140 - Addressing the emotional challenges of perimenopause and menopause with Simona Stokes

Dr Louise Oliver, a GP and functional breathing practitioner and therapeutic life coach, joins Dr Louise Newson as a guest on the podcast this week. Louise Oliver has had a special interest in women’s health and menopause for many years and now incorporates her skills as a functional breathing practitioner to raise awareness of how breathing is altered by hormones, how this can lead to symptoms of inefficient breathing and how to improve the connection between our brain, body and breath. Louise’s three tips to breathe more efficiently: Be aware that your hormones affect the way you breathe and how you breathe affects your health and wellbeing. Learn more about breathing. The book ‘Breath’ by James Nestor and all Patrick McKeown books and podcasts are excellent. Assess your breathing efficiency by observing your breathing at different times over the next week and see whether it matches the description of effective breathing as discussed. Improve your breathing efficiency by learning the techniques and dedicating some time over a number of weeks and months to adjust your breathing style until it becomes more natural for you. For more about Dr Louise Oliver, visit her website. The video link mentioned in the episode from Mr Vik Veer, ENT consultant, to improve snoring and sleep apnoea can be found here. Louise is on Instagram as @drlouiseolivertlc and on Facebook here.

24 Tammi 202331min

Dr Marianne Tinkler is a respiratory consultant from Swindon. In March 2020, Marianne contracted Covid-19 and had to take a month off work with a severe cough and extreme fatigue. She returned to frontline work on the wards at the height of the pandemic but found it difficult due to ongoing symptoms of tiredness, breathlessness, a racing heart rate and significant brain fog. Later that year, when long COVID became more recognised and Marianne was continuing to experience severe symptoms, she was encouraged to take an extended break from work, and this gave her time to reflect on her hormonal journey as well as learning how to navigate life with long COVID. In this episode, the experts discuss the relationship between long COVID and the perimenopause/ menopause, the barriers to accessing treatment and some of the benefits of diet, movement and HRT for those suffering with long COVID. Marianne’s advice if you have long COVID: Pace yourself carefully and don't ‘push through’. Track your symptoms on the balance app and consider HRT if you think some of your symptoms may be due to perimenopause or menopause – even if you think you’re ‘too young’. Look at your diet and activity levels and eat foods that are good for your gut microbiome. Try and get outside every day, even if your energy levels will only allow you to sit on a bench.

17 Tammi 202332min

Mr Osama Naji is a consultant gynaecologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital in London and he leads the busy department of women’s cancer diagnostics at Guy’s Cancer Centre. Mr Naji specialises in early detection of pre-cancerous conditions and is an international expert in advanced gynaecological scanning, contributing significantly to scientific research in women’s gynaecological health. In this episode, the experts discuss the complexity and influence of the menstrual cycle, bleeding on HRT and when it should be investigated further, and the safety of HRT with regard to gynaecological cancers. Mr Naji’s three take home messages are: The workforce of women is needed now more than ever, therefore we must invest in women’s health and wellbeing and paramount to this is education about HRT. Endometrial cancer is on the rise but can usually be detected at an early stage and treated very effectively through raising awareness, identifying the causes, managing risk factors and engaging and empowering the patient. HRT is the very last item on the list of risk factors for endometrial cancer, therefore believe and trust the patient on whether the bleeding is abnormal for them and work through the management process using a shared decision-making approach. For more information on Mr Osama Naji, visit www.rylonclinic.com

10 Tammi 202330min

GP and menopause specialist, Dr Sarah Ball, makes a record fifth appearance on the podcast this week to discuss her work exploring experiences of menopause care in women who have had breast cancer. The experts discuss findings from a recent survey carried out by Sarah and the Newson Health team to highlight how things have improved in recent years and identify some of the ongoing needs. You can read more about Sarah’s survey and other recent menopause research carried out by Newson Health here. Follow Dr Sarah Ball on social media on Instagram and Twitter. View the breast cancer booklet here.

