Newson Health and the menopause industry

I had a consultation with a Newson Health GP who was very good. I had thirty minutes, she really listened and asked lots of questions before she prescribed a normal dose of HRT. I had a free follow up and then all prescriptions went via NHS. They wrote to my GP to help me get the progesterone for free when my local NHS wouldn’t fund it.

I didn’t feel they were trying to fleece me, the opposite in fact.

Totally agree with @WitheringHighs, not as I'm a gp but because I've been through the hrt thing and then off due to hormonal BC. I don't think hrt was the magic bullet for me. It was at first but it didn't seem to last.

Weirdly I have a friends on 100 patches who seems to be getting more meno symptoms than I do off it and on tamoxifen now. I've watched two have full on hot flushes while we met up recently. (though it did take a while to go through all that. The half hourly cold/ hot sweats were fuuuuuun!)

I have spent a very long time working on life style stuff, more for the cancer to be honest (the women on the cancer threads here are amazing) but it seems to have helped the meno stuff too.

I exercise for cancer and eat for menopause

I think private clinics are simply providing a paid for service plugging the sometimes appalling NHS gaps. Those gaps in availability AND shocking GP knowledge. There is no dark agenda. And making money from providing a service isn't the tool of the devil.

I use a private clinic. Not Newson. I don't have the time or patience to take my GP on the necessary learning journey.

Glad for those who receive excellent GP care.

I thought the newson clinic did bloods to see what your levels are and prescribe accordingly.

Which may seem more than the nhs prescribed as they don't test At ALL !

Interested to see this documentary later as I'm taping it.

I also have osteopoenia and would love to know if HRT could protect my bones before it's too late.

My doctor told me that joint pain, anxiety and brain fog have nothing to do with menopause. It's so frustrating.

Could not agree more.

@Violet80 don't be ashamed. I didn't know much about it (still don't have my head around it due to conflicting schools of thought) until I started my own journey. I don't know the science but it is well documented that oestrogen protects you against the diseases I mention. Due to early-ish menopause I have been encouraged to take oestrogen until I'm at least 50 and likely beyond. The issue is that oestrogen also feeds hyperplasia and endo and so I need the coil to counteract that. What I've learned is that hrt is not a magic wand, it's more about balancing risk according to the severity of your menopausal symptoms, medical history and lifestyle. You will make the right decision for you when that time comes.

I am a Newson Clinic patient and I have nothing but good things to say about the clinic.
The NHS will not give me HRT, I was forced into to menopause too early.
I cannot function on a basic level without HRT, it has saved my life and I have Louise's clinic to thank for that.
This is nothing more than a smear campaign to disempower women, in my opinion!

@Hillsmakeyoustrong Sorry if silly question but how does the oestrogen help prevent the conditions you mention? Are all women at risk from these because of the menopause and low oestrogen? I'm 43 and only just starting what I think could be peri symptoms, ashamed to say I know nothing about HRT and very little about the menopause at this stage

I see many many women who have atypical symptoms and think, or have been led to believe, that HRT is the answer to all their prayers.

A lot of the time what they need is more support from their spouse/employer/kids, or some time carved out for them alone to focus on themselves instead of everyone else. Time to improve their diet, time to exercise, time to enjoy hobbies or friends.

My expectations, rightly or wrongly, aren't about managing menopausal symptoms (though I have a number of them) but about protecting my long term health. I have the mirena coil to manage my endo and hyperplasia and I have oestrogen (just one pump atm) to protect against heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia. I was also issued testosterone, for low libido and sharper thinking, by Newson, but havent taken it and I won't. I am post meno age 47 and so I'm being encouraged to think about HRT in a systemic way not to manage symptoms per se.

So that's why I'm taking folic acid!! (I'd forgotten why I was taking that!)

I'll be honest I have the opposite problem I have GPs and my gynacologist always trying to get me on HRT and every time I have to remind them I can't take the bloody stuff due to contraindications.

Maybe we need to switch locations!

And vaginal atrophy...

who need their expectations managed in terms of what HRT can and should do

What can't it do? What unreasonable expectations do women have about hrt? What lifestyle changes help hot flushes and brain fog and painful joints and osteoporosis?

If you can sail through your menopause without HRT then good for you. If you can manage your symptoms with a bit of positive thinking, yoga and getting out for a daily walk then nobody is saying there is anything wrong with that. What is wrong is that women who are making appointments to see their GP about menopausal symptoms are being fobbed off and told that HRT is not appropriate for whatever spurious reason. Women are only paying to see private menopause doctors as a last resort - do you really, really think that women are jumping on a bandwagon involving paying hundreds a quarter for consultations and private prescriptions just because they have been swept along with social media or because a celeb has said it worked for her?

