Maggie Honey was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, which can be described as having ‘sticky’ blood that is prone to clotting. When she was 46 and a busy mum of triplets, Maggie began having insomnia, recurrent UTIs and dry eyes, skin and mouth. It wasn’t until her periods had stopped for a year and she felt dreadful all the time that she realised many of her symptoms might be related to menopause. When she sought help, she was given more diagnoses related to her blood condition but no help for her symptoms. Her blood disorder consultant at the time told her, ‘whatever you do, don’t go on HRT’. This was due to the inaccurate belief that all HRT holds a risk of clot. In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks through all the issues that Maggie’s story illustrates, including explaining why HRT is usually safe for people at risk of clot, when estrogen is given through the skin via a patch, gel or spray. They discuss how beneficial HRT can be for your quality of life, and what lifestyle factors do actually raise your risk of getting a clot. Maggie’s 3 menopause tips for people at risk of clot: Listen to your own body, keep a symptom diary like the one on balance app. Trust your own instincts and don’t be fobbed off. Find a menopause specialist as well as a sympathetic blood specialist doctor (haematologist). Encourage communication between your different doctors, including your GP. Share information with friends, family and colleagues. The more we talk about it, the more help we can give to one another. Read more about Maggie’s story here and for more information, read our booklet on Menopause and Clots. Thrombosis UK is the charity mentioned in this episode for people at risk of, or living with, thrombosis (clots) and the website is www.thrombosisuk.org

Newson Health Menopause & Wellbeing Centre Playlist

122 - Myth-busting clots with Maggie Honey

In this special episode, released on World Menopause Day 2021, Dr Louise Newson talks to two women about their own experiences of menopause. Melanie is a midwife from Birmingham who talks about her ongoing challenges of coping with menopausal symptoms, getting the right support at work, and finding a treatment that works for her. Grace is in her 50s and went through an early menopause in her late 30s. She struggled over the years to be listened to by healthcare professionals and have her needs understood as a gay woman. After watching the documentary with Davina McCall, Grace felt empowered to push for the help she knew she needed. Melanie and Grace’s conversation with Louise aptly illustrates what World Menopause Day is all about – raising awareness about the effects of menopause on women’s health and wellbeing globally, and elevating voices of those going through the menopause from all cultural backgrounds and sexual orientation. As Louise says, we cannot fully celebrate World Menopause Day until all women, all over the world are able to get the help and support they need. Grace and Melanie’s top reasons for speaking out for WMD: Educating others about the effects of the menopause is so important. Women need support and to know they are not alone – it’s not that something’s wrong with them. Get ready for the menopause, it’s inevitable, embrace it, and be empowered to deal with it when the time comes. Regardless of your colour, religion, or sexual orientation, come together and support one another. 

121 - Celebrating World Menopause Day: supporting one another

Healthy Eating Doctor, Dr Harriet Holme, joins Dr Louise Newson on the podcast couch this week to discuss the importance of nutrition for reducing long term risk of disease and improving your future health. Before becoming a registered nutritionist, Harriet worked for ten years as a doctor before her interest grew in the link between what we eat and our health. She is passionate about sharing evidence-based knowledge to help people understand more about their own diets and health, and offers nutritional consultancy as well as lecturing on culinary science and nutrition.   Harriet’s four key ingredients for eating in the peri/menopause: Calcium is key, try and get it from your diet as much as possible. Balance your diet with a wide variety of wholegrains (brown bread and brown pasta, for example) fermented food (such as kimchi or kefir), lots of fruit and vegetables, and avoid sweeteners and fizzy drinks. Top up your omega 3 by eating 2 portions of oily fish a week. And last but not least, vitamin D. Take this one as a supplement especially in autumn and winter in the UK. If you’re vegan, also take a B12 supplement, but otherwise it’s always best to get nutrients from your diet rather than relying on supplements.   Listen to Harriet on her own podcast, ‘Eating for Health’ or visit her website: healthyeatingdr.com   Find Harriet on social media at: Facebook = @healthyeatingdrcom Twitter = @healthyeatingdr Instagram = @healtheatingdr

