Bristol vlogger felt suicidal before her menopause discovery

Sheetal Jethwa said no one in her family ever spoke about "the dark side" of menopause

A Bristol vlogger who was in a suicidal "tunnel of darkness" said she would not be here if she had not met her menopause coach.

Sheetal Jethwa experienced symptoms of insomnia and "constant bereavement" whilst holding down three jobs.

The 43-year-old said things started to make sense when she met menopause coach Marva Williams.

They are now desperate for legislation to change so that women in their 40s are given a menopause health check.

After a thyroid operation in 2022, Ms Jethwa said she struggled, crying uncontrollably all the time and started thinking about taking her own life.

"If I hadn't reached out to Martha I wouldn't be here, I would be another stat. Our lives are so precious and when you're in that state you're not thinking straight, so don't deal with it on your own because you're not on your own," she said

"It's like being in a tunnel of darkness and not being able to escape. I couldn't even do my job anymore.

Ms Jethwa spends her time in Bristol as a vlogger, radio show presenter and taking part in sports activities

"I started to lose all of my motivation.

"Menopause was never brought up by my doctor when I went to them. They gave me antidepressants and something for my sleep which I didn't take."

She said menopause and its "dark side" was something her family never spoke about and not brought up in south Asian culture.

"I'm from that generation where unless life is great, people talk about the successes. They don't talk about when things are not going well," she added.

Marva Williams (r) said she became a menopause coach to help other women struggling with severe symptoms as she did

Menopause councillor Ms Williams said she does not want any woman go through what she went through.

"I've had so many husbands say to me, 'you've saved my marriage, she just gets angry for no reason'," she said.

"When you explain to them it's to do with the oestrogen and progesterone levels they have a eureka moment."

Ms Harris said doctors need to have a conversation with women about menopause when they reach 40

The Menopause All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has since launched a 'Manifesto for Menopause' calling on all Political Parties to sign up to commitments for reform ahead of the next election.

Chair of the APPG, MP Carolyn Harris said it is an opportunity to "commit to women".

"[If] by the time you reach 40 you haven't had that conversation the doctor needs to have that conversation to be able to say, 'These are the symptoms are you experiencing any of them?'," she said.

Ms Williams and Ms Jethwa feel if they successfully change legislation it would save many women from "months of pain and confusion".

"I'm excited that doctors will challenge and ask questions early on with women in their 40s. To me that sounds perfect," Ms Jethwa.