The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

197 - The problem with medicalising the menopause without HRT

Advisory: this podcast contains themes of mental health and suicide.

In this episode, Jo shares a moving account of her menopause experience before finding the right treatment for her.

Struggling with numerous symptoms including vertigo, dry mouth and eyes, joint pain and vaginal dryness, Jo went from not visiting her GP for six years to monthly appointments. After being prescribed a cocktail of medication and spending thousands of pounds on dental treatment to no avail, Jo felt she was never going to get better.

She talks to Dr Louise about the effect of low hormones, and the transformative impact finding the right dose and type of HRT had on her mental and physical health.

Jo’s three top tips: 

1. Download a period tracker, such as the balance menopause support app, to track your periods. This will help you notice any changes and identify any patterns of other symptoms occurring.
2. Educate yourself: try to read as much as possible about the menopause so that you can understand what's happening with your body.
3. Reach out to friends: by being honest and saying how you're feeling, you can help others to open up too.

196 - Introducing The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and the Menopause with Kat Keogh

In this episode, Dr Louise is joined by Kat Keogh to talk about Dr Louise’s new book, The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause.

Packed with advice and information from leading experts, it is the definitive, accessible and evidence-based guide to help you navigate your perimenopause and menopause.

It covers key facts about hormones, family histories, the complete guide to HRT, libidos, mental and physical health, how menopause affects careers and relationships and so much more.

Kat, who works at Newson Health, shares her top three reasons to buy The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause: 

1. It gives clear, practical advice on talking about the menopause with your children.
2. If you’re starting, at any age, to feel like your hormones are off balance, buy this book to find out everything you need to know about the role of hormones in your health and how to manage that.
3. If you’re struggling and alone with the perimenopause or menopause, turn to this book for reassurance, support, knowledge and to be empowered.

Order your copy here

195 - Health risks and treatment of surgical menopause with Dr Walter Rocca

Dr Walter Rocca is a neurologist from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA, where he studies common neurological diseases as well as the aging processes between men and women. He has a particular focus on estrogen and the effects of menopause on health risks.

In this episode, Dr Rocca explains how sex hormones have a much greater role in many of the body’s functions than simply regulating the menstrual cycle and reproduction. He explains why it’s so important to treat women with hormone replacement after bilateral oophorectomy with or without hysterectomy or early menopause, especially younger women.

Dr Rocca’s three take home messages:

1. The ovaries are a tremendously important organ for healthy functioning of our heart, brain, bones, kidneys, lungs and more.
2. For healthcare professionals: be very careful when thinking about removing the ovaries and/or the uterus, unless there is a very clear clinical indication. The longer-term harmful effects of these surgeries are greater than the apparent short-term benefit to symptoms.
3. If a woman has a high genetic risk of ovarian cancer (>40% risk level), removal of the ovaries is appropriate, but she should be given estrogen therapy afterwards as the risk associated with this treatment is very low (including for BRCA carriers). If a natural menopause occurs early or prematurely, these women should also be offered estrogen therapy, unless there is a specific contraindication.

More about Dr Walter Rocca

194 - Transforming women’s urological health in Uganda

Dr Namugga Martha Monicah is one of four female urologists in Uganda.

She recently completed the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons (FCS) exam at the College of Surgeons East and Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) exams, finishing top of her class. She was supported with a sponsorship from Newson Health.

This episode of the podcast, released on the eve of International Women’s Day which this year centres around equity for all, looks at women’s health and access to care in Africa.

Dr Monicah tells Dr Louise Newson about the barriers to women’s health in Africa, the shame surrounding it and the international support making a difference.

She also addresses the stigma around the menopause and the need to move past a ‘suffer in silence’ approach.

Guest’s three tips:

1. Anyone in the world who listens to the podcast, know that there is somewhere where menopause doesn’t have to be taken on humbly and that something can be done to improve your quality of life.
2. To the African girl child, know that despite all the challenges, the hurdles, you can still do it, you can still emerge victorious.
3. In whatever small way, any individual can do something to improve the life of another.

For more about Dr Namugga Martha Monciah, visit https://www.baus.org.uk/professionals/urolink/urolink_home.aspx.

193 - Taking control of your menopause with Dorothy Byrne

Dorothy Byrne returns to the podcast this week to discuss her previous role as former Head of News and Current Affairs for Channel 4 television and the commissioning of and reaction to the menopause documentaries. She also updates us on her new role as president of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge University – one of only two higher education institutions in the UK for women only – and how she hopes to inspire young women especially in the fields of medicine and science.

During the conversation, Dorothy shares some of her experiences of how a menopausal lack of sleep affected her at work, why she continues to take HRT in her 70s, and the ongoing systemic gender discrimination in medicine and the workplace.

