Jean Kittson wants to shed light on the biggest change that will happen in a woman’s life ... Menopause

JEAN Kittson wants to help women understand more about the biggest change that will happen in their lives.

Comedienne Jean Kittson has shouted about menopause from the hgihtest hilltop in a bid to raise awareness of the issue and break the silence surrounding it.

JEAN Kittson wants to help women understand more about the biggest change that will happen in their lives.

The last time I spoke to Jean Kittson I could easily have imagined beads of sweat, borne from the labours of motherhood, rolling down the popular Australian comedian’s face.

Fast-forward 13 years from that interview about her role in TV sitcom Flat Chat, and Kittson is explaining to me why she’s started a conversation — via her new book — on the earnest subject of menopause.

And beads of sweat are rolling down both our faces.

News_Image_File: Jean Kittson’s new book is called You're Still Hot to Me.

Suddenly, I’m feeling hot and flushed, and it’s not because Kittson is talking about sex and menopause. The real reason? Are you ready? Kittson is menopausal.

Yes, this beacon of womanly beauty, wit and belly laughs is going through “the change of life’’. And she wants all and sundry to know about it.

Kittson wants us all to talk — openly and without fear of embarrassment or prejudice — about something that happens to every single woman on this planet, if she is lucky enough to live that long.

Menopause. I’ve said it again. According to Kittson, it’s a travesty that this natural change in a
woman’s body has had such bad press — or no press — and, hence, is so misunderstood.

Which brings us to the title of Kittson’s chatty new book, You’re Still Hot To Me, published by
Pan Macmillan.

News_Image_File: Jean Kittson’s You’re Still Hot To Me is a hilarious look at menopause and a guide for women to help them get through it.

Subtitled The Joys of Menopause, Kittson recounts her journey through the change of life and comes up with loads of research and expert advice on how to recognise symptoms, get the treatment that is right for you, share information with your partner, friends — hell, anyone who will listen — and stay on top of your work and personal life.

Ultimately, Kittson’s book is a celebration of the resilient women — you know who you are — who go through it.

For according to Kittson, at any one time about 1.5 million women in Australia are menopausal.

“When I started getting menopausal, I realised no one talked about it,’’ Kittson says.

“I would have had friends who may already have been going through it, but it was never mentioned.

“When I started getting hot flushes and waking up in the night, I didn’t know what it was. I went to the local pharmacy and started talking about hot flushes.

“As I said it, they lowered their voices to a whisper and mouthed the words, ‘hot flushes’, and I realised it was something women really didn’t talk about.’’

News_Image_File: When Jean Kittson first realised she was menopausal she was astounded by the lack of information available and set out on a mission to discover more.

Apart from Kittson then getting the message that talking about menopause was akin to letting the world know you had a social disease, her next hurdle was the paucity of information on the subject.

“There was hardly any information I could find. There were a lot of myths. So I just started talking about it. And publicly.’’

Next Kittson was an ambassador for Remifemin, a natural remedy used to relieve the symptoms of menopause, found on pharmacy shelves.

After a newspaper snippet, Kittson was asked to speak on the subject at the National Press Club. Soon afterwards, publisher Pan Macmillan contacted Kittson, with the result that You’re Still Hot To Me is in book stores this week.

In the book, Kittson recalls phoning her mother for advice after her first menopausal symptoms began.

“My mother had been very frank about everything in our lives, but I’d never heard her mention menopause. So I asked her, ‘Did you get menopause?’ and she replied, ‘Oh, my god, it was the worst five years of my life’.

“I was completely shocked. She had no treatment, no support, and had a hysterectomy.’’

Kittson buried herself in research and quickly realised there was no reliable data on menopause.

The downside of that is enormous, as Kittson says the medical profession don’t know how many women are seriously affected and the full nature of those affects — both the physiological and psychological consequences.

“It’s gobsmacking, because it’s such a big change in women’s lives,’’ Kittson says.

News_Image_File: As one of Australia’s most recognisable comedians Jean Kittson believes humour can help to spread a message and allows people to have a laugh at themselves.

So Kittson decided her book would literally flush out as much information as could be collected on menopause to inform women and give them choices — such as, is hormone replacement therapy for me? The book delivers this with Kittson’s trademark comic panache.

“If it can be entertaining and humorous, I often think it’s easier to spread a message. The book is for families too, so it’s fun and we get to laugh at ourselves, too.’’

Kittson offers “case studies’’ in her book, talking to menopausal women from their 40s into their 70s. No subject is taboo, including sex.

“Some women think their loss of libido is a reflection of their loss of interest in their partner, or start trying to find other reasons. So when they find out it is purely hormonal, they want to do something about it.’’

For Kittson, starting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was the beginning of getting her life back.

“Are you on it? It is amazing!’’ Kittson says. “Not taking HRT is like not taking an analgesic for a headache. It does put women back on track. We have really busy lives and we want to feel as good as we can.’’

You’re Still Hot To Me,

Pan Macmillan, $33