‘They’re asking for help and not getting it’: Jo Whiley ‘troubled’ by lack of HRT support for women
The presenter says she's coming across too many women unable to access the right support during menopause
Women are becoming more knowledgeable about perimenopause and menopause, and of the signs and symptoms that could mean they would benefit from HRT.
However, accessing the right support to even be prescribed HRT and getting the correct dose, seems to be challenging to come by.
Jo Whiley addressed this "troubling" trend when it comes to women not being appropriately cared for by healthcare professionals, during what can be a hugely difficult stage of life.
During an episode of the Dig It podcast she hosts with friend Zoe Ball, Jo says, "I'm getting a bit frustrated by the number of friends I have at the moment who are trying to get the right medication, right HRT and right advice, and they're not getting anywhere."
Expressing a feeling of helplessness, she adds, "I don't know what to suggest to them, all I can ever say is to just keep going back and try to find the right GP who will be helpful to you."
Jo continues, "But it does feel wrong to me that they aren't getting the help immediately. There seems to be something broken - something's not right."
Jo explains that the women she knows are doing all the right things - going to a GP, explaining their symptoms and asking for help and advice, but, "they're not getting it."
The presenter says she "doesn't know why" they wouldn't be offered the help they need, adding, "that troubles me."
She concludes, "This is not right, how is this happening?" Menopause specialist Dr Naomi Potter commented on the segment when it was shared to Instagram.
Expressing her equal frustration at everything Jo said, Dr Potter says, "It’s amazing that this is still happening. I was hoping that over the last few years this had changed because of how much everyone is talking about it but maybe not."
She continues, "I had a patient this week who had spoken to six of her friends at a party last weekend, all with debilitating symptoms and they had ALL given up and continued to struggle because they couldn’t get help."
Sharing their experience, somebody else commented, "It shouldn’t be this hard." The woman revealed she'd taken a script with them to an appointment to discuss her symptoms, written by another menopause specialist called Dr Louise Newson.
She continues, "I said I wasn’t leaving the surgery until I got what I needed. I also got my GP to look up the NICE guidelines on her computer when she offered me antidepressants, so she could read that they should not be the first line of treatment if a woman has low mood and is of menopausal age."
The commenter concludes, "You have to go armed more often than not. If this was men it [HRT] would be in vending machines."
