the.hormone.doc

the.hormone.doc I am a UK medical hormone specialist. I share factual information about hormone issues and women’ https://linktr.ee/Annicemd

I welcome the new guidance issued last week from the Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for workplaces to make...
26/02/2024

I welcome the new guidance issued last week from the Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for workplaces to make reasonable, tailored and appropriate adjustments for women experiencing menopause difficulties at work.
I have seen heartbreaking work discrimination against menopause in my patients for decades. That is why I dedicated a chapter to this topic in my book “The Complete Guide to the Menopause”.
While women are demeaned, discriminated against, made to feel inadequate and feel they need to hide their health concerns, how can they thrive in the workplace?
Despite the increased awareness around menopause, discrimination is still rife in workplaces. We need action, not lip service.
Work support is not just about having some time off or taking medication (e.g. HRT). I see many women struggling in the workplace during menopause with and without HRT. The support a woman may need is individual. Some need no extra support, and at the other extreme, menopause may catastrophically affect a woman’s ability to work. Most are somewhere in between. We are all different. But menopause impacts most women to some extent at work.
Too many women are leaving work due to a lack of understanding and discrimination about menopause. The impact on work is time-limited for most, and work support requirements usually lessen over time.
Midlifers lead our workplaces. We need female leaders across society to balance our world. Midlife men don’t go through menopause. So, just at the time when women have built up crucial skills, expertise, experience, menopause is pulling many away from leadership positions. Reasonable adjustments can make a seismic difference. So legislation to help retain women in the workplace is a progressive step 👏🏻

Every day I see women doing super well on HRT, who are fearful that they will be told they have to stop it. All menopaus...
22/02/2024

Every day I see women doing super well on HRT, who are fearful that they will be told they have to stop it. All menopause societies agree there is no time limit on HRT.
I also see women who have not had a good response to HRT because its caused side effects and/or hasn’t resolved their symptoms.
I see women who are going through menopause who have no major symptoms but are wondering if they should take it because they think menopause needs treatment.
I see women who have health risks meaning HRT is not safe for them, and they feel really excluded from the menopause convo.
The truth is we are all different. HRT isn’t for everyone, but if you are doing really well on it should never “have” to stop it. All experts are united on this.
HRT is safer than once thought and should be more available, but by no means all women benefit from it.
When it comes to preventing disease, while some may benefit, some may develop side effects, womb problems or breast cancer on longer term treatment. No-one knows what the future holds. So until we can be sure of exactly who may benefit and who may come to harm in older age, we need to stick with using HRT for as long as benefits outweigh side effects, risks or complications. And if HRT is not for you or its time to stop, there are options to help your symptoms and your health so - No HRT, no problem ❤️
What is your experience? Share it here👇🏻

Blood tests for hormones (across the board) are only as accurate as the test being used.Established testosterone assays ...
14/02/2024

Blood tests for hormones (across the board) are only as accurate as the test being used.
Established testosterone assays are designed for testosterone levels found in men which are much higher than women. So at lower levels (found in women) some tests used today to measure testosterone are NOT accurate.
So If you have your testosterone checked and it reads outside female reference range, you should check if it has been analysed on an assay that has external quality assurance that the assay is performing accurately at the lower female levels.
The gold standard is to use the tandem mass spectrometry assay and not a standard immunoassay, designed for male levels. But most labs don’t use Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Not many women or doctors are aware of this. So it could lead to confusion regarding symptoms and treatment with testosterone in women.
I am not aware of which laboratories are measuring female hormones correctly with newer quality checked methods, accurate at the female reference range.
Certainly this is something that needs to be identified. More women are being treated with testosterone replacement during menopause. NHS GPs are increasingly expected to measure testosterone levels. If the tests are not fit for purpose this is simply going to cause more confusion and waste a lot of NHS money, or your money- if you are paying financially driven brands for your testosterone tests (if they are charging you the earth privately, they should be using the gold standard test!
Have you had abnormal testosterone levels or are you on testosterone replacement (aiming for levels appropriate for the healthy female range)? If so please ask your doctor if they are using an accurate method to measure your blood levels.
Please share.

With chronic stress, cortisol works against you rather than protecting you - allostatic load can cause awful symptoms pl...
11/02/2024

With chronic stress, cortisol works against you rather than protecting you - allostatic load can cause awful symptoms plus a whole bunch of diseases over time, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and dementia.
You cannot fix chronic stress with medication. You have to understand it and learn to help yourself.
Your cortisol production follows rhythmic body clocks. It is a routine loving hormone.

💥 When you eat, your stress hormones bottom out to allow you to digest your meal. Hunger switches off after your meal. If not you can feel bloated, you wont absorb efficiently and may feel hungry soon after.

💥 When you wake and sleep at a similar time, cortisol knows when to switch on ready for the day and off ready from sleep. If not to may go to bed wired and wake unrefreshed.

💥 When you move/exercise regularly you produce cortisol spikes. If not your cortisol can flat line, you can feel sluggish, need to nap, and may be unable to sleep at night.

