1 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,720 This is me. 2 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:17,000 Like a set clock my body has always knew what it was supposed to do. 3 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,800 When I was born, I carried a treasure with me. 4 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,960 Millions of immature eggs tucked away in my tiny little ovaries. 5 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:35,520 I am 12-13 years old. My body now knows that it has to make hormones... 6 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,800 ... and awakens the first egg, which begins its journey. 7 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,160 I'm getting my period pimples, breasts. 8 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,240 The hormones are my invisible driving force. 9 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,760 My internal clock is ticking outward. I want to be pregnant - 10 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,640 - and my body finds it also looked out of. 11 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,800 With two eggs and some other work... that's what got them out of it. 12 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,760 The years fly by. Now I'm in my early 50s. 13 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,240 The children fly themselves. 14 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,800 I feel free, strong and happy. There is still so much I have to achieve. 15 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,520 Menstruation does not come so often longer. 16 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:37,960 One day the last egg is rolled out. I don't think too much about it - 17 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:43,840 - but suddenly the body starts sending signals I don't understand. 18 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:49,400 For the first time, it is as if my body doesn't know what to do. 19 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,320 I can't sleep. 20 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,840 And then I also just have had the feeling that... 21 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,400 ... that I'm too sad. 22 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,560 And because, well... Just like that... 23 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:27,040 When I get up in the morning... I don't see any point in that. 24 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:34,080 Can't even fathom the years that lies before me. 25 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,600 - It shouldn't be like that, right? - No. 26 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:52,400 I have heard about menopause and you know you can get hot flashes - 27 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,200 - but what happens to me, feels far worse. 28 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,480 I want to know what's going on, when the hormones in my body are changing - 29 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,680 - and understand this mystery, as so many of us experience. 30 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,840 Because I'm not the only one. 31 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,600 Women all over the world are like me ran out of eggs - 32 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:19,280 - and lie sleepless and try to find out what is happening. 33 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:25,280 I was like a clock, but then the clock changed - 34 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:30,960 - from one day to the next. Bang! Then suddenly I was someone else. 35 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,560 I looked in the mirror and didn't know who she was. I didn't know her. 36 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,760 I went to several doctors. Everyone said there was nothing wrong. 37 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:49,680 None of the doctors said it could be a symptom of menopause. 38 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:56,360 Even my gynecologist said, “It sounds like too violent to be hormonal." 39 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,280 I'm missing something. 40 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,880 i need help but I didn't get help. 41 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,960 It can be surprising when it is half of the Earth's population - 42 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:14,920 - that there is no more... yes, more knowledge. 43 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:20,080 I've been damn furious about, that I had to solve this puzzle myself. 44 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:25,280 Science has discovered the most amazing things. 45 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:31,200 They have found out how to send men to the Moon and everything else. 46 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,040 But there are still fundamentals questions about menopause - 47 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,880 - to which there is still no answer. 48 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:48,680 Unfortunately my mother didn't live that old, so she never reached menopause. 49 00:04:54,440 --> 00:05:01,480 But my mother-in-law, grandmother, did all kinds of women before me. 50 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,480 One day they stopped too with menstruating. 51 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,680 But I never heard anyone talk about it. 52 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,880 No one has told about menopause. I didn't know about it. 53 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,200 My mother never talked about it. 54 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,400 My grandmother never talked about it. I never talked about it with my sisters. 55 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,400 Nobody talked about it. 56 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:27,640 When I tried to talk about it with female peers, they said: 57 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,720 "Be quiet. People can hear you. They just say we're old." 58 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:38,680 I also now realize that my gynecologist haven't talked about it either. 59 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:45,400 For decades, the science of women's health has been deeply under-examined. 60 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,080 Especially when it comes to menopause. 61 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:54,720 But now researchers are pushing worldwide the field forward - 62 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:57,920 - and I'm out to meet them. 63 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,280 They work dedicatedly to help women - 64 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,920 - through one of life's most dramatic changes. 65 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,800 In Norway I meet Professor Silje Mæland. 66 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,440 She researches a pattern, which no one has so far been able to explain. 67 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:23,280 40-50-year-old women disappear from the labor market for long periods. 68 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,320 Many never return. 69 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,160 Quite short. 70 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:33,560 They want to hear about the updated figures. 71 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,400 They complain the most musculoskeletal pain - 72 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,360 - as well as physical and mental exhaustion. 73 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,360 And then also forgetfulness. 74 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:53,760 I've thought a lot about in my research career... 75 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:59,760 What is actually happening in a woman's life in the 50s? 76 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:05,760 I think someone knew but didn't talk about it out loud. 77 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,800 It's like a state secret, there is buried. 78 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:13,920 That's how I feel. 79 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:23,240 Everyone has heard of the menopause, and I don't know if I thought about it - 80 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,880 - but when something is concealed - 81 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,480 - then there is often shame or stigma attached to it. 82 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:36,800 As a working life researcher - 83 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,000 - I have always tried to solve the riddle on women's sick leave. 