Fiona Catchpowle

16/02/2025

Menopause doesn't just happen!
There's a big focus on symptoms which I can completely understand, however, when I looked closer at the biology I could see a pattern in my menstrual health journey so far.
I hadn't really thought much about my menstrual health my whole life apart from when I was trying to get pregnant.
Then when I was trying to navigate the physical and psychological changes in perimenopause, which included very heavy periods, I reflected on the biology I already knew and realised I had been seriously under sold the story of menopause.
I have a Holistic Therapy background but I still love a good solid piece of biology that gives me clarity as to ‘why something is happening’, beyond the ‘what is happening’.
There are 3 facts about menstrual health and menopause that surprised me.
1. The process is a journey that includes every single menstrual cycle, so the sooner you tune in to your menstrual health the better.
2. The ovaries are powerful endocrine organs in their own right and work way beyond periods and pregnancy
3. The s*x hormones play a role in all 11 functional networks, so it makes sense that when they shift in levels, monthly and across life stages the result is a total mind-body experience.

Essentially there is more to menopausing than meets the eye, but that doesn't mean we have to make it complicated.

28/10/2024

Chocolate with a high cocoa solid, 85% or more, is known to have some health benefits.
This is not an excuse to open the Christmas Quality Streets 🤨
- Cacao contains magnesium, which can help regulate stress levels. Stress and magnesium deficiency can create a vicious cycle.
- Chocolate is considered one of the 30 best anti-inflammatory foods.
- The antioxidants in dark chocolate can protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals. This may improve skin elasticity, and promote a healthy glow.

23/10/2024

I believe a lot of the lack of acknowledgement of what happens along the menstrual health timeline is because no one thought to teach us. And now we still don't explain what happens before perimenopause. Would a picture like this have been helpful to trigger curiosity in the process of menopausing from periods to perimenopause and beyond?

21/10/2024

Preventative or protective?
While the confusion continues on, about what HRT/MHT can and cannot do, I now find myself reading scientific documents with a different lens (thanks in the main to Dr Pauline Maki) and have started to notice phrasing like never before.

"To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has evaluated the effects of transdermal estrogen delivery on BMD (bone mineral density) in menopausal women".

You will find that sentence in the document link below.
When you look closely at the papers, systematic reviews, and other commentary the preventative quality of HRT in terms of osteoporosis has only been proven in postmenopause or premature ovarian insufficiency.

18/10/2024

Here is a positive read I was asked to contribute to with the question being - 'Can menopause be a good thing for our careers?'.
Please note, and learn from my experience 😂, I just sent some garbled words after a short message on LinkedIn. I didn't use full sentences and I included a swear word expecting the journalist to edit it out and correct my grammar. She did not.
However, it turned out OK despite all of those things

It's World Menopause Day 2024

18/10/2024

Words matter when talking and writing about menstrual health across life stages. The right ones will give you light bulb moments - and trust me I have created many thunderbolt and lightning menopause light bulb moments.
The wrong ones only serve to mislead and misdirect.
So, uncharacteristically for me today I feel the need to give you some clarity on things you will see popping up around menopause on different socials due to it being World Menopause Day.

1. Menopause is NOT diagnosed by symptoms - that would be perimenopause or menopause transition. The one single consequence of Menopause is no periods. Everything else is variable.
2. Menopause (day) is a retrospective diagnosis when you have gone 12 consecutive months without menstruation, and the stop of the menstrual cycle is related to ovarian aging. Menstruation can stop for extended periods of time at any age, but this stop is the typical menopause permanent one. (if you want to know about the non-typical kinds of menopausing read my new guide called Menopausology posted on my profile)
3. Symptoms will not be 'diagnosed' with a blood test. A hormone profile may be handy to rule out other things, but in reality, unless you have had hormone profiling done regularly you don't have a baseline to compare it to.
4. The age at which menopause day may occur in the many quoted 'facts' is not relevant to how you manage the time leading up to it, which as I said above is called perimenopause. The age range of menopause day is quoted as 45-55. That's the age when menstruation has stopped, not when the perimenopause time zone is reached.

I'm exhausted already and it's not even midday, and those are corrections in just one post that I saw on Instagram. Here's a copy of the typical Menstrual Health Timeline which you will find inside Menopausology.
https://storage.googleapis.com/msgsndr/jfwTDwBfdrfnYmrGXRKx/media/671232b29663edd3e60c686e.pdf

18/10/2024

Understanding the menstrual health timeline from periods to perimenopause and beyond starts with knowing some basic biology.

