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293 - Navigating menopause in my 30s after ovarian cancer: Suzie’s story · The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

1:02
So on my podcast today, I've got someone called Susie who doesn't
1:06
look like the average menopausal woman that you Google who's got
1:09
Ray hair with a fan who's middle age or even in her late 50s.
1:15
So Susie's young and she's going to share her story, which I hope
1:18
will help to educate and reassure many people.
1:22
So thanks for joining me today, Susie.
1:24
Yeah, no problem. Yeah, happy to be.
1:26
Yeah. So just tell me a bit about you
1:29
and the age that you were when you became perimenopausal,
1:34
menopausal when your hormone levels changed.
1:37
It was probably about, so I'm 32 now and it was probably 3 or 4
1:43
years ago that I noticed a big change in my hormone levels, in
1:49
my energy levels, getting the hot flushes and the all of those
1:54
kinds of symptoms that were supposed to show that you might
1:58
be menopausal. But for me, it was something
2:02
that I probably expected because I'd gone through a lot of cancer
2:07
treatment. I was diagnosed with ovarian
2:09
cancer in when I was 25. So I'd gone through a lot of
2:13
cancer treatment, chemotherapy, surgeries, various different
2:17
things. And finally I was told that the
2:20
last kind of option was to have full abdominal radiotherapy.
2:24
And so that was kind of the point where I thought, OK,
2:27
that's my, I suppose my fertility journey has ended
2:31
here. And I suppose I knew I'd go
2:33
menopausal, but I didn't expect it to happen in the way that it
2:37
did, Really so. Yeah.
2:39
So 25 diagnosed with cancer of the ovaries.
2:42
Not very common, is it? Well, no, no, it's incredibly
2:46
rare. I hindsight is that I had all of
2:50
the symptoms for it, but I had no idea of them at the time.
2:54
And I, it wasn't something that was on my radar.
2:57
I don't think it's something that's on anybody's radar when
2:59
they're 25. I was trying to make ends meet
3:01
as an actor at the time and, you know, working my day job and
3:05
then trying to do my dance rehearsals and things in the.
3:09
It's just, it was a lot and and then I was feeling really
3:13
fatigued. I was feeling bloated.
3:16
I needed to go to the toilet all the time.
3:19
I felt like an old woman going back and forward to the toilet
3:21
when I was trying to sleep. And you know, all of the
3:25
symptoms were there. And then I got the diagnosis and
3:28
it was supposed massive life changing experience from there
3:32
really. So was that picked up on a scan?
3:36
Well, actually I have to admit there are a lot of other people
3:39
that would have a different story.
3:41
But I cannot thank the NHS enough for my diagnosis because,
3:46
well, I suppose my not even my GP, it was a nurse practitioner
3:51
at my doctors who I ended up going to see when I was feeling
3:54
really poorly. And I was explaining to her the
3:56
symptoms I was having in, you know, tenderness in my tummy and
3:59
all these kinds of things. And she immediately noted those
4:06
symptoms as what they potentially were, even for
4:10
someone at my age. I've heard so many other stories
4:13
of the young people that have been diagnosed with cancer very
4:16
late because they've been turned away and said, well, no, it
4:20
couldn't possibly be this. I mean, she said, worst case
4:23
scenario, it could be cancer. And that's exactly what it was
4:25
in the end. So I absolutely have her to
4:28
thank for getting me on that journey very, very quickly
4:31
because by the time I was diagnosed I was probably stage
4:34
3/4, which for most people is not good at all in terms of
4:40
prognosis, but somehow I've managed to still be here.
4:43
So thank goodness for that. Which is wonderful, but
4:46
obviously the treatment that you've had has stopped your
4:49
ovaries working. And hormones.
4:51
A lot of our hormones are produced in our ovary, but as
4:54
many listers know, also produced elsewhere, but without your
4:58
ovaries, whether they're removed or they've had chemotherapy or
5:02
radiotherapy damaged in some way.
5:04
Then people do become menopausal, but a lot of women I
5:08
speak to who've had cancer treatments for different types
5:10
of cancer that have had treatments that have affected
5:13
the way their ovaries work, especially when they're young.
