Meet & Learn From The Best

Meet Our Speakers, Ask Questions & Discover What Could Help You Through Your Menopause

At 57, I’m now post-menopausal but my journey through peri-menopause to post menopause has been life-changing — and it’s left me with ongoing issues that could have been prevented if I had had good advice.

Despite having a degree in Anatomy and Physiology and having written on health for doctors and consumers for almost 20 years, I had no idea what was in store for me after menopause.

No one told me about vaginal atrophy – that sitting down, walking and sex would become painful or that the symptoms that plague you before menopause (known as perimenopause) may not go away.

And getting help wasn’t easy. From bad advice on HRT to incorrect diagnosis and endless tests – if only I’d known then what I know now, things could have been so much easier.

It kickstarted a passion in me to find out everything there was to know about the symptoms and stages we go through.

Every woman who is lucky enough to live long enough will go through menopause. For most the age is 51 but it can happen much earlier and the symptoms can appear up to ten years prior, and last for many years afterwards.

This is important because  we are an ageing population. We will spend 30-40 years or more as post menopausal women – so it’s vital that we are armed with the best information so we can make the most of the rest of our lives.

I want to share everything I know about perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause with you to make your journey into this next life stage the best it can be.[/text_block]

Fiona Clark
Founder – Harley Street Emporium

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Join us as we take a deep dive into the often misunderstood world of menopause.

We’ll be discussing all of the pros and cons of the treatment options that are available to you from the medical profession as well as supplements and alternatives therapies, as well as how menopause affects your mental health, relationships, your skin, bones, body and pelvic floor.

This will give you the information you need so you can make the right choice for you to minimise your symptoms and ensure your health and quality of life in the future.

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• Session 1 Stress urinary incontinence/urge incontinence with Gynaecologist Nadia Bhal
• Session 2: Vaginal Prolapses with Nadia Bhal
• Session 3: Vaginal atrophy – what happens and what can help with Gynaecologist Vikram Talaulikar
• Session 4: Pelvic floor – what can help and what won’t with physiotherapist Fiona Mitchell
• Session 5: Vaginal atrophy and alternative treatments with Dr Shirin Lakhani

• Pelvic floor anatomy explained
• What goes wrong- why pregnancy, child birth, menopause and certain surgeries can affect the pelvic floor
• The difference between Stress Urinary Incontinence and Urge Incontinence, explained in detail
• The treatment options that can help and why ‘soldiering on’ without treatment isn’t always a good idea!
• One-hour long workshop where you can ask your questions
• A Compilation of Useful Articles with Links and Other Resources

Kicking off our first session is menopause expert and Consultant Gynaecologist Nadia Bhal.

She will explain why we may experience leakage and talk us through the differences between Urge Incontinence and Stress Urinary Incontinence (UI/SUI), and what can be done about them so you can avoid unnecessary accidents and a lifetime of adult panty liners.[/text_block]

There are various different types of prolapses  – your bladder, vaginal, uterine and rectal.

A weakened pelvic floor and vaginal atrophy are factors that cause them along with being overweight and pregnancy and childbirth.

Prolapses are graded according to their severity and Nadia will explain why they occur and what can be done to help.[/text_block]

• The different types of prolapses (Bladder, Vaginal, Uterine, Rectal)
• The causes of prolapses
• Treatment options for lifestyle changes that can help
• One-hour long live session with Nadia
• A Compilation of Useful Articles with Links and Other Resources

• What is vaginal atrophy and why it happens
• The symptoms it causes: dryness, laxity, tightness, painful sex, burning itching etc
• What you can use to help with this
• The importance of not self-treating
• Why it’s important to know your vulva to so you don’t miss other conditions
• One-hour long workshop where you can ask your questions
• A Compilation of Useful Articles with Links and Other Resources

Vikram will explain why the common symptoms- vaginal dryness, painful sex, external burning and itching occur, and what can be done about them, even if you have an oestrogen positive breast cancer.

He’ll also talk about how to talk about this with your partner and why it is so important not to self treat. Many women often think their symptoms are  thrush of vaginitis – but it may be another condition like dermatitis or Lichen Sclerosus, or simply related to low oestrogen levels and in that care, it’s usually easily treated.[/text_block]

• How PRP of the O-Shot could help with dryness and sensitivity
• Why sex is painful and how laser, radiofrequency of ultrasound treatments could help rejuvenate vaginal tissue and reduce stress urinary incontinence
• How simply sitting of a special chair that emits high intensity electromagnetic energy may strengthen the pelvic floor
• Who these treatments could help and who isn’t suitable
• What treatments can improve laxity or tightness
• One-hour long workshop where you can ask your questions
• A Compilation of Useful Articles with Links and Other Resources

The effect menopause has on our pelvic floor, vagina and vulva.

Known as the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause or GSM, it can play havoc with our quality of life and our sex lives. It’s why we leak urine when we sneeze or exercise and why we may have vaginal dryness, painful sex, increased UTI’s or thrush like symptoms.

But there are new and novel treatments that may help in some circumstances.

Dr Shirin Lakhani is a pioneer in this area and will talk about some of the novel treatments she has been performing for the past 5 years or so on women who had symptoms including a lack of sensitivity, vaginal laxity, vaginal dryness, painful sex and external vaginal itchy and irritation.

This is not a ‘designer vagina’ chat, but is one that will talk about how Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and various energy based treatments may help with some of the symptoms.[/text_block]

You may think it’s as simple as clench and release, but there’s more to it than that.

Fiona will run through the right ways to strengthen your pelvic floor and look at some of the devices on the market that claim they can help.

She’ll also explain why Kegel’s aren’t suitable for women who have a hypertonic pelvic floor – one where the muscles are too tense – and why there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.

Fiona will also give some simple exercises that can help you keep your pelvic floor in tip top condition.[/text_block]

• Fiona will run though the pelvic floor anatomy again from a pelvic floor perspective
• Which exercises or devices can help or may do more harm than good
• The limitations of insertable pelvic floor strengtheners
• Specialist instruction on how to do pelvic floor exercises that work
• How the pelvic floor is affected by imbalances in other parts of the body and what you can do about it
• Find out if you have an overly tight pelvic floor and how to relax it
• Essential diet and lifestyle advice
• When and why its important to seek help
• A Compilation of Useful Articles with Links and Other Resources