Newson Clinic

[mrsalfstewart]

Does anybody know the cost of a consultation at the Newson Clinic in Stratford? Their website doesn't seem to show the cost. Thanks

It used to show costs.

£250 for 1st appt, less for the next and your GP may prescribe what they suggest on the NHS.

If you go to them you will need to pay for your first lot of HRT on a private prescription.

Rough guide
Oestrogel £9.40 a month
Utrogestan 44p per 100mg tablet (either 24 per cycle or one per day depending on what regime is used.)

That's great, thanks so much.

The prices are at the bottom of this page
www.newsonhealth.co.uk/consultations

Thanks again. I couldn't find them yesterday. Looks like a three month wait for an appointment 😱

I am in with them in April. Really looking forward to getting some expert help.

Good luck with your appointment radicalnotion. I decided I couldn't wait three months so looked at the British Menopause Society website and found a doctor in Cheltenham who I went to see today. She was brilliant and I felt she really listened to me (in between me sobbing!) and prescribed HRT. It felt like such a relief to be listened to and not dismissed as a middle aged hysterical woman!

So glad that you have managed to get help. Women get dismissed all too often and I understand the relief!

Ooh @mrsalfstewart I live near you and would be interested to know more about the doctor you've found. I joined the waiting list for Newson at Christmas and have an appointment in April.

@Moomin37 contact Dr Laurie Darlaston, [email protected]

As I said she is based in Cheltenham and I saw her face to face, although she is doing telephone appointments too. The appointments are 40 minutes long and cost £160 and I also paid about £50 for a private prescription for the HRT. She sees private patients on Thursdays. I managed to get an appointment within a couple of weeks of emailing her.

I'm seeing her for a review in two months and then hopefully I can go to my own doctor to get a prescription as the NHS charge is significantly lower!

Good luck.

Thank you @mrsalfstewart Really hoping some HRT will help with low mood and irritability. Also concerned about my bones as I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 39 and now at 41 fairly sure I'm in the peri menopause.

JinglingHellsBells just for info, you don’t have to get your first prescription from them, it’s only if your GP won’t prescribe what they recommend!

For those looking for a much cheaper but still very knowledgeable private gp Diane Danzebrink and Hazel Hayden.

Both significantly cheaper and provide the same service. I used Dr N btw and wish I hadn't. I thought it'd be a really personalised experience but they still recommend Oestrogel and Utrogestan as a first line for many. I'm perimem and a friend 20 years older in menopause had the exact same recommendation. I think Dr N is really expensive.

Correction

I should have said Diana is a menopause therapist specialist and charges £75. She will then send a letter to your gp asking them to prescribe. Considering medication is of course on top of Dr Newsoms fees Diana would have saved me over £250 if I'd seen her

I still forgot to say Hazel Haydens prices are here. www.bristolmenopause.com/services-charges/ much cheaper than Dr n for anyone who needs6 to save

That’s really good of you to make a recommendation Permian
I’m not currently on HRT but plan on starting I can’t afford the price tag for a consultation with the Newson clinic
I’m in London can anyone recommend a HRT consultant please that doesn’t cost the Earth

@Moomin37 have you managed to see a doctor now? I was just thinking as I've had my review with Dr Darlaston today. I feel so much better on the HRT - it took a few weeks to really 'kick in' but when I look back to the beginning of the year and how terrible I was feeling I can't believe the difference now. She is going to email my own GP who will hopefully be more sympathetic now! Anyway, I really hope you be managed to see someone.

@mrsalfstewart Thanks for asking after me and yes I've had my appointment. I have been prescribed HRT (hurrah!) and currently waiting to see my own GP to get the prescription (three week wait). I ended up sticking with the Newson Clinic and felt so much better after the appointment - I felt listened to and understood. No need to 'make a case' for being treated. I wasn't made to feel like I was being silly or exaggerating. The GP was understanding, very knowledgeable and focused on getting me the treatment I need. I felt quite emotional afterwards to be honest. I'll have a review on three months and may be put on testosterone if I'm still having symptoms. I've struggled for so long yay now I'm close to getting help I feel like I'm crumbling a bit - I've been 'compensating' for the symptoms (particularly brain fog) for so long it's exhausting and miserable.

So glad to hear you are feeling better in such a short period of time :)

@Moomin37 that's really great to hear. You've hit the nail on the head - when I spoke to my own GP I felt like I 'had to make a case' for it - whereas the private doctor was really understanding and got it immediately. Good luck with the HRT, I'm sure it will make all the difference.