💥 With regular commitments cortisol is adaptive. When you have a sudden stress, it copes well. If your stress is out of whack sudden stress suppresses your immune system and can make you ill.
💥 Modern lives are rarely routined. stress today is relentless. Overcommitment is 24/7. Stressful content is delivered on our phones all day long.
It’s never too early or too late to take back control.
Here is are 3 simple hacks that can help to protect you from the impact of stress ➡️
✅ Try to wake/eat/sleep/exercise/move at similar times each day, think body clock
✅ Spend less time doom scrolling, go for a walk instead
✅ Reflect on your overcommitments - there are always solutions
It wont always be possible - perfection doesn’t exist. Cortisol will not budge quickly if it’s out of whack. This stuff takes time. Be patient. You’ve got this 💥❤️

This is a powerful piece of research. It is a large cohort with a long follow-up time. Even adjusting for many potential...
30/01/2024

This is a powerful piece of research. It is a large cohort with a long follow-up time. Even adjusting for many potential confounders (co-existing factors that can affect results) sitting for prolonged periods is bad for your health.
I am all for medical and hormone treatments if they helps you to feel well. That can help you move more, eat healthier, feel less tired and stressed, clears your head, among other benefits of “feeling well”. But if you don’t move enough your health is going to be negatively affected in time no matter what medication you take.
If you are exhausted, a short walk in the fresh air is often the last thing you want to do. But believe me, it is almost always energising and hardly ever makes you feel worse. So use it as a “prescription”.
Start small, build up as your body allows. It’s free. Daylight exposure is good for sleep, stress and mood. Walking burns calories which is good for your metabolism. And as this study shows, moving more reduces your risk of all cause mortality and especially heart and blood vessel disease mortality.
If it’s cold and rainy the best investment is a warm waterproof coat and hat.
Do you still have some excuses not to do this? Tell me? Or are you going to go out today and start a new routine to help your health and wellbeing?

Happy Friday everyone. I’m going to post some more about stress and its impact on your hormones in the coming weeks as i...
26/01/2024

Happy Friday everyone. I’m going to post some more about stress and its impact on your hormones in the coming weeks as its something that is affecting so many of us and it is simply blindsided in health settings and that really need to change.
I have been super busy this month with my clinics, research, advisory boards, preparing some big upcoming meetings & presentations, as well as podcast recordings as and my recording yesterday for Radio 4 Inside Health.
I am here on IG to balance the convo around hormones because much hormone info here sadly is off target. But I do this in my “spare time” which is always in short supply!
On the topic of stress management and wellbeing - I ring fence my exercise time, and my family, friends and fun time. Those are non-negotiable, because they help me stay at the top of my game and allow me to live well despite this stressful world we are in.
So here’s a tip for the weekend and beyond - be sure to make time for some exercise, family/friends and fun time, especially if it means less time on here!! ❤️

✅When your stress response works well, your cortisol follows perfectly honed body clocks. Cortisol should be high in the...
21/01/2024

✅When your stress response works well, your cortisol follows perfectly honed body clocks. Cortisol should be high in the morning and low at night. It also peaks when you are busy or times exercising.

‼️ In stressed people, cortisol is often lower than it should be in the morning and higher in the evening. And it doesn’t respond well to daytime challenges.

‼️You may wake unrefreshed, go to bed exhausted but “wired”.

‼️This can cause sleep problems, chronic tiredness, lack of focus, brain fog, low mood, overwhelm, irritability, migraines and more. You may be less productive and less inclined to exercise and eat healthy.

‼️Cortisol-linked Insulin resistance can affect your metabolism and drive tummy fat storage. It can cause sugar crashes, more fatigue and sugar cravings and even diabetes.

‼️ Chronic stress suppresses your immune response, which can mean more infections.

‼️ It paralyses your gut by suppressing the “rest and digest” system, causing bloating, bowel changes & pain. It can affect the absorption of micronutrients, causing more brain fog and fatigue.

‼️It disrupts reproductive and thyroid hormones.

‼️It can increase your blood pressure, cause weak muscles & bones and furring of your arteries.

‼️It is worsened by significant life events, trauma and many modern environmental and lifestyle factors.

🛑 The mechanisms of chronic stress are well known scientifically as “Allostatic load”. It’s a modern reality for many.

Do you relate to any of this? Have your symptoms been dismissed by doctors? Or have you had tests that have led to more confusion?
Understanding the cause of your symptoms is critical for taking back control. More to come on this. Keep tuned in ❤️

You’ve spent your first act learning the ropes, now you can reap the rewards of all that experience. Here are 10 menopau...
15/01/2024

You’ve spent your first act learning the ropes, now you can reap the rewards of all that experience.
Here are 10 menopause perks that no one talks about 👇🏻
1. 💥 You have invaluable life experience, wisdom and sense of self
2. 💥 You inspire others, as a role model, matriarch, partner, carer and leader.
3. 💥 You have renewed freedoms; A time for new beginnings and opportunities.
4. 💥 It’s a time to take risks and try new things that are harder when you are starting your career or your family.
5. 💥 Today you have a voice; mature women no longer need to feel invisible.
6. 💥 You can access a thriving on-line community for support, and where you can share your views.
7. 💥 There is more access to health info than ever before to help you make good choices.
8. 💥 More treatments are available to manage symptoms than any time in history.
9. 💥 No more periods, PMS or hormone rollercoaster.
10. 💥 You don’t have to worry about getting pregnant 😉
This is such an unsung powerhouse of a life phase. You’ve got this 👌🏻👊🏻
Feel free to add more positives in comments 👇🏻


 



 


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