Private Summer 🥵

Where Emma talks menopause

Hello you gorgeous lot! Thank and hello to the new faces here :) I have been very busy in the studio and had a wee event to celebrate…check it out here if you like.

Let’s talk about menopause and Parkinson’s, because clearly, managing one major health upheaval wasn’t enough for this overachiever body of mine.

So, I’m deep in perimenopause—flush-faced, wide awake at 3am, convinced I’m losing my mind—when Parkinson’s decides to crash the party like the most awkward plus-one ever. And what a duo they make: the hormonal chaos of menopause meets the dopamine drama of Parkinson’s. Sparks fly. Mostly in my nervous system.

Here’s the bastard: oestrogen actually has a neuro-protective role. That means it helps keep dopamine ticking along nicely. So when oestrogen starts sneaking off into the sunset (without so much as a kiss goodbye), the already-depleted dopamine in a Parkinson’s brain takes another hit.

Wild symptoms ahoy; a sudden spike in fatigue, anxiety levels doing backflips, and an overwhelming sense of “what the actual fuck?”

And don’t even get me started on the sleep disturbances. Is it menopause, Parkinson’s, or both? Who knows. All I know is I’ve become intimately familiar with my bedroom ceiling at 3:17am. Every. Single. Night.

Other highlights include:

• Heat intolerance on top of hot flashes: my internal thermostat is a broken rollercoaster. One minute I’m freezing, the next I’m fanning myself like a Jane Austen character who’s just seen Mr. Darcy.

• Mood swings layered with Parkinson’s apathy and emotional flatness: welcome to the paradox where you feel everything and nothing at once. Delightful.

• Memory glitches and brain fog thick enough to butter toast with.

And do you think the doctors are lining up to talk about this? Of course they're bloody not. The overlap between menopause and Parkinson’s is like the Bermuda Triangle of women’s health: confusing, under-researched, and most people just hope you stop asking questions.

But we deserve answers. We deserve to be part of the studies. We deserve to know how HRT might help or hinder us. (Some women with Parkinson’s report real improvements on it, while others don’t notice a thing—because surprise! Women are not one-size-fits-all.)

So if you’re going through this double whammy—feeling like your brain and body are conspiring against you—I see you. You’re not losing the plot. You’re navigating a wildly complex neurological and hormonal landscape with zero guidebook, minimal backup, and a lot more strength than you probably realise.

And if you’ve found ways to cope—HRT, herbs, humour, ice packs down your bra—I want to hear them. Let's make some noise about this, because the silence isn't helping anyone.

With love
E xx