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[pepperminty]

Hi Ladies for your perusal if interested :


The BMJ said menopause is 'natural'.

Read how Dr Louise Newson and her team at Newson Health Menopause Society responded to this narrative.



Rapid response to:

Normalising menopause
BMJ 2022; 377 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-069369 (Published 15 June 2022)
Cite this as: BMJ 2022;377:e069369
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Rapid responses
Response
Rapid Response:
Re: Normalising menopause
Dear Editor

We are appalled and quite frankly saddened to read this article that is peddling a very dangerous narrative – that because menopause is a ‘natural’ part of the ageing process, that women should avoid any medical treatments. The core of the problem is women’s choice. For too long women have not being listened to, they have been undermined and belittled, they are being told to put up with symptoms that can lead to women leaving their jobs, partners and suffering with horrendous symptoms affecting their quality of lives. The menopause is known to be associated with an increased risk of important diseases including heart disease, diabetes, clinical depression, osteoporosis, dementia and early death. Also for many women the menopause is not “natural” as it occurs due to surgery to remove ovaries or damage to the ovaries from drugs or radiotherapy. Many young women experience menopause which is known to be associated with an even greater risk of developing these diseases.

It is vital that the menopause is recognised as a female hormone deficiency with health risks and not simply a lifestyle change that doesn’t need medication. Menopause care should be holistic – HRT is not the only treatment we give as menopause specialists, we also give nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, wellbeing, psychological advice – but the fundamental thing that women should be offered is choice. If we want to promote choice, we have to start with the ingrained misconceptions and prejudices that surrounds women’s health.

Just because something occurs ‘naturally’ doesn’t make it good. This is a version of the naturalistic fallacy, applied to over a billion menopausal women worldwide.

We often see the same thing in the objection to ‘medicalising birth’. Yes pregnancy is a beautiful natural process, but helping women have safe pregnancies is not medicalising their experience, it reduces their risk and improves outcomes for babies and mothers.

It’s not a coincidence that the medicalising charge is directed against women both when pregnant and when menopausal. Society seems to have a hard time accepting that women are embodied, they are not ethereal beings, that they have medical needs which have to be addressed, funded and provided to ensure equity and ease of access. There is now a generation of women standing up and demanding change. Telling them what they’re experiencing is just normal part of ageing is frankly medical gaslighting.

There is a national HRT shortage as more women are requesting HRT. We have clearly reached a crisis point as the demand by women to receive evidence based treatments has escalated.

Many healthcare professionals are still confused, understandably, about evidence-based menopause care and treatments, including safe HRT prescribing, because there have been so many confusing articles in the medical literature and inadequate menopause education for many. We have already had over 25,000 downloads of our free Confidence in the Menopause education course which was developed by the not-for-profit company, Newson Health Research and Education. This highlights that so many healthcare professionals are keen to learn more which is going to really help improve the future health of women and reduce their suffering.

It is essential that all educators are consistent in their messaging and refer to the recent evidence and research which clearly show that the health benefits of taking HRT are very real and apparent. We certainly are not stating that all women should be forced to take HRT but all women who want to take HRT should be allowed to have it in a very easy and accessible way. They should not have to be fighting to have their own hormones replaced.

Competing interests: Dr Louise Newson is Founder of Newson Health Menopause Society and Director of Newson Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre. Since opening her menopause clinic in 2018 she has received no money from pharmaceutical companies. She created the not-for-profit company Newson health research and education in 2019. The society was launched last year. We do not do any paid work with any pharmaceutical companies. In addition, our society receives no money from pharmaceutical companies. All the people contributing to this response are associates of the society and have no competing interests.



PMXX

[Perinowpost]

Good reply

[Gilla999]

I actually love her   

[CLKD]

We have already had over 25,000 downloads of our free Confidence in the Menopause education course which was developed by the not-for-profit company, Newson Health Research and Education. This highlights that so many healthcare professionals are keen to learn more which is going to really help improve the future health of women and reduce their suffering.

Would be interesting to see the breakdown.

[joziel]

I think she's blimmin great, standing up to the establishment and putting pressure on things to move forwards in so many ways.

