#83 Describing menopause symptoms (Med)

Menopause is when a woman stops having monthly periods and marks the end of the reproductive stage of her life. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55 but can happen earlier or later.

Perimenopause is the time before menopause when a woman’s body is starting to change.

Postmenopause is the stage of life after menopause.

A hot flush is when you suddenly feel very hot, usually in your face, neck, or chest, even if the room isn’t hot.

Night sweats are when you sweat and feel hot a lot while you’re sleeping.

Mood swings are when your feelings change quickly, so you can feel very happy one moment and sad or angry the next.

Fatigue is extreme tiredness that doesn’t go away even after resting.

A memory lapse is when you can’t remember something, but it usually comes back later.

Brain fog is when your mind feels cloudy, and it’s hard to think clearly or remember things.

Hormones are chemicals in your body that control things like mood, energy and sleep.

A treatment is something you do to feel better or fix a health problem. For example, medicine, exercise, or special therapy like hormone replacement therapy can all be treatments.

Menopausal hormone therapy, also known as hormone replacement therapy, is a treatment in which a woman is given hormones to help to restore balance as she goes through perimenopause and post-menopause.

To look into something is to investigate or explore it.

Colloquial expressions:

If you’re drenched in sweat, it means you’ve sweated so much that your clothes or sheets are wet.

If something is all over the place, it means it’s not regular or organised.

Snapping at people means quickly getting angry or upset with someone, often for very little reason.

Learning focus:

When we want to talk about something that started in the past and is continuing until the present, we can use the present perfect tense (have/ has + past participle) as in these examples from the podcast:

Have you noticed anything else? (have + you + noticed)
My sleep’s been all over the place (has + been)
How’s your energy been during the day? (has + your energy + been)
Honestly, it’s been pretty low (has + been)

When we want to talk about something that started in the past and is continuing until the present and we want to emphasise that the process has been continuous, that is, we want to stress the fact that it has been continuing, not just on the fact that it has happened – we can use the present perfect continuous (have/ has + been + present participle). This puts the focus is on the action, the doing of something, rather than on the fact that it has been done. Examples in the podcast are:

I’ve been getting these hot flushes and I’ve been waking up drenched (I + have + been + getting/ waking up)
I’ve been snapping at (I + have + been + snapping)
I’ve been running (I + have + been + running)
I have been working out (I + have + been + working out)
She’s only been lying in bed (she + has + been + lying)
I’ve been having a hard time (I + have + been + having)

Cultural information:

Technically the time leading up to menopause when a woman’s body is beginning to change is called the perimenopause and the time after her final period is called the postmenopause. However, we typically simply use the word menopause to talk about the whole time that these changes are happening.

Practise speaking dialogue from this episode

english_sbslearneng_bonus_ep 83.mp3 image

Bonus Practice: #83 Describing menopause symptoms (Med)

SBS English

01/04/202504:19

Transcript:

(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.

Hi, Josipa here. Today, we’re talking about something every woman experiences—menopause.

Now, if you’re a man thinking, “This isn’t for me,” I’d ask you to think again. We all need to understand menopause—not for women—because we all know someone who will experience this, whether it’s your partner, mother, sister, or friend and it’s important to know more about it if we want to support them.

So, let’s practise how to talk about these symptoms. But first, let me explain, what is menopause?

Menopause is a life stage when a woman’s periods stop permanently. This usually happens between 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier or later. It means her body isn’t releasing eggs anymore, so her periods have stopped completely, and she can’t get pregnant.

Before menopause, there’s perimenopause, a time when the body starts to change. And after as the body adjusts to its new normal, there is the time called a postmenopause. In everyday talk we generally use the term menopause to refer to both of these times.

Menopause happens because of changes in hormones. Hormones are the chemicals in your body that control things like mood, energy, sleep, and growth.

When these hormones change, they can cause symptoms—signs or feelings in your body that show that something is different.

