I thought this might be of interest, I know we've had forum recommendations for Dr Louise Newsom's clinics and her Balance menopause app. Spotted on the BBC this morning.
TV Menopause Doctor Investigated By Watchdog - Thyroid UK
TV Menopause Doctor Investigated By Watchdog
Written by
Sparklingsunshine
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Honestly, it sounds like a witch-hunt. Private gynaes and endos are free to prescribe as they wish, it's what you pay for, much like private thyroid specialists. How do we know what went on between these women and their doctor? How do we know they weren't misusing the treatments or not as prescribed? Dr Newson has a right of reply and I wouldn't trust the BBC as far as I could throw them. The fact they haven't interviewed the thousands of happy patients tells us all we need to know about this type of journalism. It smacks of the now debunked report on the perils of hrt using flawed data and methods.
I too will be reserving judgment before clutching my pearls on this one. The usual very smiley and reassuring Louise Newson (although you wouldn’t know it from the freeze frame chosen by the BBC!) has done a huge amount to promote better understanding and treatment of menopause. In many ways she’s a trailblazer. And much of what she does is intended to benefit women full stop, rather than herself. She is involved in campaigns and sticks her head above the parapet and says things others wouldn’t dare. One example comes right at the end of this podcast where Newson, in measured and thoughtful terms, asks whether CFS or fibromyalgia would even exist as diagnoses if menopausal women had all of their deficient hormones replaced, pointing out that we produce 3x more testosterone than oestrogen. That’s brave and thought provoking.
balance-menopause.com/menop...
Yes, exactly, I was diagnosed with CFS when my oestrogen levels were less than that of a man and testosterone undetectable. It’s interesting that Dr Newson took on Besins, the manufacturers of Oestrogel when the ‘Davina McCall’ effect meant that demand outstripped supply of the gel and the manufacturers apparently changed the formula to keep up with demand. Her patients levels started plummeting on the new gel, as did mine and that’s when I went into the tailspin that ended where I am now. She was protecting her patients, advocating for them against pharma’s so called lies. I know for sure that product changed and they continued to deny it. Now, I wonder if taking on big pharma and revealing the woeful service provided by the NHS forcing women to spend money they can ill afford on the private sector might have something to do with this hatchet job?
Can I ask if you changed to Sandrena gel when Oestrogel stopped working, and liked it? Or what estrogen works for you?
Hi Wua - yes I did change to Sandrena and I did like it, but its consistency wasn’t great for me as it seemed to remain tacky on my skin. I eventually changed to Lenzetto and I’m very happy with that.
Ah, I'd forgotten about that one. Thanks. I had been going to try to get Oestrogel prescribed, so it was timely you posting that a formula change turned out to be bad.
Glad you found something you are happy with. Long may it continue.
I agree. Women are so desperate by the time they contemplate seeing her, they’ve already tried everything the internet can suggest. Which probably leads to some of them thinking they can feel better more quickly if they just take more. We’ve seen it here—people taking megadoses of NDT and saying they still feel hypothyroid.
Sigh. Why is it that the people who are prepared to stick their necks out to help us all end up losing their licence to practice medicine?
Exactly this, and let’s not forget there are private thyroid docs putting people totally inappropriate doses, I had it this year - told to start on 2 grains armour no titrating from 50 Levo. You can imagine the result. I wouldn’t for a moment consider reporting this doc although I think the prescribing was way out of line, because there are lots of happy patients of the doc who’ve contacted me privately and so I chalked it up to a bad experience. HRT clinics would be utterly reckless not to test before increasing, I simply don’t believe that happened here.
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I caught this on Breakfast this morning, seems to be about high levels of imbalanced hormone prescribing, though no mention of actual test results which may have confirmed the need due to low uptake?.... As ever only half the story and a few disgruntled customers who turned out to have need for gyne intervention due to other conditions which no amount of hormones where going to correct
Bit of fear mongering I feel.... we of all people understand the need for a personalised hormone regime
Could it also be about a successful women who has made a huge difference to many thousands of women's lives having herself been on the edge of throwing in her career due to her GP not prescribing HRT?
I'm not a client but the information she puts out is excellent
I've been in the position of having a doctor prescribe too much estrogen based on their thoughts not tests and ended up with 9 months bleeding and womb thickening.
Had that been prescribed based on symptoms and tests we'd have known I was very low in progesterone and needed a lower dose of estrogen.
Proper treatment reversed womb thickening and I remain on a high dose progesterone.
Never trust anyone just because they are popular. Learn for yourself.
Same, I was in my mid 40s and with hindsight we now know I was hypothyroid. I have souvenir fibroids from that adventure 😣
Absolutely. I find myself on both sides of the opinion here. My sister and I were categorically told that our mother’s death from primary peritoneal cancer was a direct result of her being on HRT. So I’ve chosen not to take it, which deeply frustrates my pelvic health physio who sees Louise Newson herself and says it’s changed her life (I don’t doubt it). But I was 35 when my mother died and that focuses the mind rather.
My son lost his father to cancer when he was 19. I need to try to stick around a bit longer for him.
All that said, I’m agreeing that HRT is life changing for many—and that it’s incredibly important to do your own research.
My mother too died from primary peritoneal cancer which was diagnosed far too late. Her cancer journey was horrific but I won’t go into that here. My main point is that she was never on HRT but I have been on it for nearly 30 years and my gynaecologist is adamant that I should never stop as the benefits far outweigh the risks mitigated in my case by regular CA125 checks.
Primary peritoneal cancer has more than one cause. In my mother’s case, there was a clear link to HRT. I’m very glad for you that it isn’t an issue for you.
