A Shropshire woman who felt crippled with the debilitating symptoms of the menopause is now running a company helping other women cope with the fallout from hormone decline and imbalance.

Kerry Sheldon-Jones said she struggled to get out of bed crippled with exhaustion and couldn’t face going to work as her confidence was sapped by mood swings, insomnia, depression and anxiety as her body processed the changes in her hormones.

“I felt like my life was literally slipping away from me with all the joy taken out of the things that would usually bring me great happiness such as being outside and active with the people I care about, feeling confident at work, feeling good about my appearance,” she explained.

“It felt like it was all being taken away from me and I started to feel like a shadow of my former self. The worst thing was that I just couldn’t seem to get the help I needed and the options open to me were so limited.”

Kerry, from Telford in Shropshire, heard about a clinic in London which was treating the symptoms of menopause with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) – plant-based sterols and natural compounds which identically match the hormones in your body.

“I remember thinking I would never be able to get on that train that day as I had almost reached the stage where I rarely travelled further than the local grocery store, but I knew I had to as I just couldn’t go on the way I was going,” she added.

That day Kerry found what she has since described as her own “tailored cure”. 

“The problem was I couldn’t find the same treatment anywhere in the Midlands at that time and certainly not in Shropshire. Just from talking to friends I knew other women were going through exactly what I was going through. After signing up for bio-identical hormone therapy I got my life back. My energy levels returned, I was sleeping again and just feeling like myself again – the person I knew was there all along and just needed the right kind of help to meet myself again. I wanted that for other women.”

Kerry was part of the team which launched Equilibrium, which now has clinics running across the Midlands specialising in hormone rebalance including BHRT.

The team includes two doctors with over 40 years of experience between them and other women who have also suffered because of hormone-imbalance and can speak from first-hand experience about what has worked for them.

“Hormones play such a huge part in who we are and how we cope with life and when they are out of kilter, when they decline or become imbalanced it can cause so much unnecessary suffering.

“By taking a holistic approach, our specialist GMC registered doctors provide patients with a greater understanding, knowledge and choice to address the debilitating symptoms associated with hormone imbalance that may arise from a number of conditions.”

While the clinics treat a great deal of women suffering from the symptoms of the menopause they also help men with a variety of hormone-related conditions and younger women also in need of help to address issues with hormone imbalance.

“Our team is committed to helping people win back their lives and all of us are passionate that no woman or man should have to suffer the frustration of hormone decline,” added Kerry.

“We run free 15-minute telephone consultations or half hour face to face consultation appointments at our clinics where women can come and talk to us just to find out what might help. I believe it is so important that we encourage women to talk about this so we can find a way to help. I am passionate about shouting it from the rooftops if we are struggling – it is the only way that people will find the help they need.”

Equilibrium clinics are held in Shrewsbury, Shifnal, Bromsgrove and Denbighshire.  

For more information visit equilibrium-clinic.co.uk