Pip Edwards has opened up about her heartbreaking health battle.
The PE Nation co-founder, 43, recently spoke with Phoebe Burgess on her podcast, Under the shinein which she discussed her “grueling” battle with perimenopause.
Menopause is the natural time in a woman’s life when she has gone twelve months without a period.
The term perimenopause refers to the transition phase to menopause and can be accompanied by symptoms such as an irregular menstrual cycle, hot flashes, reduced fertility and sleeping problems.
Most Australian women enter perimenopause in their mid-40s and then enter menopause between the ages of 45 and 60.
Pip Edwards has opened up about her “grueling” battle with perimenopause. Pictured in Bali last month
During the emotional conversation, Pip, who first spoke about her struggle in March, said she is “in the thick of it.”
“You can’t hide behind some things. I’m having hot flashes right now,” she told Phoebe.
“It comes on in about 30 seconds, and it’s debilitating, and it makes me cry.
“I have about six a night – they really increase at night. I’m literally so hot and wet, my clothes come off, the sheets are wet, and then I get really freezing, so my clothes go back on, and it’s like that all night.
During the emotional conversation, Pip, who first spoke about her struggle in March, said she’s “in the thick of it”
“And now it’s starting to happen in the morning and during the day. So I don’t sleep. I wake up crying.’
Pip’s life was turned upside down almost three years ago, when she was 39 years old, after she was diagnosed with perimenopause.
“I’m on a very meager diet, traveled a lot, there’s a lot of emotional trauma that’s been carried around with me so my body is always in fight or flight — it’s never been safe,” she continued.
“And all of that only leads to a harbinger of early menopause. I always wanted it, but I was never told… It’s not even a topic of conversation.’
“I’m on a very meager diet, traveled a lot, there’s a lot of emotional trauma that’s been carried around so my body is always in fight or flight — it’s never been safe,” she said
Elsewhere, Pip added, “I’m in the thick of it. And… I’m sure we’re talking to women who persist in silence (perimenopause). And you know what? I’m starting to put up with it in front of people.’
“It’s a normal part of life. It needs to be normalized so I don’t feel like I’m crazy. It drives me crazy. I know why people say menopausal women go crazy – of course they go crazy.
‘They don’t sleep, they sweat, they’re at their wits’ end. No nonsense! No nonsense.’
The fashion entrepreneur first spoke about her private struggle in March.
Pip’s life was turned upside down almost three years ago, when she was 39 years old, after she was diagnosed with perimenopause
Pip said she “didn’t notice” her symptoms prior to a severe hot flash she got while attending her 16-year-old son Justice’s basketball game because she was too focused on maintaining her fitness, growing her business and raising her only child. , which she shares with ex Dan Single.
She soon learned that her mother had also gone through early menopause and decided to visit a fertility clinic to freeze her eggs.
Tragically, she was unable to undergo the procedure as egg freezing was banned due to Covid rules preventing elective surgeries.
Due to the severity of her symptoms, she was also unable to delay menopause by using hormone replacement therapy.
By the time she was taken off hold for the procedure, it was too late.
“I was absolutely in shock because I would never consider that (carrying another child) wouldn’t be an option. I am healthy. I am fit. I’m in the prime of my life,” she complained to Stellar.
“Had I known my family history better or had conversations, I might have started preparing my options for whatever life I choose in my early thirties.”