5:16
The concentration has been on fertility.
5:19
Menopause might have been mentioned, but there are two
5:22
things that concern me and I don't know whether it's
5:24
mentioned to you. One is the symptoms, because
5:27
symptoms can really affect people in so many different
5:29
ways. But also as a physician, the
5:32
future health risks of not having hormone hormones with
5:36
something that I don't hear spoken about enough.
5:39
And I understand in the crisis time, the most important thing
5:43
is to focus on the cancer. Absolutely right.
5:47
But and the big but is we need to think about after the cancer,
5:51
beyond the cancer because hopefully as you've proven,
5:56
prognosis outlook can be very good.
5:59
And you're young, you're only in your early 30s.
6:01
So it's that future health benefits of having hormones that
6:05
I worry that isn't discussed enough.
6:07
So I don't know, was it discussed much with you at all,
6:10
Susie? Well, I mean, the only people
6:12
that spoke to me about my future health was you guys.
6:15
When I spoke to one of your lovely doctors.
6:19
I at the time of when I, you know, started speaking to
6:23
gynaecologists and kind of menopause doctors within the
6:27
NHS, they just looked at me like I was anybody else going through
6:33
this, which I really am not. I am a lot, lot younger than
6:38
most people that do go through this, which means that my
6:41
hormone levels need to be higher and not just to kind of sort out
6:47
the symptoms like hot flushes and things like that, but also
6:51
for the future. As you say, I don't want there
6:54
to be a problem in the future where I I don't know.
6:57
As you say, you can get heart disease if your hormones aren't
7:01
right. You're at higher risk of getting
7:02
dementia if your hormones aren't right.
7:04
And I don't want that to happen. Obviously I want to try and live
7:08
as long and as healthier life as I possibly.
7:10
Can yeah, and it's really could be very confusing for lots of
7:13
people because actually even if you look at the insert for HRTI,
7:17
never, I don't know if you've ever done it for your hormones
7:19
and it will say risk of ovarian cancer.
7:21
And that's actually come from a study, an observational study
7:25
that was done quite a few years ago, but it was using older
7:27
types of synthetic hormones. And even then the risk is
7:31
probably not there. It's so small.
7:33
But when it's observation, it's not really good data.
7:36
But we don't use those types of hormones.
7:38
We're just using natural we're just replacing like for like.
7:41
And so we know the hormones are very anti-inflammatory.
7:44
They're likely to reduce any inflammation, any cancers going
7:49
forwards as well. But if when we don't have really
7:52
robust evidence, certainly in my clinical practices, we share
7:56
uncertainty with patients and we say there may or may not be
7:59
risks, but we know that there are benefits and it's up to that
8:03
individual. But if you haven't had that
8:05
conversation with anyone and haven't been allowed to have a
8:08
choice, then you're very much left on your own, aren't you?
8:11
Well, yeah, absolutely. And it was only, I think it was
8:14
when I spoke to you guys or I questioned about the risk of
8:19
cancer returning based on having HRT, because that's one of the
8:23
things that the doctors say to you is that if you take too much
8:27
of this HRT, you're at risk of getting cancer.
8:30
And one of the biggest kind of takeaways that I've had from you
8:34
guys is that actually I think it was someone said there was no,
8:39
the risk of getting cancer was no higher than that of getting
8:42
cancer when you are older anyway, yes.
8:46
So people are still going to have a risk, but that doesn't
8:49
mean it's related to the hormones.
8:50
And I think that's really important because there will be
8:53
people that will get recurrences that will have a new cancer on
8:57
HRT, but there will also be people that will trip down the
9:00
stairs or, you know, fall over and that's not related to their
9:04
HRT. So but because I think everyone
9:07
is so scared, if something negative happens, it's easier to
9:11
blame the HRT. But the problem is all hormones
9:15
have been grouped together as evil, whereas our own natural
9:18
hormones, you know, you're designed in your 30s to have
9:21
hormones and they're very beneficial for your future
9:24
health. So to have them taken away and
9:27
not replaced without good reason could affect your future health
9:31
and day-to-day functioning if you were getting symptoms as
9:34
well, which it sounds like you were.
