Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: CLKD on October 24, 2017, 06:37:32 PM
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.... about those who are not or who refuse to listen, or offer to support women during The Change.
So unless Dr Currie is in contact with every UK Surgery: then ladies who have not had a good experience from the GPs should be able to send details to Dr Currie who can then inform those organisations involved with encouraging GPs to remain updated.
In this Forum there is evidence that women are not getting information at a time when they already feel unwell - getting treatment should not be a struggle.
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CLKD, what a good idea to start this thread. It now gives women somewhere to share their experiences if their GP doesn't come up with the goods or cocks up their prescription.
GPs need to be subjected to the same stringent criteria as all other professionals.
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Tnx. I am aware that there is a 'yellow card' system but it's never been offered to me, apparently it's by e-mail only which aint' a lot of good in many cases ::)
So ladies - in order for Dr Currie to be up-2-date with the Surgeries not giving ladies what they require, put your feelings here ;-)
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I’m afraid that the only time I’ve been taken seriously in terms of perimenopause symptoms was after having paid to see a private doctor.
The NHS GPs and Hospital A&E doctors were very dismissive of my symptoms and very quick to put me in the box of an ‘anxious woman’ and repeatedly told to go home and stop worrying. Unfortunately, many docs these days seem to play at being a psychotherapist when they’re not trained in it. This may be because they see so many women displaying frustration and physical anxiety, they just think ‘oh it’s that again’, so it’s filed under neurosis when this IS NOT THE CAUSE!
Even women with anxiety and depression that does not have a hormonal cause may have a physical cause and need antidepressants. As a psychotherapist I’m glad that times have changed where talking therapies are offered - but now it just seems it’s all that is offered and the more doctors put people into this box, the bigger and more normal the box becomes.
Perhaps, if the ‘neurotic woman’ could be removed from the diagnostic criteria as a cause and then each individual explored when they display anxiety, we may start to get somewhere.
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I got referred to an nhs gynae as the gps didn't know what else to do for me as I'd already gone through POF at 32 and already on hrt. That gynae diagnosed 2nd menopause and said “ 2nd menopause are more problematic and disturbing but there's nothing more than can be doneâ€. Good job I carried on reading and asking
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Of course, if we named and shamed on a Forum we may be 'up' for legal challenges ........
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....which is what I said on the other thread and one of the reasons why it's not a good idea.
Hurdity x
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On an open forum but needs must these days .......... there is little evidence that GPs are getting the up-2-date info in order to support women.
I get your point Hurdity as stated earlier: British Menopause Society (probably RCOG too) are working hard to address the problem since the NICE Guidelines were produced, through education and training : but how does anyone know that this is actually taking place in Surgeries across the UK? The amount of ladies posting on here which is only a fraction of menopausal women at any one time, seems to indicate that many GPs are reluctant to support and prescribe appropriately.
The 'problem' being what exactly?
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I personally think it's more to do with money and time in that order ! General Practitioners are just that general. Menopause as we know only too well is very complex so a referral to a consultant would be my choice but that costs money to a practise that are already struggling to balance the books sadly.😕 Most gynacologists attached to hospitals seem to be more surgically minded,well in my case they were. I'm not at all sure in this current climate that things will improve anytime soon on NHS as more " important " conditions will always prevail unfortunately for us.
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I admin a secret group for VA , and the NONSENSE these ladies are being told quite frankly is shameful in some instances .
Only today a lady who really suffers , didn't no it was a “ condition “ until she found my group , I armed her with all the info car out with replens 😳 reason being she has migraines.
I have told her what's what and she is going back again , this is a constant not a one off as we no .....problem is ladie are seeing so called “ the expert†in menopause at there practice 😨 well gawd help us all as we age further , and our bits potentially get worse .....luckily I have three daughters who are fully aware and will be my voice , of such a time comes.
Being stuck in a nursin home in a chair all day no thanks , absolutely not , as i no what the care re VA is and no way, that's my biggest nightmare re ageing VA and care homes .
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I remember our menopause expert at my GP practice. She said:
“Oestrogel was for women to take as and when and mainly for women who had had an hysterectomy†:-\
“HRT can only be prescribed for 7 years so If you take it in perimenopause then when you need it more in menopause your 7 years may have ended†- misunderstanding that the 7 years is from menopause not when you start it.
Either she wasn't paying attention on her course or she hadn't actually been on one.
I've also made an official written complaint about a mis-diagnosis (that's left me with a permanent injury) to my Practice Manager and never received a response.
I asked my local pharmacist about recommendations to another practice and she said mine was the best of the worst. When you hit a brick wall you tend to then look outside of the NHS.
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Sadly ladies shouldn't have to pay for advice and hopefully when they do so, the advice will be supportive and correct!
I would like to see the word 'expert' drilled out of the English language. No one is an 'expert' in anything because there is always much to learn - also, until an 'expert' asks me about stuff :whist: they can't possibly know the half of it!
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My GP was also useless. First he said I couldn't be perimenopausal at 46 & then when the tests came back had to agree. I think if you are a normal case & get given a HRT & go away take it & you feel fine then the GP can cope with that but I was never a normal case. No HRT truly worked for me. The doctor didn't have a clue what to do with me. I even went to a private doctor & given the typical oestrogel regime. That didn't work so he wasn't interested. I have had to work this all out by myself & with the help of good sites like these. So I would definitely say that because I was not an ordinary case I was failed & suffered many years
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Thanks for your inputs.
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This from Dr Currie.
We are working very hard to improve education across the UK so that all women have access to consistent, reliable advice. The British Menopause Society Vision for Menopause Care in the UK has just been published. The key points are:
- Menopause is a major life event affecting all women, in a variety of ways, both short and long term.
