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Jun 2022

Last Updated: 29/06/2022

Health

Overwhelming turnout for new Harrogate menopause group

by Nina Meads Lifestyle Editor

| 29 Jun, 2022

The second meeting will have capacity for an extra 150 people after some women had to be turned away from the first event.

A new Harrogate menopause support group is set to hold a bigger event next week following the huge success of its launch.

Set up by Vic Smith-Dunn through her social enterprise MyLifePool, the group met for the first time at Oatlands Community Centre last month.

Due to demand, the next event, entitled Menopause Matters, will have an increased capacity of 150 and will take place at the Crowne Plaza hotel at 7.30pm on Tuesday, July 5.

It will feature a talk by Dr Sarah Hattam, a local GP and founder of wellbeing and performance consultancy Concilio Health.

She will cover the physiological aspects of menopause, along with ways to help stay healthy and understand more about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and other options that are available. She will also be sharing how to get the most out of a GP appointment.

Ms Smith-Dunn said:

"At the launch we gathered lots of feedback. We discovered people were struggling to understand what exactly was happening to them, and what their options were, along with wanting to understand more about HRT. I was really keen to address this issue.

"Sarah is kindly donating her time. This means that profits from ticket sales can be donated to local charity Just B, which runs a helpline that is accessible to women who may be struggling through this change.

"Sadly, at our launch event we had to turn so many people away as the venue was too small. Thankfully for this event the Crowne Plaza, on King's Road, has offered the use of a much larger space so we can accommodate more people."

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Ms Smith-Dunn explained that as well as providing "good quality information", the events also offered an opportunity to socialise.

She added:

"So many women going through the menopausal period are also ‘empty nesters’, which brings its own challenges.

"Friendship and peer support is so important for our mental well-being and having an opportunity to spend an evening with like-minded people is so valuable."

Tickets costing £4 are available to book here.

For more information about the group, visit the MeNoPause website.

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Overwhelming turnout for new Harrogate menopause group

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