Davina McCall has been flying the flag for menopausal women since her documentary Davina McCall: Sex, myths and the Menopause aired in May 2021, and on Friday she reposted a video sharing the struggles she's experienced since perimenopause began.
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Davina, who is now 54, explained she was 44 when she began suffering crippling perimenopausal symptoms. "I couldn't construct a sentence of any kind, or remember where anything was or keep my cool," the Masked Singer judge said. "I was really scared and I had nowhere to go."
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Davina takes HRT for her symptoms and urges other women to explore the options open to them too. "Rather than being ashamed of taking hormones, I have realised I'm doing myself a huge favour in terms of physical fitness and diminishing my risk of osteoporosis."
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"HRT is about weighing up the risks. The contraceptive pill is more dangerous than HRT," she adds.
Davina explained that she was "really scared and had nowhere to go" when she started experiencing menopausal symptoms and sought help privately after being unable to get help on the NHS.
Davina spoke opening about her perimenopause symptoms on Instagram
She went on to share she experienced vaginal dryness, saying: "80% of women have vaginal atrophy, dryness, down below. I was dry down there and it hurt to wee and wipe. It's a bit sore. I wouldn't know why it was happening but I was too embarrassed to talk about it and felt literally dried up. HRT was enough to sort me out."
Davina has a new menopause documentary on the way. Davina McCall: The Menopause Brain Drain will investigate whether women are sidelined, sacked or forced to go part-time when they begin to go through the menopause.
Taking HRT helps Davina remain active
Davina said: "I have never had a reaction like the one I received after Sex, Myths and the Menopause aired. It was profoundly moving and deeply humbling, and what I realised is that women need more answers, more support and a voice.
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"Many amazing women have laid the groundwork before me in this field, and I want to arm women with the facts so they can make informed decisions about their bodies – I truly believe we have the power to inspire change in societies' perceptions, the workplace, relationships and so much more."
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