journey so far:  

At just 40 the thought of being in the menopause had not entered my head. Three years ago, during the first lock down my sleep suffered, at the time I believed this was down to the stresses at this time in my life.  

However, as the world returned to some sort of normality during this time, my sleep did not. During the following years I started to noticed other symptoms but again did not make the connection that these symptoms could be linked at all to menopause.  

Symptoms that I now look back on and know to be linked to my peri-menopause journey:  

• Inability to sleep through the night. 

• Night time anxiety 
• Night sweats, I mean dripping!  
• A reduction in my confidence. 
• A reduction in my ability to deal with stress levels and feelings of overwhelm.  
• Frequently forgetting the name of items, people and places.  

• More frequently finding my keys and phone in the fridge!  
• Out bursts of anger. 
• Mood swings.  
• Found myself googling PMDD. My PMS symptoms were getting worse.  
• Brain fog, to the point where I can’t get my words out and sometimes can’t park my car!  

• Heavy bleeding on my cycle and cramps like I'm a teenager again.  

I went to speak to my GP regarding my issues with sleep. When he looked back through my medical history and saw I had been treated for endometriosis and placed in a medical induced but reversible menopause 20 years ago, he suggested that it’s possible I might be experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms and advised me to keep a record of my symptoms. I was invited back to have a set of blood tests. I felt like a weight was lifted from me. I’d been thinking I was starting to go mad. I'd even booked an appointment with a therapist, so convinced was I that something was wrong with me.  

My bloods came back with nothing and I saw a different GP for my symptoms who suggested my body was entering ovarian failure and said at 40 I was too young to be going through peri-menopause. She also suggested It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to consider HRT until I reached 45! I was so upset. I felt like I'd taken two steps forward and ten steps back!  

I met Dr Cary’s Sonnenberg on TikTok, she has recently set up Rowena health, a private clinic for women’s health. A specialist trained in menopause. Both her TikTok and Instagram page offer an educational platform for those in perimenopause and a platform for promoting women's health. I personally love the way she explains things, in simple terms that allows me to take it all onboard!  

Dr Cary’s kindly asked me to go through her booking process and help run a test on her website and procedure and to offer feedback in the launch of her new business. This is my review of the process.   

The process on her website was to book a time slot and date that were convenient to us. I was sent a questionnaire prior to the meeting and encouraged to list as much as I could. The questionnaire asked me questions about my symptoms and then there was space to add comments regarding my own personal journey. This was sent ahead of the appointment so she had some understanding of what I was going to raise in the appointment.  

The appointment was scheduled for 45 minutes. During the meeting, we went through some of the points in my questionnaire and I was given time to share these in more details with her. Dr Cary’s gave me a detailed explanation of how our hormones work and fluctuate with our cycles and when we might experience a drop in our hormones within our monthly cycle. I found this to be really interesting and helpful to understand the cycle of my differing hormones throughout my cycle.  

Dr Cary’s then went into descriptive detail about the different HRT options, she had examples with her to demonstrate each method and the benefits of each one allowing me to make an informed decision about what would be right for me.  

I also loved that Dr Cary’s spent time looking at my holistic health and lifestyle choices and shared other ideas that would be useful to me to consider to enhance my journey. I loved that I should consider these alongside taking HRT.  

Following the appointment, I was sent a very detailed report on our discussion. In the report she highlighted my symptoms and the possible HRT options that would be appropriate for me. Included in the report were additional links for me to conduct further research. She has an abundance of really useful articles on her website to refer to and explore. All are very well informed and helpful to understanding this stage of my life.  

I am then able to take this report to my GP or indeed gain a subscription directly with Dr Cary’s. Dr Cary’s also offers follow up appointments and reviews in the future.  

I would highly recommend her services and will not be returning to my GP regarding my menopause journey. For me, I valued the specialist advice, something I was unable to get from my surgery. I appreciated the time I was given to go into such depth to support me, again something I cannot get from my surgery. If you’ve ever considered an appointment of this sort please do reach out to Dr Cary’s.  

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