The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

227 - Children and the menopause: the importance of talking

In this episode, Dr Louise speaks to the youngest of her three daughters, Lucy, about all things menopause. Lucy, 12, recalls making her mother an HRT tote bag when she was six, plus hiding in her room when there were arguments at home, when Dr Louise was struggling with her symptoms.

Lucy shares her experience of having her mum in the public eye, gives Dr Louise sage advice for dealing with bullies and offers her views on why menopausal women need help to remain in the workplace. In a survey conducted for her book, Dr Louise discovered 75% of women had never discussed menopause in their home when they were growing up. Barriers included a lack of knowledge, embarrassment, lack of communication, being short on time and feelings of shame around the topic.

While Lucy has had lots of conversations about the menopause at home, she reveals that school education on the subject was limited. But conversations with children about the menopause are important as they can help normalise it. 

This World Menopause Month, help us start the most menopause conversations – ever. Everyone’s menopause is individual and to help others understand and manage their menopause, we must break taboos, educate and start the conversation.

How to get involved

1. Have a conversation about the menopause
2. Log your conversation on the balance app or website
3. Share that you’ve got involved by tagging us on social media, using the hashtag #PauseToTalk

226 - From PMS to menopause: why we need to talk about hormones

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

It’s a family affair on this week’s podcast as Dr Louise is joined by her eldest daughter Jessica for a special episode on the eve of World Menopause Day.

Jessica talks frankly about the impact of PMS and coping with hormone changes with migraine, as well as the strategies that helped her. Mother and daughter also discuss the importance of demystifying menopause and hormone changes through honest conversations between families, friends – and even complete strangers.

This World Menopause Month, help us start the most menopause conversations – ever. Everyone’s menopause is individual and to help others understand and manage their menopause, we must break taboos, educate and start the conversation.

How to get involved

Have a conversation about the menopause

Log your conversation on the balance website

Share that you’ve got involved by tagging us on social media, using the hashtag #PauseToTalk

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

 

225 - Cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and HRT

This week, Dr Louise speaks to Italian Menopause Society president Dr Marco Gambacciani.

Early in his career Dr Marco specialised in reproductive endocrinology. He became interested in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis during the menopause, and his menopause clinic was the first in Italy to have a bone density scanner. On a personal level, Dr Marco saw the devastating effects of osteoporosis first-hand after his grandmother was diagnosed with the condition. Dr Marco also shares his frustrations on the lack of understanding of how hormones can affect women’s cardiovascular health. On a more hopeful note, he is urging the Italian government to make menopause clinics available all over Italy.                                                              Finally, Dr Marco shares the three reasons why he believes women should consider HRT when they're younger:

1. To improve quality of life. By reducing menopause symptoms, you improve quality of life and you help prevent chronic diseases.
2. To help improve your performance at work – why should a woman have to lose opportunities just because she's having flushes or not sleeping well?
3. It’s important for women to maintain the possibility of an enjoyable sex life ­ – low oestrogen levels can lead to low sexual desire or painful sex.

Follow Dr Marco on Instagram @m.gambacciani

This World Menopause Month, help us start the most menopause conversations – ever. Everyone’s menopause is individual and to help others understand and manage their menopause, we must break taboos, educate and start the conversation.

How to get involved

1. Have a conversation about the menopause
2. Log your conversation on the balance website
3. Share that you’ve got involved by tagging us on social media, using the hashtag #PauseToTalk

 

224 Confidence in the Menopause: introducing our revamped course

October marks World Menopause Month, and on this week’s podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Newson Health colleague Dr Penny Ward to talk about the relaunch of our Confidence in the Menopause.

Confidence in the Menopause is a CPD-accredited online course from Newson Health which is designed to increase your knowledge of, and confidence in, managing all aspects of the perimenopause and menopause. The course contains free and subscriber-only modules and is designed not only for those working in healthcare: it’s for everyone. We’ve included tailored information for non-healthcare professionals, whether you are a woman looking for information to help you make the right decisions and get the most out of their healthcare consultations, or a partner, friend or colleague who simply wants to know more.

Dr Penny’s top three reasons for completing Confidence in the Menopause:

1. It will give you an understanding what is inevitably going to happen to your own body or a loved one's body if you're a partner, friend or colleague.
2. You will be able to appreciate the wide variety of symptoms that women can experience whilst undergoing hormonal changes.
3. It’s an opportunity to listen to the presentations, particularly the one that is dispelling the myths about the menopause and HRT to understand exactly what's gone before us.

Find out more about Confidence in the Menopause here

This World Menopause Month, help us start the most menopause conversations - ever.

Everyone’s menopause is individual and to help others understand and manage their menopause, we must break taboos, educate and start the conversation.

How to get involved

1. Have a conversation about the menopause
2. Log your conversation on the balance website
3. Share that you’ve got involved by tagging us on social media, using the hashtag #PauseToTalk

223 - OCD, depression and the menopause

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

On this week’s episode of the Dr Louise Newson Podcast, Anna Geldard shares her story of how her mental health was severely affected by menopause.

Anna tells Dr Louise how therapy and medication had helped her successfully manage her obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and mild depression symptoms for over a decade. But out of the blue, Anna’s symptoms returned and quickly spiralled. Anna was admitted to hospital, on six psychiatric drugs but still didn’t feel better.

Thankfully, after learning about the impact of hormones on mental health and being prescribed HRT, things changed for the better.

