The Laura Dowling Experience

Ian O'Brien was 38 when a neurologist told him, within a couple of minutes, that he had Parkinson's disease. For about a year before that he had been on antidepressants for anxiety and depression, and for two years he had been finishing sentences with his left hand holding his right. His first question was whether Parkinson's could cause the anxiety and depression. When the answer was yes, he says it felt like a weight off his shoulders.

Now 46 and nearly ten years in, Ian, who co-founded EOPD Ireland, tells Laura what early onset Parkinson's is really like: medication that now lasts him about an hour, switching "off" like a light, planning his day around tablets and protein, and the evenings his daughters help him get ready for bed. He talks about telling his eldest with a poem and letting her interview him on camera, and about Parkinson's being one of the factors in his recent separation.

He also explains dopamine in plain language, the gambling and compulsive behaviour dopamine agonists can trigger in some people, deep brain stimulation, why exercise should be the first thing a neurologist mentions, and why talking to other people with Parkinson's has been his best education of all.

Depression came first

His first symptoms were anxiety and depression, and he spent about a year on antidepressants before a physio friend told him to ask his GP for a neurologist.

The movement signs he missed

For around two years his handwriting shrank and stopped mid-sentence, and he would reach across with his left hand for the keys in his right pocket.

A diagnosis can bring relief

Ian says he almost wanted something physically wrong with him to explain how he was feeling, and he walked out of the neurologist's office feeling better.

Medication is a daily balancing act

Levodopa now lasts him about an hour, and eating close to a dose, especially protein, can stop it working, so he plans tablets, meals and work around the times he needs to be on.

Exercise should come first

He says neurologists don't always lead with it, but high-intensity exercise made him feel almost as if he didn't have Parkinson's, and he has got worse since slowing down.

Your whole family gets Parkinson's

He regrets being a bit selfish at the start and sees the condition as one of the factors in his recent separation, though he and his wife still raise their girls together.

Telling his daughter with a poem

Ian read his eldest a poem about Parkinson's, then a week later let her interview him on camera with questions she wrote herself.

Life isn't over

He knows people living well 20 to 30 years after diagnosis, and his advice to anyone newly diagnosed is that you just need to make adjustments.

EOPD Ireland

the charity for people with early onset Parkinson's that Ian co-founded

Parkinson's Ireland

the national charity supporting people with Parkinson's

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

the Parkinson's research foundation Ian mentions

Samaritans Ireland

free support, any time, if you are struggling

00:00 — Welcome back to the podcast

02:17 — Anxiety and depression came first

04:16 — "It was like a weight off my shoulders"

06:30 — The movement signs he missed

09:18 — Why exercise should come first

10:22 — Parkinson's and dopamine, explained

12:17 — Levodopa and planning the day

14:40 — Telling his daughter with a poem

17:15 — Dopamine agonists and compulsive behaviour

24:59 — Playing soccer for Ireland

28:15 — The whole family lives with it

33:44 — Deep brain stimulation

37:00 — Setting up EOPD Ireland

38:52 — "Life isn't over"

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, Lynn Mac explains how her sensitivity works, how it once left her overwhelmed by other people's emotions, and how healing and boundaries let her choose when to switch it on.

Ever been told you're too sensitive? Lynn Mac used to think so too, until she realised it was never a weakness. Here's how she learned to protect her own energy without shutting herself off.

🔑Key Points

• Lynn describes her gift as a heightened version of the sixth sense everyone already has, like a gut feeling

• She used to absorb other people's emotions so heavily it felt overwhelming, especially early on

• She names this as being an empath: soaking in the energy and emotions of everyone around her

• Her people-pleasing meant she gave endless support to others until she couldn't cope anymore

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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Dr Louise Newson, GP, menopause specialist and founder of Newson Health and the Balance app, joins Laura Dowling for a frank conversation about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the barriers women face in accessing treatment and the criticism she has faced for challenging established approaches to menopause care.