9:36
Yeah, absolutely. And interestingly, I work as a
9:38
sign language interpreter, which means that you need to have your
9:43
processing there. You need to be able to process
9:46
information from one language to another.
9:49
And if you're suffering with brain fog, like I know a lot of
9:53
women do when they're menopausal, that processing
9:57
becomes that much harder. And it's already hard anyway.
10:00
I was working with a lady who was struggling to do her job and
10:06
she said, oh, yes, I'm in the menopause.
10:07
I've got brain fog. And in my head I was going, but
10:10
so why are you not doing anything about it?
10:12
This is your job and it's starting to affect your job.
10:16
And she's probably freelance like most interpreters are.
10:18
And so there's no way that you can't like take a day or there's
10:22
no policy, there's no menopause policy to protect her if she's
10:26
freelance. So that really it hit me there
10:30
because I went, gosh, OK, well, if that was to happen to me, I'm
10:33
a new interpreter. I can't.
10:34
I don't want to blame anything on the menopause, especially
10:37
when there's something you can do about it.
10:39
Yeah. And that's so important, Susie,
10:41
because we know that commonest symptoms are those affecting our
10:44
brains because our hormones work in our brain, as you know, but
10:48
especially memory processing cognition, but even, you know,
10:53
our mood as well. So a lot of people feel quite
10:55
flat, they feel quite joyless, they have less motivation and
10:59
they're more tired. But we know that actually the
11:03
way our brain works is really crucial for the way we function,
11:05
especially in our work. And if you have a job where you
11:08
need your brain to work very quickly and process things very
11:12
quickly, and you've been used to having that when it's taken away
11:16
from you, it can be very difficult.
11:19
And for so long we've forgotten that our hormones have a role in
11:23
our brain because it's been about flushes, it's been about
11:26
fertility, it's been about periods.
11:28
But actually, you're absolutely right, because so many people
11:31
are giving up their jobs or reducing their hours or taking
11:34
different jobs, often at lower pay, because they can't function
11:38
at the level that they're used to.
11:39
And we see it time and time again.
11:41
And it's very sad when they think, well, that's just my lot.
11:46
That's just because I'm menopausal without having those
11:50
hormones back, because we know they improve the connectivity of
11:54
the neurons in the brain. They help the brain to function.
11:58
We've known this for many years. In nearly 100 years we've known
12:01
the effect on the brain, but it's been ignored and I can't
12:05
quite understand why. So one of the jobs that I did as
12:09
an interpreter, of course, I, I adhere to a code of ethics and
12:12
you have to remain impartial as one of them and interpret as
12:17
accurately as you can. And, and this, that and the
12:19
other. And it was AGP appointment and I
12:21
go to the GP appointment and this woman is reeling off what I
12:25
know to be menopausal symptoms. Of course, she doesn't know
12:28
that. And the GP kind of says, oh, OK,
12:32
how old are you? Let's have a look at how old you
12:34
are. OK, you're this old, right?
12:36
OK, that's probably a box ticked.
12:37
It could be menopausal symptoms and oh, OK, well, I think we
12:41
could try some HRT. But you know, I do have to warn
12:45
you that, you know, there's this that and the other and there's
12:48
the risk of cancer and there's, and I was there interpreting
12:51
this information to this person through gritted teeth going I, I
12:57
just, I can't say anything, you know, because this is a medical
13:00
professional, but I know this to not be the case.
13:04
So it was a bit of a tough ethical moment for me.
13:06
I think having knowing what I know about the HRT and the
13:09
menopause and then having to give what I suppose was
13:13
incorrect information to this person with very, you know, you
13:17
must be cautious. And after a month, they said, I
13:20
think they said after a month, if your symptoms don't go away,
13:23
I think we should probably stop. And again, I was going, no,
13:26
that's not long enough, but. If so, did you say anything at
13:30
the end to that doctor? I didn't feel I had the place
13:34
to, but I think if it were to happen again, I probably would.