84 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,560 Here you can see the sickness absence of women and men, and that bump shows - 85 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,480 - that women's sickness absence increases, from their mid-40s - 86 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,320 - and it doesn't fall again. 87 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,640 It is a huge resource that is being lost. 88 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:07,360 If there is something hormonal behind it, then it has to be put on the table. 89 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:22,800 My mother was in her early 50s, when her health began to fail - 90 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,680 - and she had to go on early retirement. 91 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,920 - Would you like a cup of coffee? - Yes, thank you. 92 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,160 Sit on the couch while I make a cuppa. 93 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,080 It was hard to look at a - 94 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,080 - there had been a role model and strong, become weak. 95 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:48,560 When you can't take care of your work, then it's a defeat. 96 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,680 When I look at pictures from that time, can i see that i am so… 97 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,320 Completely flat. 98 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,240 Like I'm on autopilot. 99 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,280 It was a little embarrassing. 100 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:15,880 And you couldn't understand it. You were always looking for answers. 101 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:22,800 But all that menopause stuff and hormones... 102 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,880 ... it wasn't a theme. 103 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:33,880 You had genes, but you shouldn't go and complain. 104 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,520 You just had to bite it. 105 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,600 It also affected your father. 106 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,120 Well yes. Because he had to start cooking? 107 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,640 Yes, it was a lot... 108 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,600 There have been many hypotheses. 109 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:13,800 That women broke under their own perfectionism. 110 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,160 “Didn't you tighten it a little on the last one?" 111 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:21,680 "Maybe you should take it easy and take care of yourself?” 112 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,680 It is a psychologization - 113 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,920 - who push the responsibility for the genes back on the woman. 114 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,720 All those hypotheses provoke me. 115 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:41,680 We have no evidence for the hypotheses, so we still have to lug them around? 116 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:47,920 One day we were at a restaurant with all my in-laws - 117 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:55,600 - and suddenly the sweat started to hail me down on the tablecloth. 118 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:00,680 I was sweating. 119 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,560 Everyone stared at me and said: "Marta, are you okay? What's wrong?" 120 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:13,480 I wake up knowing that I can feel a shiver here on the front of my chest. 121 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:19,680 It almost felt as if I held on to an electric fence. 122 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,840 If you hold on to an electric fence and gets the first shock - 123 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:30,360 - then you escape, but here I could don't drop that fence. 124 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,760 It kept coming thrust through my body. 125 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:40,560 The hot flashes started at night - 126 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,000 - while I was sleeping. 127 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:49,520 But they were so powerful that I had to have two sets of bed linen ready some nights. 128 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,720 I got almost no sleep. 129 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,840 My eyes closed in. 130 00:11:54,960 --> 00:12:00,800 Then I turned off the light, and then my whole nervous system turned on. 131 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,720 Then I just lay there, as the minutes passed. 132 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,160 I have to sleep now. 133 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,720 I have to sleep now. Then I fell asleep after an hour - 134 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,560 - for half an hour, an hour, and then I woke up again. 135 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,120 When it's really bad, have I had an hour and a half of sleep - 136 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,480 - and it has been a quarter here and there. 137 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:31,480 And then to wake up exhausted and had to start the day. 138 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,800 It was like my brain was going at a standstill so I didn't... 139 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:37,880 I made mistakes. 140 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,240 I cut myself burned me when I was cooking - 141 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,680 - everything I do on a daily basis without giving it a thought - 142 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,440 - but my reflexes had become dull. I was like an open wound. 143 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,720 I know the feeling. 144 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,240 Long nights that stay for mornings, without sleep. 145 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:15,000 Days when it feels like a heavy fog has entered my brain. 146 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:20,720 I understand now that menopause not just about the body. 147 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:27,760 In Chicago I meet Professor Pauline Maki, who for decades has been researching - 148 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:32,840 - how menopause symptoms can leave lasting traces in the brain. 149 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:38,160 My driving force has always been - 150 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,480 - that women deserve better. 151 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:49,040 I do my best to find evidence - 152 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:54,360 - so women can make informed choices about their health during menopause. 153 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,200 I became very interested in - 154 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,920 - about menopause symptoms affects women's risk - 155 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,440 - to get Alzheimer's. 156 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:15,080 We used to think that hot flashes were short-term, benign symptoms. 157 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,280 Then came an investigation, that showed - 158 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:24,640 - that women have hot flashes on average for 7-11 years. Hot flashes are not short-lived. 159 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:30,720 Now I'm putting electrodes on you. 160 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,400 When you have a hot flush, then press these two buttons. 161 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,520 Then the hot trip is registered. 162 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,320 I investigated the connection - 163 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:49,080 - between the number of hot flashes in a woman and the result of the memory test. 164 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,920 I read a series of words. Listen carefully - 165 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:59,760 - because afterwards you have to say so many of the words you can remember. Clear? 