3 Tammi 202332min

Clinical Director of Newson Health, Dr Rebecca Lewis, returns to the podcast this week for a special end of year episode with Dr Louise Newson. The business partners and friends reflect on some of the positives over the last 12 months and discuss the continued challenges in trying to help more women with their experience of perimenopause and menopause. Rebecca’s three hopes for 2023: Testosterone needs to be licensed for women (and not just for low libido) Treatment for significant and severe menopausal symptoms in the workplace to help keep women in work Education about the perimenopause and menopause reaching out to other medical specialties so more healthcare professionals understand how it affects the patients they see.  Follow Rebecca on Instagram at @dr.rebecca.lewis

27 Joulu 202230min

Professor Chris Harding is a Consultant Urologist working at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne and at Newcastle University. He has a particular interest in bladder dysfunction, continence and urinary tract infections (UTIs). In recent years, his research has focused on non-antibiotic treatments for recurrent UTIs and developing targeted treatments for specific patient groups. In this episode, Professor Chris talks to Dr Louise about the challenges of diagnosing UTIs accurately, the severe impact recurrent UTIs can have on your life, how antibiotics can be used appropriately, and how to prevent UTIs occurring. The experts share some of their plans to study the effects of systemic HRT and vaginal hormone treatments on UTIs in women. Chris’s advice if you have recurrent UTIs: You don’t need to put up with UTIs in the perimenopause and menopause; there are many proven treatments available Acknowledge that current tests for UTIs are not 100% accurate. If you think you have a UTI, you probably have, even if your test was negative - the diagnosis can always be questioned Discuss with your doctor how you can prevent infections if you have had 2 episodes within 6 months, or 3 within a year Hormone replacement, particularly vaginal treatments, are significantly protective and preventative against UTIs. Follow Prof Chris Harding on social media at @chrisharding123

20 Joulu 202233min

This episode contains reference to suicide Professor Jayashri Kulkarni is a psychiatrist working in Melbourne, Australia, specialising in women’s mental health and researching the role of estradiol in mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. She founded and directs the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, a large clinical research group in Melbourne.  In 2022, Professor Kulkarni launched and directs HER Centre Australia – a Monash University Centre delivering Health, Education and Research in women’s mental health - dedicated to improving the quality of care for women with mental illnesses by developing specific treatments tailored to suit women’s needs. In this episode, the experts discuss the different ways estradiol influences brain health and function, what this means for healthy brain aging and longevity, and they share some of their experiences when helping women with mental health changes during the perimenopause and menopause. Prof. Kulkarni’s tips for women experiencing mental health changes: Trust your instinct – you know you best. If you think it might be hormones, help is available. Look at your background history. If you had premenstrual mood changes or postnatal depression in the past, this may mean you are particularly sensitive to hormonal changes. Early life trauma (e.g. neglect or emotional/physical/sexual abuse) can disrupt hormone signals and brain chemistry and this may make you more vulnerable to mental illness. Whatever your past history, there is help available in the form of HRT. See your local healthcare provider or a menopause specialist if needed. You can find the Meno-D questionnaire here. This tool identifies the specific mood changes that are more typically present in perimenopause and menopause related depression. For more information on Professor Kulkarni’s work and research, visit www.maprc.org.au

13 Joulu 202233min

Dr Samantha Newman is a British doctor working in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. After training in obstetrics and gynaecology, a moving encounter with a patient led her to re-train as a GP and develop an interest in supporting women’s health and wellbeing. Samantha’s clinic, FemaleGP, was established in 2016 to improve access to focused healthcare for women including gynaecological and sexual health and treatments for perimenopause and menopause. In this episode, the experts discuss shared decision making with their patients, symptom improvements with HRT, and supporting women to ‘listen’ to their hormones. Samantha also shares some of her experiences working with women from the Māori community and culture. Dr Samantha’s three tips: See your hormones as a journey and not as separate, distinct phases of life. Find support along the way – wherever in the journey you find yourself. For healthcare providers: see your patients as a whole person and as part of their families and find out their true thoughts and desires. Be honest with your patients and encourage them to be honest with you. If they haven’t taken your advice, revisit things and find out what didn’t align with their values rather than viewing it as a negative. For more information about Samantha’s work, visit www.femalegp.co.nz Follow Samantha on social media at https://www.facebook.com/FemaleGP and https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-newman-34223b230

6 Joulu 202229min