120 - You are what you eat, with the Healthy Eating Doctor

Dr Zoe Hodson returns to the podcast this week to talk to Dr Louise Newson about the hormone testosterone. Zoe is a GP and senior doctor at Newson Health, and together they discuss the impact of low testosterone on your daily life, why it can be difficult to get hold of, and gender inequalities in healthcare provision when it comes to this particular hormone. Zoe is on a personal mission to ask every local health commissioning group if their clinicians can prescribe testosterone and, if not, why not? Change is happening slowly within primary care and Zoe and Louise are committed to continue to push for testosterone to be regarded as an integral part of menopause care at a free, local level for all. Zoe’s 3 asks for change: We need to normalise testosterone in women, so please keep talking about it. If you take it already, tell people, and tell your healthcare professionals about the difference it makes to you. Keep alerting your GP practice to the ‘Confidence in Menopause’ course on fourteenfish.com. It is now free for all healthcare professionals across the globe. If you’re going to a menopause clinic and they haven’t mentioned testosterone, ask them about it. Zoe would like to thank all her followers on social media for their wonderful support and encouragement to keep speaking up for women and trying to bring about change for good. You can follow Zoe on Instagram @manchestermenopausehive

119 - Testosterone: why can’t we have our own hormone back? With Dr Zoe Hodson

Rachel was a very active 45-year-old, who loved the outdoors and her job as a specialist teacher when her fit and healthy body began suffering with one problem after another. Joint problems and crushing fatigue curtailed her hobbies of hiking, climbing and cycling. The following months saw her list of unexplained symptoms grow and grow from being in constant pain, migraines, and gum problems, to palpitations, dry mouth and eyes, anxiety and electric shock sensations. Within 2 years, she describes herself as ‘just a shell who couldn’t leave the house’, she had given up her job, and living with this version of Rachel had a huge impact on her husband and son. After multiple trips to the GP and blood tests, she was given a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. In this episode, Rachel tells her story to Dr Louise Newson and takes listeners through her journey, including self-diagnosis and battles to get the help she knew she needed. After beginning on estrogen replacement and seeing some mild improvements but still experiencing severe fatigue, she learnt about testosterone and its importance for energy and stamina. Now, 6 months after starting on testosterone, Rachel describes the improvement as ‘life-changing’. She feels a fully functioning human again, is able to work part time, and even manage a 5 mile walk. Dr Newson explains what testosterone does, why we need it, and why it can be so hard to get hold of the hormone at your local GP practice. Louise reassures listeners that she is working hard with NHS England on this very matter and is hopeful that change will come. Both Louise and Rachel agree that testosterone should not be described as the ‘icing’ on the HRT cake but a crucial ingredient of the cake itself. Rachel’s top 3 tips: Remember GPs aren’t trained in peri/menopause, so go armed with useful information and the NICE guidelines to help you have a factual conversation. Don’t give up trying to get the help you need. Be kind to yourself and listen to your body. Note: Rachel had to see a menopause specialist to get her initial prescriptions for testosterone. After lots of persevering on her part, it has now been agreed to be prescribed via her usual NHS GP.

118 - Testosterone: not just icing on the cake with Rachel Dawber

In this unique episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to her husband, who is a consultant urologist, about the lack of menopause training among medical professionals, the importance of urologists understanding the consequences of the menopause on urinary function and the benefits of HRT and vaginal estrogen.   Paul Anderson explains some of his fascinating work as a highly specialist reconstructive surgeon, and together they discuss the rewarding aspects of each of their careers in transforming the quality of lives of men and women through surgery and menopause care respectively. If you’ve ever wondered about what kind of man is married to Dr Louise Newson, this is the episode for you! Paul’s 3 reasons why urologists should know about the menopause and HRT: Simply because it will affect 50% of the population Urologists need to know about conditions associated with Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause so they can adequately treat the urinary tract infections that they will encounter frequently in postmenopausal women. We need to start recommending HRT to women as part of general health advice, just like you would suggest someone lose weight if it was impacting on their health. We should explain that the health risks of HRT have been overstated, and the benefits greatly outweigh the risks for the vast majority. 

