The Dr Louise Newson Podcast
Dr Louise Newson
Dr Louise Newson is an award-winning physician, respected women’s hormone specialist, educator, and author committed to increasing awareness and knowledge of perimenopause, menopause, and lifelong hormone health. Each week, Louise dives into the newest research, treatments and hot topic issues, providing accessible, evidence-based information to empower your future health. Joined by fellow experts and special guests, with answers to your burning questions, Louise explores how hormones impact every aspect of our lives.
Described as the “medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution”, Louise aims to empower a generation of women to have a greater understanding, choice and control over their treatment, bodies, minds and future health through their hormones. She is the creator of the award-winning free balance app, a Sunday Times bestselling author and the founder of the Newson Health clinic. With over three decades of clinical experience, Louise is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs, a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge, a regular contributor to academic journals including the Lancet and the British Journal of General Practice, and has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Health from Bradford University.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dr Louise Newson or the Newson Health Group.
Described as the “medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution”, Louise aims to empower a generation of women to have a greater understanding, choice and control over their treatment, bodies, minds and future health through their hormones. She is the creator of the award-winning free balance app, a Sunday Times bestselling author and the founder of the Newson Health clinic. With over three decades of clinical experience, Louise is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs, a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge, a regular contributor to academic journals including the Lancet and the British Journal of General Practice, and has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Health from Bradford University.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dr Louise Newson or the Newson Health Group.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 15, 2022 • 30min
178 - My story of ‘treatment resistant depression’, ketamine and HRT
In this episode, Sam shares her moving account of the journey she has been on for the last five years when, after a miscarriage and losing her father, things started to unravel and her mental health suffered. A difficult few years followed spent navigating depression, trialling several antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, and seeking help from psychiatrists to try and understand what was going on. At the time, Sam believed she was years away from becoming menopausal and through her own research sought treatment privately in the form of ketamine due to her desperation to feel better and function again. Through learning more about hormones and their effects on the brain and mental health, Sam has recently begun to take HRT and feels she has started on a more positive path to health and stability.
Sam’s three tips for those struggling with mental health:
Try and be assessed by a menopause specialist before accepting a diagnosis, medication or treatment from a psychiatrist – it may save you a lot of unnecessary suffering.
If you do start taking HRT, be patient. It can take time and the dose and type may need tweaking before you feel the beneficial effects.
Become as well informed as you can about your hormones and the menopause from good sources online. And talk to other women – you’re not alone.
Nov 8, 2022 • 32min
177 - Families, relationships and the power of connection with Julia Samuel
Human beings are hard wired to adapt to unexpected life events but how do we manage this process alongside our natural need to control? Psychotherapist, Julia Samuel MBE has been interested in this question throughout her 30 year career supporting families with grief and bereavement. Julia founded the charity Child Bereavement UK and has worked extensively with families in the NHS and private sector as well as writing books on grief, family, and change.
In this episode, the experts discuss human nature and our response to adverse life events and times of transition. Julia speaks of the importance of love and connection with others and about the impact menopause can have on relationships, family life and work.
Julia’s tips for helping your relationship:
Be aware of how you’re communicating in your relationship and look at what has changed
Try and form a regular habit like going for a walk together to talk and listen to each other and make time to reflect
Be aware of your own inner critical voices and turn down the volume on those. Turn up the volume of self-compassionate voices and practice being kinder to yourself
Remember connection with others is key throughout our lives
For more information about Julia Samuel and her books, visit juliasamuel.co.uk
For support and information if you have experienced the loss of a child or care for a grieving child, visit www.childbereavementuk.org
Nov 1, 2022 • 31min
176 - Introducing new Chief Medical Director, Dr Magnus Harrison
Newson Health has recently appointed a Chief Medical Director to ultimately help more women improve their health. In this episode, Dr Magnus Harrison shares a whistlestop tour through his professional life so far as a Consultant in Emergency Medicine via New Zealand, Australia, and Manchester and his experiences in leadership at Stoke on Trent in the wake of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust’s ‘adverse mortality’ investigation. Via Harvard, USA and India, Magnus then oversaw the merger of Burton upon Trent and Derby NHS Trusts before the hardest time of his career to date – the COVID 19 pandemic where 8 staff members from his organisation lost their lives.
