In this week’s podcast, food writer, author and award-winning entrepreneur Freda Shafi talks about her work raising awareness of menopause, and recording the experiences in the Pakistani community in West Yorkshire. Freda shares her own menopause story, and she and Dr Louise discuss key barriers women face accessing care, and ways to improve knowledge to empower women to advocate for themselves. ‘I'm a South Asian woman, I'm a Pakistani, I'm a British Pakistani woman, and I know I represent a certain demographic,’ says Freda. ‘I feel as though I can reach many women through the fact that I am from the community. That may be platforms for women like myself who are able to cascade that information and let that reverberate across those communities.’ Freda’s top three tips:  Help represent your community to spread awareness of menopause symptoms, treatments and services and help tackle the stigma that still surrounds this area. Get a second opinion if you don’t feel your healthcare professional has given you the right diagnosis. Explore the materials that are out there, including the balance app, so that you’re informed when you see your doctor.  Boost training in the menopause for community leaders so that they can signpost women to local services that can help support them. Follow Freda on Instagram @fredishafi_spiceitup  

Bestselling author, screenwriter and TV presenter Emma Kennedy joins Dr Louise Newson in this episode to talk candidly about her menopause experience. Emma describes how she thought she had got through her menopause when terrifying heart palpitations and anxiety struck. After always being fearful of HRT due to a strong family history of breast cancer, a careful and detailed discussion with a GP around the risks and benefits led to her starting a low dose of hormones. ‘It's the first time I've ever cried in front of a doctor,’ she says. ‘Ever, ever. I felt that terrible. [But] Just that tiny amount of estrogen and the heart palpitations stopped in 48 hours and they haven't come back. It's like a miracle.’ Dr Louise and Emma talk about the importance of a personalised discussion between a doctor and a patient to assess whether and what type of HRT may be the right choice. Emma also talks about the lifestyle changes she has made to reduce breast cancer risk and help control menopausal symptoms. Emma, who wrote the bestselling The Tent, The Bucket and Me, also talks about her frustration with the pain and discomfort women are often expected to put up with during routine procedures. She gives a stirring call to action for the speculum – the device used in many intimate procedures – to be, at the very least, radically improved. For more about Emma visit her website and you can follow her on Instagram @emma67 or Threads @emmak67.  

In this podcast, Jill Chmielewski, a nurse, educator and women’s advocate, talks about her mission to guide midlife women to greater wellbeing. Dr Louise and Jill discuss the powerful and poorly understood role of hormones in women’s health throughout their life, HRT and the importance of women advocating strongly for their own needs. Jill advises women should prepare well in advance for the menopause, as hormonal changes can begin earlier than you may expect. Jill’s three top tips:  Educate yourself on the role of hormones and the impact these can have on your health, so that you are informed. Start thinking about your menopause early – and probably earlier than you may expect. You may notice hormonal changes in your thirties, so be prepared and plan which healthcare professional may provide the support that you need to manage your perimenopause and menopause journey. Embrace patient power – act as your own advocate and be persistent with your healthcare professionals about what you need. This includes if you are on HRT, as you may still benefit from tweaks to your current regime. For more about Jill visit her website here and you can follow Jill on Instagram @jill.chmielewski. 

Content advisory: this podcast contains themes of mental health and suicide.   Joining Dr Louise on the podcast this week are Lynsey and her husband Kieran. In this episode, Lynsey movingly describes a rapid deterioration in her mental health during the perimenopause which saw her sectioned under the Mental Health Act. ‘I just felt desperate that this was a new version of me and I couldn't work out why,’ she recalls. Lynsey and Kieran, who is a GP, speak to Dr Louise about the need for greater understanding of how hormonal changes during the perimenopause and menopause can impact on mental health, coupled with improved access to HRT. Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org  

On this week’s podcast, Dr Louise is joined by award-winning US broadcast journalist, podcast host and menopause campaigner Tamsen Fadal. Tamsen describes how she didn’t recognise she was menopausal after suffering from hot flushes, brain fog and heart palpitations, as she believed she was still having periods. This prompted her to find out more and support other women along the way, including spreading awareness via the #MenopauseTok campaign on social media. Dr Louise and Tamsen discuss the impact of menopause on careers, barriers to accessing treatment, the importance of being informed – and the growing voice of menopausal women on social media. Here are Tamsen’s top three tips:  Listen to yourself and your body and don’t miss signs that could be the perimenopause by putting them down to being busy or stressed. Try and carve out time just for yourself, even when things are really busy. Find your people: surround yourself with a community to support you through the perimenopause, menopause and beyond. Follow Tamsen on Instagram @tamsenfadal and Tiktok @tamsenfadal.   Tamsen photo credit: Jenny Moloney

