Bestselling author, screenwriter and TV presenter Emma Kennedy joins Dr Louise Newson in this episode to talk candidly about her menopause experience.
Emma describes how she thought she had got through her menopause when terrifying heart palpitations and anxiety struck.
After always being fearful of HRT due to a strong family history of breast cancer, a careful and detailed discussion with a GP around the risks and benefits led to her starting a low dose of hormones.
‘It's the first time I've ever cried in front of a doctor,’ she says.
‘Ever, ever. I felt that terrible. [But] Just that tiny amount of estrogen and the heart palpitations stopped in 48 hours and they haven't come back. It's like a miracle.’
Dr Louise and Emma talk about the importance of a personalised discussion between a doctor and a patient to assess whether and what type of HRT may be the right choice. Emma also talks about the lifestyle changes she has made to reduce breast cancer risk and help control menopausal symptoms.
Emma, who wrote the bestselling The Tent, The Bucket and Me, also talks about her frustration with the pain and discomfort women are often expected to put up with during routine procedures.
She gives a stirring call to action for the speculum – the device used in many intimate procedures – to be, at the very least, radically improved.
For more about Emma visit her website and you can follow her on Instagram @emma67 or Threads @emmak67.
254 - Dr Louise’s new paperback book: what’s new and who’s it for?
253 - Coping with the perimenopause when you’re a carer
252 - Bryony Gordon: mental health, hormones and witchy magic
251 - Kate Muir: everything you need to know about hormones but were afraid to ask
250 - Testosterone: the missing piece of the jigsaw?
249 - Dr Mary Claire Haver: on a mission to demystify menopause
248 - The menopause brain: why it might be feeling strange and what you can do about it
247 - Addiction and menopause
246 - Postnatal depression, PMDD and menopause: Wendy’s hormone journey
245 - How medicine has failed women, with author Elinor Cleghorn
244 - Hot flush drug fezolinetant
243 - Contraception during perimenopause: HRT, the pill and the Mirena coil
242 - Sex, hormones and the menopause
241 - Women, ADHD and hormones
240 - Creating long-lasting food habits for better health
239 - Challenging NICE's draft menopause guidance
238 - New Year, new mindset – why movement matters more than exercise
237 - The juggling act: how to navigate menopause and midlife
236 - Menopause in overlooked communities
235 - Menopause and brain health: what’s the link?
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