Menopause brain fog was so bad I thought I had dementia – Health -…

A girl experiencing menopause-associated “brain fog” so extreme she feared dementia has credited testosterone therapy as her breakthrough answer, mirroring Davina McCall’s expertise.

Jo Moran, 57, began noticing deteriorating reminiscence and overwhelming fatigue at 44, initially attributing it to office calls for. Once bodily symptoms emerged, she acknowledged menopause and started hormone substitute therapy.

However, while HRT alleviated her scorching flashes, joint discomfort, temper swings, the reminiscence points and exhaustion persevered for years. The mother-of-two’s cognitive decline turned so pronounced she repeatedly burned dinners, forgetting she’d positioned them in the oven.

She relied on numerous alarms for routine actions, eradicating laundry from the washer, arriving punctually for medical appointments, and buying groceries. Despite retiring, believing work-associated stress precipitated her exhaustion, Moran remained fully drained by 5 pm — even on days spent solely at home.

The married Malmesbury, Wiltshire resident finally suspected low testosterone after conducting impartial online research into potential causes. An NHS testosterone take a look at validated her suspicions, revealing considerably depleted ranges, though she in the end secured a non-public prescription for daily testosterone gel to speed up treatment.

Moran, now a menopause coach, described testosterone as transformative for her reminiscence and fatigue points, an expertise she shares with TV persona Davina McCall. “When I got hot flushes and irregular periods, I knew I was in perimenopause,” she said.

“When I got hot flushes and irregular periods, I knew I was in perimenopause,” added Moran. “But I didn’t know poor memory and tiredness were also part of it.”

“I was in the thick of menopause by the time I got HRT, and there were a lot of improvements for the physical symptoms,” continued Moran.”But it got to the point I had to set an alarm to put food on the stove, I ruined so many pans by burning things because I just forgot about them.”

“After getting testosterone, I realized it was the missing puzzle piece. I’ve got my mojo back and I feel like I’ve found myself again,” she added. “So I feel very validated in how Davina described her experiences. I know a lot of women who say she was the catalyst for them getting help.”

“A lot of women don’t even know testosterone is a hormone they need – or they think it’ll give them a beard,” she continued. When Moran initially seen reminiscence lapses and persistent fatigue, she attributed them to the pressures of her demanding profession in financial companies, where she led a large group.

“It got to the point that I was so tired all the time, I was just surviving Monday to Friday,” Moran acknowledged.”I couldn’t do anything at the weekends or in the evenings, because I had no energy.”

“I became very anxious, but I just thought it was work stress and a part of getting older,” she said. Moran acknowledged she was experiencing menopause after developing scorching flushes, weight gain, and numerous other bodily symptoms.

Now, at 48, she in the end secured an HRT prescription, having initially been misled by older research suggesting a connection between HRT and breast cancer. The conclusions drawn from those research have since been deemed oversimplifications, and their findings are no longer widely accepted within the medical group.

“I was prescribed HRT, but testosterone wasn’t even mentioned,” she said about the treatment. “HRT did show improvements for my joint pain and disturbed sleep, but I was still tired with bad memory.”

“Even after I retired, I’d feel like I’d worked a 12-hour shift by 5 pm, even if all I’d done was a bit of gardening,” she explained. It wasn’t until late 2025 that Moran started conducting her own research to resolve her ongoing points.

Initially, she recalled that her medical doctors tried to attribute her exhaustion to the pressures of parenting and work-associated stress, until she identified that her grown youngsters had already moved out and she had long since retired. She finally persuaded a reluctant doctor to order blood assessments, which confirmed her testosterone ranges have been critically low.

Despite this, she was informed that a commonplace GP couldn’t prescribe testosterone, though she was referred to a local NHS menopause clinic. Upon discovering the ready listing stretched a number of months, she selected to seek the advice of a non-public doctor instead.

“Within two or three weeks of taking testosterone, I noticed a change in my energy levels,” said Moran.”My memory is still not brilliant, but it’s 100% better than it was.”

“I’ve not burned anything in the kitchen for a while now!” she said. Moran pays $150 every three months for her non-public prescription.

While many supporters tout its advantages, the British Menopause Society notes that scientific trials of testosterone have not confirmed it may possibly improve cognition, temper, vitality, or musculoskeletal health. Moran now works as a menopause coach, serving to other ladies access assist and advocate for their healthcare wants.

She said: “Financially, I’ve been able to go privately to get testosterone, but that’s the pink tax.” Moran continued,”Women are having to pay for healthcare for hormones that naturally occur in their bodies.”

“If I had been a man with low testosterone, I think I’d have been seen straight away,” she said. “So I think it’s great that someone like Davina, in the public eye, is using their position as a force for good, and talking about it stops it feeling like a taboo subject.”

“I’d never force my decisions on someone, but I’m feeling so much better, and testosterone is the reason why.”