G & T hub reminds menopausal women they are not alone

An initiative by three Mullingar women aimed at helping those going through the menopause has been launched in the midlands, and is set to go nationwide. About 50 women attended the launch of the midlands G & T menopause hub in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, last Saturday, where they were advised on how to tackle the problems posed by the menopause.

Sharon Tobin, newsreader with RTÉ, chaired the seminar and congratulated Grace Kinirons, nutritionist and keep fit expert, Fiona O’Neill, nurse and wellness consultant, and Anne O’Donnell, dentist, on setting up the community-based healthcare hub for menopausal women.

The G & T (giving and taking) hub, she said, is a reminder to women going through the menopause that they are not alone and that they are entitled to seek and receive support from family, friends and others during this time in their lives.

Grace Kinirons referred to the changes that have come about in lifestyle, diet and technology during the lifetime of those born in the 1960s and ’70s. Most women of our mothers’ generation gave up work and dedicated their lives to housework and child rearing, and the older children helped out from the age of 11 or 12.

People are now living longer and we are sandwiched between grown up children that expect us to mother them and elderly parents, she said.

She pointed out that when she was growing up, the diet was potatoes from the garden, meat and veg with maybe a homemade apple tart or jelly on a Sunday, if you were lucky. This simple diet has been replaced by ultra-processed food, genetically modified ingredients, food that is covered in chemicals, huge portions, fast food, snacks, fizzy drinks.

Plastics pollution is disturbing hormone levels, leading to lots of problems including breast cancer in younger women which was uncommon 40 or 50 years ago, and difficulty getting pregnant.

Technology that was supposed to make life easier is preventing us from switching off – kids texting you at work, or work texting you at home. How many of us contacted our fathers at work? Ms Kinirons asked. Alcohol consumption is also on the rise – in the past women drank no more than one or two units a week, now it’s normal to drink nine units in one sitting.

These changes, she suggested, are leading to more debilitating menopause – trouble sleeping because of hot flushes, aching joints and muscles, weight gain, feelings of anxiety and trouble concentrating. Grace offers wellness and fitness courses to help tackle these symptoms.

Fiona O’Neill trained as a nurse, but having experienced stress and witnessed others struggling with it, she retrained and now teaches mindfulness and healthy living. She invited the audience to join her in a breathing exercise to let out tension and tightness. “Letting go is hard, but holding on is even harder,” she told them before getting everyone on their feet to clap to music.

Anne O’Donnell has two dental practices in town and she maintains that you cannot have overall health without good oral health. She spoke of the tongue being a sexual organ with the same structure as the vagina and explained that the dryness that is experienced in the vaginal area during menopause can also occur in the mouth.

You may need a softer toothbrush, maybe a gel or mouth wash and maybe a saliva substitute. Many women suffer tooth loss and gum disease during menopause, but there is help available, she said.

Re-imagine your wardrobe

Caroline Hynes is a style consultant and she was on hand to advise the attendees on how to smarten up their image and re-imagine their wardrobe. They say we use 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time, she remarked urging women to take out the lesser worn outfits and accessorise or mix and match them.

Caroline has a shop in town and has been accessorising women for more than 20 years. She advises that you go for colour, keep the outfit simple and then personalise it with accessories. She feels that it is a great time to be this age because the trend is shifting towards baggy shirts, wide legged jeans and dressy blouses which favour the older model.

Don’t hid your figure, highlight your better features and wear your best outfit, don’t let your good perfume go off, don’t let those nice candles go dry, take out the champagne and drink it, she said.

Joan Clancy, a beauty expert, gave a demonstration on how to look after your skin and spoke of the importance of nurturing it as oestrogen levels plummet during menopause. She also said that Omega 3 and vitamin Bs saved her when she was menopausal.

Alwyn Thornton of Mullingar Physiotherapy talked about the importance of exercise during and post menopause. She advised women to measure their height at each birthday rather than waiting until they break a bone to find they have osteoporosis.

The first place the heart sends blood to is itself – think on, we need to look after ourselves first if we are going to be able to look after others, Alwyn advised.

The Emsella chair, a revolutionary new treatment for incontinence and vaginal health, was demonstrated by Dee McMahon, who described it as “magic” and a gym cheat when it comes to toning up the pelvic floor. She invited the audience to try it out, assuring them that 30 minutes on the chair twice a week for three weeks, could transform their lives.

When asked by a member of the audience if the G & T HUB would be holding online workshops, Grace Kinirons remarked that this was their first day, but she was confident that they would be branching out and going online.