The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

287 - ADHD and perimenopause: Sumi's story

On this week’s episode, Dr Sumi Rampling, a GP and Menopause Specialist who works alongside Dr Louise at Newson Health, shares her personal story of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Diagnosed in early adulthood, Dr Sumi talks openly about the challenges of her ADHD diagnosis, as well as the impact that hormone changes, including perimenopause, can have on women with ADHD.

She talks about the determination her condition has given her, and also offers advice for women navigating hormone changes and ADHD.

Download balance’s ADHD and menopause booklet here.

Click here for more about Newson Health.

286 - Looking back on menopause and hormone health in 2024 – and what does the future hold?

In a departure from our usual format, as we reach the end of 2024, Dr Louise looks back on her highlights of this year, including her recent theatre tour, her education work and the work of the Newson Health research team.

She looks at some of the key developments for menopause in 2024, and busts some myths around hormones and hormone replacement therapy. Plus, she’ll be looking forward to 2025, and sharing details of some exciting work for the year ahead.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

285 - Friendships and menopause: how conversations can be transformational

Joining Dr Louise this week is Louise Mulley, who shares her experience of anxiety and menopause.

Louise shares the importance of speaking openly about menopause and mental health, and how a conversation with a close friend helped her recognise her symptoms and find the right support and treatment.

She also shares her top three tips on helping friends or loved ones who may be struggling with their mental health during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Help your friend unburden: ask them ‘would you like to talk to me about it?’. Make it clear they can talk to you with no judgement and in confidence.
2. Share your own menopause story to encourage your friend to open up about what they may be going through.
3. Keep an open mind: if you’re a woman of menopausal age and experiencing mood changes, consider that it might be your hormones.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

284 - Migraines and menopause: what’s the connection?

On this week’s podcast, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Dr Rebecca Walker, a GP who specialises in headache medicine and migraines.

In this episode, Dr Rebecca and Dr Louise (who suffers from migraines herself) get back to basics, looking at what migraines are, why they can occur and management approaches, from lifestyle measures to medication. They also talk about how hormone changes during perimenopause and menopause can impact the frequency and severity of migraines, and bust some myths around taking HRT if you have a history of migraines.

Follow Dr Rebecca on Instagram @dr_rebeccawalker.

For more information on migraines, visit the National Migraine Centre here, and you can find resources about migraine and menopause on the balance website here.

You can also listen to an earlier episode of the Dr Louise Newson Podcast with Dr Katy Munro, author of Managing Your Migraine, by clicking here or searching for episode 115 on your favourite streaming app.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

283 - Hormonal changes and endometriosis: busting myths and seeking help

Joining Dr Louise Newson on the podcast this week is Jen Moore, a campaigner dedicated to raising awareness of endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Jen started experiencing endometriosis symptoms at the age of 11, but it took her 22 years to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids. By this stage organ failure was a risk and she required multiple surgeries, including a hysterectomy.

She has since become committed to helping other women – from speaking out to creating research projects. Here, she shares three things she believes women with endometriosis can do to make a difference to their future health:

1. Find a specialist – someone you can ask as many questions as you want, because if they are genuinely a specialist, they will not be afraid of answering questions.
2. Don’t feel like you have to do it alone. You have your medical team, but you also need a team outside of the hospital. It doesn’t matter who it is, even if it’s somebody online, just reach out. There are so many of us who are just happy to help even if it’s just to talk.
3. Keep going. When you get your diagnosis, you can think awesome, everything’s going to change. But then you realise, that’s just the start of it – you’ve got this wait list to get treatment and it can be a long slog. It’s exhausting, but it’s important that we do.

You can follow Jen on Instagram at @jen.dometriosis and find out more at www.jenmoore.co.uk

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

282 - Motor neurone disease and perimenopause: Nicola's story

This week, Dr Louise is joined by Nicola McFarlane, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2023.

Nicola shares the story of her MND diagnosis, as well as the barriers she faced in accessing treatment for perimenopause symptoms – including low mood, anxiety and recurrent UTIs – to improve her quality of life.