13:38
Actually, I take that back. I actually said it's worth
13:41
looking on Newsome Health if you want to get up to date, accurate
13:45
information. They have a lot of information
13:46
on there. I think I'd signposted to you
13:48
guys because I know that you are the best.
13:51
You're kind of the specialist at it.
13:52
But yeah, that was a bizarre, a bizarre situation to be in.
13:58
Absolutely. And it's very difficult for
14:00
people because they're told different things.
14:02
And every day in the clinic we see and speak to women who have
14:05
been told different information. And there is confusion because
14:10
of this, lumping all the hormones together, thinking
14:12
they're all the same. And metabolically, biologically,
14:15
they're very, very different in our bodies.
14:18
And our own natural hormones, of course, are not made to be
14:22
detrimental because of course they're not.
14:24
We've got hundreds of hormones in our body and they work very
14:26
well and especially when people are younger.
14:29
I did some work with NHS England a while ago.
14:32
It was a big national programme for menopause.
14:35
And they said that they were going to focus on women over the
14:37
age of 51. And I actually put my hand up
14:40
and said actually, if you've got limited budget, I would focus on
14:44
the one in 30 women who are under the age of 40 who have an
14:46
earlier menopause. And they said, well, it's not
14:49
common enough, Louise, to worry about.
14:51
And actually, I sort of thought, but I kept my mouth shut because
14:55
I often get misinterpreted sometimes.
14:58
But actually it is common enough.
15:00
One in 30. So in your average class at
15:03
school, that's one child. Or if you know, it depends if
15:06
they're mixed classes, of course, there might be one in
15:09
every two classes, but that's a lot of people that will grow up
15:13
and become menopausal at an early age.
15:17
Far more common than other conditions, but the health risks
15:20
associated with it are huge. And we know from some studies
15:24
that women have in earlier menopause don't have typical
15:26
symptoms. So a lot don't have flushes or
15:29
sweats, but they still have these low hormones.
15:32
And so we should be more proactive as healthcare
15:35
professionals, we should be going into companies and
15:39
organisations and talking about hormonal health because a lot of
15:43
people, if it happens without having something like cancer
15:47
treatment, it can be more gradual.
15:49
But there are signs there. They might have had worsening
15:51
PMS or worsening PMDD, they might have skipped a few
15:54
periods, they might know that they've got a condition that
15:58
might increase their their risk of having an earlier menopause,
16:01
or they might have lots of family members that have had
16:03
early menopause as well. So we need to be really
16:06
proactive at picking these people up to reduce suffering
16:10
but to improve future health. Because if you don't have your
16:14
hormones at a young age, you're more likely to drain the NHS at
16:17
an older age because you're more likely to have more conditions.
16:20
So it is cost effective, but it doesn't sound very exciting.
16:23
And I know when I was doctor, someone said to me, if someone
16:28
comes in Louise who hasn't had their period and young, just
16:31
make sure she's not pregnant. That's all you need to do.
16:34
So I hate to admit, but for many years, that's all I did because
16:37
I didn't even think about women who were young, menopausal,
16:42
because no one had taught me. So I'm making up for it now.
16:45
Yeah, But there will be other doctors who will have been
16:48
taught by the same people and my age who won't be thinking.
16:51
So how do you think we can get more information out and how do
16:56
we empower clinicians when we're the patients?
17:01
Because as you say, even just interpreting, you can feel quite
17:04
threatened when you're not threatened, but quite it's
17:07
difficult when you're I, I'm talking now as a patient, but
17:10
when I go and see a doctor, I know their time's precious.
17:13
I feel a bit nervous. I take every word they say very
17:16
literally. And it's very difficult to have
17:19
a discussion depending on the doctor, especially if they're
17:22
very closed and quick in their consultation process.
17:25
Some doctors are very open and reflect and say, what do you
17:28
think? Are you happy with that?
17:29
Is there anything you want to ask?
