The family of Nicola Bulley said she suffered a 'crisis' after she stopped taking menopause drugs as the search for the missing mother-of-two continues. Her loved ones revealed new details about her struggles she was facing before she vanished.
Relatives spoke out about the side effects she was struggling with from the perimenopause. They also asked the public to end the "appalling" levels of speculation and "rumours" about her private life.
According to a family statement, Ms Bulley suffered from brain fog and restless sleep and stopped taking hormone replacement drugs (HRT), commonly used to treat symptoms of the menopause, as it gave her "intense headaches". In a statement, they said: "Due to the perimenopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis."
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It comes just a day after Lancashire Police revealed that Ms Bulley had suffered with some "significant issues with alcohol" in the past, brought on by her "ongoing struggles with the menopause". The 45-year-old has been missing since January 27 after vanishing when she took her dog for a walk by the River Wyre in Lancashire.
Her family also urged that the focus must be on finding the missing mum, and not "making up wild theories about her personal life".
The statement continued: "We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul's private life.
"As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her.
"This is appalling and needs to stop. The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life."
Lancashire Police could face an investigation from the policing watchdog over comments made about missing mother Nicola Bulley's private life. On Thursday, February 16, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said they have made contact with Lancashire Police over information made public in a press conference about Nicola.
In a statement, a spokesman for the IOPC said: "Following information that was made public by Lancashire Constabulary on Wednesday, we have made contact with the force to determine if a referral to the IOPC may be required."
The Lancashire force had initially refused to elaborate on "vulnerabilities" which made Ms Bulley a high risk missing person but later released a statement about her medical and mental health issues. But the family statement, published through the force, made clear the police "know the truth about Nikki".
The family added: "Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers." The defence of local officers follows widespread condemnation of the way Ms Bulley's personal information was handled.
The family's plea for speculation to stop also included a direct message to Ms Bulley. It said: "Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister, partner and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives.
"Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk.
"Don't be scared, we all love you so very much." Ms Bulley was last seen at 9.10am on January 27, taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre.
Her phone, still connected to a work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her dog running loose.
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