209 - Learning disabilities and the menopause

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Dr Louise Newson

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Medicine

4.8 • 798 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week’s episode of the Dr Louise Newson podcast, Dr Louise welcomes Sharon Saunders. Sharon is a menopausal woman with learning disabilities and is a wheelchair user. During the episode, Sharon talks about when she first learned about the menopause from her mum, and her menopause symptoms, including joint aches and pains and headaches. She describes how these symptoms make her feel and the impact on her daily life, and Dr Louise and Sharon also talk about treatment options. Finally, Sharon offers some important advice to other women with learning disabilities who are going through the perimenopause and menopause: speak up about how you are feeling, and don’t give up. Sharon is supported by Dimensions, a not-for-profit organisations supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, behaviours of distress and those with complex health needs. Click here for more information more about Dimension or on Twitter @DimensionsUK. And click here for an easy read booklet on the perimenopause and menopause by balance and Dimensions.

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.
0:29.9	On the podcast, I will be joined each week by an exciting guest to help provide evidence-based
0:36.5	information and advice about both the perimenopause and the
0:40.9	menopause.
0:45.1	Today on my podcast, I'm really excited and very privileged actually to have with me a very
0:52.3	inspirational, wonderful person called Sharon, who I've
0:56.4	recently met. Sharon has learning disabilities, but she's incredibly clever and very kind and very
1:05.2	cunning as well. She knows exactly what she wants and she really wants to be in control of things which is
1:11.3	absolutely the right way to be. So welcome Sharon. It's really good to see you and to be
1:16.9	able to talk to you today. Yeah, thank you very much. So just if you don't mind,
1:22.8	it's a very personal question. Do you mind telling me how old you are? No, I don't mind. Five and three.
1:34.2	53? Yeah. Okay, so you're 53, so you're similar to my age, actually. And so most people in their 50s are menopausal or perimenopausal. So the hormones that we
1:50.5	have in our 50s are not the same as the hormones that we have when we're younger. And I know that
1:56.8	you know about the menopause and you're learning about the menopause and like lots of people
2:02.4	you didn't really know so much about it before and you have been experiencing some symptoms haven't you
2:09.7	which have been affecting you and it can be quite hard to know when your body's changing what's going
2:16.4	on are you able to describe some of the symptoms that you've had, Sharon?
2:21.0	I think that's quite interesting.
2:25.6	When I get really hot or sweaty.
2:29.7	Hmm.
2:31.5	And pain.
2:32.3	Yes. And you've been getting some muscle and joint pains, haven't you? Yeah. In my back and on my legs.
	...

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