117 - Transforming the lives of men and women with Paul Anderson

Professor Isaac Manyonda, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George's Hospital in London, makes a welcome return to the podcast to discuss the important hormone, testosterone, with Dr Louise Newson.  The experts discuss why awareness of testosterone in women is usually overshadowed by estrogen and they describe what type of symptoms can be greatly improved by replacing testosterone, as well as the different preparations available, licensing issues and challenges of accessing the medication on the NHS.   Isaac’s top 3 tips if you’re considering testosterone:  Understand that testosterone isn’t just a male hormone, it is a key female hormone, and tell your doctor this if they are unaware!  Be clear (with your doctor) about what symptoms testosterone can help specifically that estrogen alone may not fully alleviate, such as brain fog, sleep disturbances, lack of energy, and low libido.  If your usual doctor will not prescribe testosterone for you, look into what other NHS clinics in your region will, it can take a bit of finding out how to receive it. It should be something you can access via the NHS, but change is slow. 

116 - Testosterone: the forgotten hormone with Professor Isaac Manyonda

Dr Katy Munro was a GP partner in a Hertfordshire practice for many years and developed migraine in her 40s, around the time of her own perimenopause. This led to an interest in migraine and her involvement with the National Migraine Centre, first as a patient and then as a doctor.  Katy now works as a GP Headache Specialist at the National Migraine Centre, a charity that raises awareness on migraine, shares information and advises how to manage it. In this podcast episode, she chats to Louise about what migraine is, dispels myths, and explains why migraine is not just simply a ‘bad headache’. The experts discuss the role of estrogen in migraine, other possible triggers, and ways to help minimise the onset, severity and frequency of migraine. This hugely useful conversation is a must-listen if you or a loved one experiences migraine.  Katy has recently written a book on migraine, ‘Managing Your Migraine’, and it is available to buy now.  Katy's 3 reasons to buy her book:  Educate yourself on migraine and take control of it.  There is hope, no matter what you’ve already tried there will be something else – you’re not at the end of the line.  Migraine is genetic. Think about not just who you got it from, but who you’ll pass it on to. We need to learn more about how to help children who go on to develop migraine and there’s a chapter on this in my book.  National Migraine Centre - www.nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk  ‘Managing Your Migraine’, by Dr Katy Munro, is published by Penguin Life Experts and is out now.   

115 - Migraine and hormones, with specialist Dr Katy Munro

Dr Louise Newson’s new book, ‘Preparing for the Perimenopause and Menopause’ is now released by Penguin Life as part of the Penguin Life Experts series. Health journalist, Kat Keogh, worked with Dr Newson to write the book, and in this podcast episode they discuss the importance of creating factual and engaging information about the menopause, not just for women but their partners, children, friends and colleagues.  Kat Keogh has worked as a health journalist for 15 years and currently writes for a nursing journal. She collaborated with Dr Newson on her first book in 2019, the Haynes Manual on the menopause, and Kat is passionate about writing to not only educate but empower women in their perimenopause and menopause journey. Now that she has all this knowledge from working with Dr Newson, she is better prepared for menopause than her grandmother was, whose only means of coping was to go and shout down a well at the bottom of her garden!  Kat's 3 reasons to buy Dr Louise Newson’s new book:  For women, it's all about empowerment. Have the knowledge to get the best treatment for you.  For men, it’s a great window into understanding what’s happening in a woman’s life at this stage, whether that is your partner, friend or colleague.  For a teenager, it will be an eye-opener. Teenage hormones and menopausal hormones can be an explosive combination. This book is very easy to read and can be digested in small chunks.    'Preparing for the Perimenopause and Menopause' published by Penguin Life, is out now and has reached Amazon's Number 1 Best Seller on its launch day, 26th August.

