Suzanne Noonan, a mother of three children, struggled for months with debilitating anxiety, hot flushes and poor sleep but was afraid to look for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as there is a history of breast cancer in her family.

A friend, a beautician who had heard clients say HRT had changed their lives for the better, urged her to try it. By the time Noonan (45) went to her GP in Co Limerick a year ago, “my adrenaline was through the roof”. The doctor reassured her about the breast cancer risks and strongly recommended HRT, as the pros outweighed the cons. “So I bit the bullet.”

Within two weeks, “I was so mellow and just felt right again in the world.” Now she recommends that any woman troubled by menopausal-related symptoms should go to their GP and “take the leap to HRT – you will not regret it”.

The message that women need not suffer in silence during perimenopause and menopause is spreading. With increasing evidence of other health benefits from the repletion of waning hormones, even those without troubling menopausal symptoms may wonder if they are missing out by not going on HRT. It doesn’t even cost anything, since the State has made the medication free since June 1st. Could that prove to be another psychological nudge?

This week there was news of a study, led by the University of Galway, that indicated a link between HRT after menopause and a lower risk of dementia. Last week, eminent consultant endocrinologist Dr Donal O’Shea talked of “medical consensus” that all women should go on it at the time of menopause, unless there are strong contraindications.

“Oestrogen replacement is good for bones, it’s good for heart, it’s good for brain,”