Only Miranda could make the menopause so fun!

She's loved for her slapstick comedy and ability to find light in even the most mundane situations.

And it appears that Miranda Hart has extended her tongue-in-cheek sense of humour to menopause, with the London-based actress sharing her experiences of the transition on social media, including her 'menopausal mounds'.

The 51-year-old, who yesterday confirmed a flurry of rumours on BBC's The One Show and announced that she is married, comically spins her symptoms on social media, and in doing so, unites women in the comment section who similarly joke back.

In one 2020 X post, the comic wrote: 'I have just found a radish in my pocket. #perimenopause'. Others replied with anecdotes; one said: 'Just tried to open my back door by pressing the central locking button on my car key #postmenopausal'.

Beyond the surface of her jokes about 'menopausal madness', Miranda is no doubt suffering exacerbated symptoms resulting from her 2020 Lyme disease diagnosis - a bacterial infection spread by ticks, which can cause general flu-like symptoms.

It took 33 years for medics to discover that Miranda was battling Lyme disease, and initially, doctors mislabelled her as being agoraphobic - an anxiety disorder characterised by symptoms of anxiety in situations.

In her new memoir, I Haven't Been Entirely Honest with You, which is out on October 10, she described suffering from chronic stress with viral infections and injuries being her primary stressor and 'years of fear from misdiagnosis'.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by ticks and can cause general flu-like symptoms, including fatigue, headache, swollen joints, and a fever, which can last for weeks, but for reasons not yet understood, some patients suffer for years.

And when Lyme disease sufferers undergo menopause like Miranda, they can often face further hurdles.

'In perimenopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal women, an adrenal hormone called DHEA provides the body with about 50 percent of testosterone compared with 10 percent in men,' according to Toronto Functional Medical Centre.

'Therefore, menopausal women with Lyme disease may have further difficulties in dealing with hormonal side effects.'

According to Dr Susan L Mara from Eco Medica, the disease can also impact weight in menopausal women. 

She explained: 'Weight gain around the midsection is common for women in perimenopause and menopausal states and can become even more of a problem when Lyme Disease is present due to metabolic disequilibrium.'

The actress discussed her illness leading to weight gain on social media, saying she 'felt shame', not because she was striving for an 'aesthetic ideal', but because she did not feel like herself.

However hard Miranda's battle with Lyme disease and the menopause has been, the actress continues to make people smile when discussing the topic on social media.

In June 2022, she took to Instagram to discuss the effects of the menopause, writing: 'You know you might be menopausal when you walk downstairs thinking ''I'm sure I have forgotten something'' and you eventually realise you are just wearing a bra'.

WHAT IS THE MENOPAUSE?

Menopause is when a woman stops having periods, and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.

It usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55.

It is a normal part of ageing and caused by levels of the sex hormone oestrogen dropping.

Some women go through this time with few, if any, symptoms. 

Others suffer from hot flushes, sleeping difficulties, mood swings and brain fog, which can last for months or years and might change over time.

HRT replaces the hormones and is the main treatment used to treat symptoms — which can be severe and disrupt day-to-day life.

Menopause happens when your ovaries stop producing as much of the hormone oestrogen and no longer release an egg each month.

The Torquay-born comedian jokingly added in the post's caption: 'Being 49 is a right hoot'.

In February one year later, she shared another photograph to her grid, but this time it was her donning a red nose for Comic Relief.

She wrote: 'Could caption this Menopausal Madness but it's pure joy of the new and best ever Red Nose for Comic Relief this year.

'Available from comicrelief.com or Amazon. Every penny goes towards raising funds to help our fellow humans in struggle. Have fun and be kind - buy a red nose.'

In September last year, she kept the menopause posts coming, and wrote to her 1.2 million followers about one of her side effects - an 'enlarged bosom', which she has otherwise referred to as 'menopausal mounds', or 'space hoppers'.

Miranda said: 'My enlarged bosom definitely just opened an automatic door ahead of the rest of my body. Inflating during the menopause can be fun!'.

She added in the caption: 'Always good to share news about one's upper circumference'.

A recent study revealed that one in five women experienced an increase in breast size after menopause.

When oestrogen levels drop, breast tissue becomes less dense and more fatty. This is compounded by the fact breasts are more sensitive to weight gain as we get older, since dormant milk ducts shrink and are replaced by fat.

Next, it was a joke about her dog coming home. She wrote: 'I have been away and haven't seen my dog for five weeks.

'She's about to come back and I found myself rather nervous and making sure my hair looked nice...And you definitely can't blame everything on the menopause'.

She kept the jokes coming in April, when she told her followers about her fashion problems, writing 'the only clothes I now fit into in my wardrobe #menopause #redwine #prosecco', alongside a snap of slippers and jogging bottoms. 

'Not the best summer outfit. Although I can just wear nothing on top,' the comedian added in the caption.' 

It was almost 14 years ago when Miranda wrote in Mail on Sunday's You Magazine that: 'I've never been the kind of woman who always wanted a boyfriend or felt resentful because I didn't have one.'

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks.