166 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:03,400 Muffins. Biscuit. 167 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,680 Cookies. Cupcakes. 168 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,680 Chicken. Veal. 169 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:14,080 - Ih you gentle. - Are you having a hot flush now? 170 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,760 I'm just taking my shirt off - 171 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,160 - because now it's getting uncomfortable. 172 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:27,400 We have circuits in the brain, that regulates our ability to - 173 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,200 - to preserve a "neutral" body temperature. 174 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:38,160 There are special neurons in the hypothalamus, called KNDy neurons. 175 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,240 These KNDy neurons undergo increased growth. 176 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:48,560 They are looking for estrogen, but do not find it, and then they grow. 177 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,360 When they grow - 178 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,960 - the woman's body loses the ability to to regulate body temperature - 179 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,080 - and then she gets hot flashes. 180 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:03,760 Now say all the words you can remember. 181 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,960 Muffins, biscuits, cookies... 182 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,520 ... cake. 183 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:17,960 The more hot flashes she had, the more she got more mistakes in the memory test. 184 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:26,200 The first set of pictures takes half a minute. 185 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:33,320 I researched about the number of hot flashes is linked to the function of the hippocampus. 186 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,920 That area of the brain is sensitive against estrogen - 187 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,560 - and central to our ability to to learn and remember. 188 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,640 It turned out that the more hot flashes a woman had - 189 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,400 - the harder the hippocampus worked. 190 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:54,760 There is something about the heat itself - 191 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,680 - that is linked to memory difficulties. 192 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:05,080 This participant had a large number of hot flashes - 193 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:11,960 - and she has quite a number too of small stroke-like injuries - 194 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,840 - called hyperintense areas in the white matter of the brain. 195 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,200 The more hyperintense areas in the white matter - 196 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:23,560 - the greater the risk for Alzheimer's. 197 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:30,240 The woman here has fewer hot flashes and not as many injuries in the brain. 198 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:38,400 We don't know if hot flushes cause the hyperintense areas - 199 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,120 - but there is a connection. 200 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:49,520 Hot flashes can be harmful for the female brain. 201 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,520 I sometimes find that I have a little hard to remember things. 202 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,920 For example, a colleague can come into my office - 203 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,600 - and refer to something, we talked about in a meeting - 204 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:12,560 - and I'm blunt: "I wasn't to that meeting. He must be wrong.” 205 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:18,680 I was the one who was most productive and structured. 206 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,960 I was the one who was always at the forefront - 207 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:26,640 - and suddenly I had no idea, what the hell was going on. 208 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,200 I met at work one evening - 209 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:35,240 - and stood in front of a device, i had served thousands of times - 210 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:38,240 - and I couldn't turn it on. 211 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:43,720 I then said to the student: "Do you want to check the EKG machine?" 212 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,800 I didn't understand what was wrong. 213 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:52,800 He replied, “Yes, if you just show me how it works." 214 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:58,080 I pretend nothing. It is embarrassing, I don't remember the meeting. 215 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,800 I can't remember what we have decided and what we talked about. 216 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,920 i have it as if my old brain… 217 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:11,680 If my pre-menopausal brain was lying of 100 - 218 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,960 - then I feel that my current capacity is - 219 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:19,080 - of around 30%. 220 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:24,240 I lose confidence and faith in i can be a good leader - 221 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:29,600 - when I can't remember simple things, we have agreed on a meeting. 222 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:35,520 I still haven't told my colleagues - 223 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:41,280 - that I quit because of my head. It was my last shift. 224 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,200 Here we have the woman of 50. 225 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:57,040 The career is going. The debt is paid off. The children move away from home. 226 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,600 The man has moved. The dog is dead. Freedom has never been greater. 227 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:08,280 That's where we top, have it all, and then we lose our estrogens. 228 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:12,840 I borrowed this slide by a colleague. 229 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:19,160 Her husband took a blood test on her every two or three months. 230 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,720 She started when she was 38. Here are her estrogen numbers. 231 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,000 She swings beautifully within the normal range. 232 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:29,680 Then something happens, since she is 53-54 years old. 233 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:35,320 One day she has a high estrogen- production. She has no one else. 234 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:41,400 When we talk about raging hormones in the Menopause, they are not furious. 235 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:47,880 That's the huge fluctuations in it the estrogen levels that are the problem. 236 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,200 So estrogen is an important hormone for women. 237 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,560 Estrogen is an important hormone - 238 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,440 - because we have estrogen receptors in all organs and tissues. 239 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,840 Estrogen is important for bones, our blood vessels - 240 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,920 - our gastrointestinal system, our skin - 241 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,840 - connective tissue, mucous membranes and our brain function. 242 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:23,000 As a rule of thumb, have 1/3 of all women such severe symptoms - 243 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:27,920 - that it affects, perhaps disables, their working and social lives. 244 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,840 So it's no small problem. 245 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:40,440 Sometimes I thought: "I'm completely gone." 246 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,800 And I was also completely gone at times. 