Regular listeners will know there is much more to the menopause than hot flushes – but how do hormone changes affect your memory, mood and cognition? This week Dr Louise is joined by Dr Dan Reisel, Specialist Registrar in gynaecology at University College London and Newson Health Clinical Research Lead, to take a closer look at the relationship between hormones and brain health. Dr Dan says awareness is improving, but researchers must up their game when it comes to studying the female brain. While mood and memory symptoms are common in menopause, too often, studies focus on male brains as they don’t want to deal with the complexity of female sex hormones, he adds. Dr Dan’s three take home tips:  1. If you’re going through the perimenopause or menopause and struggling with symptoms, don’t just accept how you feel. Seek out options for treatment such as HRT that can improve your symptoms. 2. Become an advocate for better care for women going through the menopause – speak to your friends, healthcare professionals and colleagues about your experiences. 3. If you are offered the chance to take part in research seize that opportunity to make your voice heard and improve the experience for women in the future. You can follow Dr Dan on Twitter at @danreisel  

Progesterone is a hormone produced after ovulation and dominates the second half of your menstrual cycle. It balances the effects of oestrogen, supports the body during pregnancy and is known as the relaxing hormone. But how can progesterone impact your mental health in the run up to periods, after childbirth and during the perimenopause and menopause? Joining Dr Louise this week is Newson Health GP and Menopause Specialist Dr Hannah Ward, whose interest in the menopause and HRT was ignited following her own hormonal struggles after the birth of her children. Here, Dr Hannah shares her personal experiences of progesterone treatment, and takes us through the key differences between body identical progesterone and synthetic progestogens.  

Are you experiencing symptoms like burning and itching around your vulva and vagina, or painful sex? Or perhaps you have the urge to wee more often or are plagued by recurrent urinary tract infections? Joining Dr Louise this week is trailblazing US urologist and sexual health doctor Dr Rachel Rubin, to address these common menopause symptoms and the relief vaginal hormones – often used alongside systemic HRT – can bring. Dr Rachel explains why we need to stop using terms like vaginal dryness and vaginal atrophy, which hugely downplay the impact of declining hormones on your whole genitourinary system. ‘When we say women have vaginal dryness, we minimise their symptoms, we minimise that it's no big deal, that you can just use a little lubricant, a little moisturiser,’ says Dr Rachel. Plus, Dr Rachel and Dr Louise also discuss DHEA – a hormone treatment which converts to estrogen and testosterone in the vagina – and the benefits this can bring to women struggling with genitourinary syndrome of the menopause (GSM), again often alongside systemic HRT. Dr Rachel’s three tips if you are struggling with GSM: Know that if you have any symptoms that affect your vagina, vulva or urinary system and you’re over the age of 45, you deserve a vaginal hormone product. Talk to your healthcare professional about access to this treatment that can prevent urinary tract infections, decrease your frequency and urgency of needing to urinate, decrease your pain in intercourse and lead to better lubrication, arousal and orgasm. Keep using your localised hormone replacement: it is a safe product, so can be used long term to sustain the benefits.  Click here to visit Dr Rachel’s website, and follow her on Instagram @drrachelrubin.

Noticed that your eyes are feeling drier, grittier or even more watery lately? It could be dry eye syndrome. July marks Dry Eye Awareness Month, and what you may not know is dry eyes can be a hidden symptom of menopause. In fact, one in four of the nearly 6,000 women surveyed ahead of the release of Dr Louise’s book, the Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause, said they experienced dry eyes during the menopause. Joining Dr Louise on this week’s podcast is Maria McGoldrick, a clinical performance consultant for Specsavers who is based in Scotland. Maria, who is an optometrist with 13 years’ experience, gives us the lowdown on the typical symptoms of dry eyes and treatments that can help. Maria’s top three tips to optimise your eye health: Have a regular eye test, ideally once every two years. If you suspect you may have dry eyes, make an appointment with an optometrist so this can be assessed and a treatment plan devised. If you are perimenopausal or menopausal and have an eye appointment coming up, mention this to your optometrist. This will help them support you and make the right treatment plan for you.

Podcaster, author and journalist Lorraine Candy returns to the podcast this week to talk about thriving in midlife and the importance of sharing menopause knowledge and spreading awareness. Lorraine is co-host of the popular podcast series Postcards from Midlife, which often looks at the Generation X experience of the perimenopause and menopause. In this episode, she joins Dr Louise to discuss her new book What’s Wrong With Me? 101 Things Midlife Women Need to Know, which is a compelling and reassuring account of how to live a magnificent midlife. The book draws on many women’s experiences to look at the emotional side of midlife and how our identity as women can change during this time.  Lorraine shares three reasons you should buy her new book: It will make you laugh – which is always important. It is packed full of expert advice that can support you to change your life in midlife. Find out more about the emotional changes and impact of midlife, looking at how your identity can change in your 40s and 50s. Click here for more details on Lorraine’s new book. You can access the Podcasts from Midlife podcast here and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.