Menodoctor

Ruahinetanga is the Māori word for menopause.

It comes from the word ‘ruahine’ which translates to mean a woman of wisdom and importance.

How beautiful is that?

Menopause and perimenopause can be a hugely challenging time for some of us.

But it is also a time of growth.

Some women need support as they step into this wise and important chapter of their life.

Western medicine has much to offer in helping women on this journey - but we can also learn a lot from cultures that existed long before western medicine ever did.

The recent International Menopause Society conference in Australia last month lived up to its name and brought many different countries together to talk about menopause.

There were presentations from almost all parts of the planet - including Southeast Asia, India, Africa, Europe, China and Latin America.

It also gave me the chance to give a talk and tell the menopause world the word ‘Ruahinetanga’.

I presented the findings from my NZ menopause survey last year and compared the experience for Māori and non-Māori women.

Here’s a summary of what I found:

▶ Menopause is a unifying biological experience.
For both Māori and non-Māori women, there were many similarities in terms of the common symptoms, their severity and their impact.

▶ The biggest differences are in the healthcare experience.
Māori women were less likely to see their GP for advice, less likely to use HRT and more likely to be given no diagnosis whatsoever for their symptoms.

The more supportive view of menopause within traditional Māori culture may help empower women to navigate this phase without feeling the need for medical support. This positive attitude towards women’s unique biology is something other cultures should aspire to.

But we also must make sure that all women - regardless of culture - are getting the right information and access to modern approaches to menopause, including HRT.

By combining the best of both these worlds, then we can truly give all women the choices and support they deserve.

You can download a full copy of my presentation from the conference below:

https://menodoctor.com/pages/maori-survey

And to learn more about the Māori approach to menopause, please take a look at this event coming up in December:

https://events.humanitix.com/the-ruahine-menopause-empowerment-symposium

This wonderful woman is my hairdresser.. and my friend.

And she’s amazing.

Yet again, she fitted me into her schedule at the last minute to come to my rescue.

Thank you Amanda! ❤️

Estrogel is now fully funded in New Zealand!

I got to share this wonderful news bright and early on Friday morning with Ryan Bridge on his radio show.

Estrogel gives women another fully funded option of transdermal (through the skin) estrogen therapy.

It has all the same benefits as estrogen patches:

✔️Contains body-identical estradiol
✔️Carries no increased risk of clotting

Estrogel can be prescribed by any doctor and is available at any pharmacy throughout New Zealand.

So does this mean every woman on HRT should switch over to gel?

No! If you are settled and happy on your current HRT (be that patches or pill form), you don’t need to suddenly switch over.

But for women who’ve had allergic reactions to patches, or can’t get them to stay on their skin, or you need certain brands of patch and are struggling to find them - then seeing your doctor about trying a gel would be worth doing.

To listen to my 5am (!!) interview with Ryan, you can click on the link below.

# estrogenmatters

Dr Linda Dear: Menopause Specialist on Estrogel becoming available to help treat menopause - Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Another treatment to help people to manage the symptoms of menopause is available from today. Estrogel will now be available for those requiring oestrogen to meet rising demand for hormone replacement therapy. The other funded patch option is in global short supply. Menopause specialist Dr Linda Dea...

This is Professor Robert Langer.

I met at the International Menopause Society conference in Melbourne this week after he gave a talk about HRT and breast cancer.

Professor Langer was one of the principal investigators in the famous Women’s Health Initiative study. So he knows that data better than anyone.

This was the study that frightened millions of women and doctors away from HRT.

And never should have.

More than 20 years later, this man is still having to travel the world to stand in front of other doctors and tell them to stop believing that HRT causes breast cancer.

Thank you Professor Robert Langer for continuing to do your best to set the record straight.

To find out more about what the WHI data actually showed, you can read this article below written by Professor Langer and two other amazing men who care about women’s health, Dr Avrum Bluming and Dr Howard Hodis.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37847875/

And although I’ll never explain the data as eloquently as they can, here’s a video I made to try and summarise what every doctor - and woman - should know.

https://youtu.be/2nZoXCshHlg?si=eq9Y362sMRBqAatP

So good to catch up with at the IMS congress in Melbourne this week. There were over 2,000 people there! And not just doctors - but psychologists, nutritionists, yoga therapists and heaps of other health professionals who want to learn more about menopause - better care for women is coming ❤️

Sometimes it feels like your body just won’t let you have any fun anymore.

Because around menopause, things that used to be enjoyable can suddenly start having a very different effect.

The truth is, our body has never liked many of the things we do to it. But in this life-phase, it finally starts telling us.

One of the things our body starts protesting about - is alcohol.
And for good reason.

Because that old friend starts to really stab us in the back around perimenopause and menopause. It doesn’t just make our symptoms worse - it also worsens our health. In ways that most of us don’t realise.

The theme for this World Menopause Day (which is today!) is menopausal hormone therapy. But I’ve decided instead to focus on alcohol - because breaking up with this false friend is often the most powerful medicine of all.

So I’ve released a clip from my menopause guide with support from Alcohol Healthwatch.

Have a look and see what you think.

Maybe it’s time to ?

Breast Cancer and Alcohol awareness video Summary of how alcohol can affect your risk of breast cancer. Supported by Alcohol Healthwatch (NZ)

Meet Claire Baker - she is our awesome Pelvic Physio, based out of our Tauranga Clinic

Claire graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor or health science in Physiotherapy from Auckland University of Technology. In 2008 completed her clinical Masters of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland.