Louise traces her advocacy back to the 2002 Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study and the publication of NICE's first menopause guidance in 2015. She explains why she believes the risks of HRT have been misunderstood, why prescribing remains low, and why the distinction between different types of hormones matters.

Laura and Louise discuss testosterone for women, starting HRT later in life, individual responses to estradiol, and difficult questions around hormone treatment following breast cancer. Louise also explores progesterone, PMS, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and postnatal depression, including the influence of Dr Katharina Dalton's work. These are complex areas where treatment decisions require individual medical advice.

Louise speaks openly about professional opposition, BBC Panorama, correspondence involving the British Menopause Society and the scrutiny of her clinic. She reflects on the personal cost of speaking out, why she continues to campaign for better menopause education and what she hopes will change for women's healthcare.

HRT prescribing fell off a cliff after 2002

Louise kept prescribing HRT as a GP for decades and only realised after NICE's 2015 guidance that many colleagues had stopped, while her friends were being given antidepressants instead.

Guidelines are only a guide

She says the NICE guidance mentions risk 22 times more than benefit and groups synthetic and bioidentical hormones together, which leaves busy clinicians confused.

The over-60 risk came from synthetic hormones

The heart attack signal in the Women's Health Initiative study was in women given horse-derived oestrogen and a synthetic progestogen, not the estradiol and progesterone she prescribes.

Testosterone has a long history in women

It was prescribed in the 1940s and '50s for period problems and menopausal symptoms, and she says its reputation comes from the synthetic anabolic steroids of the '60s and '70s.

Some women need more than the licensed dose

Skin varies in how much estradiol it absorbs, and her clinic's published data shows about a fifth of patients need a higher than licensed dose.

Progesterone changed her thinking on PMDD

A colleague's own postnatal illness led Louise to Katharina Dalton's work, and her clinic now prescribes progesterone for PMS, PMDD and postnatal depression.

Ten years of being targeted

Louise says the emails she obtained show people trying to silence her, and the pressure on her and her family brought her close to giving up.

Only 5% of menopausal women get HRT

Every menopause guideline calls HRT first-line treatment for most women, yet she says only 14% of menopausal women in the UK and 5% globally are prescribed it.

Newson Clinic

The hormone clinic Louise co-founded with Dr Rebecca Lewis

Balance

Louise's free app for tracking symptoms and learning about hormone health

Confidence in Hormones

The hormone health education programme for doctors and healthcare professionals

00:00 — Welcome to The Laura Dowling Experience

03:47 — Rereading the WHI study after NICE's 2015 guidance

11:18 — Why HRT is scrutinised like no other medicine

15:43 — Testosterone's forgotten history in women

20:43 — Starting HRT after 60

24:43 — "A body of people trying to take me down"

29:33 — If she were a male gynaecologist

32:07 — Are her doses too high?

35:45 — HRT after breast cancer

39:43 — Progesterone, PMDD and postnatal depression

42:16 — The Care Quality Commission inspection

45:47 — Running a private clinic

48:27 — Has the pendulum swung too far?

53:02 — Advice for young people and the meaning of life

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, Dr Clare Cromwell explains why muscle is just as important as bone in midlife, and lays out a simple twice-weekly strength routine that protects against falls and fractures.

We talk a lot about protecting our bones in midlife. But what if the real key to staying steady on your feet, and even to your brain health decades from now, is your muscles?

🔑Key Points

• As oestrogen drops, bone density naturally declines, but muscle loss speeds up too, especially after menopause

• Strong muscles improve balance and reaction time, so you're less likely to fall, and better protected if you do

• Aim for at least two strength sessions a week: roughly three exercises for your upper body and three for your lower body, a few sets of moderate reps

• It doesn't need to be heavy lifting or a gym membership; a couple of dumbbells at home can be enough, as long as you feel it

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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Veterinary surgeon and founder of Village Vets, Charles Cosgrave, joins Laura to share what every pet owner should know about keeping their animals healthy, happy and safe — from neutering and pet insurance to behavioural problems, emergency care and the realities of life as a vet.

