The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

243 - Contraception during perimenopause: HRT, the pill and the Mirena coil

In this episode, Dr Louise is joined by Dr Clair Crockett, a GP and menopause specialist at Newson Health. Dr Clair has completed diplomas in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Sexual and Reproductive Health, and fits coils and implants.

Here, she discusses some of the challenges for perimenopausal and menopausal women when it comes to contraception, and the importance of individualisation. She gives an insight into the hormones used in the contraceptive pill and HRT and shares how the Mirena coil can be transformative for some women.

Finally, Dr Clair suggests three things to consider about contraception:

1. Spend some time gathering information, talking to other women about their experiences with contraception and considering what your priorities are. Your healthcare professional can also help you make your decision.
2. Remember that side effects of contraception are quite unusual but that if something doesn’t work for you, you can change your mind. It’s OK to take time to find the best contraception for you. 
3. Some forms of contraception may mask perimenopausal symptoms so if you’re not sure if this is happening to you, track your symptoms and how you are feeling so you can get guidance from your healthcare professional.

Click here to find out more about coil fitting services at Newson Health

242 - Sex, hormones and the menopause

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this week’s podcast looks at how menopause can affect sex and intimacy.

Joining Dr Louise is US-based Dr Kelly Casperson, urologic surgeon, author, and sex educator with expertise in hormones and pelvic health, whose passion is empowering women to embrace their best love lives.

They talk about how genitourinary symptoms, such as recurrent UTIs, can impact sex, why communication is crucial and the importance of education in helping women make informed decisions about their treatment and health.

Follow Dr Kelly on Instagram @kellycaspersonmd and listen to her podcast here

Click here to find out more about Newson Health

241 - Women, ADHD and hormones

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

Do you find yourself easily distracted, with your attention rapidly shifting between different things?

If so, you could be one of the legion of women who are under-diagnosed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Here, Australia-based psychiatrist and ADHD expert Dr David Chapman joins Dr Louise to discuss what ADHD is, how it affects women and the impact that female hormones – which have a powerful role in the brain – can have on symptoms.

He talks about how ADHD symptoms can worsen for women just before their periods and around their perimenopause, and sets out the common treatment options, including increasingly the role of HRT and the Pill, and how lifestyle changes such as mindfulness can help women affected by ADHD.

Dr Louise and Dr David also discuss how symptoms may only need treating if they are having an impact on a women’s life.

Download balance’s ADHD and menopause booklet here.

Click here for more about Newson Health.

Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

 

 

240 - Creating long-lasting food habits for better health

On this week’s podcast Dr Louise is joined by Dr Rupy Aujla, founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen, which aims to inspire and educate about the joy of food and the medicinal effects of eating well.

Dr Rupy shares his thoughts on how to best enjoy a healthy and fulfilling diet and looks at some of the challenges food can bring during the perimenopause and menopause, but also how it can be a time to rethink and set new nutrition habits.

While the new year is often a time to set goals or resolutions, Dr Rupy believes that consistency is the key to success and it can come through small steps, such as simply adding on vegetable to every single meal.

Finally, Dr Rupy shares his three top tips for healthy eating:

1. Master one meal that you’re proud of and make it a solid base to then adapt, add twists with different vegetables, flavour bases, herbs, etc.
2. If you have a child who doesn't like a particular ingredient, don't force it because that will introduce animosity towards that ingredient. When they're older, they may have developed different taste buds that allow them to appreciate it better.
3. Aim for 90/10 because you probably will get to 80/20. And if you do have a cheeky take out, indulge, allow yourself to indulge without any guilt, particularly as it pertains to food, and then make yourself a pact to get back on it the following day.

Follow Dr Rupy on socials @doctors_kitchen

Click here for more on Newson Health

239 - Challenging NICE's draft menopause guidance

On this week’s podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Dr Peter Greenhouse, a menopause specialist with 40 years’ experience in women’s sexual healthcare who is actively involved in postgraduate lecturing.

He has recently spoken out about NICE’s draft menopause guideline update, and tells Dr Louise it contains inappropriate and inaccurate statements, particularly concerning HRT and breast cancer safety, and ignores the cardioprotective effect of HRT when it’s started within 10 years of the menopausal transition.

Dr Peter challenges NICE’s stance on HRT for primary prevention and proposes a pre-emptive approach that could help reduce the amount of other medications GPs are prescribing menopausal women.

Finally, he shares his belief that women should be able to take as much HRT for as long as they need to.

You can read about Newson Health’s response to the NICE draft guideline consultation here.

Follow Dr Peter Greenhouse on X @GreenhousePeter

You can read Roger Lobo's paper, Back to the Future, which is referred to in the podcast, here.

Click here for more on Newson Health

238 - New Year, new mindset – why movement matters more than exercise

This week Dr Louise is joined by Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi, our brand-new fitness and longevity coach on the balance app. Dr Hussain is a GP who runs an NHS-based fitness and lifestyle clinic that helps patients to eat better, move more and connect with their community.

Dr Hussain is a long-distance triathlete but he hasn’t always been fit – a shock medical appointment prompted him into action after years of inertia and slowly but steadily he lost 24 kilos.