247 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,080 You're just not yourself anymore. 248 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,120 When a fit of anger came - 249 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,880 - I wanted to throw in the towel and hit things - 250 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:01,160 - slam the doors in, throw my clothes on the floor - 251 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,200 - in a way, I hadn't known about before. 252 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,600 Where does it come from? 253 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:11,320 It was so crazy with the hormones, that I got it like this: 254 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,240 "I want to fight right now." 255 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:21,320 "I want to fight in the middle of the subway at 6:30, and I feel like hitting somebody." 256 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:27,400 Inside sits a savage, ugly, goofy troll - 257 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,640 - and it just sits and spews fire. 258 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:38,600 And mentally I must say: "Ssh. You shouldn't ..." 259 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:44,360 It was as if I lived with it an extra person in this family. 260 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,160 She was the one who made amber in it. 261 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:56,320 Last time the troll won, where I didn't get to catch it... 262 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,080 For me, it's actually... 263 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,000 ... was it ... 264 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,160 It was a loss of dignity. 265 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:31,320 I'm visiting professor Jayashree Kulkarni in Melbourne. 266 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,200 She researches why so many women experience depression - 267 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,560 - when the hormones change drastically. 268 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:44,240 She leads a psychiatric research center and treats women - 269 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,040 - who have not received help other places. 270 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,640 Okay, so your patient is Jenny. 271 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,440 It is because of mental problems, that she has been referred to us. 272 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:03,480 It is interesting that she did not fail something mental before she turned 47. 273 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:10,600 How can you live your whole life without it serious mental illness, and then bang?! 274 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:16,840 It was said for a long time that it had nothing to do with it menopause to do. Definitely! 275 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,720 I have seen the injustices many women have been surpassed. 276 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,000 In 1985 - 277 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:37,680 - I'm in my second year of my education as a psychiatrist. 278 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,680 I will be sent to Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital - 279 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,880 - where all the crazy people are locked up. 280 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,720 I am uncomfortable with the situation and also nervous about - 281 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,840 - how I manage this six-month rotation. 282 00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:02,000 The doctor gave me a big iron key and said: 283 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:06,400 "You've drawn nineteen." I said, "What do you mean?" 284 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,840 "Section 80 is there, where all the chronic patients are." 285 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:20,640 It was completely dark. There were cracks in the concrete and it was cold. 286 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:26,840 There were women who sat and drooled, and women who sat upright and slept. 287 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:32,360 But what really struck me was, that there was no movement. 288 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:37,840 The women were heavily medicated. 289 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:45,320 I was too proud to run away, so I went to a woman. 290 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,560 "How long have you been hospitalized here?" 291 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:55,200 After a long pause, she said, "12 years." I was shaken. 292 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,680 I started reading the old journals and discovered - 293 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:05,800 - that nine women had been hospitalized, after they had given birth - 294 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:10,520 - and 11 women had fallen ill in the 40s. 295 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:16,000 Both groups thus had one thing in common: 296 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:19,040 Hormonal fluctuations. 297 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:24,000 I remember three of them saying: "It's my hormones, Doctor." 298 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:32,000 Then I began the world's first trial with estrogen - 299 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:35,760 - where I gave the women estrogen. 300 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:41,640 It was striking that several of the women got better. 301 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,480 - Hello. - Hello, Jayashri. 302 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,040 Good to see you. Come along and let's talk about it. 303 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,360 The anxiety just came ... out of the blue. 304 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:59,280 I just wanted to hide. I felt there was something wrong with me. 305 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:03,760 Self-blame, low self-esteem, no joy. 306 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,680 I am approached by women - 307 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:14,960 - who have not had the shadow of psychics problems before they are in their mid-40s. 308 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,640 Purely clinically, we can demonstrate - 309 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:23,680 - that one woman after another get better with hormone therapy - 310 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:28,600 - when we have clarified whether she has a menopause-related depression. 311 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,720 Goodbye again. 312 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,200 We want answers to - 313 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,520 - why some get mental health problems during menopause - 314 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:45,800 - when others don't. And what is the best treatment? 315 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,840 Caro, should we just look at some data? 316 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,040 We are working on a project - 317 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:57,520 - because I discuss with the Danish Medicines Agency and the healthcare system - 318 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:03,520 - whether they will recommend hormone therapy, if we can provide clinical data. 319 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:10,520 Many do not believe that menopause can cause psychological problems - 320 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:15,880 - so when looking for financing for a clinical trial - 321 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,280 - the answer is often: 322 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:23,440 "How can we finance something, there is no evidence for?" 323 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:29,080 Then we can't get funding. Without financing, we cannot obtain evidence. 324 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,520 Without evidence, the symptoms remain not classified. 325 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,840 So it's a vicious circle, and that circle must be broken. 326 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:45,240 At medical school, the doctors of the future will be surgeons and researchers trained. 