Private menopause clinic - is it worth it?

[Libre2]

Hi, I am beyond exhausted at the moment, anxious the entire time and have no libido. I know that I am horrible to live with and whilst DH is understanding and kind, if I were him, I'd be off. I am assuming (hoping?) that I'm not just an arsehole but that it is perimenopause - I am 50.

I did have a call with a GP about a year ago now who prescribed me iron and propranolol but said that I wasn't in menopause. I am considering going to a menopause specialist clinic as a. I still feel like I am wasting GP time on this and b. they won't have time to give me and I would like a proper conversation.

I have looked and they are about £290 for the first consultation. Is it worth it and if so, how do you choose which one?

I went to one last year. Initial appointment was £285, but had around 45 mins of a specialist listening and probing and asking questions from my labour through to my mothers menopause. We settled on a relatively bog standard hrt but to be taken in a very specific time / dose and way. Im peri and had three fairly miserable apts with 3 different gp who told me I was too young (at 49).. was depressed (absolutely not).. and needed to stop running to get rid of my joint pain. I was given hrt in the end but in a dose that made everything worse and didnt work so I stopped, suffered for another 9 mths before a recommendation from a colleague. Its expensive yes, but I didn't need any bloods of follow ups so am now back with the gp/nhs and having a way better time than last year, sleeping well, weight under control and lots of energy just from getting the dose right. Have heard brilliant stories of GPs but if you are not getting what you need I highly recommend a private session if you can afford it.

Have a look on the BMS website list and just pick one. £290 is probably around the going rate. They are all basically following the same guidelines with the exception of Newson which will use higher doses and has had some controversy for it.

I used Spiced Pear Health and they were brilliant. While I did feel 'I should have got this from my GP' the reality was we had an hour to talk it over, not a 10 minute appointment.

And the annoyance at paying for a private prescription wore off when lots of women were struggling to source meds during shortages and I just got mine posted to my house.

Absolutely worth it.

My OH (same sex partner) was told by the GP she absolutely could not be in meopause due to her age (she's 42) and was very much dismissed.

She went to see the specialist (Newsom clinic) and they were fantastic. She's now on hrt and feels SO much better.

Her score was 52/58. Should start hrt at anything over 40 I think??

I did. And have no regrets. Just because the NHS should be able to provide, doesn't mean it will, and not without a fight. My NHS GP surgery wouldn't book me in 'because it wasn't urgent'. I was suicidal at the time, had limped through the pandemic getting worse and worse. My H did walk out and didn't come back for a year, and I don't blame him.

My initial appointment included the first prescription and a follow up phone consult. She referred me back to the NHS once I was stable, but when the NHS just told me to go without one of my products last summer, and said there were no alternatives, she very quickly jumped in and prescribed something, and has supported me getting it in my notes that I am never to be left without, or be told to come off it.

I tried all of last year to get help from the GP for perimenopause but kept getting fobbed off every time. As a last resort, I went private and was prescribed HRT at the first appointment after describing the many symptoms I was experiencing. It’s no over statement to say it’s been completely life changing for me.

I literally feel as if I’ve been given my quality of life back- before I had crippling joint pain every day and it’s completely disappeared. I feel much calmer and less anxious, just more myself. Please don’t deny yourself the chance to feel good again if you can afford it. I paid £19 for a private HRT prescription for one month but this has now been passed to my GP so will only cost the standard prescription charge each month.

Private with (now) shared care agreement with my GP. Life changing and 100% necessity.

I went to Newson, more to get sorted out quickly. I'd read up and knew I wanted HRT. Really happy with the service. I started off with prescriptions from them while we got the dose right and then switched to annual NHS certificate for patches and utrogesten. The whole thing was online except a 3 month blood test for the testosterone for which a nurse came to the house.

Newson will also prescribe an Australian testosterone cream, designed in doses for women not men which as yet isn't licensed on the NHS. I pay for this prescription from Newson delivered to the door.

All but the testosterone cream I'm on is achievable through NHS, and post 45 I'm pretty sure it's patient led. If you say you want HRT and you are clear about that, there shouldn't be an issue. I just didn't have the time or patience so paid up. I check in annually now.

