Problem working full screen with external monitor

[simonwds]

I'm having a problem that I can't seem to find a way around. I have an external Dell monitor connected to my MacBook Pro and I regularly move programs around from one screen to the other. But when I maximize a screen on the MacBook (eg Outlook or Word) the top text menu bar disappears, including the green, yellow and red buttons. So when I then want to move it to the other monitor, or just minimize it, I can't. It's so frustrating. This behavior does not occur on the external monitor. Does anyone know a work around? Thank you!