I couldn’t stand my boyfriend touching me and doctors thought I was pregnant at 49 – but it was really the menopause, reveals Meg Mathews
The mum, 52, who has a daughter with Oasis ex-husband Noel Gallagher, has opened up about her rollercoaster ride
MEG Mathews has revealed her doctors thought she was pregnant at 49 when she first started going through the menopause.
The mum, who has a daughter with Oasis ex-husband Noel Gallagher, is a passionate advocate for menopause awareness.
Meg, who turns 53 next week, revealed: "My boobs were bigger, I was feeling nauseous and the doctor said ‘you’re going to have to do a pregnancy test’.
"I thought ‘oh my God, please no’. I knew I wasn’t pregnant but it was exactly the same symptoms.";
Meg, who lives in London's trendy Primrose Hill, was speaking at the launch of her new intimate care range, available in Superdrug.
The former party girl, who rose to fame during the 90s Britpop era and counts Kate Moss among her closest friends, also has a website called MegsMenopause, which gives women relateable advice on 'the change'.
Nothing's off limits on the site, where topics like dry skin and hot flushes sit alongside lube and libido.
Meg explained: "When I first went through menopause I lost all libido, I was like ‘don’t come near me’.
"I broke up with my partner because I just wanted the whole bed to myself.
"The moment he wanted to have sex with me I was like ‘eugh, get off!’ It’s the last thing I was feeling.
"You need to keep masturbating, because once you stop having sex you don't miss it.
"You’ve got to get back on that horse, that’s what my gynaecologist told me. Alone or with a partner. Hopefully I'll be making bullets vibrators in the range very soon!"
Millions of women experience the same symptoms as Meg, but she struggled to get diagnosed when she first entered the menopause.
She said: "I came back from holiday and felt really low, aching, just really out of sorts.
"I thought I was having a mid-life crisis. When the doctor gave me antidepressants I thought ‘oh God I’m 48 and I’ve never taken prescription drugs before’.
"I went on them but I didn’t really feel like they were doing anything and then I had another dip and I was getting night sweats. I knew something wasn’t right.
"Then I hit 50 and that’s when I had this tsunami.
"I had three months of sitting in my house, feeling really s***. I couldn't leave the house.
"I didn't wash, my hair was in a ponytail, I was living in sweatpants.
"When I looked back now, I think the symptoms started at 39. But at the time I thought it was my rock’n’roll lifestyle, feeling anxious and exhausted."
Symptoms of menopause
Symptoms can start a few months or years before your periods stop, known as perimenopause, and continue for an average of four years afterwards.
The most common sign is a change in the pattern of your periods, but 80 per cent of women experience additional symptoms - which can have a significant impact on your life.
Common symptoms include:
- Hot flushes
- Night sweats
- Difficulty sleeping
- A reduced sex drive
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Vaginal dryness, pain and itchy
- Headaches
- Mood changes - e.g. low mood or anxiety
- Heart palpitations
- Joint stiffness, aches and pains
- Reduced muscle mass
- Recurrent UTIs
It can also increase your risk fo osteoporosis (weak bones) and other conditions.
Meg came up against another hurdle when she decided to delve into the world of over-50s supplements and vitamins.
She said: "When I started to feel a bit better again I went into Whole Foods and walked out with £450 of vitamins and superfoods.
"Your average person can’t afford this, even I can’t."
That is one of the main inspirations behind Meg's new menopausal product range - where prices start at £10.
Her £30 food supplement powder comes straight from Meg's packed wellness cupboard - with around 20 different superfoods and vitamins packed into one super shake.
She said: "We made it vanilla flavour because those green shots are disgusting. I wanted it to be so every woman could afford it."
Speaking about her model daughter Anais Gallagher, 19, she added: "Even my daughter has had it - it's the only time I've been able to get her to take something like this."
The products are all organic, vegan and only contain four per cent plastic - while intimate products like lube are disguised in pretty pink packaging.
Meg said: "I have a house full of teenagers. I want something on my bedside table that no-one will pick that up and realise what it is.
"It can be there, no-one’s embarrassed about it, it can be in your handbag.
"Even I get embarrassed. Anais asked me to go and buy Tampax the other day and I thought ‘everyone’s going to be laughing at me, thinking why’s she going to buy Tampax?’
"There is all this stuff around it. I wanted to make a range which is fun, but gets the point across.
"I think there's so much women need to know like how you need to keep your pH balance of your vagina levelled, you need lubrication.
"You should look after your vagina as much as you look after your face - we spend hundreds of pounds on our faces."
Meg's quest to raise awareness has taken her everywhere from the This Morning sofa to speaking to staff at the Foreign Office and BBC.
She said: "I like to do everything with the shock factor.
"I tell people straight out ‘I’ve got the menopause, what do you think about it?’ but that’s because I feel quite confident with it now - I know a lot of women aren't.
"I’m on lots of dating websites and my bio says ‘Meg Mathews – menopausal’ and I do get lots of people getting in touch still, not that I get in touch back!
"But I am proud to be menopausal and I’ve got to teach what I preach.
"I’ve got the say ‘the truth is I’m not going to be shagging your brains out every single night, but if you’re after a great companion who loves to walk dogs...’
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"You just change in life, I wasn’t like that in my 20s or 30s or 40s but I am now, and sex is really not on the top of my agenda anymore.
"I tell everyone I'm menopausal, every black cab driver. Why should I shy away from it? I want to break the stigma.
"It's ridiculous, this has happened to 13 million women in the UK, everyone’s going to go through it."
The is available now at Superdrug and Superdrug online.