LESLEY KEATING: Routine profiling of women could detect danger levels

It was very unexpected and courageous of Carol Vorderman to explain on ITV's Lorraine that she'd suffered so much with anxiety and depression during the menopause that she'd considered taking her own life.
Carol VordermanCarol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman

Having children was the only thing that stopped her.

I must admit I’ve never been a big Carol fan before. However, this really made me warm to her – it was such an honest and brave interview.

The menopause isn’t always talked about and, as Carol said, it’s often the butt of jokes and ridicule, which drives it undercover rather than out in the open.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

You also can never tell, on the surface, who is suffering in this way.

Just because a person has no obvious ‘reason’ for depression doesn’t mean they won’t fall victim.

I have friends who have been hit by the huge black truck of depression, either circumstantial, or hormonal, as was the case with Carol.

One of my closest friends has been through agonies with the menopause.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It’s only because she is a very strong person – one of the strongest I’ve ever known actually – that she’s forced herself to pull through by exploring various alternative methods, rather than obediently living on the GP-prescribed medication that made her feel dreadful.

Carol apparently went for some sort of specialist profiling, which shows if a woman is likely to develop menopausal problems due to imbalances.

As a result, she had a hormone replacement patch infused with wild yam gel, which she says alleviated her depression almost instantly!

She’s never looked back.

She freely admits there are still days when she’s still not up to dancing through the daisies.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But she puts that down to those occasional low days we all could get and not full-blown depression any more.

Wouldn’t it make sense if all women were given some sort of routine profiling to detect potential danger levels and therefore offer a chance to deal with them in advance?

Forewarned is forearmed, after all.

May save the NHS a lot of money in the long run too.

WHEN I SAID I WAS PECKISH, I HOPE SHE KNEW IT WAS A JOKE!

My sugar-free lifestyle is not without its challenges.

It was my birthday last week, so I dutifully trotted off on the obligatory ‘cakes for the office’ run.

I’d already treated myself to a slice of a gorgeous raw and completely sugar-free lemon and pistachio cake from the fabulous Southsea Coffee Co, but I knew that the guys in the office wouldn’t share my enthusiasm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There’s nothing quite like struggling under a mountain of muffins, donuts and cream slices in the local supermarket to make you look like a greedy pig.

The cashier clearly found it a little surprising, so I couldn’t resist saying ‘I just felt a bit peckish…’ by way of explanation.

Hope she realised I was joking!

Related topics: