Dr Louise Newson, who runs a menopause clinic, discusses many of the myths about Hormone Replacement Therapy for women - or HRT for short. What are the risks? Who should take it and for how long? It's a subject which has been much misunderstood. Too frequently, women in either the years leading up to the menopause or during the menopause itself, get misdiagnosed when they go to see their GP about symptoms. That can mean they end up on antidepressants, sleeping pills and potentially a cascade of other drugs, some of which may be very difficult to stop once they start, and don’t actually treat the underlying issues caused by the menopause. Shockingly, Louise has even met women who have been given electro-convulsive therapy for their menopausal symptoms. Recently, there has also been controversy about dosage levels of HRT and why doctors like Louise sometimes prescribe higher doses of the hormone estradiol. But she argues this is because these women are poor absorbers of HRT. They need higher levels of the hormone to achieve an effective level of estradiol in their bloodstream. In a recent paper, she and colleagues explored the variation in estradiol levels in women using transdermal patches. Louise Newson's book: The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause is published by Yellow Kite. The host of this award nominated podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at https://liztucker.substack.com If you would like to support this podcast you can do so via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/WhatYourGPDoesntTellYou or via PayPal at https://www.whatyourgpdoesnttellyou.com/support/