Astonishing how we have to pay for these private appointments. But I agree with the comment by a pp that the NHS has a one size fits all approach to menopause.

After 10 years of being fobbed off by my GP (offered antidepressants, not allowed HRT unless I had a smear test, made to buy a blood pressure monitor and monitor it for a month) I changed GP to one who has a private menopause clinic. I didn’t have to go to that, however, as there are two menopause specialists at my new practice and they are very proactive about all aspects of women’s health. I did have to wait a couple of months for my first appointment because they are so busy.
I would see if there are any other GP practices you can go to first but I would have gone private if I wasn’t lucky enough to have this practice on my doorstep.

I'm very lucky.
My GP has a special interest in menopause. You can go for a rash or a broken toe and she'll turn it around to your hormones and be writing you a prescription within minutes!

I went to one. Clarified a lot of things for me

No direct experience but a friend recommended this same place to me. I think they are nationwide.

I've visited 2 private menopause experts and spent 500 quid doing so. Most specialists complete a short course to charge £££ for consultations. Personally, the initial £250 was worth the investment because l was nervous and my GP appeared unsure.

I attended a menopause meetup and it was so informative and educational, it helped me so much and tbh learned more in one afternoon regarding HRT than any doctor offered.

I was lucky enough to attend a talk given by a private menopause specialist. I can't tell you how amazing she was. If i had the spare £295 I'd be making an appointment with her.

HRT s very straightforward. It's shocking your GP doesn't know that blood tests shouldn't be used over age 46, it should be symptom led.

Go again and take the NICE guidelines with you, printed off.

I could prescribe what you need initially with no medical training, I've just read up on it! Makes my blood boil.

Absolutely, one hundred percent worth every penny, just pick one and make an appointment. Don't overthink it. Changed my life, no exaggeration.

Be aware that Newson Health employs a lot of GPs.
They have had menopause training but no more than any decent GP should. Some of their doctors are gynaecologists but not all. It depends how complicated your issues are.
An awful lot of 'menopause clinics' have sprung up and to be honest, the advice some of them give could be found by yourself, reading online.
But if you have more complicated issues you should be looking for a consultant, not just a GP who's trained in prescribing hrt.

My specialist (not Newson) is also a GP.

Her description was that menopause wasn't hard to manage once you had learned the stuff. And everyone should just be following the BMS guidelines.

Which is fair as I'm a doctor and don't think my specialty is hard once you have learnt the stuff either.

I'd have been quite happy seeing a nurse specialist.

yes this is my concern. We are all so desperate to have this addressed and to get HRt if it would help, and these private clinics know that. Newson charges even for a nurse consult? quite a lot from what I saw...

Just a quick question for those who are sourcing Testosterone through Newsons? Has it been fairly easy to get hold of and would you mind advising how much you have to pay for the prescription? I have only started taking it 3 weeks ago following a private medical appointment for bleeding, which has been resolved. My bloods were taken and testosterone at 0.5 so doc was happy to prescribe. My current practice won't entertain it

Exactly. You may start on one type of HRT, your body may not suit it and require a second consultation (£120 in my case) it becomes expensive.

YES. I use Newson.

I know I should fight the system but I had a terrible experience. My GP practice is inconsistent and each month the prescribing GP would change something, I wouldn’t know until I arrived at the chemist and then would bounce back to GP, back to the chemist. Each prescription took hours to fill. Once one GP took me off the birth control element because I couldn’t be peri and fertile at the same time. I formally complained but it was all so exhausting.

Newson is expensive, but I pay online; the gels are delivered the next day. Blood is drawn at my house. They are excellent.

I should fight to improve the system but I have 3 kids, a full time job, and just cannot deal with the incompetence.

and I am in Wales and we have to get our testosterone privately anyways

The menopause clinic based in meanwood Leeds is amazing. I actually got referred through NHS as went through full menopause at 36 but the Dr there is honestly amazing. She runs a private practice alongside NHS work.

My appt is actually on Friday. And yes poor memory is one of my symptoms!