The Linen Yard Practice Newsletter

The practice is aiming to provide a quarterly newsletter and would appreciate comments and suggestions either by email, phone or letter.

The Menopause – a new beginning!

Exhausted with hot sweaty sleepless nights, feeling grumpy and forgetful, fed up with the same old menopause jokes? Help is at hand from a new social enterprise company, Menopause Support, which can show you how to handle your symptoms and turn the menopause into a ‘change for the better’.

Evening or weekend courses, delivering information, self-help tips and showing useful exercises and techniques offer women a unique opportunity to take more control of their lives.

Heather Fairbairn, a 50 year old business-woman from Exeter, has set up a not-for-profit company, after she had suffered from bad menopausal symptoms for five years. She knew she didn’t want Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) but could not find the help that she needed to make crucial decisions about how to treat her symptoms. So she decided to do the research herself.

Heather, who is an Oxford science graduate and has an MA in Complementary Health Studies from Exeter University, says “There are so many different options that can help - both conventional and natural - but it can take time to find out what suits each individual. I found there was a confusing amount of information and support was limited. Every woman’s menopause is different so what is the ‘right’ treatment for one woman is not necessarily ‘right’ for another. We will give women easily accessible information and support so they can make the best possible choices.”

As well as covering how food, drink, supplements and exercise can have an affect on symptoms, the courses also explore the latest research on HRT, as well as offering tips on how to become an ‘informed shopper’ enabling women to buy the best quality products to help them through. Motivational techniques are included too, helping women to make changes to their lifestyle, and also tips on how to look and feel gorgeous at this time of their lives.

After the success of its early courses last year, Menopause Support is now running a series of courses across the South West. The next two-day courses in the region are on 17/18 April in Bristol, 24/25 April in Exeter, 17/18 in Plymouth and 24/25 in Falmouth, Cornwall. Further courses throughout the south west are planned for later in 2010.

Although it is a not-for-profit body, there is a fee to cover costs, which is currently £110 for the weekend course, including meals and extensive course materials. But, if you come to the course and are not fully satisfied by the end, the company does guarantee you your money back.

To learn more, go to www.menopausesupport.org.uk or call Heather on 01392 876122