Magnus discusses with Louise what he hopes to bring to the medical leadership and management of Newson Health and the key values that underpin his mission.
Magnus’s aims for his leadership at Newson Health:
I will be humble and led by professional curiosity to learn how to help more women
I aspire to be a compassionate leader, will listen to understand, empathise and ask how I can help
Kindness is essential and should underpin all that we do.
Oct 25, 2022 • 33min
175 - Mood, mental health and hormones with Dr Clair Crockett
The focus of this year’s World Menopause Day is cognition and mood. In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Dr Clair Crockett, a GP and menopause specialist with an interest in mood, mental health and hormones. Clair’s interest in the topic stems from her own experience of escalating anxiety, low mood and intrusive thoughts in the premenstrual phase of her cycle during her mid-to-late 30s. Through her own research, she looked for ways to help her symptoms including through lifestyle changes, supplements and antidepressants. While these all helped some aspects of her mental health, it wasn’t until she began taking HRT that the premenstrual mental health symptoms eased.
The experts discuss the importance of considering hormones when helping women experiencing mental health problems and outline some of the ways they are working to improve education about menopause and mental health amongst healthcare professionals.
Clair’s tips to women with mental health symptoms in perimenopause and menopause:
Track your symptoms and periods, the balance app is a good way to do this. This will make it easier to relay to your healthcare professional when you see them. Ask who has an interest in women’s health in your GP practice so you can see the most appropriate person.
Tackling mental health in perimenopause and menopause is multi-faceted, it can take a while to get it right through a combination of taking HRT, your food choices, exercise, and doing work that inspires you.
Make peace with your body image and don’t let it stop your progress.
If you’d like to read more about Clair’s personal experience of mental health and hormones, you can read her story here.
Oct 18, 2022 • 34min
174 - World Menopause Day Special with Dr Louise Newson
A special episode on World Menopause Day with Dr Louise Newson sharing her medical journey and the importance of menopause education. She discusses her clinic, free resources, and future plans. Key takeaways: teamwork, evidence-based information, and positivity for women's health.
Oct 11, 2022 • 28min
173 - The challenges of accessing menopause treatment as a young woman
In this episode, Georgina talks openly about her struggles to get a diagnosis for her erratic periods since she was 15. In her early 20s, her concerns around fertility were brushed off and she acknowledges she didn’t have the strength and resolve to pursue the issue. Georgina then began to experience low mood, muscle fatigue, joint pains, hot flushes and night sweats. When her mental health dipped further, this became the tipping point and with the help of a supportive mother, Georgina pushed for a formal diagnosis and treatment for her debilitating symptoms.
Dr Louise Newson explains the impact of premature ovarian insufficiency and the risk a lack of hormones presents to your future health. Georgina shares the struggle she went through to access the right type and dose of HRT and reminds others to advocate for yourself to get the right help.
Georgina’s three tips to young women:
Talk openly with other women about periods, sex and vaginal dryness to understand what is and isn’t common
Do your own research about your symptoms and the menopause to get enough knowledge to advocate for yourself
Be patient with your HRT and give it time to work
Oct 4, 2022 • 33min
172 - Learning to make empowered choices after cancer with Dani Binnington
Dani Binnington was diagnosed with breast cancer as a young mum at 33. For the next few years her life did not feel under her own control amidst countless medical appointments, treatments and surgeries. After discovering she carried the genetic BRCA1 mutation, Dani chose to have a double mastectomy and at 39 she opted to have both her ovaries removed as several family members had died from ovarian cancer.
Previously a jewellery designer, Dani then embarked on a change of direction towards yoga and healthy living, and she now offers programmes for women on menopause after cancer. Dani is on a mission to empower women to learn about their choices, seek out specialist menopause care and her goal is for every women to have the conversations with healthcare professionals that they deserve.
Dani’s tips for women after cancer:
Talk about it with the right group of people that understand what you’re going through
Make time for yourself to check and understand your symptoms
Continue conversations with your healthcare team and ask for specialist menopause care
Learn all your treatment options, including hormonal and non-hormonal treatments, complementary therapies, lifestyle management, and how to avoid triggers.
