Andrea McLean has spoken out on her experience of vaginal atrophy, a debilitating symptom of menopause.
The former Loose Women star, 56, experienced surgical menopause at the age of 46 after undergoing a full hysterectomy to treat severe endometriosis.
She has spoken openly about her health issues in the decade since, and in a new podcast interview was keen to raise awareness of a lesser known symptom.
Andrea explained how going through surgical menopause as opposed to ‘normal menopause, is like you’ve gone to the top of the rollercoaster and then you are screaming, plummeting downwards because literally your hormone generating engine has completely gone.’
She explained on the No Parental Guidance podcast how the sudden onset of an array of symptoms and the hormonal imbalance came as a huge shock.
Andrea then said she has been taking estrogen and progesterone as well as pessaries ‘because of vaginal atrophy.’
Andrea McLean has spoken out on her experience of vaginal atrophy, a debilitating symptom of menopause.
When asked by hosts Louise Boyce and Hannah East to explain the condition, Andrea told them: ‘It’s no joke! That’s basically where your vaginal walls get rigid.’
‘They’re supposed to be fluid and moist and be able to expand and contract when needed, and they don’t, they go rigid, which means then if you have sex, it tears.’
‘It’s really painful to have sex. And that is part of menopause that no one talks about because people, think “ooh vaginal dryness”. No, it’s not just that. It’s atrophy.’
‘So, not only are you dealing with all of this outside stuff, there’s inside stuff, but there’s inside stuff that’s causing pain and a problem and affecting your relationship.’
‘Vaginal atrophy is one of the most debilitating issues that occurs following the menopause‘, Dr Ellie Cannon, previously writing for the Mail On Sunday, has stated.
‘It occurs due to the loss of the female sex hormone oestrogen and leads to thinning and shrinking of the vulva and vagina tissue. This can lead to burning and discomfort that can last for months and sometimes years.’
The main form of treatment is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), taken via patches or pills, along with oestrogen cream.
Andrea explained how she was previously told that speaking about her experience of menopause was ‘career suicide’.
She now has an ambition to write a book with her husband, life coach Nick Feeney, about how men can support their partners through menopause
She said a few years ago she pitched a book about her experience, co-written with her doctor, and was ‘basically told, “You cannot talk about this. It’s career suicide. No one will want to hire you. You’ll be seen as old and past it. You cannot write this book.”‘
She now has an ambition to write a book with her husband, life coach Nick Feeney, about how men can support their partners through menopause.
She explained how Nick’s male clients constantly tell him that they ‘do not understand what their wives are going through during the menopause because they just don’t realise.’
Andrea left Loose Women in 2020 to set up a coaching business with Nick, but has previously admitted she ‘lost everything’ when the business failed.
She has said that she ‘tried to get a job in Starbucks’ to make ends meet after the pandemic and a series of health issues left her unable to work, among them severe pneumonia, acute kidney injury and sepsis.
She was forced to sell her beloved mansion in Surrey to pay off her debts, and had to endure a meeting with investors where she was told her ‘star had faded.’
Andrea has revealed she felt ‘shame’ around her money troubles, but the challenges she and Nick have faced have only made their marriage stronger.
The former daytime TV star tied the knot for the third time in 2017, after previously being wed to TV presenter Steve Toms from 2009 to 2012, and her childhood sweetheart Nick Green from 2000 to 2005.