Nicola talks about how health professionals often put her perimenopause symptoms (which pre-dated her MND diagnosis) down to her MND, and why she is sharing her own experiences to help other women living with MND and facing hormonal changes.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

281 - Blind spots in modern medicine, with Dr Marty Makary

On this week’s episode Dr Louise is joined by Dr Marty Makary, Johns Hopkins professor, member of the National Academy of Medicine and bestselling author.

Together they discuss the impact of the Women’s Health Initiative study on women’s hormone health, menopause education for healthcare professionals and the importance of patient-centred care that focuses on root causes, rather than just symptoms.

Dr Marty talks about his new book Blind Spots, and the importance of asking big questions in medicine.

You can follow Dr Marty on Instagram @martymakary, and TikTok @marty.makary

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

Dr Louise Newson’s first-ever live theatre tour, Hormones and Menopause – The Great Debate, runs until 12 November. For more information and tickets, click here.

280 - What is lifestyle medicine and how can it help your menopause?

Joining Dr Louise this week are Dr Tash Mirando and Dr June Tan Sheren, who are GPs based at Osler Health International in Singapore.

Dr Tash and Dr June explain the pillars of lifestyle medicine, including sleep, nutrition and exercise, and talk about longevity and the importance of taking a holistic approach to menopause care.

They also discuss menopause care in Singapore, bust myths on how menopause can affect women of different ethnicities and highlight the importance of knowledge and empowerment in making informed decisions about your health.

You can find out more about Osler Health International on Instagram @oslerhealth.sg and Facebook at oslerhealthsingapore.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

Dr Louise Newson’s first-ever live theatre tour, Hormones and Menopause – The Great Debate, runs until 12 November. For more information and tickets, click here.

 

279: Heart health, hormones and menopause: what you need to know, with Dr Jeremy London

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women and this risk increases after the menopause, and a woman’s risk of heart attack is around five times higher after the menopause than before*.

Joining Louise on this week’s podcast is Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon based in the US, to discuss heart health, hormones and menopause.

They discuss the role of oestrogen in reducing inflammation in the body, why women typically present with different heart attack symptoms compared to men – and the signs to look out for – and the crucial role of nutrition and exercise in maintaining good heart health.

Finally, Dr London shares his top three tips on what women (and men!) can do to help their future cardiac health:

1. Don't smoke: it is the single worst thing you can do for your health in general. From a cardiac standpoint, from a blood vessel standpoint, for the risk of lung cancer.
2. Nutrition: avoid processed foods and eat real, whole foods.
3. Exercise and recovery: look to incorporate resistance training and some aerobic training, and don’t forget about recovery and prioritising sleep.

*El Khoudary, S.R. et al. (2020), Boardman, H. et al. (2015).

Follow Dr London on Instagram @drjeremylondon

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

Dr Louise Newson’s first-ever live theatre tour, Hormones and Menopause – The Great Debate, runs until 12 November. For more information and tickets, click here.

278 - World Menopause Month special: common questions answered, with Dr Rebecca Lewis

In a special episode to mark World Menopause Month, and ahead of World Menopause Day on 18 October, Dr Louise is joined by Dr Rebecca Lewis, co-founder of Newson Health.

Together they cover some of the most frequently asked questions about perimenopause, menopause and HRT, including:

• When should I expect symptoms to improve after starting HRT?
• How long can I take HRT for?

Plus advice on taking a holistic approach to menopause, tracking your symptoms, and talking to your healthcare professional.

Dr Rebecca also suggests three things women and healthcare professionals should consider about hormones:

1. Know there is a difference between older synthetic hormones and body identical, natural hormones
2. Be aware of the health benefits of HRT
3.  The importance of shared decision making and patient-centred care.

You can download the balance app here, and the Easy HRT prescribing guide mentioned in the episode here.

For more information on Newson Health, click here.

Dr Louise Newson’s first-ever live theatre tour, Hormones and Menopause – The Great Debate, runs until 12 November. For more information and tickets, click here.