Growing up on a dairy farm in County Meath, Charles watched his father answer veterinary calls at all hours, even on Christmas Day. After qualifying from UCD and working in the UK, he returned to Ireland and helped build Village Vets, which has grown to 35 locations, including three 24-hour emergency centres.

Charles takes us behind the scenes of veterinary medicine, explaining what happens during overnight emergencies, why children can provide the most useful information about a sick pet and how veterinary care has evolved to include specialist treatment for conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.

Laura also asks the questions many dog owners have: Should you neuter your dog? What should you look for in pet insurance? How can you prevent behavioural problems? And what needs to change to tackle puppy farming in Ireland?

They explore the responsibility of pet ownership, the importance of early training and socialisation, the challenges of treating seriously ill animals and the difficult decisions surrounding end-of-life care.

Alongside the practical advice, Charles shares the challenges of growing a family business, the shortage of vets in Ireland and why, despite running 35 practices, he still misses working directly with animals.

Neutering and pet health:

Charles discusses neutering male dogs, potential health concerns and factors owners should consider with their vet.

Pet insurance:

Why Charles recommends insurance, what to check before choosing a policy and how switching providers can affect cover for existing conditions.

Training and behaviour:

The importance of socialising dogs early, establishing routines and helping them adjust to people, noise and unfamiliar environments.

Puppy farming and microchipping:

Charles discusses dog breeding in Ireland, existing microchipping requirements and the challenges of tackling irresponsible breeding.

When pets become seriously ill:

How vets manage chronic conditions including diabetes and epilepsy, treat cancer and approach difficult end-of-life decisions.

Inside veterinary medicine:

From overnight emergencies to specialist care, Charles explains the pressures facing vets and the growing demand for veterinary services.

Village Vets

Charles's practice group, 35 clinics across Ireland and three 24-hour emergency centres

UCD School of Veterinary Medicine

where Charles trained, and still the main route into the profession

Dog microchipping

what's required in Ireland, and the measure Charles says would curb puppy farming

02:37 – Growing up with a vet for a father

05:36 – How vets treat different animal species

07:30 – Building Village Vets

10:00 – Veterinary education and the shortage of vets

13:44 – Inside 24-hour emergency veterinary care

15:45 – Why children notice changes in sick pets

17:00 – Pet ownership and rehoming

19:20 – Neutering male dogs

21:09 – Puppy farming and microchipping

23:30 – The responsibility of owning a dog

26:30 – Unusual pets and animal stories

29:30 – Cats, dogs and different personalities

31:54 – Dog training and socialisation

33:41 – Pet insurance and switching providers

35:25 – Diabetes, epilepsy and chronic illness

37:20 – End-of-life decisions and cancer treatment

40:20 – Why Charles misses being a practising vet

43:00 – Growing Village Vets while maintaining quality

50:15 – Be bold, be brave and back yourself

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, Meghan O'Neill, online content creator and mother of two explains how she holds firm boundaries for herself, then how she is teaching her young children about consent, from everyday moments like a kiss or a tickle through to the bigger conversations about porn and never being with someone who is drunk.

What if the most important thing you teach your kids about sex has nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with the word no?

🔑Key Points

• Meghan will not be pressured into anything; she can walk away right up to the last moment if something does not feel right

• She wants her kids to know porn is not real, because no one ever told her that

• At home, her kids can say no to a kiss or a tickle, and that no is respected straight away

• She is direct with her son: never sleep with someone who is drunk, because they cannot consent

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#AD - This episode is sponsored by AstraZeneca

Dr Tonya Leonard was a GP when she found a lump she was sure was a cyst. By half past nine that morning, she was being told it was breast cancer and asked to decide by the following week whether she had finished her family. Her twin boys were just 18 months old.

Sixteen years, a second primary cancer and a diagnosis of advanced breast cancer later, Tonya joins Laura alongside Helen Forristal, Director of Nursing Services at the Marie Keating Foundation, for an honest conversation about living with advanced breast cancer.