 

Anna’s top three tips:

1. Have more open conversations, starting from at home with the kids. This will filter through society, making menopause less of an unspoken thing and more of a just another thing about the body.

2. Make sure your resources are evidence based. There's a lot of information on social media, so just make sure that whoever you're listening to is appropriately qualified.

3. Advocate for yourself. If your symptoms are hormone related and you're being told you're too young or whatever, try again and don't just give up at that first hurdle.

 

Anna is on Instagram @Hormones.on.her_mind. Find out more about OCD through charities OCD-UK and OCD Action.

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

 

222 - Empowering women unheard during menopause

In this week’s podcast, food writer, author and award-winning entrepreneur Freda Shafi talks about her work raising awareness of menopause, and recording the experiences in the Pakistani community in West Yorkshire.

Freda shares her own menopause story, and she and Dr Louise discuss key barriers women face accessing care, and ways to improve knowledge to empower women to advocate for themselves.

‘I'm a South Asian woman, I'm a Pakistani, I'm a British Pakistani woman, and I know I represent a certain demographic,’ says Freda.

‘I feel as though I can reach many women through the fact that I am from the community. That may be platforms for women like myself who are able to cascade that information and let that reverberate across those communities.’

Freda’s top three tips: 

1. Help represent your community to spread awareness of menopause symptoms, treatments and services and help tackle the stigma that still surrounds this area.
2. Get a second opinion if you don’t feel your healthcare professional has given you the right diagnosis. Explore the materials that are out there, including the balance app, so that you’re informed when you see your doctor. 
3. Boost training in the menopause for community leaders so that they can signpost women to local services that can help support them.

Follow Freda on Instagram @fredishafi_spiceitup

 

221 - Emma Kennedy: the menopause, the speculum and me

Bestselling author, screenwriter and TV presenter Emma Kennedy joins Dr Louise Newson in this episode to talk candidly about her menopause experience.

Emma describes how she thought she had got through her menopause when terrifying heart palpitations and anxiety struck.

After always being fearful of HRT due to a strong family history of breast cancer, a careful and detailed discussion with a GP around the risks and benefits led to her starting a low dose of hormones.

‘It's the first time I've ever cried in front of a doctor,’ she says.

‘Ever, ever. I felt that terrible. [But] Just that tiny amount of estrogen and the heart palpitations stopped in 48 hours and they haven't come back. It's like a miracle.’

Dr Louise and Emma talk about the importance of a personalised discussion between a doctor and a patient to assess whether and what type of HRT may be the right choice. Emma also talks about the lifestyle changes she has made to reduce breast cancer risk and help control menopausal symptoms.

Emma, who wrote the bestselling The Tent, The Bucket and Me, also talks about her frustration with the pain and discomfort women are often expected to put up with during routine procedures.

She gives a stirring call to action for the speculum – the device used in many intimate procedures – to be, at the very least, radically improved.

For more about Emma visit her website and you can follow her on Instagram @emma67 or Threads @emmak67.

 

220 - Hormones, HRT and advocating for yourself

In this podcast, Jill Chmielewski, a nurse, educator and women’s advocate, talks about her mission to guide midlife women to greater wellbeing.

Dr Louise and Jill discuss the powerful and poorly understood role of hormones in women’s health throughout their life, HRT and the importance of women advocating strongly for their own needs. Jill advises women should prepare well in advance for the menopause, as hormonal changes can begin earlier than you may expect.

Jill’s three top tips: 

1. Educate yourself on the role of hormones and the impact these can have on your health, so that you are informed.
2. Start thinking about your menopause early – and probably earlier than you may expect. You may notice hormonal changes in your thirties, so be prepared and plan which healthcare professional may provide the support that you need to manage your perimenopause and menopause journey.
3. Embrace patient power – act as your own advocate and be persistent with your healthcare professionals about what you need. This includes if you are on HRT, as you may still benefit from tweaks to your current regime.

For more about Jill visit her website here and you can follow Jill on Instagram

@jill.chmielewski. 

219 - Mental health and the perimenopause

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

 

Joining Dr Louise on the podcast this week are Lynsey and her husband Kieran. In this episode, Lynsey movingly describes a rapid deterioration in her mental health during the perimenopause which saw her sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

‘I just felt desperate that this was a new version of me and I couldn't work out why,’ she recalls.

Lynsey and Kieran, who is a GP, speak to Dr Louise about the need for greater understanding of how hormonal changes during the perimenopause and menopause can impact on mental health, coupled with improved access to HRT.

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

 

218 - Tamsen Fadal: Speaking out about the menopause

On this week’s podcast, Dr Louise is joined by award-winning US broadcast journalist, podcast host and menopause campaigner Tamsen Fadal.

Tamsen describes how she didn’t recognise she was menopausal after suffering from hot flushes, brain fog and heart palpitations, as she believed she was still having periods. This prompted her to find out more and support other women along the way, including spreading awareness via the #MenopauseTok campaign on social media.

Dr Louise and Tamsen discuss the impact of menopause on careers, barriers to accessing treatment, the importance of being informed – and the growing voice of menopausal women on social media.

Here are Tamsen’s top three tips: 

1. Listen to yourself and your body and don’t miss signs that could be the perimenopause by putting them down to being busy or stressed.
2. Try and carve out time just for yourself, even when things are really busy.
3. Find your people: surround yourself with a community to support you through the perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

Follow Tamsen on Instagram @tamsenfadal and Tiktok @tamsenfadal.

 

Tamsen photo credit: Jenny Moloney