M-brace The Change

11/11/2024

Hello you 😊

We're not one of those menopause support types who do the whole "DO ALL OF THE THINGS! GET UP NOW!! GO TO THE GYM!!!", and in fact, and because reasons, we find all that stuff a bit 😬 Call it toxic positivity, if you like.

It's great if you're full of beans and energy and aren't feeling like a bedraggled carrier bag stuck on a twig mournfully flapping about, where your only movement is due to weather. But for those of us who are that carrier bag, the constant 'whooping up' and GO GET 'EM in some quarters can frankly just get on our t!ts.

So instead, we subscribe to the "do what you can, when you can" school of thought, and as it's a Monday and coming up to a busy and potentially stressful bit of the year thought it was timely to post about this as a reminder:

If you can, do some exercise, whatever it is: just waggle your legs about a bit if that's what you can muster. Go outside on the days it's as pleasant as November can be, and touch some grass and some trees. If you feel like a hibernation duvet day (and you can sidestep commitments for a bit), flipping have one! If you can, have a tidy and a clean - sort out a cupboard or a drawer that's been getting on your nerves, it can help with feeling satisfaction in a job well done. If you can't be bothered showering, just wash your face. Little steps get you just as far as big steps, even if it takes a little bit longer...

We hope that's helpful, M-bracers. Do what you can, and look after yourselves 🩷

08/11/2024

Hello again 🙂 Here's the British Menopause Society Statement on the newly published and updated NICE guidelines:
https://thebms.org.uk/2024/11/bms-statement-in-response-to-the-publication-of-the-updated-nice-menopause-guideline-ng23/

Please do give it a read - it raises some *very* important points! ♥️

08/11/2024

Hello you 🙂

They've been a long time coming, but after a degree of controversy and rewrites they're finally here!

We've reviewed them and they're a bit of a mixed bag. There are a few articles about this doing the rounds, some of which in themselves contain inaccuracies and misinformation about menopause and HRT 🙄

So, if you read any of those, please look out for duff stuff! The Guardian's article seems to be less woolly and provides useful comment and information, if you fancy a read...

Here's the link to the updated guidelines themselves:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations -care

There are loads of links to other documents/guidance notes in this 👆, and it's probably not as easy to understand as the previous 2015 guidance that this replaces, in our opinion.

Speaking of opinions, there are already loads of those Out There, so we don't feel the need to add any more to those. These updated guidelines are what we have to work with, so here we all are!

🙂♥️

28/10/2024

YES YES YES!!! 🎉

At last, a decent mainstream article on something we've been banging on about and battling for years!

If you've been with us for a little while, you probably know how we feel about the exploitative practices and marketing/advertising activities around menowashing products.

We're actually pretty flipping proud of the number of companies that we've called out, reported, and who've blocked us as a result! So many companies use the tactics described in this ITV article to sell products, and it's encouraging to see that this is now finally been picked up by news media and highlighted to more people...

We've reported numerous companies' ads to the Advertising Standards Authority, and have highlighted those who continue to flout regulations - even though the ASA have 'banned' their ad. We join the calls to increase penalties for these companies and organisations, and to stop the exploitative and misleading stuff they're putting out to increase their profits at our expense.

If you need a hand, come and join us over in our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group (Monday to Friday)

🙂🧡

(Read the article linked in comments below 👇)

04/10/2024

OCTOBER IS MENOPAUSE AWARENESS MONTH! ❤️

In case you weren't aware of it enough, all of October is Awareness Month 😃 So by way of celebration, we're giving free access to all M-bracers to our Symptom Handbook for the month 🎉

It's thirty pages or so of useful stuff, including:
❤️ What menopause is/isn't
❤️ How to handle it
❤️ Symptom checklist
❤️ Information on each of the symptoms used for diagnosis
❤️ Easy stuff to help you

To get yours, join us Monday-Friday in our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group, where you'll find it in our Files.
You might also notice loads of other really useful evidence-based information there too 🙂❤️

01/10/2024

Hello you 🙂 Here's a thing about...

❤️ HRT DOSES ❤️

👇 Here's a table taken from a British Menopause Society document* showing licensed doses of oestrogen products, and the required doses of progestogen where it is needed (it must be used if you use HRT and still have your womb).

If you have any misgivings about your own prescribed HRT regime, please contact your prescriber for a review.

We're not going to join in with the comments/statements/other stuff following the recent documentary. There's enough of that already! What we *are* doing is continuing to give clear evidence-based information and helping our support group members to find the treatments that work for them.

You can join us in our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group if you'd like some if that too...