They discuss metastatic or secondary breast cancer, breast cancer recurrence and the signs and symptoms women should be aware of, alongside treatment, scans, scanxiety, cancer fatigue and the difficulty of planning life beyond the next result.

Helen explains why advanced breast cancer remains largely invisible in Ireland, with no official count of how many women are living with it, and discusses the importance of specialist cancer support. Tonya shares the reality of living life in three-month segments, navigating mental health after diagnosis and learning that palliative care does not only mean end-of-life care.

The conversation is part of Living Loudly, Dying to be Heard, a campaign by AstraZeneca and supported by the Marie Keating Foundation, highlighting the experiences of people living with advanced breast cancer.

Advanced breast cancer means it has spread

The cancer has moved from the breast to another organ; in Tonya's case, to lesions on her lung and under her arm.

Life in three-month segments

With a scan every three months, Tonya finds it hard to plan past the next result, the anxiety Laura calls scanxiety.

Fatigue is not the same as tiredness

Tonya describes cancer fatigue as like an injection of horse tranquilliser: once she feels it rising, she has minutes to lie down.

Women are living longer with it

Helen calls it the long middle, moving through lines of treatment; one woman in her group has lived with advanced breast cancer for 21 years.

Nobody is counting

Recurrences aren't recorded the way first diagnoses are; Helen's estimate is around 30% of women with primary breast cancer, and a University of Limerick project has started counting.

Know the signs of a recurrence

Symptoms depend on where it spreads, from a cough and breathlessness to weight change or bone pain; if something hasn't settled in three weeks, ask your doctor, "Could this be cancer?"

Mental health support needs to be specialist

Tonya waited eight weeks to see a psychologist; psycho-oncology services now run in Ireland's eight cancer centres.

Palliative care is not only for the end of life

Palliative teams help manage symptoms and support families, and the CLIMB programme supports children aged 5 to 12 who have a parent with cancer.

Living Loudly. Dying to be Heard

A campaign by AstraZeneca and supported by the Marie Keating Foundation

Positive Living

The Marie Keating Foundation's support programme for people with advanced cancer

CLIMB

The HSE programme for children aged 5 to 12 affected by a parent's cancer

00:00 — Welcome

01:52 — Helen Forristal and the Marie Keating Foundation

02:51 — Dr Tonya Leonard’s breast cancer diagnosis

06:21 — Advanced cancer support and Positive Living

09:28 — Scanxiety and living between results

12:08 — Living longer with advanced breast cancer

17:14 — Cancer fatigue

22:58 — Fertility and “Have you finished your family?”

29:17 — How many women are living with advanced breast cancer?

30:41 — Signs and symptoms of recurrence

37:57 — Mental health and psycho-oncology

46:45 — What palliative care really means

51:40 — Family, milestones and living with uncertainty

56:28 — Advice for young people

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, Dr Clodagh Campbell shares two client stories about reclaiming time for yourself, then walks through the Four Ds, a simple way to sort an overwhelming to-do list into what to delete, delegate, delay or do.

When your life feels too full, the answer isn't to try harder. It's working out what can give. Psychologist Dr Clodagh Campbell shares two client stories and a simple tool for figuring out what to drop.

🔑Key Points

• When life feels too full, the question isn't how to cope better, it's what can change and what can give

• Alice, a successful business owner, worked herself into the ground out of a deep fear of letting her parents down

• By the end of their work together, Alice had hired a manager, taken a three-month sabbatical and learned that rest could be as simple as walks on the beach

• Nikki, a mother of three, couldn't imagine one hour a week for herself, until a small boundary around one yoga class let her husband step up too

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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Dr Dan McCartney, dietitian, lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Programme Director of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme at TU Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, joins Laura to discuss the vitamins and minerals many of us simply aren’t getting enough of — and why that matters for our health.

Drawing on Ireland’s national food intake data, Dan reveals striking levels of inadequate intake across essential nutrients including vitamin B6, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, magnesium and selenium. At least half of the Irish population have inadequate intakes of magnesium and selenium, while more than 40% have inadequate vitamin C intakes.

