Luba, Germany    
I wish I could turn back time and be as happy and positive again as I was before menopause! In her own wordsI have always enjoyed my life. I was a happy and optimistic person feeling very alive and with a vast circle of friends. I still feel I am lucky. I have an interesting job, a loving and caring family and many good friends. And I could not think of a better job: I am showing people the most interesting and most beautiful places on earth. I spend half the year abroad with people on vacation. I work as a tour guide on sea and river cruises and of course also on the mainland. Very often I take them to my home country, I come from Russia. I was born in Kazakhstan and lived in St. Petersburg until I got married and followed my husband to Germany. For many years now I am showing German tourists the beauties of Moscow and St. Petersburg. I get a lot of energy and contentment from people’s feedback when they enjoy their journey and appreciate my commitment to their happiness. Also, I like music a lot, particularly the music of Russia. On the cruises I have met many talented young Russian musicians and I encouraged and helped them to try for new opportunities. Some of them have actually made it to an international career and I am quite proud when I see one of them perform in an orchestra or opera house across the world! I love being with young people. My son who is 28 now and I are very close although he is working abroad. 
At the age of 48 my monthly period suddenly became irregular. I instantly knew that this is the first sign of menopause. But I was not worried because menopause is not a disease. It is a natural process in every woman’s life. Also, I did not suffer from any of the typical menopausal complaints yet. Just irregular bleedings troubled me with heavy pains that interfered with my job.
It is hard to be an inspiring tour guide when you are in pain and constant fear of unexpected bleedings. Since my professional life was unpleasantly affected, I consulted a doctor. He advised me to start on hormone replacement therapy. I know that there are controversial attitudes towards hormonal therapy but this did not worry me. After all, I had taken contraceptives for years and appreciated the effect of hormones. What I had read in newspapers or women’s magazines and what I had heard from my friends I discussed with my doctor and felt good with his recommendation. I realise that every therapy also has side-effects. But the hormones normalised my bleedings very soon and I felt rather relieved. Due to my job I did not take them constantly but always stopped when I was at home again. I thought I was gaining weight from the hormones and wanted to soften this effect. Also, I changed therapies a lot. Until last year when my doctor introduced me to a therapy that stopped the bleeding altogether. It is called Activelle® and I was quite comfortable with it – I am now 54 and do not want to bleed any longer. Also, my doctor explained that gaining weight is normal during menopause and not related to my hormone therapy – every woman goes through this experience. I know, a healthy lifestyle with a lot of vegetables and fruit, not too much meat and regular exercise helps to keep it under control. Four months ago I decided again to stop the hormone replacement therapy for a while. I even thought I could do without it completely now. But I was wrong. Since then, my mood has turned gloomy, I find it hard to pull myself together to do my regular exercises in the gym or go for walks. I do not laugh as much anymore and every day life seems really hard to cope with. I can sleep alright and I don’t have hot flushes, but I am irritable and depressed. And this is not my normal self, I do not want to feel depressed. I guess, this psychological part of the menopause is the hardest for every woman. So I decided to see the doctor and get my hormones prescribed again. I wanted to be the “normal Luba” again who likes socialising and actively taking part in cultural life. Back on Activelle® I feel I have regained my vitality and love of life. I do not much like to talk about my menopause. It is normal for any woman. My mother and I only once touched on the subject. She is 83 years old and lives in Russia. Women of her generation generally don’t discuss health issues too much.
I am not at all afraid of getting older. The only wish I have is to continue to have a happy and fulfilled life. | 