You can't manage what you don't understand, and the chance of you, as either a menstruator or co-menstruator, having had a menstrual health lesson - which is the precursor to peri/menopause health - is very slim.

So, grab a coffee and take a few minutes to learn about the menstrual health timeline, across life stages, to add context to the hormone health journey for someone born with ovaries and a uterus.
No email address required, just click the link below to open the .pdf

09/10/2024

I'm looking forward to taking part in this event. What has menopause got to do with finance you might be thinking 🤔
If your journey along the menstrual health timeline is impaired could this affect your income?
The choices you make today on how you menopause, may affect your future finances.

If you’re a female business owner or your dream is to become one, come and join us for the EVOLUTION of FINANCE for BUSINESSWOMEN 17 October – Bromley Old Town Hall!

Join us for an empowering event where 10 inspirational female speakers will share their insights and strategies tailored exclusively for businesswomen and aspiring female entrepreneurs. This is your chance to gain the financial savvy and business acumen you need to excel. Don’t miss out on this game-changing opportunity to immerse yourself in a vibrant and supportive atmosphere filled with inspiration, growth, and collaboration.

With exhibition stands, exciting business prizes, and complimentary refreshments and lunch included, you'll leave with valuable connections and actionable advice to drive innovation, growth, and success. Secure your place today and take a bold step towards your business goals.

To find out more and to book 🔗 https://1230.co.uk/events/evolution-of-finance-for-women-part-2-117-october-bromley/?occurrence=2024-10-17

30/09/2024

Being Menstrual Health Informed is the way forward. Start here and work your way up. ⬇

Learning about menstrual & menopause health should be easy, but mostly it's not. This 15 minute free training will show you how easy it can be to support your clients

30/09/2024

Morning All,
Please note: As an industry insider I am available to comment on the BBC Panorama Menopause Industry program showing tonight on BBC1 (already available on iPlayer).

At The Menopause School we teach our Menopause Doulas a whole-person approach to menopause care, including safe, sensible, and supportive information on how to build a personal menopause toolkit. Which may or may not include HRT/MHT.

I am concerned that the program may result in many stopping their HRT or changing the supplements they are taking. Please do not do that overnight. Reach out if you have any questions and we will signpost you to the best provider for your situation.
If you want help in how to talk to your NHS provider we can help you do that too.

Our scope of practice does not endorse making people choose between a Natural treatment or a Prescribed treatment, as that is just downright irresponsible.
Likewise, we do not endorse an over-the-counter product just because it has the word menopause on it.
Nor do we advocate products like creams that have been sold as 'natural' options and assumed to be safe, based on very old scientific data and have misdirected people for years.

In the program aired tonight, the over-prescribing and poor patient care by one particular doctor and clinic is scrutinized, at last. Many behind the scenes have known about this for years and up until now have been too scared to say anything.
It may well appear to those watching that Dr Newson has helped the industry and women are better off. But those who know me have heard me say for years and years that the information she provides on mainstream channels is not accurate and the choice of words is misleading.

What is really needed are menstrual health lessons, for all people of all ages. If that was the case then this misinformation would not have been allowed to exist for so long.
The Menopause Doulas I train are menstrual health informed. They are safe, sensible, and supportive. They are enabled to guide nurture and support others along the menstrual health timeline from periods to perimenopause and beyond.

My best email is fiona@themenopauseschool.com

Doctors and patients question the prescribing of high HRT doses by Dr Louise Newson and her clinics.

27/09/2024

Another social media rabbit hole moment - I was researching some data on contraception for a lesson I am writing and was directed to a link from an Instagram comment on Dr. Jen Gunter's post. The research was called 'Hormonal Contraception and Risk of Breast Cancer' published in 2018.
The last line got me -
"Women can do things to help lower their risk of breast cancer, like breastfeeding, getting more exercise, and limiting alcohol intake."
I'm sorry, but on Saturday I will be 57 and there is no way I am taking up breastfeeding to reduce my risk of Breast Cancer 😂

10/09/2024

If you have ever wondered why some perimenopause symptoms seem to be psychological? Tune into this Instagram live to find out more.⬇️
https://www.instagram.com/themenopauseschool/

Join me over on Instagram at 4pm today (UK time) alongside Siri Celine Erickson from Compassionate Way, and integrative health specialist at The Haven at Halletts, as we talk about the neurological impact of perimenopause, why it happens, and how you can use EFT/Tapping to 'get your brain back'!
📌To make sure you don't miss it visit profile and tap the bell icon, 'Goes live' and select Get all notifications 👍

Instagram profile for The Menopause School ⬇
https://www.instagram.com/themenopauseschool/