To practise how to talk about the symptoms of menopause, let’s imagine Claire visiting her GP—her general practitioner or doctor—to discuss what she’s been experiencing. Here’s how that conversation might go.

Allan

So, Claire, what are your symptoms?

Claire

I’ve been getting these hot flushes, and I’ve been waking up drenched in sweat.

Allan

That sounds like night sweats. Have you noticed anything else?

Claire

Yeah, my sleep’s been all over the place and I’ve been snapping at people way more than usual.

Allan

Mood swings and trouble sleeping are common menopause symptoms. How’s your energy been during the day?

Claire

Honestly, it’s been pretty low. And I ‘ve been forgetting little things—it’s like my brain’s in a fog.

Allan

Fatigue and memory lapses, or brain fog, are also very common. Menopause can really affect your hormones, and that can impact both your body and mind.

Claire

So, what can I do? Are there any treatments that could help with this?

That’s a lot to take in so let’s get to work and break down some key vocabulary from the dialogue. Claire said,

I’ve been getting these hot flushes.

Claire has been getting hot flushes. A hot flush is when you suddenly feel very hot, usually in your face, neck, or chest, even if the room isn’t hot. It can make you feel sweaty or uncomfortable. So, when Claire says she’s been getting hot flushes, it means she been feeling very hot for no obvious reason. She also said,

I’ve been waking up drenched in sweat.

Drenched means very wet. So, if you’re drenched in sweat, it means you’ve been sweating so much that your clothes or sheets are wet.

For example, after I’ve been running, my t-shirt is always drenched in sweat – in this case because I have been working out hard. But because of her night sweats, Claire feels drenched in sweat even when she’s only been lying in bed, as Alan said:

That sounds like night sweats.

Night sweats are when you sweat and feel hot a lot while you’re sleeping. Night sweats can make it difficult to sleep, as Claire said,

Yeah, my sleep’s been all over the place.

Claire’s sleep has been all over the place. If something is all over the place, it’s not regular or organised. You can use this phrase in a lot of different situations.

For example, the papers on my desk are all over the place at the moment, so I need to tidy them up. Or, I could say my diet is all over the place; one day I’m eating healthy, and the next I’m having fast food.

If your sleep is all over the place, you’re having trouble sleeping – you’re not having good, regular, healthy sleep.

I’ve been snapping at people way more than usual.

‘Snapping at people’ means quickly getting angry or upset with someone, often for very little reason.

Mood swings and trouble sleeping are very common menopause symptoms.

If you have mood swings it means that your feelings change quickly, so that you’re happy one moment and maybe sad or angry the next.

Fatigue and memory lapses, or brain fog, are also very common.

Fatigue, memory lapses, brain fog. Let’s look into each of these separately.

Fatigue is a formal word for extreme tiredness. We often use it when the feeling of tiredness doesn’t go away even after resting. If you feel deep fatigue, you feel too tired to do everyday activities.

A memory lapse is when you can’t remember something. It’s usually temporary and only lasts a short time so you can remember things later, and brain fog is when your mind feels cloudy, so that it’s hard to think clearly or remember things.

Let's say I’ve been having a hard time focusing and remembering things. I could say, "I’ve been feeling a bit of brain fog lately."

Some medicines can give you brain fog, and I can get it when I’m very tired.

Allan:

Menopause can really affect your hormones, and that can impact both your body and mind.

Hormones are chemicals in your body that control things like mood, energy and sleep.

So, what can I do? Are there any treatments that could help with this?

Are there any treatments that can help? That’s a great question to ask your doctor. A treatment is something you do to feel better or fix a health problem. Medicine, exercise, or special therapy can all be different kinds of treatments.

As always, it’s important to discuss with a doctor your own needs and treatments. Hopefully this lesson has given you some new vocabulary so you can talk about menopause and symptoms more confidently.

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A big thank you to our guests Silva Mezher and Yumi Oba. Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire, and Professor Lynda Yates was our educational consultant.