Wies: “I can’t stress it enough, but living a healthy lifestyle is so important.”

I had just turned 50 at the time. Before the appointment, I had to fill out an extensive questionnaire: how often I still menstruated, how I slept, what I ate and drank, and how I felt mentally.

When I went in for the consultation, my main questions were about hormone therapy and whether it was possible to delay menopause—or better yet, skip it altogether.

The first thing she said was: “You can think about pills and powders, but start with your lifestyle. Twelve glasses of alcohol a week is really a lot. And if you want to manage menopause symptoms later, it helps to take it easy.”

“Ugh, what a fuss,” I thought. I just want to keep living the way I do now. I was already tuning her out. As I left, she emphasised again that taking it easy, eating healthily, not drinking, and going to bed on time are more important than hormone therapy. Otherwise, it’s like mopping the floor while the tap is still running.

It was a message I didn’t want to hear at all. And such a cliché, too.

Not long after, I stopped taking the contraceptive pill, which I had been on for a long time because it worked so well for me, and I began to notice the first symptoms of menopause. Poor sleep, severe PMS without actually getting my period—you probably know the feeling.

“Right, straight to hormone therapy,” I thought. It took some effort to convince my doctor, but eventually, I was prescribed hormone therapy (Femoston). That was supposed to be my big saviour.

Later, I realised that hormone therapy did indeed help me, although I eventually switched to a different medication. Still, I also discovered that menopause could hit me hard if I didn’t take good care of myself. For example, if I drank too much or went to bed too late.

To function well, and it still helps me to this day, I’ve found that building more routine, not drinking, and eating healthily make a big difference. The menopause consultant was right.

I can’t stress it enough: living a healthy lifestyle is always important, but perhaps even more so during menopause. It’s boring, but it really works for me.

Wies Verbeek (58) is a journalist, founder of the website BLOW.nl, and author of the book ’n Beetje Leuk Ouder Worden, 101 verrassende en bewezen tips. She is currently in the midst of menopause.