Hi
Just wanted to tell you that I wouldn’t waste your money with Newson clinic. My initial consultation was good and got prescribed HRT, I’ve been taking it for one month as instructed, I’ve been having awful side effects and have called 3 times to talk to someone only to be told that it’s not possible and someone with contact you by email.
My response was one paragraph to say that this side effects are normal. I have now stopped treatment as I can’t get any advice.
I have already spent £320 on one consultation and £160 on prescription charges.
The aftercare is ridiculously bad. It seems they take your money and then have no interest.
Please read some of the reviews on google, I was desperate for help but feel very let down.

I had great aftercare support from Newson clinic from the Dr I saw Dr Jo Ischal who was great. I wouldn’t want anyone to be put off about going to the clinic thinking there is no aftercare support if needed. I am sad to learn someone didn’t have a good experience

Just to say, I haven’t gone private and have managed to get Oestrogel, Utrogestan and Tostran (testosterone) from the GP without any real trouble. I have also had prescriptions to cover 6 months after my initial supply and review.

Therefore, I’ve saved the consultation fee and had 6 packs of Utrogestan for £9.35 and 8 boxes if Oestrogel for £9.35 and enough Tostran to do me 8 mo this for £9.35. I’ve saved a lot of money.

BUT, I’ve had short appointments and a lack of clear explanation about any of it. it has worked for me because I’ve been willing and able to secure the info by lots of hours online and because I’m interested enough to do it, and I’m also confident enough to return to GP with Qs or if there are errors (My GP issued me instructions to take male quantities of Tostran which are at least 8x what a women’s should have!)

My point is, it might not be necessary to go private. Clearly there are lots of advantages of it….but you do pay for it. It depends on how easy/difficult accessing the stuff on NHS is in your area (worth trying first I’d say) and how much you feel you need the more thorough explanations and personalisation. If I’d found my GP was resistant to prescribing, I’d certainly have gone private. If I’d been in areas where Utrogestan isn’t prescribed, I’d have gone private. If I hadn’t been confident to access info online I would have paid.

What dose of Tostran are you using? I've complained to my GP and have an appt in a few weeks so fingers crossed they prescribe it for me.

I’ve only just got it. I got it by emphasising fact ive been on HRT several months but libido remains non existent.

I am trying half a pump (5mg) every 3 days to start. Online recommendations seem to vary from a whole pump to half a pump (its v small) and from every 2 to every 3 days of Tostran. I’m staring low and the pump will last me about 8-9 months.

The male dosage the GP told me to take would have me using the canister in less than a month and returning for another prescription. Very concerning. Of course it’s off licence for women, so the standard prescribing info is for men and it’s necessary for GPs to access the info for prescribing for women. My GP seemed to know it needed to be different, but clearly wasn’t looking at women’s info. So disappointing, and also a reason why lots are reluctant to prescribe….if it’s off licence, they are responsible for the dosages, and it seems it must be easy to get wrong. I’ve seen people say on other threads that this kind of thing means really off licence shouldn’t be used, because errors do get made.

Good luck with getting it. I’d asked for Testogel, but my GP said she couldn’t give me that. Not sure if it’s a local thing, or in short supply. Actually Tostran in a pump is easy to use and get the quantity of, ONCE you know the amount you’re meant to be using. I didn’t find it that hard to find the info online.

Perhaps women taking T are more likely to be more informed and have read up on HRT and T before asking for it, as GPs don’t typically just offer it unless asked for it. With HRT generally, I think that going to an appt showing you’ve read up and have some awareness of risks, types etc really helps and gives them more confidence to prescribe you what you ask for. Shouldn’t be like that, but it’s the reality I think. Inequalities in medicine eh!

I was told the nhs won’t prescribe testosterone has that changed?

Who told you that? Was it a private clinic or an NHS GP?

The NICE guidelines 2015 (2019) - sorry - can’t link, suggest that if a woman has had HRT and low libido remains, testosterone can be prescribed off licence in small doses. It suggests lifestyle possible contributors to low libido be considered first.

They can prescribe Tostran or Testogel, both which are for men, but commonly prescribed in low doses for menopausal women. It is a lottery though. Some local areas are more resistant or won’t prescribe and different GPs take a diffferent view. However, it seems more and more will prescribe it.

I only recently got it and although as mentioned upthread, the wrong amount was prescribed, I had no trouble getting it. From reading I knew the NICE guidelines (although I didn’t have to push them) and that the key thing was low libido after having been on HRT for a while. My GP was totally up for it and not resistant at all. My small canister will last about 8 months.

There is another MN thread going about getting Testoserone on prescription - have a look at that for various experiences. It’s not uniform, but for anyone who is able to read-up, meets the criteria and is willing to stress the NICE guidance if facing resistance, I’d think any GP would be hard pushed to refuse to prescribe or to refer to a menopause clinic for them to consider prescribing. Of course, there has to be a good case. It has to be that HRT hasn’t worked on libido and that you don’t have risk factors, understand it’s off licence etc etc.