Discovering Davina

If you've been listening into my podcast, you'll know that I am automatically cautious of anything I see that has a celebrity endorsement. I immediately start to question whether they are putting their name to it because it genuinely helps or because it's a money spinner.

I make no apology for that - menopause can make us vulnerable, as we seek out - sometimes desperately - something, anything that might 'fix' the symptoms or at least make us feel a bit better.

BUT - and it is a big but (cue inappropriate words to a song spring into my head!) - this approach has led me to making sweeping judgements & not opening myself up to the simple fact that being on TV does not make you immune to the joys of menopause and, when it comes to Davina she certainly isn't on a money making mission!

My amazing friend Kate swears by Davina and talked to me about her book 'Menopausing' that she describes as her menopause bible. I was still not 100% sold - I'd seen a few Davina endorsements on my socials so that doubt was still creeping into my head but I didn't want to 'be that person' who judges people out of hand, without delving in and making decisions based on fact!

So, what did I do? I bought the book. I started reading. And I started to cry. To be fair, anyone who knows me also knows I am an emotional woman & perimenopause has taken this to a whole other level - but these tears were a mix of guilt, sadness and happiness all in one!

Just reading Davina's introduction, you can feel the emotion, can understand how profoundly her experience of menopause affected her - and that this is a woman who is genuinely on a mission to make talking about menopause as common as talking about how you like your tea. And who is on a mission to make sure that whether you a listened to and supported is not a postcode lottery and is not something you have to pay for!

So the guilt was for being so dismissive and so judgy (sorry Davina!), the sadness was because reading just those few pages of introduction allowed me a window into how she must have felt at the time - lonely, scared and experiencing that feeling many of us have had, that we're losing control. The happiness - or perhaps it was relief - is in the fact that I know I am just a random woman is navigating the journey and who is desperate EVERY woman to be supported, be able to talk about it and to get the education they need before they feel they are losing control. Davina is on the same mission - but she has the benefit of a mass following, of being able to be able to use her public platform to make a real difference, to challenge, to influence. And that is huge!

Now, I know that this is a book that I will return to time after time - just as Davina was hoping for - and I hope you will also give it a go too. But as you start to read it, I think it is also important to remember that while 13 women may be going through perimenopause or menopause, it is a very personal experience and you'll recognise some of what Davina says in yourself but maybe not all. And that is absolutely fine!

Unlike Davina, I really have no idea when all of this started for me, literally no clue! I guesstimate that it was about two years ago starting with ultra heavy periods, followed by other symptoms just creeping up on me.

Her initial symptoms weren't the same as my initial symptoms - I have been fortunate to have not (so far) experienced those awful night sweats that she describes but there's plenty of others I could add to my list.

That shame that she felt in taking (and admitting to taking) HRT made me feel so sad, and stopped me in my tracks as it once again demonstrated how personal this journey is and how we are affected in different ways. Like Davina, I'd heard about this link that was once made between HRT and Breast Cancer - and until I read the book it was still a worry - but unlike her, I have no qualms in telling people I'm going on HRT. In fact I'd be happy to grab a loud speaker, stand on top of a mountain and shout it out for all to hear!

And maybe, just maybe, its because of women, like Davina, who are moving us, slowly but surely, into a new world where menopause, HRT, the whole shebang is understood, talked about, and women across the world have equal access to the support they need!

I am so pleased that I set my unfound judgements aside and 'Discovered Davina!

Thank you

Rachel x