114 - Writing ‘Preparing for the Perimenopause and Menopause’ with journalist, Kat Keogh

Journalist, podcaster, and author Lorraine Candy, who is former Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Sunday Times Style, and Former Parenting Columnist for the Sunday Times Magazine. She co-hosts the chart-topping weekly podcast, ‘Postcards from Midlife’, with fellow journalist Trish Halpin. During lockdown Lorraine, 53, wrote the highly successful book, ‘Mum, What’s Wrong With You? 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know’, a family memoir of hilarious personal anecdotes and guidance from experts on adolescent mental health and parenting as a perimenopausal woman. From teenage hormones to menopausal hormones, in this podcast episode Lorraine and Louise discuss the importance of educating women about the perimenopause and menopause, and revisit their experiences of battling the media to help bring the taboo topic to normality. Further in, Lorraine and Louise have an honest conversation about raising teenage girls in particular, and offer advice on how to keep your cool while keeping the channels of communication open. Lorraine’s book is heartily recommended by Louise, a mum of teenage girls herself, and it is available to buy now, published by 4th Estate.   You can find Lorraine Candy on social at: Instagram - @lorrainecandy Twitter - @lorrainecandy Facebook - @sundaytimesLorraine

113 - Mothers, daughters and hormone havoc with Lorraine Candy

World renowned Consultant Gynaecologist, Nick Panay, of Hormone Health, shares his past and current interests in hormone related issues such as menopause, pre-menstrual syndrome, progesterone intolerance and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency. He describes ongoing areas within women’s hormone health where there continues to be huge unmet need and how, through training, he is seeking to overcome this, not just in the UK but globally through his work with the International Menopause Society. Together, the experts discuss the importance of their roles in empowering women and supporting them to make their own choice about treatments and both agree that as a public health issue, the menopause requires a national approach that focusses on preventative rather than reactive medicine. Nick’s 3 aims for global menopause care: Women have ease of access to information about the menopause Recommendations on hormone therapy and menopause care need to be updated and made applicable, globally, to all healthcare professionals Receive funding for a definitive study on the best way to treat the menopause for all the benefits and no side effects or risks – that is the holy grail.   Find Nick on social media at: Twitter - @HormoneHealth92 Facebook - @HormoneHealthClinics Instagram - @hormonehealthuk LinkedIn - Nick Panay Website - https://hormonehealth.co.uk/

112 - ‘Menopause is a public health issue’ with Nick Panay

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Arabella Preston, co-founder of Votary skin company, about her background as a make-up artist and what prompted her to start creating cleansing and facial oils from her kitchen table. Together they discuss how to best care for your skin and how to know what products to buy among the crowded skincare marketplace. Arabella discusses the almost taboo topic of female facial hair and how to deal with it. She also talks openly about recognising her own early signs of perimenopause and what she has learnt about the impact of hormone changes on the skin.   Arabella’s 3 top tips for looking after your skin: Make sure you’re cleansing your skin properly using a non-foaming product and a proper face cloth, every day. The best thing to do for your skin when it comes to anti-aging is to wear a good SPF (suncream) that suits your skin and wear it every day, all year round. Explore active ingredients to help your skin, like retinol and retinoids, they are a vitamin A derivative and great for menopausal skin.   Find out more about Arabella’s cleansing and facial oils or her magic razors at the Votary website www.votary.co.uk

111 - Looking after your skin with Votary’s Arabella Preston

In this inspiring episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Anita Elawure, a women’s health advocate, who shares her startingly honest experience of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency since she was a teenager. After many years of trying to ignore her situation, she began to look into what it really meant, for her fertility and the impact of living in a postmenopausal state for the rest of her life.  Anita decided to create a platform for her to share her experiences, in the hope that she and others wouldn't feel so alone, and provide a safe place that offered support and learning from others going through POI. Eighteen months ago, Anita founded Blossom Living with POI and, as her page says, “You have me. I have you. Together we blossom.”  Anita’s top 3 tips:  If you’re at the start of a journey with POI, find your support system. Get someone you can rely on emotionally, that can come to appointments with you or help you do research, because it’s so important.  If you know someone facing POI, be there for them, tell them you’re here for them and ask what you can do to help.  Sometimes it might feel like you’re going crazy. It’s OK. You’re not going crazy and your feelings are valid. Find ways to express yourself and take one day at a time. Advocate for yourself, understand your treatments, and know what you need to take care of yourself.  Follow Anita and Blossom Living with POI on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube 