I was one of those 25,000 who downloaded the course though  Always looking for answers for my own stuff.... 

[ElkWarning]

"HRT is not the only treatment we give as menopause specialists, we also give nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, wellbeing, psychological advice – but the fundamental thing that women should be offered is choice."

I totally agree with this. Would love to hear from ladies with Newson who have exercised this choice and who are not on HRT but getting all these other treatments mentioned.

How is it working for you?

[laszla]

It's worth reading all the replies to that infuriating and regressive BMJ article https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-069369/rapid-responses

Several are reassuring, others are almost as infuriating as the article

[pepperminty]

It's worth reading all the replies to that infuriating and regressive BMJ article https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-069369/rapid-responses

Several are reassuring, others are almost as infuriating as the article

Yes some reply's are a shocker aren't they? But some are a bit more enlightened .  Again if it were men, there would be no discussion, as there would be more research and loads of Types of HRT available and given out like sweeties.

[joziel]

Like sweeties  🙌

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

I am with Newson Health and when I have more time I will post an update of my recent appointment.

ElkWarning - Among the services NH offer are a psychologist and a nutritionist. I am on HRT and although I haven't made use of these services I did purchase a range of  their supplements, namely the B vitamins, vitamin D, Omega 3 and magnesium.

I hope this helps.

Take care.

K.

[suzysunday]

A great reply from the forum.   Some of the replies on the bmj thing are atrocious, though I need to read them in depth later.  I cannot see acupuncture doing anything for my atrophy or the lack of libido without it.  I spent a lot of money in the past on acupuncture for other health purposes and I may as well have donated it to charity. 

[madamshome]

Thanks for posting this well composed response. I had been contemplating my own response to the retrograde BMJ article but Louise has expressed the bottom line.
Personally, I find it offensive that it's assumed that many women do not already have healthy dietary; exercise & sleep hygiene practices which do not necessarily lead to a symptom free menopause.
I had no specific expectations, my mother could offer no recollection of the process at all. I was in peri for 10 years & symptoms were largely manageable. Having likely now hit menopause, my life has been upended by insomnia, flashes & mood swings.
I am early to HRT so still in an adjustment phase & dosing is very conservative here in Australia, (thanks BMJ for scaring Drs). However, I am so grateful that I can at least access some level of HRT given the alternative treatments being advocated by the medical establishment. One Dr told me that HRT was too risky but wanted to prescribe the pharmaceutical trifecta of Venlafexine; Clonidine & Gabapentin, all of which have significant adverse effects & withdrawal syndromes.

[suzysunday]

Outrageous a doctor would suggest those medications over hrt.  Unforgivably short sighted and I'll informed!

[ElkWarning]

Hello ladies.

I am with Newson Health and when I have more time I will post an update of my recent appointment.

ElkWarning - Among the services NH offer are a psychologist and a nutritionist. I am on HRT and although I haven't made use of these services I did purchase a range of  their supplements, namely the B vitamins, vitamin D, Omega 3 and magnesium.

I hope this helps.

Take care.

K.

Thanks K. It's just obviously there's a claim that there are a variety of services available. I've been on this board for years and have literally never heard of anyone using these services. The impression given is that it's all balanced. I'd like to see evidence for this ... Right about now, the only evidence I can see is women saying they're being "rinsed" ...

[ATB]

I love what Dr Newson and others are doing to help the conversation around menopause in this country, I’m not sure my GP would of agreed to prescribe the evorel & Utrogestan a doctor at Newson had put me on ( 6 months at that point ) if it wasn’t for her. I handed my Newson clinic notes and she saw the name and said, oh yes Dr Louise Newson is fantastic. So I think from that perspective, it’s a massive thanks from me.

However, private health care is outrageously expensive and this is no exception. I knew that when I rang them and I had saved up for it. Recent changes mentioned elsewhere have made me disappointed though. Changes to service and prices straight after a second documentary is unethical in my opinion. They’re making more money than ever during what is more or less a recession. It just leaves a bad taste. But I have had two other health issues recently and tests alone were many hundreds of pounds. One was sorted through the NHS in the end, which was great.