MNHQ here: AMA with hormone specialist and leading voice in transforming hormone healthcare worldwide Dr Louise Newson

[RhiannonEMumsnet]

Hi there,

We’re delighted to announce an AMA with GP, hormone specialist and leading voice in transforming hormone healthcare worldwide Dr Louise Newson on Wednesday 3rd June, 7-9pm.

Dr Louise is an award-winning physician, educator, podcaster and author, committed to increasing awareness of hormone health including perimenopause and menopause, PMS and PMDD. She is also founder of the free Balance hormones and menopause app.

Dr Louise is currently in the midst of a nationwide live tour Breaking the Cycle: The Power of Hormones, where she unpacks the history of hormones and reveals how decades of misinformation and medical misogyny have harmed the health of women – a topic also covered in her new Sunday Times Bestselling book, The Power of Hormones.

Please post your questions for Dr Louise below and join her on the thread on Wednesday evening to hear the answers.

As always, please remember our guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil.

Thanks,
MNHQ

@SharkEnthusiast sorry to hear about that unhelpful comment from a doctor. Have you tried Cyclogest? Many women in our clinic find that their ligaments are better with the right dose of progesterone and also testosterone - including those with EDS

Hi
thank you for doing this AMA. I am really suffering with PMDD at the moment and am on Sertraline. I’m only 35 so HRT is not being suggested by my GP.
I have seen recent information regarding antihistamines and saffron- could you give an opinion on these as supplementary treatments please?
I am happy to manage my own health if it works to save GP resources! I’m on a gynaecology waiting list for other problems but the PMDD is horrendous.

@Monetsbridge it is a pessary / suppository and is on the NHS but so many GPs are resistant to prescribe it. I have no idea why

@Darkspiderplant no woman is "through" the menopause - the low hormones last for ever. It would be worth reading more on my Balance app and speaking to a doctor who understands hormones too

It sounds like you need a different dose and type of HRT. Having a balance of all three hormones - including testosterone - can be very beneficial

I'm 47 and have had anxiety for years - waking up with a panic in the night, shakey and anxious for no real reason in the day etc. Very occasional night sweats as well (even when my bedroom is cold and bedding isn't too thick). Two different GPs have said it can't be peri because my periods are still regular (albeit been getting closer together - average 25 day cycle now) and so SSRIs are the main option, not HRT (I've tried literally all the non-medical things for anxiety for several years, medication has been a last resort). They prescribed sertraline and now escitopralam because I put on weight with sertraline.

Is that definitely the case that regular periods mean it can't be peri? And therefore HRT isn't appropriate? I'm wondering if HRT would be better given the other benefits, and maybe fewer side effects than SSRIs.

I have suffered with crippling anxiety and OCD since perimenopause. I am now postmenopausal and started HRT a few months ago. It has helped my physical symptoms but not my mental ones. A blood test has shown that I’m absorbing the oestrogen but my testosterone is low. Would taking the testosterone help my OCD and anxiety at all? I am nervous about the side effects.

@queenofwandss PMDD is usually caused by fluctuations and low hormones, especially progesterone. Many women improve with progesterone - as Utrogestan or Cyclogest. This is much safer than synthetic "hormones" and also antidepressants. We consult with many women with PMDD in our clinic who really improve with hormones. You should see a doctor who really understands hormones - no woman is too young to be prescribed hormones. Listen to my podcast about PMDD too that came out last week

@MenoOCD testosterone is a really important hormone in our brains. Many women find that their mental health symptoms really improve with testosterone - we have published data on these as have others. If your testosterone level is low and you are prescribed the right dose and type for you then side effects are very uncommon.

Hello Louise, do you have any information on the effects of HRT on eczema and inflammation in the body and in my case eye sensitivity. I am on my 4th version of HRT (sandrena gel and utrogestan) after issues with allergic reactions with tablet hrt and then evorel patches (conti I think) which I felt helped but eventually caused heavy prolonged excessive vaginal bleeding/periods so had to stop whilst checks done.

I am 52. My skin has never been worse for rashes and also worried about weight gain.

Hi and thank you for reply. I am not against HRT at all - my mum takes it and it has made a huge difference to her (she's a patient of yours). But I'm assuming I won't be offered HRT in my 30s, so was wondering if there was anything else I could be doing before HRT?

@Autumnalleaves this is incorrect from these doctors. Women with regular periods can still have low hormones and it sounds like your symptoms may be related to your low or changing hormone levels. You should see another doctor and try and find one who understands all three hormones - progesterone, estradiol and testosterone.

@Nellsmum15 I have written a whole chapter about hormones and inflammation in my new book - The Power of Hormones. Testosterone can have very beneficial effects on the skin so it is worth seeing a doctor who understands all three hormones

Thanks. Can it be left in for continual use, or still something that needs to be used daily? I struggled with vaginal oestrogen that needed daily application so was glad of the ring form.

I really hope that's true, even for those of us with the strong genetic predisposition. I thought the more recent research was done on those using transdermal oestrogen, including body-identical types, and that the difference was still found, interacting with age of starting, length of use, family history of dementia, and whether or not progesterone was included (systemic) - I think the theory was that the progesterone had some sort of interaction with the brain degeneration. I hoped that perhaps using localised progesterone would help, but it sounds like there aren't any body-identical forms of that that come in patches, coils or long-term rings etc? Difficult background history makes application of daily medication that way problematic.

Yes I have a podcast that came out this week about skin and hormones with Dr Saj Rajpar too which is worth a listen

Thanks Louise. I'll look into those. This whole area is such a minefield and shouldn't be 😞

Thanks for all your questions!

These links may be helpful for you

Balance app https://balance-app.com/
Book linktree bio.to/ThePowerofHormones?mc_cid=50db8125f1&mc_eid=9520600d61
Dr Louise Newson website https://www.drlouisenewson.co.uk/
Tour page on your website
https://www.drlouisenewson.co.uk/tours-events/breaking-the-cycle
Dr Louise Newson Podcast page https://www.drlouisenewson.co.uk/podcasts
Dr Louise Newson IG
https://www.instagram.com/menopause_doctor
Dr Louise Newson Podcast IG https://www.instagram.com/drlouisenewsonpodcast/
Newson Education: www.newsoneducation.co.uk
Newson Clinic: www.newsonhealth.co.uk

All the best

Louise

How can it be individualised? There are no blood tests suitable.

This was from the local gynaecology clinic, almost in passing, that I must be 'intolerant'. To be fair we had tried a number of combinations by that point and I was feeling worse and worse. I gave up felt a bit better, post menopause better still. I never got on with oestrogen based contraceptives either. I think they may have had a point!