Here Dr Hussain shares what he’s learnt, including shifting your mindset from thinking about exercise as an obligation to choosing which movements you enjoy, be it a walk with friends or dancing. He explains why menopause can pose a challenge but also an opportunity to figure out what positive steps you can take for a healthier, happier you.

Finally, Dr Hussain shares three things you can do in this new year to improve your quality of life and longevity:

Get a partner in crime – someone who can support you. Without my wife, I wouldn't have made these changes.

Try to control the cues in your life - we all have cues that trigger behaviours that we're not happy with. You might need to change your evening routine, for example.

Harness self-belief. It really matters and is so powerful.

 

You can access Dr Hussain’s new content on the balance app, and follow him on Instagram @irondoctorhaz.

Click here for more about Newson Health

237 - The juggling act: how to navigate menopause and midlife

Menopause often happens at a time when you are juggling a career, relationships and caring responsibilities.

Here Dr Nadira Awal, a GP and menopause specialist, joins Dr Louise to discuss her work in raising awareness of the menopause and the importance of partners and families understanding what their loved on is going through.

Dr Nadira’s personal experience of the menopause helped drive her passion for educating and supporting other women, especially those in ethnic minority communities who may not feel able to speak openly about it. She talks about increased health risks owing to genetics, particularly with diabetes and increased blood pressure, and the challenge of treating a woman’s symptoms holistically in a ten-minute GP appointment.

Follow Dr Nadira on Instagram @pauseandcohealthcare and on Facebook at Pause and Co Healthcare.

Click here for more about Newson Health

236 - Menopause in overlooked communities

This week Dr Louise is joined by Dr Ruth Beesley, a GP who works in central Peterborough and who specialises in working with the homeless, those with alcohol or drug addictions and vulnerable women who engage in sex work.

Dr Ruth talks about the challenges vulnerable groups of women face ­and how their trauma can act as a barrier to accessing the healthcare they need, both in general and for the menopause. Passionate about reducing health inequalities, Dr Ruth tells us about her outreach clinic and a new mobile bus clinic, both of which allow her to reach more women.

Finally, Dr Ruth shares her learnings on working with hard-to-reach groups and reflects on the three things that have made her job so rewarding:

1. Giving women the confidence to believe that they and their health really matters.
2. Listening and seeing people's story – people are more than just a set of symptoms, they are a whole person.
3. Being part of someone's life at some of their most vulnerable times, and they share some of that vulnerability with you, is a huge privilege as a doctor.

Click here to find out more about Newson Health Group

235 - Menopause and brain health: what’s the link?

In this episode Dr Louise is joined by world-renowned neuroscientist Dr Lisa Mosconi, PhD. Dr Lisa is Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic and Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and author of bestsellers The XX Brain and Brain Food.

Dr Lisa was studying nuclear medicine and neuroscience when her grandmother and her grandmother’s three sisters all developed Alzheimer's. Dr Lisa became interested in the cause of Alzheimer’s and why women are more susceptible. Her research has shown that, rather than a disease of old age, it starts in midlife and menopause potentially plays a part.

Dr Lisa discusses her most recent paper, which found that women who took hormones in midlife to treat their menopause symptoms were less likely to develop dementia than those who hadn’t taken oestrogen.

Finally, Dr Lisa shares three things to consider about female hormones:

1. Oestrogen, and oestradiol in particular, is the master regulator of women's brains. It really is like saying that oestrogen is to your brain what fuel is for an engine. It keeps your brain running.
2. Endogenous oestrogen (produced within your body) is different from exogenous oestrogen (synthetic). The bioidentical oestradiol is probably the best one to use because it really maps on the same circuits for your own endogenous oestrogen.
3. I would love for all women to be able to make an informed decision about whether or not hormone therapy is a viable option for them. Many women who are eligible for HRT do not go on HRT out of fear and the fear comes from outdated information, mislabelling on some of the packages.

Follow Dr Lisa on Instagram @dr_mosconi

Click here to find out more about Newson Health

234 - Breast cancer treatment and HRT

Content advisory: this podcast contains themes of mental health and suicide.

Dr Louise is joined by her patient Trudie Jennings in this episode to talk about the complexities around HRT during and after treatment for breast cancer.

Trudie describes how she started HRT to successfully manage crippling anxiety and other menopause symptoms and a few months later she was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer.

NICE guidance states women should stop taking systemic HRT if they are diagnosed with breast cancer. However, after careful discussion with her cancer doctor and nurse, Trudie decided to continue with HRT during her treatment as, for her, the menopause symptoms were more challenging than her cancer treatment.

Trudie and Dr Louise discuss shared decision making and informed consent, and how important it is for women with and after breast cancer to be fully informed about potential risks, benefits and uncertainties about HRT following a breast cancer diagnosis so they can make the best decision that is right for them.

Trudie’s three tips for women who have had breast cancer and are struggling with their menopause: 

1. Know that as a patient you do have choices about whether to start or continue HRT after breast cancer treatment.
2. Speak to your doctors and nurses and be informed so that you can make the right, personalised, decision for yourself. Trudie has found her healthcare professionals in cancer care open and helpful when discussing her need for HRT.
3. You know your own body best, so listen to your body to get the treatment that will be best support you.

Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

Click here to find out more about Newson Health