Think Menopause

Next Monday, I will be leading a petition debate on the important topic of statutory menstrual leave for women with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Over 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by these chronic conditions. Yet the average endometriosis diagnosis time is 9 years and 4 months and workplace adjustments and help for these conditions is far below what it should be.
This is not just the case of ‘painful periods’ as such conditions are often dismissed as, but a chronic health, social and equality issue that must be given the attention it duly deserves.

If you are interested in watching this debate, it will be televised live on Parliament TV at 16:30 on Monday the 13th of April.

Thank you to all those who have helped bring this debate together – your support combating this issue of health and inequality cannot be overstated.

This International Women’s Day we’re celebrating the achievements of women everywhere, but also recognising where inequality still affects women’s lives. A stark example is cardiovascular disease — the biggest killer of women globally.
Today we’re sharing two major research funding initiatives trying to turn that around.

SHE-HEALS is a global study, funded by a subgroup of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders' Forum including BHF. It aims to understand the subtle but important artery changes that happen during menopause, so we can act earlier and better protect women at this stage of their lives.

VISIBLE is a multi-million programme led by Wellcome Leap and jointly funded by Pivotal, with support from BHF. It focuses on a different challenge: millions of women around the world live with unexplained and often severe chest pain, but following standard tests are told their arteries look normal. VISIBLE aims to make the condition many of these women live with — coronary microvascular disease — visible and diagnosable, so more women get the treatment they need.

These programmes represent a major push to close gaps in women’s heart health and ensure women get the answers, care and outcomes they deserve.

“Menopause is a tipping point, when women’s risk of heart disease accelerates."

- Professor Ziad Mallat, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Cambridge.

A new global study, awarded $10 million by a collaboration of major international cardiovascular research funders including us, will investigate the changes in arteries that begin during perimenopause and drive increasing heart disease risk.

The team will also launch the largest clinical trial of its kind to test whether earlier prevention can stop or even reverse the progression of atherosclerosis.

👩 Menopause will be included in NHS health checks for the first time to help millions of women get the support they need.

This will help raise awareness of symptoms like hot flushes, poor sleep and brain fog so no one has to suffer in silence.

NHS health checks are offered to eligible people aged 40-74 every five years.

They are aimed at identifying people with health risks including cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia.

MHRA approves testosterone cream for UK postmenopausal women 🩺📣

Big news for postmenopausal women in the UK! The MHRA has approved AndroFeme® Cream 10mg/ml, a female-specific testosterone treatment for hypoactive sexual desire dysfunction (HSDD).

AndroFeme® Cream contains 1% w/v (10mg/ml) testosterone, the same form of testosterone naturally produced by women’s ovaries (and men’s te**es) - a hormone that plays a vital role in sexual motivation and desire. While often thought of as a “male” hormone, women also produce testosterone in much smaller amounts through the ovaries and adrenal glands.

A reduction or absence of sexual desire, thoughts, fantasies, or responsiveness to erotic cues is common in menopause and perimenopause, and when these symptoms persist and cause distress, they may be diagnosed as HSDD. Clinical studies have shown that testosterone therapy for postmenopausal women with HSDD and low testosterone can help improve desire and sexual satisfaction.

Already licensed in Australia since 2020, this will be the first licensed product of its kind in the UK, tailored to women’s menopause needs. The launch is expected in 2026.

Link in bio 🔗

hsdd

Free for NHS Staff

Menopause MENO.pause is a practical digital decision-aid designed for clinicians. It helps busy healthcare providers apply national menopause guidelines efficiently enabling them to confidently manage natural, cancer related or early menopause, and to deal with complications, such as unscheduled bleeding on H...

A big thank you to Dr Ellie, Ruth Sunderland and the Mail on Sunday team for highlighting the importance of evidence-based treatment for osteoporosis. 👏

As Dr Ellie explains, concerns about side effects are understandable, but the benefits often far outweigh the risks.

snuggs period underwear Europe's #1 period underwear

I am very very VERY excited to be chairing this 🆓 webinar for hashtag on
Fri 7th March: 2.30-4 pm.
'Accelerating women’s health and opportunities in the workplace.'
Registration is via the link ⬇️
Listen & learn from the experts on how we can hashtag 💪🏾
Getting these 3 phenomenal women👇🏾 in 1 room together is an event not to be missed. They have contributed to, and continue to make a difference, in improving working lives for all.
They have dedicated their careers to identifying barriers and bringing evidenced-based solutions to hashtag , hashtag and hashtag .
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Karen Messing: Professor Emerita in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Quebec at Montreal
Dr Krystal Wilkinson: Wilkinson: Associate Professor in Human Resource Management, Manchester Metropolitan University
Heejung Chung: Director of the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and Professor of Work and Employment at King's College London

www.som.org.uk

Hot Flushes at 13 years of age. MENO = MONTHLY.
PAUSE = STOP
Menopause can happen at any age after puberty. If you or someone you know is under 40 and has no, sporadic, altered periods the please check out Daisy Network as its important to understand and reduce harm due to early life fluctuation of hormones.

Thank you Claire Cohen for sharing your story and helping to raise awareness for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency - Photo shared from Vikram Sinai Talaulikar