17:30
And then it makes it easier. But I do feel as patients we
17:34
have to be our own advocates. Many people know I can't get the
17:38
dose and type of hormone I'm on on the NHS and I've given up
17:41
trying, but it's still very difficult.
17:44
But how do you think that we should be better advocates as
17:48
patients? I think from my own experience,
17:53
and that's including my cancer journey, I have been a huge
17:57
advocate for myself. I don't think I would have been
18:00
had I not had my mum there with me.
18:02
She advocated for me and we advocated for me together and
18:06
throughout the whole thing. But I think it's just it's
18:10
having the knowledge yourself rather than going in there with
18:12
no idea. I think it's that thing of
18:16
empowering yourself with knowledge and getting the
18:20
knowledge and kind of knowing the symptoms, knowing you know
18:24
what's wrong with you and getting the information about
18:26
what potentially you need before you go in.
18:29
Because otherwise you're going to be sat there nodding your
18:32
head at whatever this professional is telling you.
18:35
And of course, they're a professional.
18:36
They've been through years and years of training, but they
18:39
don't have the especially GPS, the specific knowledge base to
18:43
know what you need in this situation.
18:47
And then it might take a year to be referred to someone who may
18:52
well be a specialist, but it's following these very specific
18:55
guidelines which aren't going to match you.
18:58
And so I think it's having that knowledge, but also being able
19:03
to be quite assertive in, in the deaf community, it would be this
19:08
sign. And it's one of my favourite
19:09
signs. I think it's that being
19:12
confident and being assertive to back yourself when you're
19:16
speaking to someone and say, well, for me, for a young
19:20
person, I am not your usual. I'm not the most common person
19:25
that has the menopause, but it's just backing myself to know
19:27
there's something not right and I don't want this to bother me
19:30
forever. I think it's the mixture of
19:32
those two things, going in with knowledge and having the
19:34
confidence to back yourself, I think.
19:37
That's so important because I know certainly with some of the
19:39
treatments that you had for your cancer, you had to really be
19:43
your own advocate, didn't you, and seek the right treatment for
19:46
you. Yeah, absolutely.
19:48
There was one particular treatment wasn't on the NHS for
19:51
me, which was immunotherapy. I think it's becoming more
19:55
widely used now, but still not for my cancer.
19:58
I mean, my cancer was incredibly rare anyway.
20:00
It was a small cell ovarian cancer of the hypocalcemic type.
20:04
Bit of a mouthful. But that treatment wasn't
20:07
available in the NHS. There was a very small study of
20:10
four women that had gone through radiotherapy plus immunotherapy
20:14
as a combination and three out of four of them had come out
20:18
cancer free long term afterwards.
20:20
And we just went, well, that's good enough for me, let's give
20:24
it a go. But the NHS were incredibly
20:26
reluctant to do it. They did send off funding
20:28
applications and things, but everything was turned down.
20:31
So we had to fundraise 250,000 lbs for it.
20:36
But I mean, that's where I start to believe in humanity again
20:39
because I got, you know, video went viral.
20:43
I had people from all over the world donating to me.
20:45
So it was incredible. But it was, that was a case
20:48
where the NHS were very, I don't know, reluctant or very
20:53
sceptical about this treatment because there wasn't 4000 trials
20:58
of it, There was 4. But I think it was where both me
21:02
and my mum went, this is the right thing to do.
21:05
This is what we want to do. There's what, what are the other
21:08
options? We'd say to them, they didn't
21:10
have any other options. And so we just pushed and pushed
21:13
and pushed. And so they said yes.
21:14
And I think that's something that you also have to do for HRT
21:20
and for menopause treatment. I'm actually now having pushed a
21:24
lot and having, as I said, used the knowledge that I've got from
21:28
speaking to you guys and from my own body and my own experience.
21:33
I've now managed to convince the NHS to fully prescribed my HRT
21:38
for me. Now, the testosterone was only
21:41
recently added and I'm absolutely thrilled about that
21:44
because that's a large sum per year that I'm now not going to
21:49
have to pay for. Well, hopefully not.
21:52
Which is wonderful and a lot of people come to our clinic and
21:54
increasingly GPS take over their care for their HRT.
