A BBC Panorama investigation into the menopause industry scrutinizes the practices of Dr. Louise Newson, a prominent menopause specialist, alleging poor treatment of patients and overprescribing of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The documentary sparked controversy, with viewers accusing the program of bias and celebrities defending Dr. Newson.
A BBC Panorama investigation called The Menopause Industry Uncovered, which aired last week, has stirred a hornet’s nest of controversy in the menopause world.
The documentary also revealed that last year the British Menopause Society removed her from its online register of specialists because of concerns that ‘aspects of her practice’ did not fit with ‘established guidance’ and accused her of dangerously overprescribing hormone replacement therapy . ‘But I have met Louise on several occasions, and was briefly treated by her, and have always found her to be motivated by a desire to help women rather than harm them.’Who is Dr Louise Newson?She is a former NHS GP who decided to specialise in menopause when her own hot flushes started, founding her Newson Health empire of eight private menopause clinics with more than 70 clinicians who have seen over 40,000 patients since 2018.
But the whispers among her supporters say the NHS menopause machine doesn’t like personalities like Dr Newson wielding too much influence and weight. While the medical establishment shuffles slowly forwards, hamstrung by cautionary regulations and swathes of red tape, she seems to be operating as a lone wolf, ignoring the regulatory bodies and irritating her GP peers by dispensing HRT like Smarties – with little concern for the consequences.
What has happened to NHS menopause care?Although NHS menopause care has improved significantly over the last decade, the response any woman might receive when she goes to her GP to discuss symptoms will still depend on location and whether her GP practice has a menopause-trained specialist GP or nurse.
One example is the MP Carolyn Harris, who is an advocate for greater menopause awareness and revealed on Woman’s Hour last week that when she went through the perimenopause her GP prescribed anti-depressants, which she took for eight years. After visiting Dr Louise Newson she was put on HRT and says she ‘instantly felt better – it dramatically and completely changed my life’.
Many GPs see this ‘Newson factor’ as a potentially dangerous, middle-class privilege. In return, Dr Newson’s team argue that Newson Health provides a wealth of free advice , a training programme for healthcare professionals, and funds research which uses ‘large sets of patient data to better understand disease mechanisms and tailor personal treatment plans’.
There has been no research to indicate how much progesterone a woman needs to offset these elevated oestrogen doses and some doctors are concerned that high-dose prescribing puts women at risk of cancer. The new IMS paper recommends the progesterone dose is increased proportionally in line with oestrogen ‘to provide sufficient endometrial protection’ but acknowledges that more research is needed.
Certainly, the new IMS white paper states: ‘It is not unusual to see three or four times the maximum recommended dose used.’ One fellow journalist saw Dr Newson ten years ago after her GP dismissed her perimenopause symptoms. ‘She put me on oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone and I felt amazing!’ she says, ‘there was no indication that I might suffer side effects but three months later my hair started to fall out. It was extremely distressing’.She went to see a trichologist who diagnosed a sensitivity to testosterone, saying the hair loss would be permanent.
The Newson Health website says NICE menopause guidelines DO recommend testosterone for women experiencing low libido and it states that adding testosterone to the HRT mix can boost mood, anxiety, irritability, physical fatigue and exercise tolerance. There’s no mention of it being ‘off licence’ but the website provides a link to balance-menopause.com which features an article published in August 2024 by a trichologist describing a possible link between testosterone and hair loss.
Menopause HRT Doctor Louise Newson Panorama Investigation Controversy
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