MNHQ here: results of our survey about the menopause, perimenopause and experiences with GPs

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

You may remember a few months ago we, with our colleagues over on Gransnet, kicked off a a campaign focusing on the menopause and perimenopause.

We first looked at the HRT shortage and now we’re looking at GPs - here’s some of what we found:

Nearly four in ten women seeking treatment for perimenopause symptoms say their GP told them they’d just have to learn to live with it
Over a quarter of those seeking treatment for menopause were told the same thing
36% of those who sought help from their GP for perimenopause symptoms, and 26% of those who sought help for menopause symptoms, say they visited their GP three times or more before being prescribed appropriate medication or help

To find out more, take a look here. Let us know what you think. And if you’re in the mood to do some clicktivism, take a look at this petition calling for mandatory training about the menopause for GPs-in-training.

Thanks
MNHQ

Ah great
Whilst as a menopausal woman myself I understand the misery and the variation in levels of care, I honestly think GPs are broken and having a massively hard time just treading water right now. I know loads and they do their best and work unbelievably hard but they are drowning in workload. Last thing they need is more bashing- it’s like a national sport.

Couldnt this have been a bit more constructive? Ways for women to self educate and find information etc so they know what to ask for?

And GPs do have to learn about the menopause for their membership (post graduate) exams ffs . For some it just won’t be an area of interest or one they see much of. Women do need to consider who is best to see and go armed with some info if they can

I wonder how these results compare to women going to their GP about endometriosis. Or women who are diagnosed with a thyroid condition. Men also can get thyroid problems but it's something like 80-90% are women. I've often heard women say that they had to go back multiple times, over years, before they were taken seriously for both thyroid conditions and endometriosis. in addition, I've also heard - and read repeatedly, over years, on Mumsnet - women being told they need to learn to live with these symptoms (or exercise more, or live less stressed lives etc).

My point is, is the way peri menopausal and menopausal symptoms are treated by GPs part of a wider issue relating to women's health, or is it simply that GPS lack sufficient knowledge/interest in menopause? If the latter, that's not GP bashing, because it wouldn't be their fault, rather down to their training.

The shortage of HRT has been covered on Woman's Hour and in one broadcast there was a female doctor involved in this who said that the original issues causing HRT to be in low supply are not because of how women are dealt with, but the fact that it's gone on so long is something that would be unlikely to happen were it needed for men.

I guess I was just lucky. When my periods petered out and I started getting night sweats (having to change the soaked bed linen and night clothes in the middle of the night), hot flushes and memory fog, it never occurred to me to go to the Dr. I assumed it was a natural part of aging that all women go through and there was nothing that could be done about it

So I just did what my mother had done and put up with it.

My symptoms lessened after a few years and now, 12 years after my last period, I only rarely get hot flushes and have no other symptoms - apart from post menopausal osteoporosis.

I still have symptoms 6 years on and keep telling myself that it will end soon, yet as some weeks are much worse than others, and as symptoms do not appear to be getting any milder I fear I may have this for ever. I did not seek hrt as I am at increased risk of breast cancer but did see a doctor about a year ago. She had no idea what to suggest other than antidepressants, which I don't need. No supplements or dietary intervention has made the slightest bit of difference so I do just feel that I have to put up with it.

My GP said that my insomnia was nothing to do with the menopause and couldn't help with it. I was prescribed 6 months of HRT (reluctantly) but having random periods back was worse then menopause symptoms. I'm through the worst of it now but I wish my gp hasn't been so dismissive.

I have a cardiovascular condition that studies demonstrate HRT reduces the risk of dying in the 10 years after menopause, which is the peak time women are affected. The withdrawal of estrogen in menopause causes blood vessels to be less flexible, but GPs know nothing about it. It's not just about night sweats and forgetfulness, though these can be bad enough, it can actually be a life and death matter for some of us.

12 years after my last period, I only rarely get hot flushes and have no other symptoms - apart from post menopausal osteoporosis.

And had you gone to the GP and been prescribed HRT, you might now not have osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis may be a natural part of ageing, but there's no reason women have to just put up with it.

They simply just don't listen at my doctors, I can't get out of the low - #Clonidine

For some it just won’t be an area of interest or one they see much of.

Well, that speaks volumes

I'm afraid I missed this survey, but for what it's worth the male GPs at my surgery weren't really on the ball I'm afraid, but the female one has been great- I think I'm in the early stages of peri and she has basically told me the HRT is there when I feel ready for it. She also diagnosed an iron deficiency from my blood test results that the male doctors missed- apparently what would be a normal level of ferritin in a man is insufficient for an older menstruating woman, and they didn't know this

It's not just menopause, I really think we need to look at how dismissive GPs are on the whole, particularly of women. It's not their fault I guess - government pressure and legislation is making their lives miserable, and in turn that impacts on patients. I know two surgeons and they both say they would never see a GP, nor would they take their kids to a GP. They would prefer to consult their hospital colleagues. My experience with GPs has been shocking, really really damaging. We are encouraged to put too much faith in them, when all they want to do these days is get you out of the room (and if you're lucky you'll leave with a prescription of opoids/BP meds/contraceptives/antidepressants - god help you if you need antibiotics though). Zero follow up, zero after care, zero patient monitoring.

