UnTouchableConditions
A diagnosis can feel like it has only ever happened to you. It has not. Here is what each condition is, in plain English, and the people who have talked about living with it.
Endocrine system
The glands that make hormones, such as the thyroid and pancreas.
Menopause and perimenopause
Menopause is when your periods stop for good because your hormone levels have fallen. Perimenopause is the run-up to it, when hormones have started changing but periods have not yet stopped. It usually happens between 45 and 55, though it can be earlier. The symptoms are wider than most people expect, and they are not only physical. Low mood, mood swings or depression, anxiety and irritability, and problems with memory or concentration are all on the NHS list — alongside hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations, disturbed sleep, vaginal dryness or discomfort, pain during sex, more urinary infections, incontinence, weight gain around the middle, weakening bones, headaches and migraines, aching muscles and joints, thinning hair, dry skin, lower sex drive, and dental problems. Symptoms usually last around seven to nine years, sometimes longer, and change over time. Treatments include HRT. How long to take it, and when to review it, is a conversation to have with a GP rather than something to settle from a number you heard somewhere.
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Type 2 diabetes
In type 2 diabetes the body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use it properly, so the amount of sugar in the blood becomes too high. It is a long-term condition managed day to day, through some combination of food, movement, medicine and regular checks.
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