Philanthropist Melinda French Gates recently opened up about her experience with perimenopause and her battle to receive a diagnosis.

French Gates, 61, is the ex-wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and despite her privileged background and access to some of the best medical care around, she shared that it shockingly took three doctors to diagnose and treat her.

She started experiencing perimenopause in her early 40s, and told Norah O’Donnell on her Healthful show that she ‘kind of couldn’t believe it’ when it began just a few years after she gave birth to her youngest child.

Sadly, one medical expert has shared why this shouldn’t have come as a surprise, and that many women have experienced difficulties gaining a diagnosis.

Dr Susanna Unsworth, women’s health expert for Intimina, the women’s intimate health brand, exclusively told Tyla why so many of us have a hard time.

Menopause has several stages (Tyla)

Hormones are ‘often not considered’

Many women start to suffer from symptoms related to perimenopause, but for some reason it isn’t the first thing that is thought of.

Dr Unsworth explains: “Unfortunately, this is still a common experience. Many symptoms of perimenopause overlap with stress, mental health conditions or other medical problems, so they are often thought of first.”

The fact that women are usually still experiencing periods as well means ‘hormonal changes are often not considered’

There’s one key change which could help many women much more quickly, she says: “Simply recognising that menopause symptoms frequently start before periods stop completely could help many women receive the right diagnosis much sooner.”

Perimenopause symptoms

We’ve all heard about hot flushes, but the expert says there’s much more to perimenopause than that for many women.

“Symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, poor sleep, brain fog, fatigue, palpitations and joint aches are just as common,” she advises.

The doctor said the issue is they are often confused for other conditions, and some women ‘are even diagnosed with anxiety or depression before anyone considers whether fluctuating hormone levels during perimenopause could be contributing to their symptoms.”

Melinda French Gates, 61, shared on a podcast how it took three different doctors to diagnose her perimenopause Melinda Gates, 61, opened up about starting perimenopause in her early 40s (YouTube/Healthful with Norah O’Donnell and CBS News)

Don’t be afraid to ask

Dr Unsworth says if your symptoms are affecting your quality of life, ‘don’t be afraid to ask whether perimenopause could be contributing.’

For any women aged 45 or over, she says the diagnosis is ‘usually based on your symptoms and menstrual history rather than hormone blood tests’.

However, your clinician may recommend blood tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms.

It’s also worth seeking out an expert, and finding out ‘whether there is a GP or nurse at your practice with a particular interest in menopause’, recommends the doctor.

Many women fear being ignored, or told they’re too young.

Dr Unsworth assured us: “You’re not necessarily too young. Symptoms can begin up to ten years before menopause, so women in their mid-30s onwards with new symptoms such as anxiety, poor sleep, brain fog or changes to their periods should consider whether hormonal changes could be playing a role.”

The bottom line is this: “If you still don’t feel you’re getting the support you need, you can ask to be referred to a menopause service or for your GP to seek advice and guidance from their local menopause specialist service.