The average age (in the UK) that women start the menopause is 51 years old and perimenopause symptoms often start at around 45 years of age. Women with a learning disability can start the menopause 5-10 years earlier.
Women with Down’s syndrome usually start the menopause in their early 40’s but it can be earlier. Some women with Down’s syndrome report confusion and memory issues when they start menopause, so it can be difficult to determine whether these symptoms are related to menopause or to the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease.
Women with a learning disability will generally find it harder to learn about menopause and will usually know much less about how their body works than someone without a learning disability. Women with a learning disability often will not have a natural understanding of menopause, what it means and what will happen to their bodies therefore rely on parents, carers, GP Practices, LD Community Teams, to have the knowledge, be aware, be observant and to act in their best interest.
Selby Town PCN (lead by Lauren Riley and Montana Baldwin) and York Community Learning Disabilities Team (lead by Lesley Richardson) have come together to look at how we can improve patient experience, streamline patient care, and improve patient quality of life.
Identifying patients before they reach the potential age of starting menopause can allow us to equip both patients and carers with the information needed to understand and navigate the journey of menopause. Early identification can also improve patient quality of life by ensuring they get the right care at the right time.
In this post, you will find the following documents related to menopause:
Key Ring – Menopause-Yes-No-Not Sure Card-Widget
It’s important that we ensure we are communicating with our patients in a way that works for them, so we have created a communication keyring to help patients answer questions during consultations.
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Key Ring – Menopause Widget Tiles
Women with a learning disability will generally find it harder to learn about menopause and will usually know much less about how their body works than someone without a learning disability. So we have created a keyring of symptoms to aid communication with family and professionals.
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Menopause-Perimenopause Symptom Checklist
When exploring the possibility of menopause, there are some crucial questions we need to ask, so we have created an easy-read questionnaire to help gather this information.
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Menopause Symptoms Monitoring Chart (Easy Read)
This easy-read chart can be used by patients and carers to keep track of any symptoms. This can then be shared with professionals to support their investigations.
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Carer Booklet
This is a booklet about menopause for families and carers of women with a learning disability. The booklet aims to help them understand what is happening and why. It is in an easy-read format so it is accessible for people with a learning disability too.
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Keep Healthy During the Menopause
An easy-read guide to all things menopause and how to keep healthy.
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Menopause Patches
An easy-read poster to support patients to understand their HRT patches and how to use them.
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Risks
An easy-read booklet about the risks of using HRT to combat menopause symptoms.
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Side Effects
An easy-read booklet about the possible side effects of HRT.
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