327 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,720 For decades, the medical world endured of men. 328 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:54,840 Men who researched other men. Healthy and fit white men. 329 00:28:54,960 --> 00:29:00,240 The man's body is the standard, and women's a deviation. 330 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:10,040 Women are not allowed to take part in experiments. Their cycle is disruptive - 331 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,720 - unpredictable, and furthermore, they can also become pregnant. 332 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:21,360 So what makes women women, meant that they could not be researched. 333 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:28,200 It was only in 1993 that it became mandatory in the United States to include women in trials. 334 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,880 But most medical studies still being made on men. 335 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,960 Of all money spent on health research globally - 336 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,800 - walks less than 5% specifically for women's health. 337 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:56,560 In medical research ranks nonwhite women at the bottom. 338 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:02,680 Alexandra Paget-Blanc will on Pauline Maki's team change. 339 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,320 Alex, if you can demonstrate - 340 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:13,200 - that middle-aged black women have more problems with many aspects of sleep - 341 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:18,840 - and that they either partially or completely due to hot flashes - 342 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,200 - then it's a breakthrough. 343 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:27,480 I am concerned with the context between sleep and memory - 344 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,680 - among middle-aged blacks and Latin American women - 345 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,560 - because they are often underrepresented in large studies - 346 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:40,400 - and often have several hot flashes and sleep worse than white women. 347 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,520 Hello? Are you standing outside? Okay. 348 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,480 Now I get new data. 349 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,240 - Hello. Thanks. How did it go? - Good. 350 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,920 That sounds good. Thank you very much. 351 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,720 I hope there are some good, clear hot flashes. 352 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,760 There is a heat wave. 353 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:19,240 She has had at least 10 hot flushes in 12 hours. 354 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,520 She woke up, and then two hours passed, before she fell asleep again - 355 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,920 - and it's not a very good night. 356 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:31,640 I would like to know - 357 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:37,560 - why black and hispanic women sleep so badly. 358 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:44,160 Is it due to something social, or is there an underlying biological cause? 359 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:47,000 We don't know that. 360 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,160 We cannot ignore how much hot flashes affect sleep - 361 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:56,520 - and that chronic sleep disturbances harm women's health. 362 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,160 Our research indicates that it can be a subgroup of women - 363 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:10,560 - if brain health is affected of menopause. 364 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,640 Women who have moderate for severe hot flushes - 365 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:18,520 - and who sleeps poorly due to hot flashes at night... 366 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:23,240 If it is not treated, her brain becomes more vulnerable - 367 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:28,000 - against Alzheimer's, if she gets Alzheimer's. 368 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:33,600 She didn't build it best possible brain for his old age. 369 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:40,160 I think that is the context between menopause and Alzheimer's. 370 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:46,760 We just don't have a clinical trial, that asks the question: 371 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,440 Benefits hormone therapy memory for women - 372 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,520 - have many hot flashes? Women want answers to that. 373 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:02,480 In the 60s, estrogen pills become available to women in the West. 374 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:08,440 Hormone therapy, a cure against hot flashes and mood swings. 375 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,680 The product is marketed like a kind of elixir of youth - 376 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:17,160 - so women can last their husbands satisfied. 377 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:23,720 "With estrogen treatment, women become not boring and unattractive." 378 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,520 The sale of hormone therapy explodes. 379 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,600 Over the years, the questions grow - 380 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,360 - about the long-term effects of hormone therapy effects on women's health. 381 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:45,960 Can the treatment improve long-term women's health - 382 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:52,800 - or increase the risk of breast cancer, one of the biggest killers of women? 383 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,480 To get the answer initiates US National Institutes of Health - 384 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,920 - the largest study of women's health ever. 385 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,440 I worked for the NIH, the national health institutes. 386 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:14,280 My career was only just beginning, when the study was published. 387 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:18,400 Like many others, I thought it would show - 388 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,640 - that hormone therapy was beneficial. 389 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:29,000 When the result was declared at the press conference - 390 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,920 - there was complete silence. 391 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:36,520 I was sitting in the hall myself. 392 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:43,040 Good morning. Women should not initiate or continue hormone therapy. 393 00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:48,680 This increases the risk for breast cancer and blood clots. 394 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,840 It was shocking. 395 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:56,240 People were stunned to hear that. 396 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:02,880 The message was that hormone therapy was harmful to women. 397 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,280 Hormone treatment is called into question. 398 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,440 The risk of blood clots increases by 41%. 399 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,920 The risk of invasive breast cancer increases by 26%. 400 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:18,800 The message was: Hormone treatment causes heart disease and breast cancer. 401 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:28,000 If you only say: "It increases the risk to get sick by 30%" - 402 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:34,280 - then women hear that 30% of the women receiving hormone therapy - 403 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,240 - get sick, but that is not the case. 404 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:46,240 If there are 9 women in the placebo group with breast cancer - 405 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,360 - then an increase of 30% 12 women. 406 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:55,360 It therefore increases from 9 to 12 women. 3 women out of 1000. 