21:59
Not always testosterone, but increasingly it is.
22:02
Which is so important because it's very easy to get other
22:06
drugs such as antidepressants or blood pressure drugs or statins
22:10
or or whatever. And they're not even drugs,
22:13
they're just natural hormones really.
22:15
We need to think very differently, change our language
22:18
and think about the benefits and actually if you're feeling well,
22:22
which thankfully you are, if you're healthy, which you also
22:25
are, you're less likely to go back to your GP, you're less
22:28
likely to be referred to the NHS.
22:30
You are saving money even though they're spending money on HRT,
22:33
which is actually quite cheap. So it is a cost effective thing
22:36
and when you're young, you know you're going to be on HRT
22:40
hopefully for decades, you know, for many years.
22:44
So it should be available for you.
22:46
It shouldn't be something you have to come to a private clinic
22:49
for. It doesn't make sense, does it?
22:51
No, no, absolutely not. And I think, well, specifically
22:55
testosterone, I think that was the turning point where I
22:58
started on a bit of progesterone and a bit of estrogen.
23:02
And then it was far like it got to the point where I was having
23:07
enough issues and I was feeling fine.
23:10
But I'm a very sporty person and I was still feeling a bit
23:14
unmotivated and, and a bit just a bit lazy and not full of
23:18
enough energy for myself to want to actually go out and do the
23:22
exercises. And I think at the time, I think
23:25
one of the big ones was that I just didn't really want to have
23:28
sex with my partner, which, you know, it's not something you
23:31
want as a 30 year old. You don't want to just be there
23:33
feeling like a cabbage. So, and it was the testosterone
23:37
that immediately, well, not immediately, it took a little
23:39
bit of time to work, obviously, but it just that was the change.
23:43
But then when I did initially ask the NHS, they were saying,
23:48
Oh no, no, no, it doesn't fit in with our guidelines of anything.
23:51
And I just went, I want to throw your guidelines out the window.
23:55
Your guidelines are just this one-size-fits-all thing.
23:58
And that's not the case here. But.
24:01
But now they don't. Yeah.
24:02
And I think that's very important when we do mention
24:05
guidelines because there's guidelines in everything that we
24:07
do as healthcare professionals, But they are a guide.
24:11
They help assist in a general population.
24:15
But The thing is, is that we are all individuals.
24:18
We have individual lives, we have individual choices, We have
24:22
individual decisions about what risk or benefit we're prepared
24:26
to take, and we all have our own lives.
24:29
But also we can make our minds up if we're consenting adults
24:33
and we also have the ability to change our mind.
24:36
So if you wanted or read something, you can stop your
24:40
treatment, you can restart it. It is up to you as a individual.
24:44
And what really saddens me with so much in hormone health is
24:50
that that decision isn't even there.
24:52
It's not allowed almost. It's sort of felt like it.
24:55
You really have to plead and justify to have something that
25:00
could make a real difference to you.
25:02
And if it doesn't make a difference then don't continue.
25:05
And but people often aren't even able to start or like you say,
25:10
optimise their dose because it can take a while to be on the
25:13
right dose and type. And then that's why it's
25:16
important that you say to see someone who's really
25:18
knowledgeable but works together with the patient.
25:22
You know, it's not very rewarding as a doctor to be in a
25:25
unidirectional relationship where you're the person in
25:29
control. You're the person as a Doctor
25:31
Who is basically telling the patient what to do.
25:33
I do not like those consultations.
25:36
Very different for my husband who's a surgeon.
25:38
He has to be in control in the operating system, very
25:41
different. But actually when it's a
25:44
consultation, it's a two way process.
25:46
And even for him it's a two way process when he's deciding the
25:49
operation. And often a patient might want
25:52
one operation and he'll advise something else and they talk it
25:55
through. But somehow we've lost the
25:57
ability to talk and share, especially when there's
26:00
uncertainty. And that's a great shame.
