McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
How Can I Tell if I’m in Menopause?
Published by Dr Iain Martin
Date posted — 9.05.25
Menopause is a natural and inevitable phase of life, experienced by every woman at some point. While you may have heard about menopause from others, such as your mother or friends, recognising the signs and understanding what’s happening to your body can feel confusing. Here’s what you need to know to determine if you’re transitioning into menopause and how to manage this stage effectively.
What is menopause?
Menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles. It’s diagnosed after you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period, typically occurring between the ages of 45 and 55. However, menopause can happen earlier due to specific medical treatments, surgeries, genetics or other health factors.
Menopause has three stages:
Perimenopause: The transitional period when symptoms begin, often several years before menopause.
Menopause: The point at which you’ve stopped menstruating for 12 months.
Post menopause: The period following menopause, during which symptoms typically ease, though health considerations like osteoporosis remain essential.
Transitioning into menopause
Early signs that you might be entering menopause include:
- Irregular or changing periods (heavier, lighter, or less predictable)
- Hot flushes and night sweats
- Mood swings or irritability
- Sleep disturbances
- Fatigue
- Reduced libido
Perimenopause can last anywhere from a few months to several years. If you’re experiencing these symptoms and wondering whether you’ve started menopause, professional guidance can clarify your situation. At McKeown Medical, our expert menopause consultations provide comprehensive assessments and personalised support.
Managing menopause for the first time
Managing menopause symptoms effectively can significantly improve your quality of life. There are several ways to ease symptoms:
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): HRT can be very effective at restoring your hormone levels and helping to reduce the symptoms you experience as a result of menopause. Everyone, however, reacts differently, and it’s sometimes necessary to tweak your prescription until you achieve optimal control of your symptoms. We usually start with a prescription for oestrogen and progesterone, which for many people will be enough. If this isn’t enough, it can be helpful to add testosterone, particularly if you have problems with sleep and libido.
- Lifestyle Adjustments: Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and stress reduction techniques (like yoga and meditation) can help manage symptoms naturally.
- Non-hormonal treatments: Options such as antidepressants can reduce hot flushes and mood swings if HRT isn’t suitable or if you don’t want to take hormones.
Embracing overall wellness, including regular exercise and a nutritious diet, significantly supports the transition, helping you feel healthier and more energetic.
Navigating menopause with McKeown Medical
Navigating menopause can feel overwhelming at first, but you don’t need to go through it alone. At McKeown Medical, we provide comprehensive menopause care tailored specifically to your needs. We offer personalised support and treatments to ease symptoms, empowering you to maintain a vibrant, active lifestyle.
At McKeown Medical, we can help guide you through your menopause journey and tackle any issues you may be facing. Talk to us to learn more about the treatment options we offer to help manage your health moving forward. Get a consultation today
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
At least according to Michael Buble, who’s been on repeat in the clinic this week. The decorations are up and we are officially in ‘our season’. The clinic has been packed with everyone having their skin polished in time to make it on the nice list. If you’ve still to make a pre-Christmas appointment, we’ve still got some spaces left for your festive glow up.
Ho ho ho everyone… It’s time for Santa!!!! 🎅🏻
Ok, so this is the one we’ve all been waiting for. Sofwave : the results, in our hands!!!
This is the first patient we treated with @sofwave.uk when we were assessing the machine and deciding whether or not to buy it. These are the patient`s own photos that she kept throughout the healing journey.
Now do you see why we are so excited?! 🤩
#sofwave
#sofwavemed
#SUPERB
#sofwavemedical
#sofwavejourney
#sofwaveexperience
We are now well up and running with @sofwave.uk , much to the excitement of the whole team in the clinic (we are all queuing up to get a shot!)
This is a little video of the treatment being performed, so you can see what the process is like and there is even a little early preview of the results at the end.
One of the best parts is that there is no downtime, so we can still fit it in before Christmas without worrying about redness in the party season!
What do you think?
#sofwave
#sofwavemed
#SUPERB
#sofwavemedical
#sofwavejourney
#sofwaveexperience
We`re absolutely delighted to introduce you to our lovely new doctor, Dr Sharon.
With over 30 years’ experience as a medical doctor and a decade specialising in aesthetic medicine, Dr Sharon brings exceptional skill, warmth and a deeply patient-centred approach to every treatment.
