Newson Health and the menopause industry

[ArabellaScott]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8e5y4e83lo

Keeping an eye on this. Newson makes an awful lot of money out of HRT.

I was told by a female NHS gynaecologist that women wanted HRT to make them attractive to younger men again. And that menopause only lasts two years.

I'm not a LN patient but I have watched her a few times on telly. In the early days she came across as wanting to help educate women but more recently - and since her clinics have multiplied - she seems different. As if she knows her clinics will be searched for by desperate women who might be getting the same nonsense from the NHS I was getting.

I did find another NHS gynae who listened to me, knew I'd done my homework (I found lots of information on the Menopausematters site), knew I'd had problems on some forms of HRT and knew I was concerned about endometrial cancer as my nan died from it. My mum spent the last miserable 5 years of her life in a body cast as her spine had crumbled from osteoporosis so I don't want that either.

My gynae also knew of my concerns about heart problems as heart attack killed most of my mum's family side in their 50's. This lot, along with awful menopausal symptoms made me determined to find a HRT that suited me. We agreed on a plan and I get annual endometrial scans, 3 monthly BP checks and annual cholesterol checks.

Or should.

My GP says every 5 years is enough for cholesterol despite me taking a drug that's known to raise it (and most of my family being seen at the high cholesterol clinic). I've not been scanned since just before Lockdown either and my GP says there's no need if I take my HRT as prescribed. Incorrect, but there you go.

My lovely gynae has retired and I've lost the will to live going through the GP to find a new one.

Couldn't it be due to the fact that transgenders have to take much higher doses of oestrogen? Just a thought.

Dr Jen Gunter talking about Hormone Levels and Doses in Menopause. I think it is a sensible approach to the subject. If I were a "paid subscriber" I would comment that references should be linked in the text.

vajenda.substack.com/p/a-master-class-in-hormone-levels

Read that yesterday and found it very interesting.

I found I'd get short term relief and then it would wear off and the level would be raised. (Gp) but so was the bleeding.

I felt so much better when I was titrating down (to come off).

I also found what she wrote about oestrogen levels interesting as my gp kept testing the levels and hoiking them up based on that. I would occasionally get horrific water retention, could barely walk, and in hindsight I'm really not sure low oestrogen was the main issue for me.

Thank you for all your informative posts about menopause- I thought I knew a lot about it but I’ve learnt so much and am very grateful.

Thanks for posting this. As someone taking HRT largely for poor bone density I found this really helpful. I am in the process of reducing my patch from 75mg to 50mg as I am sure the patch is causing me issues with histamines and reflux. It is encouraging to know that my bones will still be protected at a lower dose.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'll post the summary here:

Summary of What We Know About Doses of Hormone Therapy for Menopause

• There is no data to support starting every woman age 45 or up in menopause or women in the menopause transition on a 100 mcg patch. Women with primary ovarian insufficiency should start with a 100 mcg patch.
• For women in the menopause transition, a 100 mcg patch has been studied for depression, and this is an acceptable starting dose for that indication.
• No menopause society recommends routine blood tests to guide dosing. If studies showed that blood tests were worthwhile, they would be included in the guidelines.
• Estradiol levels can underestimate estrogen exposure due to how hormones are metabolized, making estrogen seem low when it is not.
• There is no quality, peer-reviewed, prospective evidence that women in the menopause transition or menopause at the typical time need ultra-high doses of estradiol or higher blood levels.
• There is no good data to support the claim that up to 20% of women are poor absorbers of estrogen.
• Ultra-high doses of estrogen can cause tachyphylaxis, which can make people feel awful and be mistaken for inadequate estrogen therapy when really there is too much estrogen.
• There is no data to say a 300 mcg patch is safe. All recent safety data is with doses of 150 mcg or less. Higher doses could be harmful in ways we can’t predict, and the risk of endometrial cancer is very concerning.
• Ultra-high doses, like a 300 mcg patch, should not be compared with the birth control pill.
• MHT can make symptoms worse in the menopause transition as it doesn’t help the fluctuations in hormones and makes high levels of estradiol even higher. The pill is often the best option here as it stops ovulation and stops the chaos.

Yes but she has been risk assessed and takes a dose that is lower than would not one used because of the potential risk.
So has taken a somewhat sensible route, however is fully aware that she may need to stop taking HRT if she develops bc.

Not trying to be rude/ start an argument, but are you talking about a natal female person or natal male person here (it's not clear).

Trying to understand the relevance of the person being transgender, as presumably that isn't going to impact their risk of bc?

Men who are taking HRT because they think they are women are prescribed up to 200 mcg initially and some take up to 400mcg. The (non-Newson) limit for most women is 100 mcg, you can't get patches bigger than that. I'm on a 75 mcg patch. So men are on probably 2 times, if not 4 times as much estrogen as women. Plus other injections and tablets too.

Given the size of some of the 100mcg patches, they must be pretty much covered, crinkling like a crisp packet as they move.

Interesting info @KnottedTwine