'It’s not in your head': Edinburgh mum whose perimenopause injuries were dismissed by GP gets back in saddle
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Woman who feared she would never cycle again due to perimenopause takes on charity ride
An Edinburgh mother who thought she would never cycle again due to a series of unexplained injuries has spoken out about the impact of the perimenopause after being "fobbed off" by her doctor.
Software developer and social entrepreneur Noelle Legrain, 45, began experiencing symptoms such as insomnia five years ago. That was followed by a series of injuries, including a partially torn hamstring, partially torn ligament and plantar fasciitis - injuries which were unusual for Noelle.
A conversation with her physio opened the prospect of perimenopause as the cause.
Noelle, who moved to the Capital with her two daughters in 2023 from Cambridge, said: “He explained that perimenopause is known to cause musculoskeletal issues and that I would likely see a decrease in my injuries the longer I was on HRT. I had no idea this could happen in perimenopause.”
Adding to her pain was a feeling of being “fobbed off” by her GP who told her she “needed to exercise more, get outside more, I was a stressed single parent, a software developer who sat too much.”
Switching GPs finally allowed Noelle to have blood work done that uncovered issues.
Noelle said: “When I eventually told my new GP about it, she immediately said, ‘It’s your testosterone.’ I had blood work done and she was right. Too many women feel they have to become seriously unwell before they will be taken seriously.”
Noelle describes perimenopause as a “period of transition” with symptoms helping to identify it – but with no test, it can be difficult to know when you have entered the phase.
She said: “Some women have terrible symptoms, some don’t. I’ve had so many, there’s really not enough time to go over all of them.
“Often connecting the dots back to hormones only comes in hindsight. The menopause is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle. Perimenopause is the 7 to 10 years before that event. Although I believe these definitions are evolving.
“I’ve had explanations for symptoms of perimenopause which have been ‘ah-ha’ moments which have been hugely validating. But there was never a sit-down experience of ‘you have perimenopause and this is what one can expect’. Everything has happened in bits and pieces and on a long timeline.”
Noelle said that the symptoms created sadness and “tension” in the home she shares with her teenage daughters. It shows the true impact of untreated perimenopause symptoms.
She said: “I asked my youngest, who is 13, about what she remembers most in the months leading up to when I finally found the optimal dose of HRT. She said she remembers a lot of sadness in the house, a lot of tension and that everything so easily turned into a fight.
“All of us struggled. I had no mental bandwidth. I worried, at times, that not only was I falling apart but so was my family. Untreated perimenopause symptoms don’t just affect women, they affect entire families.”
With injuries and fatigue draining Noelle, the keen cyclist said she had accepted that “life had changed and cycling wasn’t going to be a part of it anymore”.
But after 18 months of experimentation to get her HRT dosage good enough and with adjustments still being made. Noelle was able to get back in the saddle – something that made her feel “so much joy.”
And now she’ll be taking on the 61km Tour de 4 challenge to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Support. She calls the Sir Chris Hoy founded event “the perfect way” to get back into cycling.
She said: “The first time I cycled in years was on a trip to Helsinki this spring. As I was telling a friend about how incredible it felt to be able to cycle again, she asked me to do the Tour de 4 with her. I was thrilled, what a perfect way to get back to something I love and do some good along the way.
“As part of my return to the bike, I got my old commuter bike serviced and rideable again. I’ve had it for 21 years, it’s been with me in three countries and in three states across the US, it’s a total beater bike, I just love it.”
Noelle’s message to other women who could be struggling with perimenopause is “it’s not in your head”.
She said: “I wish I could give every struggling perimenopausal and menopausal woman a hug. It’s not in your head. What you’re experiencing is real. You will feel better. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Find a GP who takes you seriously.
“When you finally feel like yourself again, you will have so much compassion for how hard you were on yourself. Every person deserves the chance to feel like themselves without years of wondering what's happening to them.”
You can support Noelle’s fundraising efforts here.