210 - What is the right dose of HRT for you? Hormones and premature ovarian insufficiency

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Dr Louise Newson

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Medicine

4.8 • 798 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do you work out what the right dose of HRT is for you and balance the benefits with any potential risks? In this episode, Dr Louise talks about HRT doses with Corinna Bordoli, who began experiencing menopausal symptoms when she was just 10 years old. Corinna shares her experience of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) – menopause before the age of 40 – and of the challenges she faced in getting a prescription for a higher dose of estrogen to help both her symptoms and future health. Dr Louise and Corinna discuss why hormone needs and absorption can vary from woman to woman, particularly for those with POI. Corinna’s three tips for those who may suspect they have POI: 1. Keep track of your perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms so that you have evidence when you go to see your doctor. 2. If you are diagnosed with POI make sure you seek out a specialist in the condition to get the best care. 3. If you have POI, find a community of other people with similar experiences for support, such as through the Daisy Network. Sharing your story and hearing other people’s stories can make a huge difference and be healing. Find out more about the charity the Daisy Network mentioned in the podcast here, or on Twitter @thedaisynet.

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.
0:46.0	Today on the podcast, we're going to talk about people who are neglected when it comes to the
0:50.6	menopause. There's lots of people who are neglected. But the group of women that I really worry about, the people that actually do keep me awake at night, are young women
0:58.0	who are really often not listened to, not believed, and often not diagnosed as having an early
1:04.2	menopause. And when I was at medical school, I was taught if a woman doesn't have her periods,
1:09.3	Louise, just make sure she's not pregnant.
1:15.5	And if she's not pregnant, you can reassure her. And obviously, thankfully, I've learned a lot,
1:20.7	and that was completely wrong advice. I'm very delighted to introduce to you, Karina, and to the podcast, who is going to share her story and also some of the work she's doing to help other young
1:25.9	women. So welcome today.
1:29.8	Thank you, Louise. Thank you so much for having me.
1:32.2	That's fine. Do you mind just saying how old you are?
1:37.5	Yes, I'm 27 years old. And shall I also say when I started having symptoms?
1:39.5	Yes, I was 10 years old.
1:47.3	10 years old, yes. So we'll talk about that. But if I Google menopause, I don't think I've ever found a 27-year-old or a 10-year-old or a teenager. It's usually people with gray hair, actually.
1:52.8	So even me as a 52-year-old do not identify myself with the people that are portrayed often
1:58.6	as menopause. It's always someone with a fan,
2:01.2	isn't it? With a head in their hands, with a fan, usually grey hair, obviously white, usually,
2:07.9	Caucasian women. It's just so wrong. And actually, when I've been talking to people recently
2:13.8	with some of the book festival tours that I've gone on. And I've said to people,
	...

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