🙂❤️

*Full document link in comments

30/09/2024

We're on the 'gram! 🥳🎉🪅

https://www.instagram.com/mbracethechange?igsh=cGdkbTZmcXhtcmd3

26/09/2024

Hello you 🙂

If you've been reading our posts over the last few years, you might have gathered that we're not enamoured with companies selling products that we call 'Meno-formulas'. We've also had quite enough thank you very much of companies slapping a MENOPAUSE label on any old thing to try and exploit what's euphemistically termed 'The Meno Market'. Ugh 😬 Little meno symbols and badges stuck on stuff do not make them magic menopause cures!

Indeed, we regularly challenge these companies advertising here on Facebook, and ask them to provide evidence of the claims they're making about their products' safety and efficacy. We've lodged complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority about some of these, and some have been referred to MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) for investigation.

To date, not a single company we've challenged has been able to provide evidence and some have got very snippy indeed, going so far as to block us and remove comments from their ads where we've challenged them.

So this 👇 programme on Monday 30th September will be very interesting to us at M-brace Towers!

As a note of caution and advice, please, before you're tempted to put yet more money into the multi-gazillion dollar global 'natural menopause' industry, think about the facts that these products aren't regulated in the same way as medicines, and shouldn't be claiming to do the same things as medicines or medical devices.

If you will be/are experiencing menopause first-hand, want evidence-based information and support without any bobbins or woo, then our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group is for you. You can ask to join us Monday-Friday and be assured of a warm (not sweaty) welcome 🙂🩷

25/09/2024

Hello you 🙂

There are loads of symptoms associated with peri/menopause, and it can be really confusing trying to figure out what the jiggins is going on!

That's where our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group can help 🙂

Our M-brace supporters also gain access to our free resources, including our 30 page Symptom Handbook, more handbooks, and our factsheets to help you to feel more like you again.

Our information is evidence-based, and we aren't sponsored by supplement companies, menopause product companies, private clinics, or anyone else! We offer impartial and accurate support in a really lovely corner of the Internet.

We pause the group at the weekends, so to join, please find us Mon-Fri ☺️ Come and join us if you will be/are experiencing menopause first-hand. You'll be glad you embraced your change when you did 🙂❤️

29/08/2024

Hello you 🙂

A new Women's Health Concern (WHC) factsheet on unscheduled bleeding on HRT has been released, and you'll find it nestling in the comments below...

WHC is the patient arm of the British Menopause Society (BMS).

Back in April, the BMS issued new guidance including an update on progesterone doses. But! It is flipping loooooong, and is aimed at clinicians. *THIS* WHC document is much easier to digest and understand...

(image shows extract from WHC document)

19/07/2024

Hello you 🙂

If you've been reading our posts over the last few years, you might have gathered that we're not enamoured with companies selling products that we call 'Meno-formulas'. Indeed, we regularly challenge their advertising here on Facebook, and ask them to provide evidence of the claims they're making about their products' safety and efficacy.

To date, not a single one has been able to do this, and some have got very snippy indeed, going so far as to block us and remove comments from their ads where we've challenged them.

Two such companies have just had adverts banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK. They're both named in the article linked below.

We'll be continuing to challenge and report companies who push these products and in our view, exploit people's vulnerabilities to sell more products with false claims and zero evidence.

Please, before you're tempted to put yet more money into the multi-gazillion dollar global 'natural menopause' industry, think about the facts that these products aren't regulated in the same way as medicines, shouldn't be claiming to do the same things as medicines, and you don't actually know whether you're buying floor sweepings or not.

If you will be/are experiencing menopause first-hand, want evidence-based information and support without any bobbins or woo, then our M-brace The Change Menopause Support group is for you. You can ask to join us Monday-Friday and be assured of a warm (not sweaty) welcome 🙂🩷

11/07/2024

❤️ SYMPTOMS, THE CHECKLIST, AND THE GREENE CLIMACTERIC SCALE ❤️

When it comes to symptoms, there’s a huge range of them. That’s because we have hormone receptors in every part of our bodies, literally from the hair on our heads to the tips of our toes. Because bodies are also aging by the time most people reach peri/menopause age, it can be tricky to pinpoint which symptoms
are what. Nor does it help that there’s a fair bit of overlap between symptoms of peri/menopause and conditions such as hypothyroidism, vitamin D deficiency, and fibromyalgia, to mention just a few. So not every health concern is bound to be down to menopause, but nor should menopause be disregarded…

Some people will sail through the stages of menopause with nary a sweat broken – and that’s fantastic! Whereas some of us can personally vouch for this ‘huge range’ and
might feel that every day is a struggle. Not to mention the nights.

