173 - The challenges of accessing menopause treatment as a young woman

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Dr Louise Newson

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Medicine

4.8 • 798 Ratings

🗓️ 11 October 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Dr. Louise Newsome and welcome to my podcast. I'm a GP and menopause specialist and I run the Newsome Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre here in Stratford-Bron-Avon. I'm also the founder of the Menopause charity and the Menopause support app called Balance.
0:30.0	On the podcast, I will be joined each week by an exciting guest to help provide evidence-based
0:36.6	information and advice about both the perimenopause
0:40.4	and the menopause.
0:45.8	So today on my podcast I'd like to introduce to you Georgina, who I've known for a few years now,
0:50.8	who is a very inspirational person, who has grown with a lot of this because she's
0:56.2	had to be quite feisty and be a real advocate for herself and her treatment. But she hasn't
1:02.2	given up and I'm really pleased that she's a lot better than she was. But she's very
1:06.6	kindly agreed to talk a bit about her experience. So thanks, Trinina, for coming today.
1:10.5	Thank you for having me. So do you mind me asking how old you are? I am now 25.
1:16.0	So you're now 25 and you're talking on a menopause podcast. So that means you must be,
1:21.5	well, not doesn't mean you must be, but it's highly likely that you're menopause on, is that right? It is. So 25-year-old menopausal.
1:27.6	So I was just Googling, in case things had changed over the last few years, when I Google
1:32.3	menopause and go to images, and it still comes up as the grey-haired woman with a fan.
1:38.4	Now, you do not look like a grey-haired woman, and you haven't got grey hair, and you certainly
1:42.7	haven't got a fan. So it can be really
1:45.8	difficult for women, for men, for healthcare professionals, for media, for anybody actually to think
1:52.6	that the menopause affects people who are not over the age of 50. And there are a lot of people
1:58.6	like you around, aren't there? There are, unfortunately.
2:01.4	Yeah.
2:02.1	So tell me how old were you when you were diagnosed being menopausal?
2:05.2	So when I was diagnosed, I was 21.
	...

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