The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

This week Dr Louise is joined by sprinter Desirèe Henry who is representing Team GB at the Paris Olympics this year.

Desirèe is no stranger to the Olympics – she was one of seven young athletes who lit the Olympic caldron at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games, plus she took home a bronze medal in the 4 X 100m relay at the 2016 Rio Games.

And she’ll be heading to Paris on a high after being part of Team GB’s gold medal-winning women’s 4x100m relay team at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in June.

Desirèe talks about the challenges of competing throughout the menstrual cycle and coping with heavy periods, plus the importance of talking openly about these issues, maintaining a healthy weight and body positivity.

Finally, Desirèe shares three tips to help you lead a happier and healthier life:

1. Set one goal every day. It doesn’t have to be anything big, it could be drinking water or having a piece of fruit every day, but it's something that will add up over the week and benefit your lifestyle in a positive way.

You can follow Desirèe on Instagram @desiree_lh

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Manisha Morgan, whose own experience of menopause led her to train as a nutritionist.

Manisha offers support to women who are fed up with yo-yo dieting to build a positive relationship with food, lose weight, and lead a healthy lifestyle. She helps women learn mindset techniques to help improve self-confidence and implement habits that can lead to long-term success.

Manisha talks about the importance of acknowledging cultural attitudes and approaches to food, and how genetic doesn’t necessarily dictate your future health.

Finally, Manisha shares three achievable goals:

1. Manage your expectations, start small and then gradually build up. So for example, if you don't go for a walk, start going for a 20-minute walk and then maybe gradually increase that over a period of time.

You can follow Manisha on Instagram @manisha_your_nutritionist

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Osama Naji, a Consultant Gynaecologist who is an expert in advanced gynaecological scanning at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

In this episode Osama shares his vast knowledge on fibroids – common, benign growths that usually develop during a woman’s reproductive years when oestrogen levels are at their highest. He explains the impact menopause can have on fibroids, treatment options and the possibility of HRT.

Finally, Osama advises on things to consider if you’ve recently been diagnosed with fibroids:

1. Find out all the facts about your fibroid - number, location and size – as knowledge is power. You can usually get this from an ultrasound scan. Use that knowledge to get professional guidance about managing your fibroids.

Find out more about Osama here and read his feature on balance on fibroids and the menopause here.

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Dr Corinne Menn, a New York-based, board-certified OB-GYN and North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner, with more than 20 years of experience caring for women.

When she was 28, Corinne was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following her BRCA2+ diagnosis, she underwent multiple surgeries and chemotherapy then navigated pregnancy and menopause plus longer term survivorship issues.

Corinne received support from the Young Survival Coalition, an organisation that advocates for women under 40 with breast cancer, and worked with her oncologists to manage her pregnancy, menopause and treatment options.

She feels passionately that women who have or have had breast cancer receive individualised care and treatment for their cancer and menopause symptoms, and shares three tips to help with quality of life:   

1. Do not minimise your menopausal symptoms, your hot flushes, your night sweats, sleep etc. So whether you use hormonal therapy or non-hormonal medications, make sure you get help and can sleep so you function better and breaking the vicious cycle of spiralling menopausal symptoms.

You can follow Corinne on Instagram at @drmennobgyn

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This week on the podcast with Dr Louise, Consultant Dermatologist Dr Sajjad Rajpar returns to talk about acne and its effect on women during the perimenopause and menopause, including on their self-confidence and mental health.

Dr Saj explains the causes of acne and the different treatments available, including an encouraging new treatment that could make a big difference to acne sufferers in the long term.

Finally, Dr Saj shares his three tips for anyone who might have acne:

1. Keep skincare simple and targeted. Pick one of three active ingredients – retinoids, benzoyl peroxide or azelaic acid – and give it three to six months to work. Only supplement it with a very simple supporting skincare regime.

You can follow Dr Saj on Instagram @dr.rajpar_dermatologist

There is a chapter dedicated to skin and hair in menopause in Dr Louise’s bestselling book, The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause, which includes expert contributions by Dr Saj. Order your copy by clicking here.

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About 28 million people in the UK are thought to be living with chronic pain – that’s 43% of the population, according to the 2011 Census.

But what is chronic pain, and how can it overlap with the perimenopause and menopause?

