Davina McCall reveals she thought she’d lose her job as a result of menopausal brain fog

Davina McCall has detailed her experience with menopause, in a bid to assist other women.  

The previous Big Brother host turned Masked Dancer UK judge, 54, revealed she experienced such bad brain fog that it affected her work and he or she thought she’d lose her job. 

Davina recalled once being on a TV set with interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, 57, and forgetting his name as a result of menopausal memory loss. 

‘I believed I used to be going mad!’ Davina McCall revealed this week that she suffered from such extreme brain fog during menopause she thought she’d lose her job

‘I used to be with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and I could not remember his name,’ she said, in accordance with The Sun. 

‘I believed I used to be going to have to offer up my job — and I like my job.’

She added that she thought she was ‘going mad’.

Her experience: Davina recalled once being on a TV set with interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, 57, and forgetting his name. Pictured on Lorraine on Thursday

‘I believed I used to be going to have to offer up my job — and I like my job,’ she said

‘I used to be just at a stage where I believed I actually knew the way to do that job after which thought ”you will take it off me”. 

Davina said that she wished she had the courage to talk to her production team about her memory loss as a result of menopause, but was too ‘ashamed’.

Now, she’s speaking out about her experience with menopause to assist end the stigma and to assist others. 

She added she found the night sweats ‘debilitating,’ but soon found relief through hormone substitute therapy or HRT. 

She added on Lorraine on Thursday that she felt quite lonely going through menopause but desired to remind women they don’t seem to be alone. 

‘I used to be with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and I could not remember his name,’ she said, in accordance with The Sun

Friendly reminder: She added on Lorraine on Thursday that she felt quite lonely going through menopause but desired to remind women they don’t seem to be alone

‘It is so lonely [going through menopause], I believed I used to be disappearing and my world was getting smaller and smaller. I felt very lonely and isolated,’ she said. 

‘It’s only whenever you come out of the grey, you’re thinking that, I have never belly laughed for months… It could be a incredible time in your life, of freedom. It’s just the following stage.’ 

Davina explored menopause in a documentary entitled Sex, Mind and the Menopause – the follow-up to her 2021 programme Sex, Myths and the Menopause.

The show further explored more of the burning issues raised in her first documentary – including menopause myths and the taboo around HRT.

‘It is so lonely [going through menopause], I believed I used to be disappearing and my world was getting smaller and smaller. I felt very lonely and isolated,’ she said

In search of help: She added she found the night sweats ‘debilitating,’ but soon found relief through hormone substitute therapy or HRT

It also took a deeper have a look at whether women are being sidelined, sacked or forced to go part-time when hit by menopause symptoms at work.

Davina has vowed to ‘fight so long as she will’ for ladies to get Hormone Alternative Therapy (HRT) and the right menopause care amid a serious shortage issue within the UK.

The provision crisis has seen major shortages of some HRT products, that are utilized by roughly 1 million women within the UK, while a latest survey reveals that girls have been forced to depart their jobs after reaching menopause.

Talking to The Mirror, Davina, has not shied away from discussing the menopause extensively up to now, explained: ‘I feel that is going to be my life’s work now. It’s frustrating, nevertheless it appears like we have gone a good distance within the last 12 months when it comes to public knowledge and willingness to do something about it.’

Her fight: Davina has vowed to ‘fight so long as she will’ for ladies to get Hormone Alternative Therapy (HRT) and the right menopause care amid a shortage issue within the UK

The publication reports that she then became emotional as she continued: ‘I will be doing this so long as it takes, I feel prefer it’s really necessary, I feel it’s a very powerful thing I’ll ever do.’

The mother-of-three went on to share her response to a latest Channel 4 survey, which revealed that of the 4, 014 women polled, 14% reduced their work hours as a result of having menopause symptoms.

It also revealed that 52% of girls lost their confidence at work as a result of the menopause, while a whopping 84% felt there was nobody they may turn to of their workplace to assist with their issue.

Sharing how the menopause affected her prior to getting HRT treatment, Davina admitted that it made her ‘feel invisible’ as she couldn’t speak to anyone about it, while she was ‘frightened’ as she was unsure what was happening to her.

She added that after she got HRT, it felt like she was ‘being reborn’, with the star remarking that she ‘felt like I’d got myself back’.

What’s menopause?

Menopause is defined because the changes a lady goes through just before and after she stops her periods and is not any longer in a position to get pregnant naturally.

Some women undergo this time with few, if any, symptoms, around 60 percent experience symptoms leading to behavioral changes and one in 4 will suffer severely.

Common symptoms include hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness resulting in discomfort during sex, disrupted sleep, decreased sex drive, problems with memory and concentration and mood swings.

Menopause happens when your ovaries stop producing as much of the hormone estrogen and not release an egg every month.

American experts say women undergo the menopause on the age of 51 years on average, although it could begin when someone is anywhere between 40 and 58 years old.