110 - Finding support with POI in the digital space with Anita Elawure

Gordan Lauc is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Chief Scientific Officer at GlycanAge. In this episode Dr Louise Newson feeds her inner geek and enjoys a fascinating conversation with Gordan as he describes his groundbreaking research into glycan molecules and their role in aging and disease processes. Even though scientist's understanding of the biological importance of glycans is still developing, ‘glycoscience’ has now become a vital field in life and medical sciences. Aging is the accumulation of damage in your body over time, caused by a long-term over-activation of the immune system. Analysing your body’s glycan molecules is a way of discovering your biological age and helps you know whether your current lifestyle is optimal for good health as you age. It is possible to lower your biological age by changing your diet, exercise, sleep habits and stress levels. Professor Lauc’s top 3 tips: If you’re interested in finding out more about your biological age and future health, you can get a test from www.glycanage.com that uses a pinprick of your blood and analyses your glycans. You can receive a report that will advise you on healthier changes you might need to make to your habits and lifestyle. Don’t be afraid of finding out more about your future health, it can be a very useful warning signal and potential negative changes to disease processes can be halted and reversed. Nourish your health and take care of it. We were not made to live into our 80s or 90s, so invest in your health and do something about it. Do something today for the good of your health tomorrow.   GlycanAge is giving away a 15% discount to our listeners and donating a further 15% to @themenocharity for every test purchased with the code 'NEWSONHEALTH15'.   You can find Gordan Lauc on social media at: Twitter: @gordanlauc LinkedIn: gordanlauc   You can also find GlycanAge on social media at: Instagram: glycanage Twitter: glycanage Website: https://glycanage.com/

109 - Looking after your future health with Professor Gordan Lauc

Helen is a Functional Imagery Training (FIT) practitioner and weight loss coach who discovered FIT a couple of years ago and has been helping women to achieve lifestyle changes using this effective technique. FIT is a technique that supports behaviour change using mental imagery.   Coming from two decades of research showing that mental imagery is more strongly emotionally charged than other types of thought, FIT gives people a powerful tool to strengthen and sustain motivation to reach goals they value: weight loss, increased physical activity, or better sleep for example, which in turn leads to confidence and increased self-esteem. Women often experience weight gain, lethargy, or low mood around the perimenopause and the menopause which can lead to a negative cycle of poor choices, comfort eating and misery!   Living through the pandemic and associated lockdowns with all the extra stresses it has brought has also made healthy living harder for some. FIT uses mental imagery blended with motivational interviewing (a type of empathetic counselling/coaching) to help clients identify the health and fitness challenges they face now and how they would like to feel in the future. FIT is about mindset change, not a diet technique. It teaches people to imagine in a detailed way what it feels like and looks like to achieve their ideal selves and how that will benefit their health, and also benefit the people closest to them. FIT enables people to imagine in detail the steps they have chosen to reach their ideal selves.    Helen's 3 take-home tips:    Don’t see change in a negative way. We tend to focus on the things we have to give up when thinking about changes we need to make to lose weight, get fitter, have a more balanced sleep, work, or play routine. But if we can look more at the positive benefits to come out of changes to our lifestyle and plan manageable steps that don’t feel like we are denying ourselves everything we enjoy, the changes will be positive and enjoyable.  Weight gain, along with symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause such as poor sleep, brain fog, or lethargy often leave women feeling depressed and self-critical. We can sometimes feel we have little control over the changes and beat ourselves up over what we may perceive as 'letting ourselves go'. Don’t beat yourself up, acknowledge that it can be a difficult time and it is not a weakness of character or an inevitable slippery slope. Talk to someone, a friend, an expert, a FIT practitioner or coach. You are not alone! Prioritise yourself. In the words of RuPaul, ‘if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love someone else!’ We are used to putting family and others first and sometimes forget (or just don’t consider) our own needs. Try to put some time into your day when you just focus on yourself, take a walk, read a book, listen to music, but above all take a moment to ask yourself, ‘am I looking after myself? What do I need? How do I feel and how do I want to feel?’ After all, no one else can look after you as well as you can look after you. 

108 - Functional Imagery Training with Helen Pearce

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Newson Health Menopause & Wellbeing Centre Playlist

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