In this week’s episode Dr Louise is joined by Dr Deepak Ravindran, a consultant in pain medicine and author of The Pain-Free Mindset: 7 Steps to Taking Control and Overcoming Chronic Pain.

Dr Deepak unpicks the science behind chronic, or persist, pain and the two discuss the relationship between hormones, inflammation and pain.

Dr Louise and Dr Deepak have co-authored a new article which offers 10 top tips for primary care practitioners on improving care for women with fatigue and/or pain. You can access the article here.

Follow Dr Deepak on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

Click here to find out more about Newson Health

Content advisory: this podcast contains themes of suicide and mental health.

This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Andrea Newton, a postmenopausal woman whose own experience of mental health during the menopause lead her to train as a tutor with the National Centre for Suicide Prevention Training. Over the last six years, Andrea has trained thousands of people in suicide intervention skills and she is now training to become a menopause coach.

Andrea explains how her work in the corporate world has allowed her to share the importance of educating line managers, HR managers, and everyone about the menopause. She is also the author of the book, Could it be Your Hormones Love? (And Other Questions Not to Ask a Menopausal Woman).

Andrea shares her tips on widening the conversation about menopause:

1. Women need to educate themselves more about how the menopause affects all aspects of their health and be better at advocating for themselves.

You can follow Andrea on LinkedIn, Instagram @in.her.right.mind and Facebook @InHerRightMind  

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Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email [email protected].

Related articles

Westlund Tam L, Parry BL. (2003), ‘Does oestrogen enhance the antidepressant effects of fluoxetine?’, J Affect Disord. 77(1):87-92. Doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(02)00357-9

Ibrahim WW, Safar MM, Khattab MM, Agha AM. (2016), ‘17β-Estradiol augments antidepressant efficacy of escitalopram in ovariectomized rats: Neuroprotective and serotonin reuptake transporter modulatory effects,’ Psychoneuroendocrinology. 74: 240-250. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.09.013

This week on the podcast Dr Louise meets comedian Anne Gildea, who will be joining Louise on her 34-date theatre tour this autumn, Hormones and Menopause: The Great Debate.

Anne, a founding member of Irish musical-comedy trio The Nualas talks to Louise about her diagnosis of breast cancer, aged 45, and her ensuing menopausal symptoms, which she was unprepared for. She explains how her research inspired her to create her own show, How to Get the Menopause and Enjoy It.

Louise and Anne discuss why they’ve come together to create a new show that will take you on a journey through the history of women’s health and lead you to see menopause and hormones in a whole different light.

Finally, the pair share some of the reasons they think people should come to the show:

1. It'll be a wonderful night out - a real sharing experience where you can also have a laugh.

You can follow Anne on Instagram @annegildea  

To buy tickets to the show click here

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This week on the podcast, Dr Louise is joined by Elin Sullivan, a young woman who suffered a myriad of symptoms for years before getting the right treatment.

Elin first experienced recurring urinary tract infections at 19 years old, and twice required hospitalisation. She also suffered from sweats, sleep disruption and fatigue, shaking and lichen sclerosus. After a chance encounter with Louise, she tried local HRT, which was transformative, and now takes testosterone to balance her low levels.

Elin talks about how hard it can be to experience perimenopausal symptoms at a young age and shares her tips for other younger women experiencing issues that they think might be down to their hormones:  

1. Although it can feel really hard, don't stop advocating for yourself. You may have self-doubt or worry that you’re wrong but keep pushing. My doctor was sick of seeing me, I was there probably every week, but don’t give up.

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This week on the podcast Dr Louise is joined by Dr Felice Gersh, who is double board-certified in OB-GYN and Integrative Medicine, and specialises in female health, with a focus on managing female hormonal dysfunctions.

She is the author of the book PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist’s Lifeline to Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones, and Happiness, and recently published a paper on oestrogen and cardiovascular disease, and a 2021 paper on HRT.

Here she talks about the family of oestrogens and the important role of hormones on the heart. Finally, she shares three tips on improving heart and whole body health:

1. Eat a lot of phytoestrogen-containing foods - so every kind of plant in all the different colours, including beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables. They are nature's gift to us.

You can follow Dr Felice on Instagram @felicegershmd.

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