Brain fog, no motivation, hot sweats in meetings – is this your typical workday?
- Dr Magdalena Cybulska
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
Part 1
You feel hot, red, sluggish and unmotivated at work. Last night was difficult. You couldn’t sleep, being drenched in sweat. Then anxiety kicked in:
“What if this is something serious?”
So you book another appointment with your doctor. He hesitantly runs a blood test and then seems to reassure you:
“Look, as I said before, these are all symptoms of your menopause...”
But you do not feel reassured. You wonder if the GP can call your boss and explain this to him? If your manager could only understand, and support... but you will probably never speak with him about menopause. A survey conducted by British Menopause Society showed that 47% of women who needed to take a day off work due to menopause symptoms, wouldn’t tell their employer the real reason. Many would rather just quit their employment.
Why is menopause making you feel hot and sweaty? Why does your brain feel asleep?
There exists interesting literature which argues menopause causes primarily neurological problems – which means it affects the brain and the nerves. You probably never realised this before - people think of menopause as hormonal changes. Of course this is true. One hormone in particular - oestrogen - is responsible, or rather its depletion. This is at the core of all menopausal symptoms, as I explained in this article. But did you know lack of oestrogen directly affects the brain?
Hot flashes, which can be extremely troublesome in work situations, constitute the most common menopause related problem. Approximately 80% of middle-aged women experience them, but only about 1 in 4 receives treatment.
Picture this: you are making an important presentation in a room full of people.
Suddenly you feel like your face is soaked in boiling water. Even worse – you know some people have noticed. You realise a hot flash makes you look red and sweaty. You feel embarrassed, and stumble through your presentation. You catch a glimpse of your manager’s disapproving gaze, and you wish you could just disappear. But what causes these horrible hot flashes?
Medically they are called ‘vasomotor symptoms’. ‘Vaso’ - refers to blood vessels. ‘Motor’ implies movement. ‘Vasomotor’ means they are caused by a movement of blood vessels. Specifically, blood vessels become wider (dilated) and flushed with blood, which makes the skin hot and red. Ultimately, lack of oestrogen is responsible, as it directly affects an area in the brain which regulates body temperature. The body then triggers reactions to keep itself warm through dilating blood vessels, and this is manifested as hot flashes, sweating and skin redness.
The most efficacious treatment for hot flashes is...
...replenishing oestrogen with HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). There are other strategies which might help, such as exercise, weight loss and stress reduction. Other medications, for example antidepressants, may be used, but this is outside of their licensed indication (i.e. off-label).
Always discuss with your doctor what might be best for you. Hot flash management is not based on a fit-all solution, and it should always be personalised to your individual needs. Different patients experience menopause differently, and so require individualised approach to treatment.
References
good read