Shirley Ballas has never shied away from sharing her journey with menopause and this story is no different.
The Strictly judge often discusses her experience with hormone replacement therapy and how it has benefited her health.
However, it hasn’t always been highs – there has also been some lows…
Shirley Ballas opens up about menopause battle
Speaking on HELLO!’s new Changemakers Podcast, focusing on midlife, Shirley opened up about growing facial hair.
“I’ve had it where I’ve had too much testosterone,” Shirley admitted. “I’ve grown a beard, actually. Not a word of a lie. At one point, the mixture didn’t come out right. So I was getting too much of this and not enough of that.
“But at one point, I was getting too much testosterone and I’m not lying, I had a chin full of beard, I was constantly plucking my chin. I had black hair all over my arms. I was growing this hair. It was coming down my nose and up my ears. Honest to God.
“I went to see my English doctor and she sent me for some more tests. And then they lowered the testosterone. It was at a nine. Apparently, it’s supposed to be like a one or a two.”
Shirley also detailed some of the difficult symptoms she has suffered with during her menopause journey.
“Hot flushes, my hair started to fall out in the sink,” she explained, adding: “Headaches. Cloudy in my mind. These pimples just covered my body. Hair falling out in chunks. Couldn’t sleep. Feeling irritable.”
Shirley Ballas shares health update
This isn’t the only health struggle Shirley has endured recently.
She has been diagnosed with a deteriorating spine – a condition that could change her life forever.
“When it’s to do with the spine, you’re in constant pain all the time,” she explained. “It’s like a nagging toothache that never goes away. So, I think I have to slow down.
“All the doctors told me that I need to learn to teach from a chair. I’ve never done that in my life. I’m an up and going kind of person. So, I will be forced possibly, in some certain way, to change some lifestyle habits in 2025 for sure.”
We hope you feel better soon, Shirley!
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