26:03
So it's amazing that you've been such an advocate in so many
26:07
ways. You know, hormone health is just
26:09
one part, but you've been a huge advocate for your health and
26:12
you're living proof how healthy you are now, aren't you?
26:16
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I think there's also, well,
26:20
I suppose on a slightly different note, is that
26:23
obviously women, I'm a woman in my 30s and I am on HRT and in
26:28
the menopause, which is obviously, as we've already
26:30
said, a unique situation. And I recently met my who will
26:37
now be my lifelong partner, the love of my life.
26:40
And I knew it the moment it was probably it was like our second
26:44
date or something. And I've been dating for, you
26:47
know, a few months and, and hadn't said anything to I think
26:50
I'd said something about it to one person who I thought, oh,
26:53
they seem quite nice. And as soon as I mentioned it to
26:56
them, they couldn't run fast enough.
26:58
Whereas as soon as I told my current partner, this is the
27:03
situation, I can't have children in a biological way, I'd like to
27:07
have children in a different way.
27:09
I do have to take HRT everyday, you know, rub this gel on my
27:14
legs, you know, and things like that.
27:16
And he came back with the most amazing response to it and has
27:19
been nothing but supportive and kind.
27:24
And where a previous relationship where I'd started,
27:27
it would always say, have you washed your hands?
27:29
Make sure you've got to wash your hands afterwards.
27:31
And of course, I'd wash my hands afterwards.
27:33
But it was that it was almost like a punishment, which wasn't
27:36
particularly nice. Whereas I'm just, I'm accepted
27:39
for who I am. And, and I have to be honest, I,
27:41
I get the odds, not brain fog, but the odd kind of like thing
27:45
where my brains a bit meh. And I don't know whether that's
27:48
just something that comes up every so often, whether it's a
27:50
menopausal symptom, I don't know.
27:52
But I'm given nothing but love for that and appreciation.
27:56
And I think that's one massive thing that's helped me accept
28:01
where I am is and that I am now with the person who accepts me
28:06
for who I am, for the gel that I rub on my legs, for the tablets
28:09
I take at night. And for the fact that we're
28:11
going to either adopt children or go surrogacy route and and
28:16
we're going to have a lovely family at some point in the
28:18
future anyway. And so I think that has that has
28:20
been a huge help to me kind of on my journey.
28:23
It's just being accepted for who I am now.
28:26
Oh what brilliant way to end being accepted for who you are.
28:29
I think we all should think more about that.
28:31
Yeah, so much. I realise as I get older we
28:33
can't change about ourselves so we just have to embrace and make
28:37
the most of it. So I'm very grateful.
28:39
But before we end, 3 take home tips and I think it should be 3
28:43
tips about how to be best advocate for yourself for
28:47
whatever treatment you want or you don't want.
28:50
You might be refusing treatment. So what are the three things
28:53
that you've learned that you can share about being an advocate
28:56
for health? So firstly, as I said before,
29:00
the gaining knowledge yourself because you know, you're an
29:05
example of where there's incredible knowledge there and
29:09
resources that people can use to gain that knowledge before they
29:12
go to an appointment. I think being confident and
29:16
backing yourself with that knowledge.
29:19
So I suppose those two come hand in hand.
29:21
And I'll add just off the top of my head, probably being curious
29:25
as well, rather than just kind of like taking your lot and just
29:28
going, oh, OK, well that's going to happen.
29:30
It's that thing of, oh, but what if, what if it could be better?
29:33
What if life could be better? And what if I could feel better
29:37
rather than just, I'm just going to have to feel like this now.
29:39
I think it's curiosity is another big one, as well as to
29:43
just be curious as to whether things could be better because
29:45
they probably can be testosterone, you know, being
29:49
that example for me. So yeah, those are my three.
29:52
What was it? Knowledge, Confidence.
29:55
Curiosity. Love it, very good.
29:58
Thank you ever so much and keep going.
30:00
Thank you so much. Yeah, will do.
30:02
Thank you. You can find out more about
30:08
Newson Health Group by visiting www.newsonhealth.co.uk and you
30:15
can download the free Balance app on the App Store.
30:18
Or Google Play.