Dorothy’s advice to women who are struggling to get menopause treatment:

1. Go to your doctor and ask for accurate, up to date information about HRT, and if they are not able to provide this, ask to see another doctor
2. Don't think you just have to put up with your symptoms
3. Don't be embarrassed by anything related to the menopause. If something’s going on ‘down below’, find out what the cause of it is, it may well be the menopause and there are effective treatments available.

192 - Freediving at 50 with world record holder Nina McGowan

Nina McGowan is a visual artist and Bikram yoga practitioner from Ireland who discovered freediving while on holiday in Egypt when she was in her mid-forties. Shortly after she turned 50, Nina secured a world record dive of 43 metres that involved holding her breath for 2 minutes and ten seconds.

In this episode, Nina explains how her yoga practice helps her free diving and she outlines the benefits of eating well, sleeping well and clearing your mind to focus on your breath. Nina also shares some of her own personal experience with her hormone journey and seeking out the right support.

Nina’s three priorities for a positive lifestyle change:

1. Prioritise your sleep and protect that space
2. Make any diet changes slowly and one at a time
3. Have faith in yourself to take a step into the unknown and a bridge will appear across the chasm.

Follow Nina on Instagram

191 - Workplace menopause advice from lawyer Emma Hammond

Emma Hammond is a lawyer with gunnercooke LLP specialising in employment law. Often assuming the role of Investigating or Grievance Officer, Emma leads enquiries into complex bullying, harassment and discrimination complaints for individuals and organisations. Emma has an interest in mental health and its impact on the workplace and she incorporates as much pro bono work into her practice as possible, specialising in advising women who have suffered discrimination due to the menopause.

In this episode, Emma chats to Dr Louise Newson about the effects of the menopause at work, the intricacies of legal protections for women suffering professionally because of menopausal symptoms, and they discuss some positive examples of working in a menopause confident organisation.

Read more about Emma Hammond here.

190 - Supporting women after breast cancer with Dr Tony Branson

Breast cancer specialist, Dr Tony Branson returns to the Dr Louise Newson podcast two years since his first appearance. Tony is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care, based at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne.

In this episode the experts discuss the current situations women can find themselves in when having treatments for breast cancer and experiencing the onset of menopausal symptoms. Tony supports the women he sees through some challenging decisions around managing the risk of cancer recurrence while for some, treating menopausal symptoms with HRT to improve the quality of their lives.

189 - Joeli Brearley from Pregnant Then Screwed

Two important issues for women come together in this episode of the Dr Louise Newson Podcast featuring guest Joeli Brearley. Joeli founded the charity Pregnant Then Screwed after she was fired from her job the day after telling her employers she was pregnant. Joeli wanted to create a space for others to share their stories of discrimination at work, which quickly grew into Pregnant Then Screwed, a charity dedicated to ending the motherhood penalty and campaigning for change.

Joeli shares a personal story of her own changing hormones in her late 30s; she recounts her struggle to be listened to by healthcare professionals and to find the right treatment for her symptoms that were exacerbated by progesterone intolerance.

Joeli’s three tips for women who think they might be perimenopausal:

1. Talk to other women, it’s a great way to find out really useful information
2. Keep going and don’t give up. Trust in yourself and how you know you’re feeling. Keep pushing for what you feel you need.
3. If you don’t feel well and feel like you’re going mad after having the Mirena coil fitted, tell your healthcare professional. You could have a sensitivity to the progestogen in it and there may be a better alternative method for you.

For more about Joeli’s work and her books, visit pregnantthenscrewed.com

Follow Pregnant Then Screwed on Instagram or Twitter.

188 - The importance of breathing efficiently with Dr Louise Oliver

Dr Louise Oliver, a GP and functional breathing practitioner and therapeutic life coach, joins Dr Louise Newson as a guest on the podcast this week. Louise Oliver has had a special interest in women’s health and menopause for many years and now incorporates her skills as a functional breathing practitioner to raise awareness of how breathing is altered by hormones, how this can lead to symptoms of inefficient breathing and how to improve the connection between our brain, body and breath.

Louise’s three tips to breathe more efficiently:

1. Be aware that your hormones affect the way you breathe and how you breathe affects your health and wellbeing. Learn more about breathing. The book ‘Breath’ by James Nestor and all Patrick McKeown books and podcasts are excellent.
2. Assess your breathing efficiency by observing your breathing at different times over the next week and see whether it matches the description of effective breathing as discussed.
3. Improve your breathing efficiency by learning the techniques and dedicating some time over a number of weeks and months to adjust your breathing style until it becomes more natural for you.

For more about Dr Louise Oliver, visit her website.

The video link mentioned in the episode from Mr Vik Veer, ENT consultant, to improve snoring and sleep apnoea can be found here.

Louise is on Instagram as @drlouiseolivertlc and on Facebook here.