Newson Health and the menopause industry

Glad you're ok on that @Angrymum22.

Radio floored me and I felt a total wus as so many people seemed fine with it. But everyone is different

Totally agree - I wish Kirsty Wark would investigate that.

I came off it overnight and straight onto anastrazole. I was fine, a few hot flushes, but I was totally distracted by bc treatment. The symptoms reassured me that my oestrogen levels were no longer likely to kill me.
My mood levelled rapidly and I haven’t looked back.
I can’t say the same about radio though. That kicked the life out of me for months.

What we should be doing is targeting women from late teens to mid thirties with the osteoporosis message. Bone density is at its optimum during this period of life and weight bearing exercise at this time will have the maximum benefit.

100%. We aren't being radical enough. Women need more education about their bodies.

@WarriorN I think you've touched on an important point about osteoporosis and dementia but really we cannot 'prevent' these things, only delay them. The human condition is to wither and die, and most of us will die of one disease or another. Modern medicine influences what disease that will be, but of course luck (genes + environment) is a big factor.

It is worth trying to delay disease (Chris Whitty has spoken about this - this will give you greater years in better health) but there will be a trade-off between diseases. Therefore a decision to take HRT, like any other medicine, is a risk-benefit analysis. What women lack is an environment to make that decision free of 'sway'/culture/peer pressure/ideology but with plenty of high quality information.

Well theres evidence of both, Im not saying one thing or the other

I also forgot my thinning hair and poor eyesight, that has plummeted like a stone

The thing is, all these 'age related' issues for many of us were overnight so didnt creep up as such. So very much linked to hormonal changes which of course I cant evidence because you'd have to have blood tests virtually every day to check that.

I take Anastrazole for bc. I suffer with joint pain as a result which is likely to be due to low oestrogen since that’s what Anastrazole does.
However, after some research I discovered that low oestrogen causes water retention in the joint capsule, a study in Scandinavia used diuretics to treat this side effect. I take a diuretic and an antihistamine which make a huge difference.

I have found that post menopause a lot of symptoms have disappeared. The insomnia disappeared overnight once I stopped the HRT. I get the odd hot flushes but usually within an hour of taking my Anastrazole at night. I haven’t had problems with vaginal atrophy but I do use hyaluronic based gel, I can’t use hormone based one.

My bone density is normal, it generally decreases quite quickly in the first two years post menopause but then levels off. Mine has dropped since taking Anastrazole, which was predicted, but it was +1 pretreatment so I had plenty to spare.

HRT has been found to improve bone density by 1-2% so not exactly brilliant. What we should be doing is targeting women from late teens to mid thirties with the osteoporosis message. Bone density is at its optimum during this period of life and weight bearing exercise at this time will have the maximum benefit.

It is, granted, but search her other posts for "dementia" and there's lots of other links.

Search for things like "resistance exercise and cognition" esp in "the elderly" and there's a wealth of studies there.

The one I've linked to below that one explains more.

Liz was a consultant breast surgeon.

And so what are those other tools? That's not being talked about enough.

This 100%. There is no one size fits all, as this proves - Newson wanted to have us believe there was and her voice has dominated the space too much. I have found Mindy Pelz and Tania Elfersy more helpful for me personally, but I don't think for a moment that their advice would suit everyone.

I mean, that's pretty useless without the type and duration of exercise

Agree @Blanketyre id much rather not be on it. But I need to be on HRT as my mental and physical state without it was very poor.

it’s not a competition. There’s no gold medal for not using HRT. Raised awareness is a good thing.

And this one

x.com/liz_oriordan/status/1513606043821092864?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

x.com/liz_oriordan/status/1458431648920477697?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

However, I want protection against dementia

there's actually more evidence around exercise improving risks of dementia than hrt. I now know thanks to Liz.

I believe Newson blocked her.

What shocked me was just how high a risk we have of developing bc regardless of HRT. So although HRT increases the risk by a very small amount, the risk is already 1 in 7.

Yes I don't know that originally.

What I worry about is that if more women are on hrt, and for longer, more women are going to get that diagnosis while on it and have to go through that shock of coming off it. If they're healthy and well on it, fine. But they need to know they could be ok without it with time if they have to come off.

And so what are those other tools? That's not being talked about enough.

I got the impression from the bc nurses that they're seeing more women who are on hrt and have to support them with coming off it, on top of the breast cancer. I was a howling wreck. My local team now employ a menopause specialist gp because of this.