407 00:35:55,480 --> 00:36:00,280 It is a very low risk, but that's not how they presented the data. 408 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,480 I remember thinking: 409 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,280 Now women don't want hormone therapy longer. 410 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:09,600 And so it went. 411 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:16,760 It had consequences for me as a researcher, because the message was: 412 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:21,720 Hormone therapy is harmful. We should not research it any further. 413 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:27,040 If I wanted to continue my research, did i have to leave NIH - 414 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:29,320 - and then I went to Chicago. 415 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:37,680 NIH is to be commended for - 416 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:42,840 - that they financed my research in other menopause treatments. 417 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:47,160 That's why I studied herbal medicine, for that is what women took. 418 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,000 We looked at red clover. 419 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,040 Soy. 420 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:00,880 Silver light. 421 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,640 Had phytoestrogens a beneficial effect - 422 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,440 - on the brain and hot flashes? They didn't have that. 423 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:14,240 As with so many other things I throw myself foaming at Google. 424 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,880 There are all kinds of alternatives. 425 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:23,040 Everything from some red clover halloy in pill form - 426 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:29,840 - lectures with someone who has produced some bee pollen halloy - 427 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:32,960 - that works for some. 428 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:37,520 Went to acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology. 429 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:41,440 A little cream, homeopathy, plant estrogens. 430 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:46,080 Other more natural remedies. I could use them. 431 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:49,400 Then we try that herbal remedy and that. 432 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,640 Maybe you should try pot. 433 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:58,160 I gave 2000 euros for a blood test, that proved nothing. 434 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,120 Another year passed. 435 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:06,440 I just got worse and went to one immunologist. I thought I was terminally ill. 436 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:12,880 No matter what I tried, detox baths or meditation - 437 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,000 - it didn't get better. 438 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,160 I'm sorry - 439 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:28,440 - that so many women's quality of life has deteriorated so much - 440 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:32,600 - because they were not offered treatment. 441 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:36,160 An entire generation of women did not get the opportunity to - 442 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,600 - to benefit from hormone therapy. 443 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:52,880 The success criterion for me is: A woman walks out my door - 444 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,320 - with the solution, which gives her a better life. 445 00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:58,920 For some, it's estrogen. 446 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:03,000 For others it is a conversation, that clarifies questions. 447 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,560 When the bleeding stops irregular - 448 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:13,000 - then your estrogen production runs actually, as usual - 449 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:20,200 - but you don't ovulate and does not produce progesterone - 450 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,320 - which controls the bleeding. 451 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:28,520 I have had those symptoms for a long time. Is it something that can be done about? 452 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:34,200 You have read these horror stories with getting breast cancer - 453 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,800 - and that holds one back. 454 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:42,280 But how long do you have to go? and put up with these troubles? 455 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,760 Everyone just says it's normal. 456 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:51,720 If you choose hormone supplements to relieve menopausal symptoms - 457 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:59,080 - you raise the risk of breast cancer of 10% for life with 1% - 458 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:05,480 - if you take estrogen for 5 years or more after the age of 50. 459 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:11,360 - How did it go? - My hot flashes are almost gone. 460 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:16,440 - What about sex life, sex drive? - I still have pain. 461 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:19,920 Also when I cycle. 462 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:23,600 And then when I have sex, and that's a shame. 463 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:28,120 And you've used the suppositories daily for the first two weeks? 464 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:34,520 I suggest you continue to use them daily for two more weeks. 465 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:45,880 There are many women who suffer, but not whining. 466 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:52,400 When they finally get to a doctor, is that because they're hellbent on it. 467 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,720 They need help. 468 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:04,440 Such a melancholy comes over the whole thing. 469 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,280 Sadness and melancholy. 470 00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,040 I didn't have the energy for anything. 471 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:16,040 My daily work and my studies were - 472 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:20,000 - a huge effort for me. 473 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:24,320 I developed anxiety in relation to my daughter. 474 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:32,240 If she hadn't had a good day, I couldn't do it. 475 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:34,840 My nerves were so frayed - 476 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:40,880 - that I couldn't do it, when my daughter cried. 477 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:42,880 Everything was exhausting. 478 00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:49,640 I got this far - 479 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:55,240 - that I could not see how I was supposed to live on. 480 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,920 If I couldn't sleep and turn off my brain - 481 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:05,080 - and I couldn't figure it out to who I was - 482 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:08,160 - how was I supposed to live on? 483 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:13,000 It got really bad, when I said to myself: 484 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:15,800 “Maybe you haven't been a good enough mother." 485 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:22,080 "They have been upset some times. It's probably my fault." 486 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:24,760 "No, it's a pity for them - 487 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:30,800 - that I am often in pain or sad or cannot give them great gifts." 488 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:36,800 “Or…it's actually better for my children if I am not here." 489 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,000 “Then they are free for me and all my shit." 490 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:42,840 My children were not allowed to know anything - 491 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:47,400 - because mother can handle anything. Always. 