Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon reveals she is taking hormone replacement therapy

Nicola Sturgeon is taking hormone replacement therapy to combat the effects of the menopause – which included being full of rage, she has revealed.

In one of her most candid interviews, the First Minister of Scotland said she had been taking HRT for four months after feeling increased levels of ‘anxiety, weakness and vulnerability’.

Speaking to TV presenter Kirsty Wark, the SNP leader, 51, said: ‘The big thing about the menopause is that it’s so shrouded in mystery and stigma.

‘It’s a stage of life, and yet we feel it is a weakness, demonstrating that we are not as capable as we were. I’m starting to feel better. I don’t feel as rage-fuelled and I’m sleeping better.

‘One of the reasons I’ve decided to talk about it… is that if people like me don’t we will never burst this stigma.’

In April, during an appearance on ITV’s show Loose Women, she revealed she was in the ‘foothills’ of the menopause, but felt nervous about speaking about such an ‘intensely personal’ experience.

Yesterday, she revealed she had experienced ‘terrifying moments’ in the debating chamber in Holyrood ‘when the cameras are on you and I’ll be mid-sentence and I’ll find myself thinking, “Do I know the word to say here or am I going to forget it?” ’

She also said it had caused a ‘horrendous’ lack of sleep and it could be hard to tell whether she was experiencing the menopause or the symptoms of stress.

‘To distinguish between the two is really difficult,’ she said, adding that she could understand women’s ‘real reticence’ to talk about it for fear of being discriminated against in the workplace.