Surgical menopause & gut health
We are surrounded by gut health and words like “healthy microbiome” but what does that mean? And more importantly, how does having a healthy gut affect our hormones? To answer our questions, we asked Dr Fionnuala Barton aka “The Menopause Medic” on “Let’s all Talk Menopause” to answer our questions!
Dr Barton is a BMS registered menopause specialist & women’s health GP and is passionate about assisting women physically and emotionally through all stages of life. Thankfully she came armed with a mountain of knowledge on how to make our gut healthy during menopause. What’s more, she explained how having a healthy gut can help ease our menopause symptoms.
This session was two-fold; natural menopause, and surgically induced menopause. First she tackled surgical menopause and explained how it differed from natural; more often than not, surgical menopause symptoms are more severe and intense.
Women often question how long surgical menopause will last. Dr Barton explained that its indefinite. One day your body is pumping with natural hormones and the next (post-surgery) it’s not. This trauma on the body creates a shock reaction and though natural menopause symptoms occur ie: vasomotor symptoms, insomnia, brain fog, vaginal/oral dryness etc, they are often more severe.
“A post-surgery body is immediately oestrogen deficient and women need to be prepared and counselled pre-surgery for the huge change that’s about to occur.”
Here are a few points to note:
Treatment, if possible, should be started before the surgery inducing menopause.
Make sure you have a good supply of medication/HRT to last you even after recovery. With shortages raining around us, this is a good tip!
Important to get the right care post-surgery. You can often feel sidelined and young women especially may feel the shock more because of their high hormones pre-surgery.
Shockingly, during a recent survey, 40% of women undergoing surgery (which would plough them into surgical menopause) felt they had not had HRT discussed as part of their after care. This is of course devastating. “Uptake of HRT thereafter will fluctuate. But the percentage of women being informed about HRT and aftercare in surgical menopause should be 100%!” said Dr Barton, who clearly felt very strongly about this, and rightly so.
So how is gut health related to surgical menopause/menopause? Surgery of any kind is a huge trauma for the body, and it triggers a stress response. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy antibiotics etc can have a seismic impact on the body, and your gut health and immune health are linked to that.
Maintaining a good hormone equilibrium means a good gut equilibrium.
Dr Barton’s top tips for a healthy gut:
Add ins: improve the diversity in your diet. Add in plants and plant foods – nuts, seeds, veg, herbs, fruit, grains and spices. Increase fibre and water intake for healthy bowels and to keep the system moving. Probiotics like yoghurts and other fermented foods contain live microbes and are fantastic for creating a balanced gut environment.
Avoid environmental disruptors: chemicals & pesticides. You need to support your liver as it secretes toxins and is a big part of your hormone health.
Support your body. Get fit, try to avoid ultra processed foods. These encourage bad bacteria to build and cause bloating and inflammation in the body.
Throughout the talk, it dawned on me that surgical menopause is an ENTIRELY different journey to natural menopause and navigating that transition is hugely challenging. If having a healthy gut improves that journey in any way, I would consider it. Menopause or not, a healthy gut seems essential to living a long healthy life.
To watch Dr Barton’s talk again, head here.
Next week - How to thrive at work during the Peri/Menopause
On to next week, and more women than ever are leaving the workplace due to the pressures of work life, and the ever-changing symptoms of peri/menopause. So Let’s all Talk Menopause welcomes Executive Career Coach Dr Claire Kaye on to discuss“How to thrive at work during peri/menopause.”
Join us to learn how to be confident and stand up for yourself when dealing with both the physical and the emotional effects of your menopause. That’s Tuesday, September 26th at 8pm. You can book your pass here.
Written by Anila Shyam, September 2023.