#BeyondMyPeriod: Menopause Was a “Full Thelma and Louise Moment” For Me

We’re back for one last week of #BeyondMyPeriod stories. 

In case you missed it: this is a collab between August period care and Alloy for Menopause Awareness Month. 

This time we have Kate Muir (she/her) sharing her story. She’s a menopause campaigner, author, producer, and overall very cool person.

Introduce yourself! Who are you & what do you do?

I'm a menopause campaigner, and the author of Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask). 

I am also the producer of two Davina McCall documentaries for Channel 4 in the UK, as well as the BBC Maestro series on menopause. 

My next book is Sex, Mind and Your Magnificent Midlife with psychotherapist Holli Rubin. 

What is your first period story? If you can remember!

I was in a girls' school cloakroom. I can remember the peeling red linoleum and the smell of sweaty hockey boots, and I suddenly got my period and had to run in and grab hard, scratchy paper towels to use as sanitary pads. 

It wasn't a great experience!

What is a memorable moment you've had as a menstruator?

The moment when my mum told me about her last period, one of those tsunami periods so many people get in perimenopause, and how she flooded her office chair. 

Fortunately, all her female colleagues rallied round and taped newspapers over the office windows so no one could see, and helped her clean up. 

We should talk more about how common this is–44% of perimenopausal people struggle with massive periods, according to a Channel 4/Fawcett Society poll of 4,000 people with uteruses in the UK. 

How does menopause exist in your life?

I am at the other side of menopause. 

I had a really tough time until I got bioidentical HRT. Now, I have the same hormone levels every morning, and I feel like a Tesla rather than a clapped-out secondhand car.

Tell us your story with menopause

Menopause was not just a car crash, but a full Thelma and Louise moment for me. 

My relationship and job started to collapse, and worst of all, I had sudden memory loss. Words just disappeared. 

All that immediately got better as soon as I started bioidentical HRT. I got my memory and, eventually, my life back.

What advice would you give to younger menstruators out there?

Remember, perimenopause is menopause's dastardly little sister, and the sooner you find out about it the better. 

Most menopausal people can start bioidentical HRT in perimenopause, and should consider asking for it early, rather than suffering.

Feel free to add anything else here as a wrap up <3

We need to reach out to a wider audience of underserved communities with evidence-based information on HRT and how much safer it is than most people assume.

Thanks so much for reading! 

We hope you enjoyed Kate’s story and that you’ve learned something about the menopause experience from the lens of someone who took HRT.

If you haven’t already, connect with us on Instagram and TikTok and subscribe to our emails for more stuff like this! 

To learn more about August, head over to their site.