Laura and Dan also discuss the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and proposals to lower or restrict the levels of certain vitamins and minerals available through supplements. Dan questions the rationale for reducing these levels when nutrient intakes are already low, discussing proposed levels for vitamin D, as well as restrictions affecting magnesium and the importance of vitamin C. He explains why he believes a restrictive, one-size-fits-all European approach may not meet the nutritional needs of the Irish population.

They also explore whether some recommended daily amounts are focused more on preventing severe deficiency than achieving optimal health, including vitamin C recommendations based around preventing scurvy and vitamin D recommendations historically centred on bone health rather than immune function.

The conversation returns to Dan’s early research into vitamin D and COVID-19, before moving into nutrition and immunity, healthy ageing, dementia, pregnancy and epigenetics — and why the nutritional choices we make today can influence our health decades into the future.

Half the population are falling short on key nutrients

Dan discusses inadequate intakes of magnesium, selenium, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A and zinc in Ireland.

Why are nutrient intakes so low?

Poor diet quality, low fruit and vegetable intake, low wholegrain consumption and highly refined diets.

EFSA and proposed supplement restrictions

Laura and Dan discuss EFSA and proposed European changes affecting vitamin and mineral supplements, including vitamin D and magnesium, and why Dan is concerned about further restrictions.

Are recommended intakes actually optimal?

Dan questions whether some guidelines focus on preventing severe deficiency rather than supporting optimal health.

Vitamin D, immunity and COVID-19

Dan revisits the research that led him and Dr Declan Byrne to propose a link between vitamin D deficiency and severe COVID-19 in 2020.

Nutrition across a lifetime

From pregnancy and epigenetics to ageing and cognitive health, Dan explains why nutrition today can affect health decades later.

Optimisation of Vitamin D Status for Enhanced Immuno-protection Against Covid-19

Dan and Declan Byrne, Irish Medical Journal, 2020

Vitamin D Deficiency and ARDS after SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Faul et al., Irish Medical Journal, 2020

Autocrine vitamin D signaling switches off pro-inflammatory programs of TH1 cells

Chauss et al., Nature Immunology, 2022

Nutrition, immunity and COVID-19

Philip Calder, BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2020

European vitamin D supplementation trials, meta-analysis

Rupprecht et al., Nutrients, 2023

00:00 — Cold open

02:07 — Meet Dr Dan McCartney

04:03 — Vitamin D and COVID-19

06:10 — The 2020 research

13:49 — Why vitamin D levels run low

19:08 — Vitamin D and immunity

32:00 — Ireland’s nutrient inadequacies

34:02 — Poor diet quality

35:09 — Zinc, magnesium and selenium

37:24 — Are nutrient guidelines out of date?

38:03 — Scurvy vs optimal health

45:48 — EFSA and proposed supplement restrictions

46:24 — Vitamin D supplement levels

50:11 — Magnesium restrictions

51:03 — Nutrition guidelines for Ireland

54:35 — Primates and vitamin D

55:51 — Ageing and dementia

57:39 — Pregnancy and epigenetics

1:02:43 — Why good habits compound

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, Dr Denis O'Driscoll, pharmacist working in the HSE addiction services gives a straight, compassionate answer on how hard it is to come off drugs and stay off, and why staying stable on treatment counts as success too.

Is staying on treatment for life a failure, or is that thinking part of the problem? Dr Denis O'Driscoll gives an honest answer.

🔑Key Points

• Coming off drugs and staying off is never easy, and that is worth saying out loud

• Recovery is not one straight line; staying stable on treatment is a positive outcome, not something to be ashamed of

• Coming off completely is wonderful when it happens, but it is very challenging, and it is not the only measure of success

• Relapse is part of recovery, not a failure, and the priority afterwards is getting people back into support quickly

💛 If you or someone you love needs support, the HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline is there on 1800 459 459.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.