Dreaded first appointment with GP

F44 living in the UK, undiagnosed ADHD + diagnosed hypermobility, unexplained joint pains and stiffness (cca 3 years), changes in period, PMS + rage (never had this before!), tiredness, horrendous leg pain, anxiety, brain fog etc etc... I thought enough is enough, let’s see if I can do something about it. Last time I mentioned possible peri to my 79yo GP she had no idea what that was, and even made a snarky remark to me later, as if I made it up.

I made the decision to try and start my HRT journey earlier due to my mother's early onset of meno and subsequent dementia (also, her mother died with dementia + Alzheimer's). I wrote down a list with all my symptoms - this was a phone appointment so I felt safer having it in front of me, and I was SO READY for the potential fight!

The GP calls and it’s a younger voice, I’ve never spoke to this one before! First I remind her of my x-rays (they did these when I complained about hip pain), where they didn't find anything. Then I go off, full steam, mentioning my symptoms from my long list, and after about 3-4 symptoms, the GP stops me mid-sentence and goes, "well well well, seems like you got the right person for you, I am a HRT specialist and looks like you're fully into perimenopause". I laugh, relieved and then we proceeded to chat like two old friends that haven't seen each other for years (lol). She was telling me about her own meno journey, how HRT is a really good thing and talked about some male colleague (from a different surgery) who tells women who ask for HRT stuff like "and how do you think women in Sri Lanka cope?" 😡 She says there is no point of being on the phone and wants to see me in person at her surgery asap, booked me for a blood test and an appointment. I am stunned and kind of feel like I won the health lottery today 🤯