Derbyshire woman says lack of support for menopause made her leave job
A woman from Belper in Derbyshire says she had to leave her job after her menopause symptoms and a lack of support took its toll.
Kayleigh Kinney is now backing calls for every company in the country to appoint someone responsible for supporting people experiencing this natural stage in a woman's life.
Ms Kinney said: "I suffered from panic attacks at my work, at my desk.
"I just lost my confidence, all those type of things and trying to deal with that whilst trying to do my job well and being told that I needed to return to work before I was ready, if I was off sick.
"All of those things really ultimately lead me to leaving work"
Menopause occurs when women stop having periods and their oestrogen levels fall.
Symptoms range from hot flushes to heart palpitations to memory loss and can have a big impact on day to day life.
In a recent survey - 99% of women said their symptoms had negatively impacted their careers.
New research has shown as many as 1 in 10 women have had to make the same decision as Ms Kinney, giving up work due to uncomfortable menopause symptoms.
Dr Heather Currie, founder of Menopause Matters, believes that all organisations should have some recognition that menopause effects all women.
She said: "Whether it's a menopause champion, frame work or policy. Whatever it is.
"As long as it's something that suits that company and the staff."
Institute of Directors, ambassador Rashmi Dube explained: "The issue around women and work and the menopause is you have an amazing amount of skills and talent that has been acquired and developed in these women.
"And in a time when the labour market is already struggling for people with specific skills, with experience, they are actually losing a very large amount of skills."
What are symptoms of menopause?
There are more than 34 symptoms of perimenopause (the transitional period before menopause).
They include:
Difficulty concentrating
Brain fog
Palpitations
Joint pain
Night sweats
Itchy skin
Anxiety
Burning tongue
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