Only in recent years has the menopause become less of a social taboo, and more of an acceptable topic for discussion. Thankfully, more and more women are feeling empowered to share their stories of how menopause has impacted their health, wellbeing, work, and personal lives. Yet even though every single woman goes through menopause it can still feel overwhelming at times.

Menopause: The Real Story

As women, we’re prepared for most things in life, but menopause can be the anomaly. No-one can tell us when it will begin nor when it will end. No-one can tell us what symptoms we’ll have until we experience them, and not one person can predict how we’ll feel from one day to the next. It can be a rollercoaster of emotion one day then a plateau of calm the next.

The transition can be a confusing time, particularly during perimenopause when periods aren’t obviously affected. Symptoms like brain fog and anxiety can even be mistaken for early dementia or a mental health crisis. Dr Shahzadi Harper, a menopause doctor who helps women balance their hormones and optimise their health during menopause, explains the challenges:

“With over 25 years of experience, I know women can feel overwhelmed, underprepared and lose their confidence during the menopause transition”.

Real Life Stories of Menopause

We spoke to the beautiful menopause women from our recent campaign shoot who were happy to share their menopausal journeys with us:

Shameem, 51

When at the age of 48, former Ms Fitness UK, Shameen had to undergo a hysterectomy, her body immediately went into menopause. Soon, she was experiencing several symptoms including extreme fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, hair loss, hot flushes, and sensitivity to everything she ate. Unsurprisingly, it was an extremely frightening time and she felt out of control, and the shock of what she was enduring forced her into a journey of self-analysis and discovery.

Shameen’s research into menopause quickly led her to conclude that making some changes to her diet and lifestyle would help. “Don't ever underestimate the benefits of weight training for strengthening your body, walking in the countryside, drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated, and a low fat, non-processed diet. Organic if you're able to. Don't deprive yourself or beat yourself up, go with it. Most importantly seek help and educate yourself.”

Typically, women lose around 30% of collagen in their skin during the first five years which accounts for the dramatic ageing effect of the menopause. Something that particularly bothered Shameen was her dry, crepey, ageing skin, particularly evident on her neck. Coming from a fitness background meant that she’d always understood the value of correct supplementation and knew her body was crying out for more collagen nourishment.  

That’s when she began taking a daily Revive Collagen Menopause Drink to restore her collagen levels. Why Revive Collagen? Shameen says, “It has the maximum dose of the best form of Collagen, Marine, and it's made in the UK, with lots of additional beneficial ingredients and vitamins. As a person who is always on the go, travelling, going to the gym, work etc, I love the fact that you can just pop one of the sachets in your bag and go. No need for mixing, no horrible after taste, just yummy flavours.”

Gloria, 66

Gloria started the menopause during her early 50s and says she felt unprepared and alone in the initial stages. A combination of brain fog and night sweats that often woke her up made her feel extremely tired, and at times, it was as if she was losing her mind.  

“I couldn’t remember anything - I couldn't start a sentence or finish it as I couldn't remember what I was saying. It wasn’t good at all!” Looking back on those early days, she now laughs, saying that if she knew then what she knew now she wouldn't have thought she was going mad!

Menopause didn’t just affect Gloria’s mind though. Her skin felt dry all the time, especially on her face where she regularly suffered from dry patches, a new experience for her previously well hydrated skin. And as for the unbearable night sweats, she says, “it kept waking me up. I felt like my body was on fire so I always kept getting up and walking around.”

If Gloria’s symptoms sound familiar, we recommend trying  Revive Collagen Menopause Max. With the highest dose of 10,000mg, this delicious coconut and pineapple liquid collagen supplement is the ideal choice for for all menopausal or post-menopausal women.

A powerful combination of ingredients addresses the variety of changes that occur to skin, hair, joints, energy levels, health, and overall wellbeing once the body has reached menopause. Key ingredients include Vitamin K which contributes to the maintenance of normal bones. There’s also Lutein, known as the ‘eye vitamin’ to support eye health and which has also been shown to aid vaginal dryness. To help those frustrating hot flushes we also added Folic Acid to this formulation.

Pine Bark Extract, Rice Ceramides and Selenium work together to improve skin elasticity, resilience and hydration and strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier, protecting skin cells from further damage caused by the environment, pollution, and sunlight. Gloria's final advice for anyone going through menopause is to do your research and learn as much as you can about the subject, “there are several symptoms and as women it affects us in different ways. Seek professional medical advice, read as much as you can and understand how it’s affecting you personally.”

Developed in collaboration with Dr Shahzadi Harper

Revive Collagen has created a world-first menopause range of liquid collagen drinks. Taken as an all-in-one supplement, the range, Peri Menopause, Menopause Beauty Sleep and Menopause Max has been designed to cater for each stage of the menopausal journey, so you can look and feel the best version of yourself.