Making Friends with the Menopause: A clear and comforting guide to support you as your body changes, 2017 edition

From bestselling author of Making Friends with Anxiety and One Moment, One Morning comes a clear and comforting little book to guide you as your body changes through the menopause.

Written with Sarah Rayner's trademark warmth and humour, this new edition of Making Friends with the Menopause has been updated to reflect the latest National Institute for Health and Care guidelines on diagnosis and management of the menopause. Together with Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, she explores why stopping menstruating causes such profound chemical changes in the body, leading us to react in a myriad of ways physically and mentally.

There is practical advice on hot flushes and night sweats, anxiety and mood swings, muscular aches and loss of libido, early-onset menopause, hysterectomy and more, plus a simple explanation of each stage of the menopause so you'll know what to expect in the years before, during and after. You'll find details of the treatment options available and their pros and cons, together with tips and insights from women keen to share their wisdom on a subject many still find hard to talk about. Whether you're worried about feeling invisible, weight gain or loss of fertility, or simply want to take care of yourself well, knowledge is power, and Making Friends with the Menopause will give you a greater understanding of the process, so you can enjoy your body and your sexuality as you age.

* From the author of the international bestselling novel One Moment, One Morning

* And the word-of-mouth success Making Friends with Anxiety, a warm, supportive book to ease worry and panic

* Includes advice on all the major health issues that can arise as a result of hormone change

* Thoroughly researched and bang-up-to-date

* Includes traditional and complementary medicine

* Gives guidance on how to get the most from your GP appointments and finding good alternative practitioners

* Useful links throughout, plus details of helplines and recommended reads * Fully illustrated with photographs by the author

* Ongoing online support group available

PRAISE FOR MAKING FRIENDS WITH ANXIETY 'Simple, lucid advice on how to accept your anxiety' Matt Haig, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive 'Reads like chatting with an old friend; one with wit, wisdom and experience' Brighton and Hove Independent

PRAISE FOR SARAH RAYNER:

'Explores an emotive subject with great sensitivity' Sunday Express

'Brilliant... Warm and approachable' Essentials

'Carefully crafted and empathetic' The Sunday Times

Sarah Rayner (www.sarah-rayner.com) is the author of the international bestseller, 'One Moment, One Morning' (2010), and 'The Two Week Wait' (2012) and 'Another Night, Another Day' (2014), which all feature her Brighton-based characters. She lives in Brighton herself, in a little blue house, with her husband, her stepson and a couple of cats. As a novelist, Sarah is known for tackling difficult subjects such as bereavement, infertility and mental illness with empathy and insight, but her latest venture has been a series of non-fiction self-help books under the 'Making Friends...' umbrella, which are published through her small press, Creative Pumpkin Publishing (www.creativepumpkinpublishing.com). The first, 'Making Friends with Anxiety' (2014) is a warm, supportive little book to help ease worry and panic, and its success led Sarah to pen a follow-up, 'More Making Friends with Anxiety' which focuses on gentle activities that can help ease stress, and 'Making Friends with Anxiety: A Calming Colouring Book' which is illustrated by Jules Miller. She has has also written 'Making Friends with the Menopause', a clear, comforting guide to support you as your body changes' in collaboration with Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, and has just published 'Making Friends with Depression: A warm and wise companion to support you through dark times' which is co-written by bestselling author Kate Harrison and Dr Patrick Fitzgerald. In addition Sarah has written two more light-hearted novels - 'The Other Half' and 'Getting Even'. Originally published in the early noughties, these have been fully revised and updated by the author and are now available on Amazon. To find out more about Sarah or get in touch, please visit her website, www.sarah-rayner.com. Please don't be shy - she enjoys hearing from her readers.

Dr Patrick Fitzgerald MB.BS MRCGP Diploma in Palliative Medicine Patrick is a General Practitioner working in Cheshire, England. He studied medicine in London and became a GP in 2007. He has a special interest in cancer and palliative care and has worked as a GP educator for Macmillan Cancer Care, in hospices and with community and hospital palliative care teams. He is an advocate of patient-centred care, focusing on shared decision-making with patients. He feels the role of the GP is as medical translator and advisor, communicator, and, mostly, listener.