Sorry I'm on my phone and can't scroll back easily - someone asked what symptoms HRT doesn't help - it is more that symptoms are being ascribed to menopause more and more and often there are other things going on - like a bit of age-related joint pain, or stress from being carer to three generations and still working, or real pathologies that are being missed. HRT may help if they are really menopausal symptoms - but if it doesn't, it may be that the net needs casting wider.

This was exactly what my wise and patient GP picked up which the Newson specialist entirely ignored. Maybe it's a kind of confirmation bias? A back-to-front attempt to make a collection of fairly general symptoms fit the cure?

I don't think there is any big push to take HRT is there? There's more awareness of menopause. Which is great.

I'd love not to have to bother with it tbh! I'm sure women aren't desperate to take medicine every day if they really don't need it! I do need it.

I’m genuinely glad it has worked for you and am very sorry if my comment upset you. That’s great your symptoms have gone, but that doesn’t mean it is for everyone. I object to the current public opinion and sweeping statements that every peri and menopausal woman needs HRT and that’s the only thing that will help all of us and that we must all take it for the rest of our lives. Can you not see how odd that is? And that drug companies are rubbing their hands together at the prospect?

I saw a great (private) GP doctor in Cheshire who spent an hour going through what I was going through. She felt symptoms like abrupt awakening at night, aching joints in the morning and feeling panicky, irritable and crying were all oestrogen connected. To set the context, I’ve never been panicky or irritable or any of those things before my fifties. She gave me a prescription then recommended I just go via the NHS if it worked. Within days I started to feel normal again and over the next few weeks back to normal. I also was very sore during sex so she gave me Vagifem and said even if systemic HRT wasn’t for me to use the pessaries. Well I’m still on HRT, don’t have aching joints or painful sex (no need for Vagufem as the gel seems to work) and while I still wake in the night, it’s no longer abruptly wide awake. No panicky anxiety with driving-and I can concentrate and hold down my job. Unfortunately, she no longer does f2f but spends time educating other GP practices on women and the menopause. My surgery’s menopause clinic is run by an AP nurse and are happy to prescribe HRT-or advise on other methods to cope with the menopause-obviously if a woman is sailing through, they won’t need the services. But I still think LN is very focused on HRT to cure everything-when many women don’t want-or need it. But they should have access to it.

Oestrogen is known to be really important for bones, especially late teens and early 20s, but if you can't take it there are other things that can be done.

Testosterone is too apparently, I read somewhere the spike women get around ovulation is really important.

It's having informed choices that I feel women don't have. Throughout life.

This is why I am interested in HRT, if not now then in the future. I dont have massive symptoms at the moment but am in peri, memory, dry skin, VA (have pessaries for these), dizzyiness/vertigo, aches and pains, all managable at the moment.

However, I want protection against dementia and osteoporosis which is what I have learned HRT can do. What I dont want is my migraines coming back again which more or less disappeared at the age of 47, almost overnight.

I did risk assess, considered options but went for HRT. I think what changed my mind about the safety was developing hormone positive bc and large fibroids within 3 yrs of starting HRT. My breast surgeon would neither confirm nor deny a link with HRT but I got the strong impression that it was a common denominator in her work. Certainly when I asked a large group of women with bc if they had had a similar experience, postmen bc while on HRT, within an hour nearly 50 women replied with the same experience.

No one is recording the incidences. Most of the advice is from historical trials where HRT was only prescribed to post menopausal women.

No data is available for HRT use in normal perimenopausal women ( this does not include women who have had premature menopause, surgical or iatrogenic). And certainly no data is available for the high dose HRT being prescribed.

What shocked me was just how high a risk we have of developing bc regardless of HRT. So although HRT increases the risk by a very small amount, the risk is already 1 in 7.

Quite frankly, I'd much prefer to allow my body to follow its natural path, albeit prematurely, and to not force feed it hormones it no longer produces. I have no desire to turn the clock back, I just want to protect my future health and I think most women would feel similarly. I think for those who have severe symptoms then HRT is probably the right thing for a season but unlimited dosing and for infinite periods? I am not convinced.

Exactly!
It's an opt-in topic for GPs to choose to learn about.
Yet 50% of the population will be affected in some way and very likely seek medical advice due to the changes their bodies are going through.
It's insane.