OMG: The Women's Health Brief

I used to go to the doctor thinking they knew more than me. When it comes to perimenopause and menopause, I now know that’s rarely true. The bigger problem? Many women don’t know this. They go in expecting answers the rightanswers and unless you’re seeing a true specialist (a very loose term, by the way), you may not get them.

And I don’t blame doctors. They were never really taught much about menopause in the first place. After the fiasco of the WHI study in 2002, they pretty much stopped learning anything at all. The thinking was: if HRT is so dangerous (even though it was still considered the most effective treatment for menopause symptoms), then why bother? Most of the scary conclusions of that study have since been discredited, but the damage was done. Prescribing dropped off, menopause fell out of the curriculum, and pharmaceutical companies shifted their attention to more profitable medicines for individual conditions.

And here we are: more than twenty years later, women are still paying the price.

So what are we expected to do? Study evidence-based research papers, learn every possible symptom, memorise guidelines, and cram it all into a ten-minute consultation if you’re in the UK. In the US, the system is different, but while appointment times can still be short, there is at least the rise of telemedicine clinics focused on menopause, which gives women another option.

And all of this while managing jobs, families, kids, aging parents, empty nests… you name it.

Yes, we do need to become experts in our own health. Not because we should have to, but because too often we have to.

A Positive Shift

The good news is, things are changing. Some brilliant menopause doctors are bridging the gap, writing books, hosting podcasts, and sharing knowledge on social media. You don’t need to figure this out alone — their expertise is now more accessible than ever.

Dr Louise Newson even suggests the starting HRT dose you can ask your GP for. Dr Mary Claire Haver not only provides resources you can print and take to your doctor, but also lays out a clear, evidence-based framework in her book The New Menopause. Kelly Casperson, Rachel Rubin, Heather Hirsch, and others are out there on podcasts, Instagram, and YouTube, breaking down the evidence into practical, usable advice.

So while the system is still flawed, the knowledge is out there. And the more of us who access it, share it, and take it into our doctor’s office, the more things will shift.

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Resources & Further Reading

📄 Websites & Guidelines

• NICE Guidelines: Menopause Diagnosis and Management
• The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS) — clinical statements and resources
• British Menopause Society — evidence-based resources for healthcare professionals and women

📚 Books

• The New Menopause — Dr Mary Claire Haver
• The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause — Dr Louise Newson

📑 Research & Re-Analysis

• WHI Follow-up: Manson JE et al., Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Long-term All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality, JAMA 2017
• Reappraisal of WHI Findings: Lobo RA, Hormone-replacement therapy: current thinking, Nat Rev Endocrinol 2017

🎧 Podcasts

• The Dr Louise Newson Podcast — episodes unpacking WHI and its impact
• You Are Not Broken — Kelly Casperson, MD, on evidence vs. misinformation in menopause care
• The Mary Claire Wellness Podcast — practical advice and advocacy for women navigating menopause