492 00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:52,080 It is almost a universal thought. 493 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:58,800 But now mom couldn't handle it, and mother could feel it. 494 00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:01,880 It wasn't pretty. It was not good for me. 495 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:07,280 One morning after a particularly bad night I stood up - 496 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,640 - and went outside, and then I just left. 497 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:15,280 I felt completely helpless. 498 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:20,680 I seriously considered leaving in the middle of traffic because I thought: 499 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:25,880 If I put an end to it, then all this will pass. 500 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:32,640 Luckily I didn't. My doctor had an early opening - 501 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:37,440 - and there was a young female doctor, there was a lot of fright - 502 00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:41,680 - and put me in a taxi and sent me to the hospital. 503 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:03,440 What is your reaction on the articles in the Lancet? 504 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:08,680 I'm worried over the Lancet article series. 505 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:15,160 - Jayashri, have you read the Lancet article? - Yes. I'm about to boil over. 506 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:20,040 Menopause research meets constant resistance. 507 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:25,880 Professor Kulkarni feels it, then a respected medical journal - 508 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,920 - publishes a large series of articles. 509 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:34,160 The Lancet brings a series of articles - 510 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:38,920 - who trivialises menopause-related depression. 511 00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:43,400 They say it doesn't exist and that society must stop - 512 00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:49,320 - to focus on menopause and make the menopause morbid. 513 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,640 It is contrary to our research - 514 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:57,240 - although I've always said we won't make menopause sick. 515 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:01,720 If women dance through menopause, as millions do - 516 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:03,840 - then it's fantastic. 517 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:10,040 The women we see are miserable, and it can have serious consequences - 518 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:14,600 - if their menopause-related mental health problems are not treated. 519 00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:16,800 That is our message. 520 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:20,680 You just have to prepare on a media storm. 521 00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:25,640 Here is the leader. 522 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,040 I hope it doesn't set everything back. 523 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:37,400 That's enough. It's a great series of articles. 524 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,400 It is clearly a step backwards. 525 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:45,360 Now we must fight even more for the women who seek us out. 526 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:52,080 - Thank you. - Thank you, Jayashri. 527 00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:05,600 The Lancet series receives massive criticism - 528 00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:10,400 - to build on opinions instead of the latest data. 529 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:22,240 I want to understand what a message the authors behind are trying to convey. 530 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,880 Menopause has been sickened. 531 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:29,480 They recognize that some need for treatment - 532 00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:33,640 - but warns against doing menopause to a disease - 533 00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,520 - not to stigmatize women as weak. 534 00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:40,240 Menopause does not constitute a health risk. 535 00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:46,560 Severe symptoms are important, but not quite widespread and usually also pass. 536 00:46:46,680 --> 00:46:51,320 Instead of leaving it to the woman herself - 537 00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:54,720 - to have your symptoms treated - 538 00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:59,520 - we have looked on societal factors - 539 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:03,960 - that can make it difficult for women to be in menopause. 540 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:10,760 Female menopause has apparently become a battlefield. 541 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:20,040 A lot is written and said - 542 00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:24,320 - about the series of articles in the Lancet. 543 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,080 In their eagerness to "degenerate" - 544 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:34,600 - they talk down even more to women: 545 00:47:34,720 --> 00:47:40,560 She doesn't know what she wants. We're just saying you don't need it. 546 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:43,200 Women know what they want. 547 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:48,400 The woman's voice is extremely important in the next phase of the debate. 548 00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:59,080 We especially have to deal with to the charges of - 549 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:05,920 - that we sicken a normal life phase, if we talk about it too much. 550 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:09,640 For sure. Those we have interviewed have asked - 551 00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:14,600 - what happens if it becomes considered a real problem - 552 00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:19,720 - in working life and at the workplace. 553 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:24,480 Become women then unattractive employees? 554 00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:27,040 Yes, it is a big risk. 555 00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:36,000 I have a constant internal debate with myself about what is wise. 556 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:41,000 When we talk about this, we put the woman in a more vulnerable light? 557 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:45,280 Are we doing women a disservice? Are we doing society a disservice? 558 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:48,640 Should we have kept it quiet? 559 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:51,560 But I always reach - 560 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:57,640 - that when something is hidden, it stays the marginalized and stigmatized - 561 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,760 - and that leads to ostracism. 562 00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:04,160 So I always arrive at, that we have to scratch. 563 00:49:10,360 --> 00:49:16,840 They have lots of experience and are available to become managers, professors ... 564 00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,080 Our aim is - 565 00:49:20,200 --> 00:49:25,440 - that we must not fixate on that is the woman who needs to get her act together. 566 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:30,080 On the contrary, we have to look at it as a collective responsibility. 567 00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:34,960 Some women come up and say: "I'll roar along!" 568 00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:38,800 It's a woman's roar for an entire life phase. 569 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:49,320 Menopause once belonged behind the curtains. 570 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:54,440 Who were the women talking to? Did they even talk to anyone? 571 00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:00,320 Menopause always has been a huge taboo. 572 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:07,280 But suddenly something wild happens. 