Anke (43) ‘I don't dare to say that I'm going through menopause’
‘I am a human resource manager at one of the largest recruiters in the Netherlands. The bell we pull in the department when we manage to place someone rings for me every week. I earn quite a lot from all the bonuses and usually get to go on a nice seminar abroad twice a year because I am the showpiece of the company.
Because I have been working at our company for almost twenty years (a case of sticking around after my internship with a small break of three years when I went with my boyfriend who got a job in Singapore), I am often asked to give presentations. Recently, the international board was over and they asked me to provide an explanation of the Dutch market. When I stood there, I suddenly broke out in a sweat. And that was different from during my bi-weekly (I am quite enthusiastic, yes) Rocycle class. It hit me like an avalanche, from my French-manicured toenail to my teased ponytail. I felt like even my eyelashes were sweating.
The strange thing was that I was also a bit out of it. Not that I fainted, but I just lost track of everything for a moment.
My manager is a woman in her fifties. She walked up to me with a glass of water, said she would take care of her part of the meeting first, and nodded later when she saw that I had recovered. During the Friday afternoon drinks, she typed an address into my phone. A menopause consultant? I immediately felt 150. Menopause? That was something for aunts with short hair comparing their bellies while spooning. Not me, right? I was in the prime of my life.
Still, I started googling. And I checked quite a few boxes. Yes, I slept poorly, yes, I am a bit grumpy (but that was due to corona, right?) and didn’t I have a bit less desire during sex lately? Damnit, I am just going through menopause. At 43. But that can happen. On the advice of my senior colleague, I went to that ‘consultant’ (I hate that word) and now I have a gel and a pill that I take. It is now completely under control. But telling it, I still only dare to do anonymously.’
PS Nice that there are also famous women who speak out about the misery that menopause brings. Bridget Maasland, for example. Very brave how open she is.
Image: Netflix