She joins us with extensive expertise in injectables, including advanced toxin and filler techniques, and will also be leading our regenerative aesthetics offering with Ameela polynucleotides and Ameela Exosomes - two of the most exciting developments in skin rejuvenation. She will also be offering Profhilo and Profhilo Structura!
We have a super exciting new addition to the clinic this week, with the launch of @sofwavemed.
Sofwave is an incredible skin tightening technology that has been around for five years now. I am never first to the queue with new devices because so many don’t deliver and disappear within a couple of years of launch. Sofwave however has continued to grow in popularity over the years and earlier this year I decided I had to find out what all the fuss was about.
I asked the reps to bring it round for us to play with and we treated a few of our patients to see what the results were like and, three months later not only was I signing the purchase order I was asking how quickly I could get one of the reps round to treat me 😊
Sofwave works using ultrasound waves to create a thermal injury to the deeper layers of the skin, initiating a healing response which over a period of several months results in a skin tightening effect.
I have trialled a number of ultrasound devices in the past and have never bought any of them because I was always disappointed in the results. There are a couple of things that I think makes Sofwave different.
First, it only goes to 1.5mm which means all of the energy is being delivered to the skin. Most other devices go down to 3 or 4mm, by which point you are past the skin and into the fat which can, if anything, have a worsening effect on volume loss. The second difference that I think is important is that it treats a bigger proportion of the surface area of the skin.
We have a new page on our website where you can read all about Sofwave and how it works, but for now, enjoy some of these before and afters that the manufacture supplied.
Let me know what you think!
Lower eyelid surgery is one of the more challenging operations in aesthetic practice. If we can avoid it, we normally try to help our patients chose non-surgical paths using laser or fillers.
However, there are some situations where it can’t be avoided, especially when there is excess fat under the eye causing puffiness. This is exactly what this patient had and so the very talented @bramhallplasticsurgery performed an upper and lower blepharoplasty for him. Whilst we often do the upper eyelids without doing the lower eyelids, usually when we do the lower eyelids we always need to do the uppers too.
This patient is now a couple of months out from surgery and loving his result. What do you think?
Laser season continues!
Thank you to this lovely patient who has kindly allowed us to share her results. She was particularly concerned about the fine lines and creases around her mouth, and underwent full-field laser resurfacing to target the deeper layers of the skin.
This is just two months after treatment and you can already see a significant improvement in the fine lines and overall skin texture. She’s still a little red and got some more healing to do, but she is already very happy with the improvement. This patient was a bit anxious about having the treatment done, so chose to have it under sedation which means she slept throughout and woke up when it was over!
What do you think?
It’s been six months since we launched the new toxin Relfydess in the clinic so, how is it going?
We’ve undertaken a survey of all of the patients we treated with the new toxin in the first month, who are now around six months since their first treatment, to find out more about what they thought of the results over the longer term - whether it kicked in faster, whether it looked better and whether they felt it lasted longer than the previous toxin.
Here are the results, and the feedback so far is really encouraging with the majority of patients reporting that it kicked in faster, looked better and lasted longer.
If you’d like to see more detail and analysis of these results, check out the link to the blog post in our profile.
Aesthetic interventions are never far from the headlines and this week the media have been focused on comments made by the make up artist Bobbi Brown about her view of cosmetic procedures. I was on BBC Radio Scotland today talking about the issue.
My own view is that we should all age in the way we feel comfortable with - if you are happy with grey hair and wrinkles, then I absolutely admire you just as much as I admire those who feel differently and want a little help to keep the signs of ageing at bay. There is no right and wrong and there is no room for moral superiority. Just you be you!
Have a listen to the debate and let me know what you think in the comments!
Join us on Instagram to keep up with the latest results and expert insights from the clinic team.
Our dedicated team of experts are on hand to help you as you navigate your journey with us.
When you first make contact with us you will be assigned your own personal Patient Relationship Manager. They’ll start by understanding your needs and liaising with our doctors to book you an appointment with the most suitable specialist. For any additional questions or needs, you can message or call them anytime and they’ll be delighted to assist you. Our entire team is dedicated to providing you with the best possible treatment and care tailored to your needs.
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