The most common symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans.

The disease can typically be treated by several weeks of oral antibiotics.

But if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous symptoms and be deadly.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE INFECTED?

During the first three to 30 days of infection, these symptoms may occur:

The rash occurs in approximately 80 per cent of infected people.

It can expand to up to 12 inches (30 cm), eventually clearing and giving off the appearance of a target or a 'bull's-eye'.

Later symptoms of Lyme disease include:

Source: CDC

She explained how she found joy in being alone and explained 'the advantage of being single with no children' is that she could 'completely switch off' even at Christmas, traditionally an intense time for most.

'Instead of moping about what I don't have, I count my lucky stars that I'm able to take a long bath in peace, without having to think of others,' added the comedian.

But my, how times have changed - for the English actress, 51, has announced she is married, confirming her nuptials on BBC's The One Show on Tuesday.

Shortly after her appearance, the star even teased her new mystery husband's identity for the first time as she shared a video with him on the way home from the studio.

The short clip only revealed her partner's hand as she showed off her wedding ring and thanked fans for their support after sharing their happy news.

The comedian confirmed she met Mr Right, declaring on The One Show that 'someone's put a ring on it' as she revealed she met 'my person' at the age of 49.

Speaking to Alex Jones and Alex Scott on the programme, Miranda said: 'I'm married, I got married at 51 and it's just so lovely! I'd written Gary for onscreen Miranda and it wasn't until I was 49 that I met my person.'

But she insisted she would keep her husband's identity a secret, adding: 'It's a little undercurrent in the book, I'm not going to reveal how we met because that's a little bit of a twist. He's my best friend, we had the best fun and I'm just thrilled to be a young bride at 51.'

The star added that she hoped readers of her book will feel hope from her love story, explaining; 'The fact that I met someone during a pandemic, during chronic illness, when I couldn't get out of bed or out of the house... I really, really wanted to meet someone, I didn't want to do life on my own anymore.

'The fact that I could meet somebody, it's not some sort of romcom story but it's hope. Whatever situation you are in, there is always hope, things really do change.'

She confirmed she has tied the knot with a man she met during lockdown when he came to fix the mould in her £2million house.

Referring to her new husband only as 'The Boy from Bristol' or 'The Mould Man', the comedian kept his identity a secret but gushed over how handsome he is with 'fine features' and 'salt and pepper grey hair'.

Miranda made the shock revelation in the final pages of her new memoir, I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You.

In the book, she writes: 'I met my best friend and the love of my life who brings me more silliness, laughter, joy, support, care and safety than I thought possible in a person, because I lost my house due to mould illness and he was the building surveyor on the house remediation project.

'Yes my love was Mr Mould Man/ My Mr Mould Man/ The Boy/ The Boy from Bristol/ The Boyfriend. I haven't been entirely honest with you, he's not my boyfriend, he's my husband. We got married when I was 51.'

Miranda explained her friends could not believe it when she first started dating him, due to the fact the UK was in lockdown and her house was crippled with damp issues. 

She added: 'Whenever I told any of my friends I had met someone, they all simply paused, confused and said how it's not a high probability with housebound illness and a global pandemic for a knight in shining armour to appear on the doorstep but he did. To de-mould me…’'

Tongues were set wagging after she flashed a gold wedding ring last week and now the funny woman has confirmed she has in fact found the love of her life.

The star first set tongues wagging about the new man in her life during publicity for the memoir, teasing in her inimitable style that she 'couldn't possibly say if there is a love story in it... (There is – shush) Exciting.'

She has also been spotted wearing a wedding band in recent videos and snaps posted on Instagram, where she has a million followers, whilst locals near her West London home have seen her with a mystery man.

Miranda catapulted to fame with her self-titled BBC sitcom in 2009, in which her fictional mother Penny exclaims 'Such fun!' whenever she thinks her daughter is about to bag a boyfriend. It follows her quest to find 'the perfect man' and her dalliance with dishy chef Gary.

The comic, whose father was commanding officer of HMS Coventry, sunk by Argentina in 1982, has previously joked about her love life, saying:  'I was very naïve sexually. My first boyfriend asked me to do missionary and I buggered off to Africa for six months.'

The actress, who played nurse Chummy in Call The Midwife and Miss Bates in Emma, revealed over the summer that she has had been battling a chronic illness for years.

Speaking about her years spent housebound by her illness, Miranda told The One Show on Tuesday: 'It's not been the most pleasant few years, I've mainly been in bed or housebound with chronic illness, so it's been a tough few years, nearly decade, which is what my book is charting.'

'It's so nice to be back in the television, I'm so excited to be here. Once you have been bed bound with a fatigue-base chronic illness which takes a long time to diagnose, you miss life a lot so I'm thrilled to be here. '

'Part of the story of the book is the discovery of what could help. I needed to research this whole wellness expertise which is out there.'

'I was in bed at home alone and doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't have a yoga retreat so what are the universal truths. I did years of research. . In the book there are ten keys, which I call my treasures, for living well.'

'I'm living a life of joy and meaning and fulfilment which I never had before.' 