I had endometrial hyperplasia whilst taking oestrogen only hrt, when it was found I had to have an urgent hysterectomy in case it was cancer related, luckily it wasn’t. I agree with Obsdian that just because this Dr is popular it doesn’t mean she has got everything right.
I remember seeing Newson interviewed years ago. At that time, she dismissed thyroid as irrelevant because it's easily treated. That put me off her. Maybe she's changed her opinion on that, I don't know.
I watched one of her videos where she said the brain makes testosterone. I replayed it a couple of times to make sure I heard correctly. The brain does NOT make testosterone.
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my women’s health nurse said this was happening (unlicensed high doses) at least a year ago. She trained at the same place they do and was really worried about the advice they give. It’s a careful line these gurus have to tread. Sad for all those with thickened womb linings and no benefit 😕
Sounds like the need for her clinics has out stripped the training... I would have thought they would also be on top of testing levels 😕
AND maybe demand outstripping capability to fulfil.
AND we find gurus inside the NHS too. What to look out for - feeling steam rolled.
Sparklingsunshine,
No wonder she is bringing unwanted attention. I like Dr Louise Newson but if she is going to provide these clinics staffed by 'specialists' she needs to advance her training practices, because any person with even basic knowledge in this field would know the essentiality of balancing oestrogen levels with those of progesterone.
Sadly the problem seems to be with a few women who have been prescribed high oestrogen doses that are not in context to their progesterone levels. Unopposed oestrogen has horrible side effects such as weight gain, low mood, bleeding, womb thickening, fibrocystic lumps in your breasts, fibroids in the uterus, increased risk of various cancers, etc.
A sad situation as I believe Louise Newson has helped so many women regain their life back. Although I haven't consulted with Newson or at any of her clinics I love my HRT and successfully take an unlicensed amount of progesterone on prescription .
Unfortunately I think this scandal risks eventual tighter restrictions which shouldn't be required if HRT was prescribed properly. GRRRRR
I have no experience of her myself, nor have I ever used her app or website. I've been on HRT for several years and am happy on what I use. I just thought it was worth bringing attention to this as I've seen her recommended by several forum members.
Whether she is as some have suggested the subject of an establishment witch hunt or whether there are legitimate concerns about her clinics, only time will tell.
I have had treatment at the clinic and was only increased on estrogen in line with blood tests as i was not absorbing the patches or estrogel. At one point I was on 7 pumps of estrogel but my blood test showed my estrogen was in my Boots. I was then put on 4 little sachets of Sandrena gel which equates to 4mg. Only now am I absorbing and they increased my utrogestan in accordance. I can only say good things about the clinic and they always ask for the blood tests they my GP does.
I'd be really really surprised if they kept on increasing oestrogen without blood tests and adjusting progesterone/progestin component, in fact, I'd eat my hat. I was a patient of the late Prof John Studd, Dr Newson seems to follow a lot of his protocols and he allowed low progesterone treatments ONLY if you had 6 monthly endometrial scans. I haven't seen the programme yet, but how do we know these women weren't increasing without permission, or missing progesterone doses? Do we just believe what they say without any clear evidence? I'll reserve final judgement until I watch, but I'm incredibly sceptical about this.
I absolutely agree with you. Never have they increased my medication without blood tests and those were oestradiol, shbg, testosterone and for me dhea as I'm on that. And i am on 200mg vaginally of utrogestan too.
Yes, that’s how it was with Prof Studd and I wasn’t even on a particularly high dose - 3 pumps gel but lower than usual prog - the 7 day a month protocol which I believe has now been stopped.
I gather some still follow that regime but with regular scans. I gleaned this info from the website, Menopause Matters so purely anecdotal
I read about this today and immediately thought of Dr Skinner, however none of his patients complained about him, whereas here Dr Newson's patients are complaining. There's certainly a lot more that we aren't being told, but yet again this involves patients feeling ill enough, and desperate enough, to agree to a protocol which is not recognised by mainstream medicine here, and which may or may not be right for them. I believe that Dr Newson has gone above and beyond for her patients, and done a huge amount to help women, so she might be right on this, or she might not. I hope that during the investigations she gets a fair hearing at the very least.
My thoughts about Dr Skinner exactly @Framboise. Another case of the medical establishment attacking those who dont tow the party line by blindly following their guidelines, as it makes the rest look bad when they don't try to fit treatment to patient needs.
I too have never been a Newson patient. But the reports seem to show the usual one sided argument of treatment not matching the conventional, but without the other side of the story as to why this approach was needed.
No discussion of that being the reason patients often end up there as the conventional treatment being offered by NHS was not working for them - who wants to pay for a private consultant if the NHS offering was adequate!
Also no discussion of the medical evidence available not being comprehensive enough to cover every situation or need. Sometimes you have to try an unproven route if the data is not available. Doctors are happy to do this when it suits them but use it as an excuse to have a go at others when they don't. See Dr Malcolm Kendrick
just listened to the end of what sounded like excellent discussion about this on Radio 4 womans hour .... good comment s from caroline harris mp . clearly flagging up the issue is that GP training is so poor that is why many women need to go private out of frustration with NHs. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:...
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I shall give it a listen, honestly last nights Panorama was just scaremongering with no mention of blood test or best practice guidelines.... like you say a lot of the issue is the shear tsunami of desperate women looking for the help they can't get from the NHS unless you'd rather just have antidepressant 😩
Edit.... a far more rounded discussion 👏
From what I've noticed over the decades is that journalists know very little about science or medicine. I cancelled my Time magazine subscription after reading an article about malaria and how it is caused by a VIRUS!
Interviews are editted in order to have the greatest impact while deleting important information that was presumably provided by the interviewee. It's all about soundbites these days.
And short attention spans.
• in reply totattybogle
My GP Practice refers women requesting HRT to a Menopause Clinic.
I’ve been concerned for some time.
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