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[FAB-jellybean]

Hello all, I am considering seeing a menopause expert privately and wondered if any of you have any experience of this? Who did you see and how successful were they in helping you? I am hypothyroid too and having problems getting settled well on HRT. I have found a clinic within travelling distance run by a Dr Meyer. It looks really good but anyone can shill reviews so keen to hear from anyone who has actually been treated by her, both positive and negative experiences. Thanks in advance

[CLKD]

My advice would be to keep a mood/food/symptom prior to any appt., NHS or private.  Something to discuss.  Paying for appts. may well mean that you get more listening/discussion time than through the NHS. 

Another issue is to find out if it's a 1-off appt with no follow up, or whether you get the opportunity to go back for future advice and if necessary, adjustment of any treatments recommended.

Let us know how you get on?

[JS79]

Did you visit Dr,Meyer? Her clinic in Blairgowrie isn't far from me and I was thinking of booking a consult. I like their idea its in person, also considering Newson Health but only video appt due to distance.

[AKatieD]

For me it was the difference between getting what I needed (crinone) privately or what the NHS was prepared to offer, which made me ill (utrogestan) or I was not prepared to use (mirena coil).

After having paid to go privately for a few years, i tried to get the NHS to work with the provate consultant or to provide the non-controversial bits (oestrogel, vagirux, overstin) but they were not remotely interested in helping out.

[JS79]

So you are stuck having to pay for private healthcare because NHS won't listen to advice of menopause experts 
My GP has only offered me sertraline. I'm back again next week for 2nd time since this was offered. I just don't feel I am being listened to but perhaps a private clinic would.

[Fizwhizz]

I’m currently stuck in the hypo/meno conundrum. I was on private HRT but she didn’t understand/treat thyroid and I was unaware of the connection until I gave up on HRT completely after feeling wired and having a bleed. I’d be wary to ensure anyone private understands and can treat both. I’m on private thyroid treatment now and levels are improving but am having a dreadful time with low mood and just can’t be bothered-ness. I’m not sure if this is due to thyroid not being optimal or menopause now. It’s difficult to unpick but seeing someone who understands both would be my tip.

[CLKD]

JS79 - ask your GP to refer you to a dedicated menopause clinic, not a Gynaecologist.  NICE guidellines suggest HRT initially rather than ADs unless the patient is suicidal.

[JS79]

We have 2 women's health GPs at my surgery wnd I've asked to speak to them but both times been given a female newly qualified GP. I think I need to be more assertive with my GP.

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

I was a patient of Newson Health for fours years and saw three different doctors in that time (they seemed to work for about a year and then leave... I hope it wasn't me lol).

I am now back with my NHS surgery as, to be honest, NH wasn't much help. The first doctor I saw couldn't understand why my high dose of Oestrogel wasn't making me feel fantastic all the time. I told her that I felt good sometimes but then I would feel rubbish again but she said she didn't know why. I also have hypothyroidism which is being treated with daily Levothyroxine and when I asked if this was a factor she didn't know and stated that she 'only did the HRT hormones'. I ended up on very high oestrogen and very low progesterone which led to constant breast tenderness and then heavy bleeding. I am now on a more conventional regime of one sachet of Sandrena gel daily and one tablet of Utrogestan at night.

Unfortunately I am still struggling with some physical and emotional symptoms but I am  hoping that my GP will at least consider my thyroid status along with my future HRT  treatment.

I am sorry that I can't be more helpful but I agree that the advice of someone ( anyone) who understands both conditions would be the best thing.

Take care ladies.

K.

 

[bombsh3ll]

I would suggest having an idea of what you want in advance e.g. if it is a particular treatment or someone who has a special interest in a certain area and phone up the clinic and see if they prescribe that or have someone with that particular interest.

Also, if the specialist has written any articles or made any videos or podcasts, it makes sense to read/watch/listen to see if their views and scope of practice align with what you are looking for.

For example anyone talking about female low libido being due to vaginal dryness or the mysterious and often quoted "other factors", recommending psychological interventions and not believing in testosterone, I would know that person is probably not a good fit for me.

Also if someone is evangelical about transdermal estrogen and thinks oral hormone therapy is the devil - I wouldn't go there either because transdermal isn't for me.

If they promote shared decision making and believe women should have the autonomy to choose a particular treatment based on the benefits vs risk to them as an individual, accepting that at the extreme end choosing quality of life over potential length of life is a perfectly valid perspective, I would feel that this provider probably is a good fit etc.

Also look for a transparent pricing structure not something that sounds reasonable but then charges you for lots of extras, or insists you have extra tests that are not clinically indicated or that you have had already, or could get free on the NHS.

The ideal is that you get seen once and they write to your GP with prescribing instructions. I would be wary of any kind of subscription package that keeps you tied in.

[joziel]

I've been with Newson Health for about 2-3 years now. I've also been with 2 different private online thyroid doctors who work along similar lines but for thyroid.

I love Newson Health and don't know what I've have done without them, but I have found it took me until my 3rd doctor there to find someone I thought really knew their stuff and could work with my complex situation. It's pretty easy to switch to another practitioner and they have loads. Choose one of the 'senior/advanced' doctors, as they cost the same as the others! The first doctor I saw there, I just didn't get the sense that she knew me as an individual, it was all very polite but impersonal and not really thinking outside the box. The second doctor I saw, left... I'm now with Dr Jane Robertson there and really like her.

My Newson doctor writes a letter which I give to my NHS GP which specifies the dosages I'm on. Even though I'm on a ridiculous 12 pumps of gel, my NHS GP is happy to prescribe that along with the utrogestan at 300mg/night. So I don't have to pay for these meds. However, my NHS GP won't give me the testosterone, so I have to get that from Newson privately. It's pretty cheap...

I really don't trust the NHS with anything menopause. I don't trust that meds will continue to be available. (From Estradot to utrogestan, things go out of stock.) I don't trust that products are reliable (Oestrogel and now Estradot). I don't trust that I will have access to the meds I need (testosterone). And I don't trust their ability to deal with anything non-standard or slightly complex. So doing this only via the NHS is not something I can risk. I need a backup provider to fill in the gaps, to give me the meds that my NHS GP tells me are out of stock or refuses me. I don't have health insurance or tons of money, I just have to prioritise this as an expense. I'm not going on holiday this year.

For thyroid care, I highly recommend Dr Momi at Functional Thyroid Care. He prescribes T3 and doesn't go by TSH and is a lovely doctor. Hopefully I will be off thyroid meds soon...

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies.

Joziel - I am very interested in your comments about your thyroid and the treatment that you are having privately.

Can I ask what you mean by saying you hope to come off thyroid meds soon?  I was diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis which as you know is an auto immune condition that damages the thyroid  I was told that I would need to be taking T4 replacement medication ( Levothyroxine) for life and that my dose would likely need to increase over time. Obviously I would love to come off this medication but my GP has never mentioned this as an option.

Any insights you have would be gratefully received.

Take care.

K.

[joziel]

I don't have Hashis or hypothyroidism of the classical kind. I had all normal thyroid results just high rT3 and in range but on the low side T3. There were many other things which could have been improved to help conversion but due to the severity of my symptoms at night it was decided to trial me on thyroid meds. They haven't helped so I need to come off them now. Most people cannot come off thyroid meds.