There are thirty-four symptoms most associated with menopause and which are generally referred to in making a diagnosis, but even this list isn’t exhaustive!

Our Symptom Checklist is a quick and easy way to log yours, and this is particularly useful to do in advance of medical appointments in connection with your unique menopause. Here's the link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xYyF9gOusUlUvdl94kpHUSIapJ4-_Zkz/view?usp=drivesdk

The Greene Climacteric Scale, *should be* widely recognised as a tool amongst healthcare professionals who deal with menopause. It's a bit more detailed than our simple checklist giving more detail and information to help you and your clinician see what the jiggins is going on.

There are user notes in the document to help you complete it and understand what your scores mean, and you can download it here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Aii0KeVXs9exagU1JLEgn5WI1aBa1n-F/view?usp=drivesdk

Please do make the most of these resources!

🙂❤️

02/07/2024

Hello you 🙂

On our travels around the Interwebs helping people with menopause queries and conundrums, we often stumble across folk dismayed by the amount of money and time they're investing in various potions and 'Meno-formulas' to try manage their menopause. Now, we're a broad church at M-brace Towers, but seeing people chucking good money after bad because they've been convinced by some pseudoscientific waffle gets our dander up. A lot.

For instance: Please don't get fooled by the multi-gazillion pound global 'natural menopause' industry, into thinking that progesterone creams are proven to be successfully used for uterine protection or symptom relief in peri/menopause. They aren't.

It's a rippy-offy, scammy, snake-oily money-making thing, and they should all get in the sea:

https://vajenda.substack.com/p/topical-progesterone-is-a-scam

We're not in the business of being preachy or dismissive of things that work for folk - and if you're happy with your current solutions then that's great. But please do have a read of this article 👆 and make your own mind up about these unregulated and untested products...

Over the last three years, we've asked multiple companies selling these types of products for evidence and data in safety and efficacy. Not one has provided any, and indeed some have blocked us from commenting on their ads and pages.

You can draw your own conclusions from that...

Be careful out there 🙂❤️

01/06/2024

Well, we're not surprised at all to read this.👇

We've helped thousands of people who were confused/stuck to get proper treatment from healthcare professionals, thanks to our straightforward evidence-based information and support in our groups.

Things really do need to change...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/menopause-misdiagnosis-gp-hours-wasted-b2554656.html

❤️

Exclusive: Menopause expert warns women are enduring ‘needless barriers’ to treatment and are ‘suffering and confused’

09/05/2024

Hello you 🌞

Look see, as we get older our skin goes through Some Things.

It might sag a bit, crinkle and wrinkle a bit, get spotty a bit, or get drier a bit. Or a lot. How we react to sun (particularly strong sun in Summer or on holiday) can also noticeably change.

All of these ☝️can be helped, or at least slowed down, by using a half decent SPF. Remember, anything over SPF 50 isn't really doing any more than a SPF 50. There's no such thing as 100% sun protection when it comes to sunscreens. There isn't much difference between a SPF 30 and SPF 50:

🌞SPF 50 provides approximately 98% protection from UVB rays, as opposed to approximately 96.7% provided by SPF 30🌞

So don't get ripped off by stuff claiming otherwise 🙂 You might find (as some M-bracers did) that you react badly to sunlight as your hormones do whatever the flip they're doing. Itchy, bumpy, blistery, and painful skin from sun exposure can become another irritating and debilitating symptom of peri/menopause for some.

Incidentally, if you use skin care with retinoids or skin peels of any description, please do take extra care in the sun. You'll only slip up once... 😬

🙂🩷

29/04/2024

📣HRT Prepayment Certificate price increase

From Wednesday 1st May 2024 the HRT PPC will be £19.80, an increase of 50p over the year. This only applies in England for NHS HRT prescriptions, and only applies to those products listed. Testosterone prescriptions are *not* covered.

It's still far cheaper than wasting money on untested and unregulated 'Meno-formula' supplements, nonetheless we still think it should be £19.80 cheaper to bring us into line with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but here we all are...

NHS Business Services Authority contact number for ordering prepaid prescriptions for 3 or 12 months at a cheaper rate than single prescriptions

16/04/2024

Hello you 🙂

There have been some fairly controversial releases from The Lancet regarding menopause and treatments recently, and stating that menopause is being 'over-medicalised'.

This article, co-signed by 250 medical professionals with menopause specialisms, rebutts some of The Lancet pieces and provides some food for thought and consideration when it comes to how we treat our own menopause symptoms and look to protecting our future health and wellbeing...

https://msmagazine.com/2024/04/15/menopause-treatment-the-lancet/

❤️