All too often the doctors at the Newson Health Menopause & Wellbeing clinic hear stories from women regarding how their career & life has been affected due to their hormone health. As women, we naturally transition through different stages in our hormone health. Importantly to note, due to the extensive work of Dr Louise Newson, founder of the Newson Health Menopause & Wellbeing clinic we can now access more information, realising that more women are challenged with hormonal health issues from peri-menopause to full-blown menopause.
The natural hormone transition often creates an imbalance that throws many women off track. Checking through the case-studies on the clinic website shows women experiencing anything from mild symptoms to feel really quite unwell.
The sad part of this, many women have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all dismissed from the GP surgery with no treatment, or a treatment that is not suitable.
For some women, this has lead them to give up thriving and successful careers and having a huge impact on their mental and financial health.
For many women, menopause comes as a relief: an end to monthly periods, pregnancy worries and premenstrual mood swings. Whilst some women’s experience of the menopause is natural and plain sailing; for others, it can be a period (pardon the pun!) of uncontrollable night sweats, insomnia and heightened mood swings.
With very little information being given to menopausal women from their GP and lots of uncertainty about how best to manage this mid-life journey, Dr. Zoe Hodson a GP and menopause specialist from the Newson Health clinic shares great insight with Joanne Grobbelaar into the importance of evidence-based menopause care and debunks some common myths around HRT.
WATCH THE VIDEO
The current Coronavirus pandemic has meant some women are struggling emotionally and feeling anxious. They’re juggling many different aspects of their lives whilst schools are closed, families being confined together and businesses in limbo. These feelings of anxiety and stress can also be exasperated by our hormones.
However, this time of isolation is also a perfect time to re-set, to put our own self-care higher up the pecking order and get informed about the menopausal symptoms we could be experiencing.
How do we know whether we are going through the menopause?
Dr. Zoe Hodson recommends taking the Greene Climacteric Score, a diagnostic questionnaire used to identify hormonal symptoms and provide the right treatment.
ACCESS THE FREE QUESTIONNAIRE HERE
How should I approach my GP about menopause symptoms?
The menopause is not always a condition that all GPs are necessarily familiar with. It’s therefore important for women to educate themselves about their symptoms, so they are well informed before approaching their GP and then asking for a trial of treatment to see how it works for you.
The other alternative is to book a consultation with a private specialist menopause clinic, such as Newson Health. The clinic is based in Manchester and Stratford Upon Avon, but consultations are currently available online via Zoom.
Is HRT a safe treatment for women going through menopause?
HRT is a safe and effective treatment for the menopause. Whilst you may have a small increase in risk of breast cancer if you take some types of HRT. An oestrogen-only HRT does not have an increased risk of breast cancer.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO DEBUNK MORE MYTHS ABOUT HRT
Is it ok for younger women (below the age of 40) to take HRT?
Dr Louise Newson, Director of the Newson Health Clinic hosted a very insightful Instagram Live which is now available here which addresses HRT alternatives for younger perimenopausal women.
What resources would you recommend for women who want to find out more about the menopause?
The Newson Clinic offers a whole range of free resources and podcasts to help women learn more about the menopause. Dr Zoe also recommends a book called ‘Oestrogen Matters’ which empowers women to improve their wellbeing through effective HRT treatment.
Dr Louise has a Haynes manual, Menopause: All you need to know in one concise manual.
Both books are great reads giving insightful information than many women are simply not aware of.
LEARN OTHER WELLBEING TIPS FOR WOMEN GOING THROUGH MENOPAUSE