Newson Health and the menopause industry

Interesting info @KnottedTwine

Men who are taking HRT because they think they are women are prescribed up to 200 mcg initially and some take up to 400mcg. The (non-Newson) limit for most women is 100 mcg, you can't get patches bigger than that. I'm on a 75 mcg patch. So men are on probably 2 times, if not 4 times as much estrogen as women. Plus other injections and tablets too.

Given the size of some of the 100mcg patches, they must be pretty much covered, crinkling like a crisp packet as they move.

Not trying to be rude/ start an argument, but are you talking about a natal female person or natal male person here (it's not clear).

Trying to understand the relevance of the person being transgender, as presumably that isn't going to impact their risk of bc?

Yes but she has been risk assessed and takes a dose that is lower than would not one used because of the potential risk.
So has taken a somewhat sensible route, however is fully aware that she may need to stop taking HRT if she develops bc.

Thanks for posting this. As someone taking HRT largely for poor bone density I found this really helpful. I am in the process of reducing my patch from 75mg to 50mg as I am sure the patch is causing me issues with histamines and reflux. It is encouraging to know that my bones will still be protected at a lower dose.

Thank you for all your informative posts about menopause- I thought I knew a lot about it but I’ve learnt so much and am very grateful.

Read that yesterday and found it very interesting.

I found I'd get short term relief and then it would wear off and the level would be raised. (Gp) but so was the bleeding.

I felt so much better when I was titrating down (to come off).

I also found what she wrote about oestrogen levels interesting as my gp kept testing the levels and hoiking them up based on that. I would occasionally get horrific water retention, could barely walk, and in hindsight I'm really not sure low oestrogen was the main issue for me.

Dr Jen Gunter talking about Hormone Levels and Doses in Menopause. I think it is a sensible approach to the subject. If I were a "paid subscriber" I would comment that references should be linked in the text.

vajenda.substack.com/p/a-master-class-in-hormone-levels

Couldn't it be due to the fact that transgenders have to take much higher doses of oestrogen? Just a thought.

I was told by a female NHS gynaecologist that women wanted HRT to make them attractive to younger men again. And that menopause only lasts two years.

I'm not a LN patient but I have watched her a few times on telly. In the early days she came across as wanting to help educate women but more recently - and since her clinics have multiplied - she seems different. As if she knows her clinics will be searched for by desperate women who might be getting the same nonsense from the NHS I was getting.

I did find another NHS gynae who listened to me, knew I'd done my homework (I found lots of information on the Menopausematters site), knew I'd had problems on some forms of HRT and knew I was concerned about endometrial cancer as my nan died from it. My mum spent the last miserable 5 years of her life in a body cast as her spine had crumbled from osteoporosis so I don't want that either.

My gynae also knew of my concerns about heart problems as heart attack killed most of my mum's family side in their 50's. This lot, along with awful menopausal symptoms made me determined to find a HRT that suited me. We agreed on a plan and I get annual endometrial scans, 3 monthly BP checks and annual cholesterol checks.

Or should.

My GP says every 5 years is enough for cholesterol despite me taking a drug that's known to raise it (and most of my family being seen at the high cholesterol clinic). I've not been scanned since just before Lockdown either and my GP says there's no need if I take my HRT as prescribed. Incorrect, but there you go.

My lovely gynae has retired and I've lost the will to live going through the GP to find a new one.

Patients go to private clinics, pay a lot of money for the first appointment and prescription of HRT and then most of them are unable to continue paying for follow-ups and return to their NHS GPs who usually continue to prescribe exactly the same regimen prescribed by the private clinics. I think it works both ways. As soon as the patient returns to the NHS, private clinics are also “abdicating responsibility”. What I don't understand is why an NHS GP doesn't prescribe a specific HRT regime for a patient, but apparently has no problem issuing a repeat "private" prescription. If this was happening in countries where people can sue a medical practitioner it would be tricky establishing who's "responsible" for the patient's safety.

There's also private clinics that do all sorts of other things. And make a peetty penny out of us. I don't see us outraged at them in the same way. I had a breast reduction which should have been available on the NHS (I qualified per their criteria) but could I get someone to refer me? Nope. So I saved my money for years and then dropped best part of 10k on the best surgeon I could find. Yes I paid top dollar because the clinic was in Harley St and I got lots of care and follow up appointments and I bet that clinic made a bundle. So does LN and her ilk. It frustrates me immensely that the NHS is so broken but I can afford to sort myself out so I do. It's depressing but that's the state it is

Filling the gap which most women have found with their own GP. Look, nobody's saying that this particularl clinic is 100% squeaky clean and it is clear that some women are very unhappy with their treatment. What is also very clear to many many of us who have had the misfortune to try to deal with the NHS about menopause/HRT is that there is a desperate need for this sort of service and if you're not getting it on the NHS what are you supposed to do.

This is clearly nonsense, HRT is not an expensive medicine in the grand scheme of things.

I do agree though that many NHS doctors, both in general practice and in specialisms, don't like that their service is being shown up as so shit that women have no option but to pay £££ to a private clinic just to find someone to listen to them and not fob them off with positive thinking, a bit of yoga, and folic fucking acid.

The NHS has run out of money to prescribe HRT so it's easier for the establishment to discredit whoever can be discredited. Like it or not Louise Newson is popularising HRT which makes more people want to take it. I personally don't care - if you want to pay for it, go for it. I can't take it myself due to a rare estrogen sensitive condition that is controlled by another medication. HRT won't work for everyone and it would be good to try all the basic boring things first but sometimes you need a little help. However every medication has a side effect. Your choice at the end of the day. The issue like with everything is where the funding is coming from.

Sorry, in addition LN does a lot of follow up consults over the phone which are charged at almost the same cost. The doctor may well conduct them from home. I know that our local GP practice do.
It’s a very lucrative business, take a look at her accounts.

She is in it for the financial gain. Her prices are off the scale compared to other private consultation services. I work in private practice and it worries me how much value she places on her time. We actually have better clinical services from gyno/endo specialists who charge about the same. Much more one stop though, they will look at all aspects of gyni health in relationship to menopause. I know who I would choose.

LN ‘s overheads in no way compare to the specialists I refer to. Her clinics are pretty much consultation rooms and a reception. Bloods are outsourced. She may have an examination bed and overhead lamp but since she has no gyni qualifications there is no need for expensive equipment.

As someone who has set up dental surgeries the cost is eye watering. Just the dental chair alone is £15+. I think the current cost of a new surgery is upwards of £50k. A consultation room will consist of a few chairs, a desk and examination couch. Probably the most expensive bit of equipment is the coffee machine in the waiting area.

Regarding transgender HRT, I have a patient who is transgender. She has to limit the dose of oestrogen because her mum has had breast cancer. She has been advised that the hormones increase her risk of breast cancer. I find it odd that a genetic man is strongly advised but gloves are off for women.
I know that the science is probably different but equally there seems to be far more caution.

thanks for that @Ereshkigalangcleg albeit terrifying!
I knew the NHS had been captured but thought it was extricating itself from all this gender shit- very disturbing that it continues to add it in.
I suppose with Newson, I saw her as a bit of an independent champion of menopausal women so it really enraged me to see her parroting gender shite

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/gid-ng10241/documents/stakeholder-list-2