GPs like @WitheringHighs who take a view of prescribing unless there is a strong reason not to are in the minority, in my experience. My own GPs were very reluctant and it took 4 attempts - even though I am much lower risk as I'm just having the estrogen. Had I been refused on my 4th attempt I would have gone the private route too.

It’s interesting to see the push back against LN and her clinics. My GP colleagues and I think she’s a menace and has created an atmosphere of overmedicalisation for many menopausal women.

Yes there are large numbers of women who need and will benefit from HRT; there are also large numbers of women who would benefit from lifestyle changes first, and who need their expectations managed in terms of what HRT can and should do.

I believe she’s overegged the HRT pudding and grossly minimised or ignored the risks of excessively high dose prescribing.

I stopped my HRT two weeks ago due to heavy bleeding and clotting. 2mg of estradiol 1mg of notetherone? I went right through the pad knickers and pyjama bottoms i was wearing through the old t shirt i was sitting on and onto the sofa. I had all the synptoms come back Period pain Piles Sludgy poo. Sore from bleeding (periods always made me sore down there right from eleven years old) Ultrasound tommorrow as a precaution. i hadnt had a period for two years + and have been on mini pill for three years. I didnt have a problem sex wise until i experienced the bleeding on HRT Periods have always made me sore down there right from the age of eleven when they started. I gave HRT a go because i was worried about things like vaginal atrophy so i was thinking of the future. (im 51 and currently have no problem in the sex and orgasms department) I think i was trying to fix something that currently isnt broken. I do use the Yes products occasionally. The Yes vaginal moisturiser helped with the soreness after the bleeding stopped. Personally my experience has put me off HRT. Vaginal atrophy or soreness from bleeding..............the result is the same Too sore for sex!

I'm not surprised to hear this at all.

I had a consultation with them during the pandemic, because my anxiety was sky-high, I was struggling to focus on work and not sleeping, all of which I knew were symptoms of peri-menopause. I didn't want to bother my GP at that time, and wasn't sure if I'd even get a slot there, and I figured that paying an astronomical sum for a private consultation would at least allow me plenty of time for an in-depth conversation about symptoms and my background and whether HRT might be a solution.

I spent two minutes describing my symptoms to a nodding doctor on zoom, who then declared I was a perfect candidate for HRT and spent the rest of the 15 minute consultation talking me through the complicated routine of using it. I paid £315 for gel and tablets, but when they arrived I kept putting off starting them because I was afraid of messing with my body when ALL my symptoms were mental/emotional. Two years later I gave them away to another poster on the menopause board, after I'd spoken to my GP who said that, with my history of anxiety, it was highly unlikely to have a hormonal cause and - even if it did - the regime I'd been prescribed by Newson was absolutely not what she would recommend.

For me, it was an expensive mistake ever seeking their 'help', but I'm glad I listened to my gut and didn't take medication I didn't need, making it an expensive AND dangerous mistake. Four years on my perimenopause is progressing with no noticeable symptoms other than periods getting further apart (74 days and counting just now...) and down to a couple of days in duration. Newson's advice was the exact opposite of the personal and in-depth service I had expected from an 'expert' private clinic.

Have now remembered that when I asked my GP surgery if they would take on my prescribing it was very 'we'll have to check, we have a lot of women who go privately and are prescribed stuff we aren't prepared to pick up'

I very recently had an appointment with Newson and I picked a gynae consultant who has specialist training in areas pertinent to my history. It was rushed and not a warm experience. The willingness to prescribe the full works, and to leave you on your own for 3 months until review, felt careless, esp as bloods are not taken before prescribing (thankfully I had already had relevant bloods taken privately) I've taken some advice on board but I won't be attending the follow up and I couldn't recommend them based on my personal experience. For me, the menopause has felt like a pick your poison moment and too many schools of thought make research a minefield.

This is spot on. I have a very busy stressful job which is well paid and has high expectations of me in terms of performance. I am a higher rate tax payer and a net contributer to the public purse with minimal other demands (my kids are privately educated for example). I couldn't sleep for a couple of years due to peri symptoms. I tried everything natural first and it didn't work. HRT has enabled me to continue working effectively. I'm not exaggerating to say I would have been sacked had it continued for longer.
I agree not for everyone but given the history in my family is cardiac and osteoporosis problems and not cancer, it's absolutely the right answer for me.