As for what's next for the star, she told The One Show that after her book 'I'm really keen to get back to some silliness now. I miss laughter, I don't have any ideas yet, they haven't percolated through. But I miss fooling around.'

In her new memoir, set to be released on October 10, Miranda, who has taken a break out of the spotlight for nearly the past decade, talks about her plight and the moment she 'collapsed' from ill health.

While fans know her as Chummy in Call The Midwife and for her cheery self-titled sitcom, Miranda has admitted behind closed doors she was desperately telling doctors: 'I feel toxic and poisoned'.

It took medics 33 years to discover Miranda had been battling with the bacterial infection Lyme Disease, after initially mislabelling her as being agoraphobic - an anxiety disorder characterised by symptoms of anxiety in situations.

She recalls running out a doctor's appointment in floods of tears after they told her she was 'TATT' - 'Tired All The Time' and said: 'I just don't know what to do with you'.

The comic officially received the diagnosis in lockdown and believes she contracted Lyme Disease when she 14 after battling nasty flu-like symptoms in Virginia. 

She writes: 'For me it was the unnerving neurological symptoms that I had got initially, aged fourteen, from Lyme, which I always found particularly hard to deal with. And they got considerably worse as I headed into my forties. As did the fatigue from the cell depletion. Yup, all delightful.'

Of the moment she got her diagnosis, she adds: 'I got off that Zoom call, pulled my laptop shut and sat there, still and aghast. So many emotions, I was shocked, but I also immediately felt a deep well of sadness and disappointment - for over three decades I'd KNOWN there was something wrong. I recalled all the times I'd told different doctors, "I feel toxic and poisoned, or, It's like I have flu every day but I don't have a temperature."

'(It's amazing how the body can sometimes literally tell us what's going on.) I felt anger rising at the times l'd been told I must have agoraphobia. 

'I would try and treat it as such, when, as it turned out, it was the lack of energy and the extreme light and sound sensitivity that made my body crash when going out to be in any kind of activity or stimulating environment.'

Miranda says she struggled to know how to share the news of her diagnosis with her followers, fearing she would be perceived as 'complaining' or 'just tired all the time'. 

But Lyme Disease was causing havoc for her body and she ended up with 'endless diagnoses'. Also, fans soon noticed her absence from TV screens. 

In 2017 it was revealed Miranda would not be returning to Call The Midwife, citing a busy work schedule as her reason. But she later revealed during an stand-up gig in London that she had been suffering from 'ill' health.

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She said at the time: 'I don't feel myself at the moment, because I was ill last year and I wasn't able to exercise.' 

Speaking out now, the comedian says doctors found she had battled Epstein-Barr, glandular fever, herpes, shingles and 'other nasties I don't care to remember for they all sounded so awful'. 

Miranda describes suffering from chronic stress with viral infections and injuries being her primary stressor and 'years of fear from misdiagnosis'. 

Living in London and a high-flying career added to the comedian's 'stress pot' until it all became too much and she 'eventually collapsed'. 

She writes: 'For years, I had been waking up with symptoms that I now see were being caused by a stress pot at a 9 out of 10, due to my undiagnosed Lyme and associated infections from immune system disorder.

'Anything I then had to do that day would cause extreme fatigue. That's why I eventually collapsed.'

Reflecting on the life-changing moment, Miranda said if she had learnt to remove stressors from her daily life, 'my body could get back to some efficient functioning to recover'. 

In a video promoting the book in August, she revealed she had been battling a secret illness which has caused her to 'gain weight' over the past few years.

The comedian said that she has 'felt shame' from gaining weight, not because she is striving for an 'aesthetic ideal' but because she doesn't feel like herself. 

In the video Miranda said she has worked hard to remove the negative feelings about her body.

The caption of the clip, read: 'I have found it incredibly hard not to feel shame from gaining weight over the last three years.

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'Not because of striving for an aesthetic ideal but because it doesn't represent me and who I naturally am. But life happens. Illness happens.

'And it's a great way to keep focusing on the greatest healer - self-compassion. If I lose it or not I know I am loved. Peace out.'

The TV star, who was wearing a T-shirt which was branded with the word Proud, held up her book and joked she had 'lost all of the midlife weight that was lumped on'.

She whispered 'I haven't, before pointing to the title of her new memoir.

Miranda continued: 'But can I just say I'm actually really quite proud of the fact that I've dismantled quite a lot of shame about my weight gain, not that because I don't think bigger is beautiful, but because it isn't quite me and I feel really uncomfortable and it's one of the things I talk about in there.'

Miranda's fans flooded her comments section with messages of support after she candidly spoke about both her illness and weight gain.

They said: 'Weight gain is horrendously misunderstood, and people can be terribly judgemental. Learning to accept yourself is a really good place to start. Looking forward to reading the book!'; 'I'm in my 40s, and the last three years have been a nightmare for weight gain, no matter what I do. THANK YOU for being real on here'.

'You have achieved all of these amazing things in life because of who you are, not because of what clothes size you are. You have a whole lot of love around you.'