- All women should have access to accurate information, available in a variety of forms.
- All healthcare professionals (HCPs) should have basic understanding of menopause and know where to signpost women for advice and support.
- Each primary care team should have an HCP or HCPs who have a special interest and knowledge in menopause.
- Each HCP with special interest in menopause should have access to at least one menopause specialist for advice, support, onward referral and leadership of multidisciplinary education.
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Tnx Emma - so how is each Surgery going to be encouraged by the British Menopause Society Vision to educate a specific healthcare professional? Is this something that women should be asking and if told 'no', where do they go next?
Maybe ladies on here who would like to inform their Surgeries, could be sent paper details in the Post from the BMSV to hand to their Practice Nurses?
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Thanks Emma.
One can find out what's going on through googling and looking at the websites of all the relevant organisations. No-one needs to be sent paper copies of anything these days – we just have to google. For example that paper that Emma refers to, of which Heather Currie is a co-author and was presented at this year's BMS conference, was published in the British Menopause Society journal and comes up straight away. We can all search stuff out for ourselves and print it off!
Anyone who wants to help from the bottom up by helping to educate their local practice as I suggested in my post on the other thread – can print off the NICE Guidelines (as several of us frequently suggest) - as well as this vision and any detailed papers which give more specific information and recommendations.
In fact one of the best ways to stay up-to-date with what's going on menopause-wise apart from regularly visiting some of these websites - is through Twitter. You don't have to suddenly become a social media person if that's not your thing – but all you need to do is register an account and then start following relevant organisations. Then you get all the notifications of papers, conferences etc. This now seems to be the main medium of delivery of the latest information by most professional organisations. Best if you have a smart phone but not essential if you have the tabs open on your computer.
Anyway since we're on the subject I hunted down a few of the sources I use and a few more besides to help anyone for whom this is all a mystery! Here are some papers and helpful links and you can see what communication is being done as well as what some of the recommendations are :)
Starting with.....The nitty gritty – ie the main summary recommendations ( all the evidence underpinning these recommendations are in a lengthy detailed document):
NICE SUMMARY GUIDELINES ON MENOPAUSE
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations
This section outlines what the challenges are and what steps are suggested to implement the guidelines and communication (from November 2015):
IMPLEMENTATION – GETTING STARTED
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Menopause-implementation-getting-started
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2053369117717207?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
BRITISH MENOPAUSE SOCIETY
https://thebms.org.uk/
No need for me to link to different sections – it's all on there – what they are doing – just click on the links and read! There are factsheets, what they are doing, publications etc
WOMEN'S HEALTH CONCERN (patient arm of BMS)
https://www.womens-health-concern.org/events/
More fact sheets, telephone/e-mail advice details, events
ROYAL COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNAECOLOGISTS (RCOG)
Information hub on menopause – lots of info as with Menopause Matters.
https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/menopause/
PRIMARY CARE WOMEN'S HEALTH FORUM
Organise training and webinars. Louise Newson has recently led one I think
http://www.pcwhf.co.uk/
BRITISH MENOPAUSE SOCIETY AND WOMEN'S HEALTH CONCERN 2016 RECOMMENDATIONS ON HRT IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN (Hamoda et al)
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2053369116680501
2016 IMS RECOMMENDATIONS ON WOMEN'S MIDLIFE HEALTH AND MENOPAUSE HORMONE THERAPY
Published in Climacteric, the journal of the International Menopause Society
http://www.imsociety.org/manage/images/pdf/4429e3dd302aac259ad68c3be7f60599.pdf
More links to other organisations from this website:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/links.php
DR LOUISE NEWSON – GP and menopause expert helping to spread the word
An example of what one GP is doing – Louise Newson – has set up her own website, and gives advice on menopause, also available for consultation NHS and private ( Midlands). Tweets frequently with up to date info on everything menopause!
https://menopausedoctor.co.uk/
Just noticed she also has a page of info for health professionals (available to the public) which contains much more information and links to papers than I know about – I just put a couple of key documents above!
https://menopausedoctor.co.uk/healthcare-professionals/
Well I could go on – but that'll do for now. Tis a bit long this....
However - do hope that some of you find some of this helpful and now I've done it I'll probably refer back to it again!!!
Hurdity x :)
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Nothing of any worth to contribute really.....but in 2011 my young male GP pooh poohed my tentative suggestion that my worsening depression coupled with sudden onset adhesive capsulitis and dry eyes were anything to do with meno. I was 50, how hard can it be to make the connections. Shortly afterwards, I went for my three yearly smear and was swiftly diagnosed by the nurse practitioner as my joints were so sore I could hardly get on the examination table ..turned out her nursing thesis was on menopausal tendinitis /arthritis. Only then did I get fsh testing. I was and have since been made to feel like a neurotic hypochondriac time waster.
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This is terrible Sweet Pea - that you are still being made to feel like this - and also now, since the NICE Guidelines it is no longer necessary to do FSH testing for women of your age - unless of course you've had hysterectomy or got a Mirena coil - in which case it's impossible to tell from your cycle.
Let's hope that as a result of all the initiatives that are happening - and especially through implementation of the BMS Vision for Menopause Care - this sort of attitude becomes a thing of the past :)
Hurdity x
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No-one needs to be sent paper copies of anything these days – we just have to google.. - I don't 'have to' nor I want to google anything!
If the Vision is going to work then it has to be sent to all Surgeries: on-line ain't enough, it is easy to ignore - I have this month's up-2-date news letter from our Surgery but only because I had to go for a check up. There is no separate area about menopause on the web-site.
As for NICE Guide-lines, don't get me started :cuss: