![\"High-profile](\"https:\/\/nybreaking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Women-must-have-HRT-or-they-will-kill-themselves-campaigners.jpg\" "\\"Women")
<\/p>\nIs menopause so horrific that it drives some women to commit suicide? It\u2019s an alarming claim, often presented as fact \u2014 at least, it has been for the past few years.<\/p>\n
Most recently, it was created by high-profile menopause guru Dr. Louise Newson \u2013 a general practitioner and founder of the private Newson Health clinic chain, which sees around 4,000 patients a month, all seeking treatment for menopausal symptoms.<\/p>\n
A Mail on Sunday study published earlier this month revealed concerns about her clinic, which is prescribing doses of HRT above permitted limits to one in five of its patients.<\/p>\n
Experts warned that these high doses should only be used in \u201cexceptional\u201d circumstances, accusing her of endangering patients, as large amounts of some hormone drugs can increase the risk of uterine cancer.<\/p>\n
Dr. Newson, on the other hand, emphasized that her approach helps vulnerable women who struggle with suicidal thoughts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
High-profile menopause guru Dr. Louise Newson has claimed that menopause is so horrific that some women are driven to commit suicide. Pictured from left to right: Dr Louise Newson, Mariella Frostrup, MP Carolyn Harris, Penny Lancaster and Davina McCall with protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in London demonstrating against pending charges for prescription HRT in October 2021<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/nybreaking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1681601108_794_Women-must-have-HRT-or-they-will-kill-themselves-campaigners.jpg\" "\\"Women")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Mail on Sunday investigation revealed concerns about Dr. Louise Newson, who prescribes doses of HRT above the permitted limits to one in five of his patients (file photo of woman taking HRT pills)<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cThe doses allowed are simply the doses the pharmaceutical companies have done their trials with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following our report, Dr. Newson \u2013 who is supported by celebrities such as TV presenter Mariella Frostrup \u2013 spoke to another newspaper about her position.<\/p>\n
The play told the story of a woman in her mid-40s suffering from a series of mental health problems that got worse. Antidepressants \u2018made no difference\u2019, but high-dose HRT helped. Dr. Newson said that \u201cmany women\u201d who visit her clinic have \u201cvery negative intrusive thoughts that mean they feel like they shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that there was \u2018no evidence that antidepressants help to improve the psychological symptoms of menopause\u2019 and that \u2018HRT saves lives\u2019.<\/p>\n
So, is she right? First, it\u2019s important to look at the bigger picture: mental health problems are widespread. One in six adults suffers from depression, and ten percent seriously. It is about twice as common in women as in men. And some will be in menopause.<\/p>\n
But does that mean menopause is the cause or the trigger? That\u2019s kind of hard to answer \u2013 not that you\u2019d know from reading other recent headlines. \u201cWomen left suicidal amid shortage of HRT products as menopause is ruining their lives,\u201d read a post last April about the much-publicized HRT shortages. Another simply said, \u201cHST life-or-death crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of these articles quoted campaigner and Labor MP Carolyn Harris as saying women in her Swansea East constituency were \u2018literally suicidal\u2019 because they couldn\u2019t get HRT.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Katie Taylor of the Latte Lounge, a menopause support group that charges \u00a399 for an annual membership, said: \u2018It\u2019s no coincidence that the highest suicide rate among women is in the 45 to 55 age group. [when most go through the menopause].\u2019 But is it? The ONS, which compiles causes of death figures, reported 5,583 suicides in 2021 \u2013 the most recent year on record. Three-quarters (4,129) were male, and the majority of these deaths occur in middle age (45 to 49 for females and 50 to 54 for males).<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s clear that men don\u2019t go through menopause.<\/p>\n
![\"Mail](\"https:\/\/nybreaking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1681601120_668_Women-must-have-HRT-or-they-will-kill-themselves-campaigners.jpg\" "\\"Women")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mail on Sunday Health Editor Barney Calman<\/p>\n
In women, the greatest increase in suicides is among women 24 and under, while suicide rates for women 45 and over have declined significantly since 1981. \u2013 a \u2018fact\u2019 that appeared to have been put out by a menopausal campaign group. But this is not correct.<\/p>\n
A key factor in what causes people to commit suicide, according to the ONS, is socioeconomic status \u2014 suicide rates are twice as high in the most disadvantaged areas, compared to the least disadvantaged. And this gap becomes most pronounced in middle age.<\/p>\n
Financial problems and debts, unemployment, broken relationships and \u2018the demands of midlife\u2019 \u2013 caring for children and elderly parents \u2013 all play a role.<\/p>\n
As Samaritans points out, \u201cUsually there isn\u2019t a single event or factor that leads someone to commit suicide.\u201d Could menopause symptoms be such a strain that sends some women falling over the edge? It is very possible. But a single drug treatment, or lack thereof, is unlikely to make a difference in such nuanced cases.<\/p>\n
In her media guidelines for responsible reporting on suicide, Samaritans advises against speculating on a trigger or cause, as \u201csuicide is extremely complex.\u201d Given this, the \u201cwomen must have HRT or they\u2019ll kill themselves\u201d rhetoric seems like a gross oversimplification.<\/p>\n
There is some evidence that, on average, there are 10 percent more reports of depressive symptoms or low mood during perimenopause \u2014 the transitional phase prior to menopause when hormones begin to fluctuate.<\/p>\n
\u2018How much hormones play a role is not easy to pinpoint,\u2019 says Professor Myra Hunter of Kings College London, a psychologist with more than three decades of research into women\u2019s health to her credit. \u201cBut symptoms such as low mood, trouble sleeping, stress and hot flashes can often interact in a vicious cycle and have a serious impact on quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
This, Professor Hunter explains, is why NICE guidelines say that HRT, which is highly effective in reducing all of these symptoms, should be considered for low mood during menopause, along with cognitive behavioral therapy.<\/p>\n
Doctors are also advised against routinely offering antidepressants to women with menopausal symptoms unless they have been diagnosed with depression. \u201cFor depression, the type that can cause suicidal thoughts, antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy are proven treatments. And HRT can be used in combination with this if menopausal symptoms are a contributing factor.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Labor](\"https:\/\/nybreaking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1681601132_402_Women-must-have-HRT-or-they-will-kill-themselves-campaigners.jpg\" "\\"Women")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Labor MP Carolyn Harris (right with Lisa Snowden, left and Penny Lancaster in parliament), said women in her Swansea East constituency were \u2018literally suicidal\u2019 because they couldn\u2019t get HRT<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, gynecologist and HRT pioneer John Studd often treated women with mental health problems during menopause with very high doses of HRT. His research also revealed a phenomenon called tachyphylaxis, in which some overtreated patients required increasingly higher doses to control their symptoms.<\/p>\n
And some developed serious psychological problems as a result. So it is clear that more HRT is not always better for mental health. But more to the point, Prof. Hunter, like many others I\u2019ve spoken to over the years, is concerned that a generation of women is taking in the terrifying messages that menopause is going to be hell.<\/p>\n
Research suggests that these concerns can make symptoms worse. In reality, most women do not have serious problems. But if they do, there\u2019s a range of evidence-based interventions that can help \u2013 not always HRT.<\/p>\n
As Prof. Hunter says, \u201cThere are many factors that influence mental health in middle age. Hopefully we\u2019ll be able to get rid of all women\u2019s problems due to our hormones now.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Is menopause so horrific that it drives some women to commit suicide? It\u2019s an alarming claim, often presented as fact \u2014 at least, it has been for the past few years. Most recently, it was created by high-profile menopause guru Dr. Louise Newson \u2013 a general practitioner and founder of the private Newson Health clinic Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}