573 00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:19,560 The curtains are drawn aside, and now menopause is everywhere. 574 00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:23,080 Every time I got a hot flush and raised the fan - 575 00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:27,760 - then I got an incredibly big urge to explain. 576 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:33,200 So I was told dry mucous membranes and hot flashes and ... 577 00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:35,480 The New York Times writes - 578 00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:42,200 - that women have been misinformed on hormone therapy for over 20 years. 579 00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:46,680 The article goes viral and gets thousands of comments. 580 00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:51,760 Women all over the world gather in communities - 581 00:50:51,880 --> 00:50:57,000 - and share experiences in a way, they have never done before. 582 00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:06,400 Podcasts, books, TV shows, theatre. Famous women stand up. 583 00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:08,920 I was hit hard! 584 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:11,400 Women demand answers about their health. 585 00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:15,000 Star power here from Jill Biden and Halle Berry. 586 00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:17,120 We will create a future - 587 00:51:17,240 --> 00:51:22,480 - where women leave the doctor with more answers than questions. 588 00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:28,200 This initiative will be life-changing for women. 589 00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:38,680 35 years ago was the woman's voice a faint whisper. 590 00:51:38,800 --> 00:51:43,360 Now we are approaching a huge roar, because that's where we want to go. 591 00:51:43,480 --> 00:51:48,880 When women start clamoring about, what they want - 592 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:51,720 - then it will be a turning point. 593 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:56,320 You cannot ignore strong - 594 00:51:56,440 --> 00:52:01,120 - loud, well-educated women, that says: 595 00:52:01,240 --> 00:52:07,400 "We don't fit in to be held down." 596 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:11,440 It's about equipping women to demand progress. 597 00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:17,280 I didn't even know I could walk to a doctor or gynecologist and say: 598 00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:21,520 "I am experiencing these symptoms. Do you know what that means?" 599 00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:25,120 My medical odyssey finally ended - 600 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:29,000 - when I found a female doctor, who understood me. 601 00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:35,040 And she offered me hormone therapy. 602 00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:41,520 I am on anti-depressant medication and hormones and I feel great. 603 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:49,720 - Hello to you. - Hello. 604 00:52:49,840 --> 00:52:53,200 It has changed a lot, since I wrote... 605 00:52:54,680 --> 00:52:58,680 We need more people like me. who researches this - 606 00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:02,200 - because there is so many unanswered questions. 607 00:53:02,320 --> 00:53:06,120 But research can be very demanding. 608 00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:09,200 You present an idea and get rejected. 609 00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:13,520 You meet someone that opposes one's ideas. 610 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:17,160 Something comes up and then you hammer it down. 611 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:21,880 Then something else comes along, bang! Like a mole game. 612 00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:26,680 One must not take the resistance personally - 613 00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:29,840 - because that's not why you do it here. 614 00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:35,600 You don't do it to impress yourself with the public or politicians. 615 00:53:35,720 --> 00:53:41,160 Research is done to help the women, and you keep going - 616 00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:44,920 - because she needs it, and you think so yourself. 617 00:53:45,040 --> 00:53:49,960 It is a woman's right, a human right, that she gets answers to her questions. 618 00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:03,320 I could have saved a lot depression years and pains - 619 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:07,600 - if I had known and a more natural approach to - 620 00:54:07,720 --> 00:54:10,680 - that it happens to many women in the transition. 621 00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:14,880 I sure feel like this - 622 00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:19,120 - that I would wish I could get those years back. 623 00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:25,160 I would wish I could turn back time. 624 00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:36,160 I started the journey by leading looking for a book that could explain - 625 00:54:36,280 --> 00:54:39,600 - what is happening, when the last egg rolls out. 626 00:54:39,720 --> 00:54:44,200 But I didn't find it, for it has never been written. 627 00:54:44,320 --> 00:54:49,640 Trees don't grow in the sky. I still think a lot about: 628 00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:55,280 How much hormones should I take? When should I stop? 629 00:54:55,400 --> 00:55:00,440 I try to stay ahead of the curve, that I want to feel good. 630 00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:04,080 I felt terrible - 631 00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:08,360 - and I asked for help, and I got that. 632 00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:15,800 And it's been ... huge. 633 00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:19,800 It's just really good to know - 634 00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:22,800 - that if I need help, can i have it 635 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:30,920 It has been a wild journey in many ways. 636 00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:37,520 Yes... 637 00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:45,040 What is it that I once read? "Nothing is constant but changes." 638 00:55:45,160 --> 00:55:51,120 Damn! Yes, but it's been crazy, and it has been hard. 639 00:55:51,240 --> 00:55:54,800 There is something special in it not having his mother and having daughters - 640 00:55:54,920 --> 00:55:57,920 - who grow up too, right? 641 00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:02,080 And must in life with their hormone cycle. 642 00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:07,120 A beautiful thing - 643 00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:12,360 - as I learned from menopause and the time afterwards, is - 644 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:17,000 - that we are a new generation, a strong generation. 645 00:56:17,120 --> 00:56:22,080 A generation that has 30-40 years left. 646 00:56:23,480 --> 00:56:28,480 We must not be afraid of to ask about menopause - 647 00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:31,840 - and to talk about our symptoms. 648 00:56:31,960 --> 00:56:34,360 It is a normal phase. 649 00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:58,280 Finally I found a doctor who helped me and I'm fine again. 650 00:56:58,400 --> 00:57:01,920 I feel stronger than ever. 651 00:57:03,480 --> 00:57:05,400 Hooray! Hooray! 652 00:57:05,520 --> 00:57:10,560 I am grateful for my life, to get older. 653 00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:19,120 And grateful that I can share what I have learned with my daughter. 654 00:57:20,800 --> 00:57:25,960 Because knowledge gives us strength and freedom, and my biggest wish is - 655 00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:31,200 - that my daughter and her generation can make choices based on knowledge - 656 00:57:31,320 --> 00:57:34,280 - and not on fear or confusion. 657 00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:41,720 So when their last egg hatches, shall they not lie awake at night - 658 00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:46,240 - and try to understand, what is happening to them. 659 00:57:47,520 --> 00:57:50,880 Love goes on forever. 660 00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:55,920 Love goes on forever. 661 00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,160 Love goes on forever. 662 00:58:42,640 --> 00:58:45,480 Texts: Helle Schou Kristiansen Danish Video Text