It was in 2010 with the arrival of her first child and the injuries she sustained while giving birth that Claire realised she'd been actively avoiding the pelvic floor in both her private and professional life.

So began the journey to upskill on all things pelvic health and she hasn't looked back. As her children have grown and Menopause creeps closer, Claire focus has shifted to support herself and all women on their perimenopause and Menopause transition. Motivated to lessen the effects to GSM - genitourinary syndrome of Menopause. All those frustrating symptoms like bladder instability, incontinence, prolapse and painful s*x, embarrassing issues that get in the way of living your best life.

Claire has even delivered a Ted Talk on the subject - click on the link to watch the talk

If you would like to make an appointment to see Claire just visit visit menodoctor.com/bookings to make a booking

Common...NOT Normal | Claire Baker | TEDxTauranga Poos, wees and s*x: Hard enough to talk about when things are going well!! Pelvic floor pain and discomfort is something many of us experience, but rarely ta...

It’s official.

Estrogen gel is definitely going to be funded from 1st November in New Zealand – so just over 1 month away!

This is such a good thing for women in Aotearoa.

It will take the pressure off the need for estrogen patches – so the global supply problem won’t bite so hard whenever it rears its ugly head.

It means women can access a transdermal alternative to patches without having to worry about footing the bill themselves.

And it means more information and resources will start coming out to help women and doctors learn more about estrogen gels.

Thank you PHARMAC!

Thousands benefit from Pharmac decision to fund oestradiol gel Pharmac – Te Pātaka Whaioranga has decided to fund oestradiol gel, a type of hormone treatment, it estimates 18,000 people will benefit from it the first year

What a heartless and unhelpful way to announce the release of the Australian Senate enquiry report on menopause.

Can you feel the gas-lighting?
Can you spot the downplaying of menopause symptoms?
Can you hear the not-so-subtle message that menopause is not as important as other women’s health issues, so doesn’t deserve this special attention?

If this was a report on endometriosis - would Jean Hailes for Women's Health lead the announcement by saying:

“Not all women will struggle with severe endometriosis symptoms. Some might struggle instead with menopause or migraines”

Of course they wouldn’t.

But they repeatedly do that when it comes to menopause.

They downplayed the results of their own menopause survey, and now they seem to be trying to downplay this report too.

The Australian senate enquiry on menopause is a wonderful thing. Finally, women in perimenopause and menopause feel heard.

They feel like someone cares.

Why Jean Hailles want to undermine this astounds me.

Time to stop.

You can read the full Senate enquiry report for yourself here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Menopause/Report

MEET THE TEAM - DR ZOE CRUSE

Introducing Dr Zoë Cruse MBBch RNZCUC (fellow) NAMS. Zoë has worked closely with Dr Linda Dear for a number of years in women's health.

Zoë qualified from Cardiff University in 2010 and has undergone extensive postgraduate training in women's health & gynaecology, menopause and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Zoë firmly believes in practicing what she preaches and has a solid background in both endurance based exercise (Ironman NZ, marathon running, 5km ocean swim competitions) and also works closely with physiotherapists and Personal Trainers to lift weights correctly for those all important bone and strength gains, recently even entering her first Power Lifting Competition!

Zoë is also a qualified yoga teacher and has taught in multiple countries over the last 15 years and understands the importance of balancing a hectic lifestyle with meditation, kindness and gentle movement. Holistic and lifestyle approaches to optimising women's health is her absolute passion.

Zoë lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty with her two loves - her gorgeous partner and her hilarious cat.

To make a booking with Zoe - visit menodoctor.com/bookings

Thanks to Tend for inviting me to support their Women’s Health Week here in NZ which kicked off on Monday.

The aim is to get more awareness, information and support out to women about the health issues that affect us

They are covering it all - periods, pelvic health, maternal health, s*xual health, fertility and…. (my favourite topic) MENOPAUSE!

You can find out more about Women’s Health Week via their website which includes advice from me about coping with the estrogen patch shortages:

https://www.womenshealthweek.nz/stories/5-ways-to-cope-with-the-estrogen-patch-shortage

As well as a podcast all about the unique challenges of surgical menopause with my good friend and fellow menopause warrior Tracy Minnoch-Nukufrom s*xyageing

https://www.s*xyageing.com/

https://www.womenshealthweek.nz/stories/podcast-surgical-menopause-with-dr-linda-dear

www.womenshealthweek.nz

Yesterday was a very good day.

I got to sit beside Jeanette Kehoe-Perkinson, Cath Moore and Hester Cutts at the Corporate Mothers Network event at KPMG and we lifted the lid on menopause in the workplace.

We smashed some myths.
We toppled taboos.
We even talked about men’s testicles too.

This is what building menopause awareness and support in the workplace should look like.

It starts with women - and ends with everyone.

The change is starting 💪

Menodoctor Menodoctor’s mission is to educate, empower & support you through the perimenopause & menopause

The patch supply problem is really kicking in again at the moment.
I’ve been on NZ radio twice over the past week talking about it. Here is some helpful information to help you through the issues. Pills and gels are an alternative option if you can’t get hold of any patches - but pills are not suitable for everyone and gels are not funded. If you decide you want to talk to your GP about switching to gels, then have a look at the Resources section on the Menodoctor.com website - you’ll find a useful conversation table there to show to your GP x