Don’t sit back, show up for yourself and be empowered. Be active in your own recovery.
Visit Dani’s website at www.healthywholeme.com
And follow her on social media at:
www.instagram.com/healthywholeme/
www.facebook.com/healthywholeme
The Menopause And Cancer podcast:
Listen here on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-menopause-and-cancer-podcast/id1631842514
Listen here on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3OhAwupemqzdI6sCXCZLSX?si=DsriNnCXSIee6i10Cd4kww
Sep 27, 2022 • 30min
171 - Finding hope with hormones after 20 years of struggling with my mental health
Content warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide
Vanessa had always suffered with PMS and struggled with her mood and emotions after the birth of each of her children. After her fourth child was born, Vanessa’s mental health took a severe turn and she became suicidal. When her husband intervened and insisted she received specialist care, a psychiatrist realised how unwell Vanessa was and this was the beginning of an eighteen year journey of taking medication and receiving mental health support, including spells of inpatient care. It was all Vanessa could do to wake up every day and look after her children. Vanessa had wondered whether her mood was linked to her hormones as she would have 2 good weeks in every month before two bad weeks would inevitably creep in. In more recent years, friends persuaded her to see a menopause specialist and begin topping up her declining hormones and, as Vanessa explains, this has been lifechanging.
Vanessa’s advice:
You may not be well enough to go and ask for help yourself, allow family and friends to support you with this.
Don’t always accept everything you’re told by healthcare professionals, challenge thoughts and negative attitudes towards mental health and the link with hormones.
We develop lots of coping strategies to mask how we are really feeling. Don’t carry on hiding how you really are, speak to someone.
Help is available if you are struggling. Please contact the Samaritans by phone on 116 123, download the Samaritans Self-Help app or email jo@samaritans.org
Sep 20, 2022 • 28min
170 - Recognising and reversing osteoporosis with Dr Taher Mahmud
Dr Taher Mahmud is a rheumatologist from London who has the ambitious plan of eradicating the bone weakening disease osteoporosis by 2040. Osteoporosis is a common disease, particularly for women around the time of the menopause, but with the right nutrition, exercise and hormone supplementation it is possible to prevent loss of bone tissue and even reverse osteoporosis if it has developed.
The experts discuss this worldwide preventable problem and some common misconceptions about bones. The discussion covers the challenges of current healthcare systems in getting accurate information about your bone health and the importance of raising awareness of how preventable osteoporosis is to all individuals.
Dr Mahmud’s tips:
Take time for yourself, think about your body and your health and value it
It is easy to diagnose osteoporosis and treat it, however…
It is far better to learn about your bone health and do what you can to prevent osteoporosis
To learn more about your own risk of osteoporosis, visit www.sticksandstones.org.uk
Dr Mahmud is based at the London Osteoporosis Clinic, for more information visit www.londonosteoporosisclinic.com
Sep 13, 2022 • 31min
169 - The unfair choice for elite female athletes with Janet Birkmyre
Janet Birkmyre began her career racing as a track cyclist in her mid-30s and won her first elite medal at the age of 40. She went on to win three elite National Championship titles and multiple masters World and European titles. Now at 55, Janet is continuing to improve her times and fitness, and she is a champion of women continuing to enjoy and excel at sport at any age.
In this episode, the conversation covers Janet’s experience of perimenopause and menopause and taking HRT. As an elite athlete however, there are sanctions for Janet if she takes testosterone replacement as there are currently no exemptions to the regulations for therapeutic use in women, only for men. Janet shares her frustration at the unfair choice imposed on her of continuing with the sport she loves and excels in or replacing her low testosterone levels to help with her ongoing menopausal symptoms.
Janet’s three positive steps to improve health through exercise:
Enjoy being active – make it fun
Exercise with a friend – you will motivate and encourage each other
Don’t be self-conscious or compare yourself with others – we come in all wonderful shapes and sizes.
So whatever you look like, whatever you’re wearing, be active and enjoy it!
Follow Janet on Instagram @janbirkmyre_torq_track_cycling