If I get Covid-19 I'd sooner see the local vet, tbh.

Women's health is given too low a priority by the NHS. Some GPs are sexist and dismissive but..

There are thousands of GPs doing their best in increasingly difficult circumstances. Why isn't MN calling for more resources to help them to help patients? Instead, you're whipping up GP-bashing like the charmer above.

You're compounding the ignorance about what GPs do. Over the last 20 years, for example, premature deaths from cardiovascular disease have halved. That means hundreds of thousands of lives saved, and researchers believe that at least half the saved lives are due to primary care. So where are the headlines celebrating GPs?

The effect of this is that no one wants to be a GP. According to many MNetters, that's GPs' fault too - we are personally blamed for the fact there aren't enough of us. I worked a 78 hour week last week - totally normal for me - yet I am constantly told I'm lazy, ignorant, over-paid and shit. And I cannot give patients the care I would like because I have so little access to support services- yet another thing for which I carry the blame, according to MN. I'll be off the minute I can and all my colleague feel the same.

There is a wealth of international evidence that primary care is crucial to good patient health. The U.K. has - until recently - had excellent primary care, but now it's collapsing. Why isn't MNHQ campaigning to save it, instead of contributing to its collapse for the sake of a cheap headline?

I agree that women are often dismissed by medical professionals (I'm not just talking about GPs here). There are so many stories of women going back again and again and not being taken seriously, told to lose weight, to reduce stress, that there is not much that can be done. You have to go in there armed with a shitload of knowledge yourself, I find, but how many women are not really capable of doing that? I'm degree educated, well spoken and don't take no for an answer, but how many women who don't fit that criteria get fobbed off? Many, I would guess.

This isn't adding anything new to existing studies or campaigns.

I agree with the other comments that you should be taking a different approach.

GPs are obviously needed for medication but for general support and advice, they're not. Maybe MN could support a network of menopause support groups.

IMO there should be leaflets in every doctor's waiting room about where to go for information and advice about perimenopause and menopause. Most women just don't have that information. I'm amazed at how many of my friends (40s and early 50s) do not know what the symptoms are and accept them as just 'aging', when in fact they are down to loss of oestrogen. There needs to be an education/information campaign aimed at mid-life women so they can take charge of their own health and approach medical professionals for an informed point of view.

I'm 56, 4 years post menopause and on hrt. I went direct to a private GP who only treats menopause because the two conversations I had with my own GPs about my symptoms got me absolutely nowhere.

Since being on hrt and being on a mission to talk about it and answer questions from friends I have been appalled at how little women know about the menopause and the wide range of symptoms that it brings. They also know less than nothing about HRT other than " it gives you cancer". I've had friends literally beg me to stop taking it because they think it's inevitable that I'm going to get cancer next week and die.

MN could play a big part in educating women with the facts about menopause, the reality of the risks of CVD, bone fractures, vaginal atrophy, sleeplessness and the rest. HRT is life saving and there is no reason why the majority of menopausal women can't be on it until death. Sadly, only 15% of eligible women in the UK take HRT currently- so much real suffering is going untreated through ignorance and scare mongering.

I’ve been to my dr for help and she put me on the waiting list for a coil - that was 8 weeks ago.
I’m not sleeping - terrible anxiety - confused a lot. Life is very much like walking through treacle at the moment. I’m not sure what else I can do I’ll make another appointment but she didn’t offer me any alternative treatment.

I wanted oestrogel, I got given clonadine which does fuck all.

@JosephineDeBeauharnais

Hear hear.

I had to fight to get the correct HRT from my GP too, going in, armed with clinical studies, information from MIMS/BNF/C&D/Menopause Matters etc. She admitted she wasnt very knowledgable about HRT and menopause (she’d originally offered me anti-depressants until I’d explained about treating cause rather than symptoms).

I’ve also had friends and family begging me to stop HRT until, after six years of watching their own weight gain, hair loss, fractures, etc, they’re now seeing the difference in their health compared to mine.

So how long post last period is too late to ask for hormonal help? I have certainly put on weight that is not related to food consumption, and have no idea about my bone density as I was told to wait until I am 70 - some time off. I dread to think of what toll is being taken on my underlying health.

I put up with it for a couple of years simbob and nobody suggested that I'd missed the boat so to speak. It worked within days.

I've just had a hip replacement. My surgeon said I should stay on HRT forever in order to maintain my bone density, which supports the stem of the new hip prosthetic. I'm hoping this means an end to my 6 monthly struggle to hang on to my prescription.

I have read simbob that there are some risks in waiting 10 years after menopause to start HRT.

'clicktivism' sums it up - virtue signalling that does no good at all.

we need higher taxes to pay for our increased population and increased health demands. Go on, MNHQ, get campaigning for that one...

We'd be better off teaching this subject in schools, including it in soap operas, bringing it out in the open and generally increasing awareness!