In the last couple of weeks there's been a lot of noise about the menopause once again, only this time driven by NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). But why have the recent headlines caused such an exchange of energy?

Its no secret that there is huge bias in women's health. It wasn't that long ago that women would need to take their husband into appointments for Dr's to take their symptoms seriously and there was no accounting for those who didn't have husbands! The bias in medical research is enormous - read Invisible Women https://www.waterstones.com/book/invisible-women/caroline-criado-perez/9781784706289 for more data on quite how deeply it runs - it extends to the use of women in tests for medicines they will use. Guess what? Women don't get used in those experiments for fear their hormones will unsettle the results! Further to that there is spurious testing on women over the age of 50 despite the huge hormonal shift the menopause causes and risk factors it brings.  The bias is endemic and there's a belief in some corners of the medical world that women don't need HRT to manage the menopause at all.

It will come as no surprise therefore that the new NICE guidance suggesting that women should be having CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) instead of HRT to manage symptoms like anxiety and insomnia has lead to this fresh frenzy.  Imagine for a moment the world menopausal women felt was beginning to open; an understanding of the hormonal fluctuations; a sense of learning about the challenges women struggle with at this stage of life and an opening in discussion about all wellbeing issues for women around their hormonal changes. It really has been a lightbulb time and we stand on the shoulders of those before us who have sucked up the symptoms and lost themselves to the difficulties it has given.

Insomnia and anxiety are two of the seriously debilitating symptoms of the peri-menopause and menopause and whilst CBT may well have a place in the management of these symptoms it cannot work in isolation where a womans body has lost or is losing vital hormones. The role of those hormones can be seen in neuromapping and its simply not enough to say that CBT will solve it all.

it's also possible that HRT isn't suitable for all women yet the guidance from NICE seems to disregard much of the recent research and over look the essential role HRT can take, where it is possible to take.  We need to do better, to ensure that women are able to continue normal lives during this period of time.

If you feel you'd like the guidance to be revisited the Newson Health Clinic are taking comments and feedback to provide NICE with evidence about the role of HRT and why its not about a one or the other but a full holistic approach to this change in our lives. For your comments get in touch with the clinic via this email address: comments@newsonhealth.co.uk

Or for our training and guidance give us a shout at info@freshseed.co.uk and put menopause in the subject space.