Effin Hormones

'Don't put yourself at the bottom of the pile'

Sam Walker has wise words for you if you've been struggling through perimenopause and menopause.  

Sam is an award winning broadcaster; podcaster and author. She worked on national radio in the UK, before upping sticks and moving to - Phoenix Arizona! Her award winning podcast Desert Diaries tells you the story. She’s now an audio consultant and podcaster.

Emma and Helen hear Sam's perimenopause story, which was incredibly tough for her at times. Remember, if you're struggling, and you're in the UK and Ireland, the Samaritans number is 116 123. They’re always there, day or night. In the rest of the world please do look up your local mental health number.

Sam got through it, thanks to HRT and has regained her health and her sanity. In fact, she's about to run the London Marathon! She's raising money for Breast Cancer Now and would be incredibly grateful for any support.  Donate by clicking on this link, or you can find out more on Sam's instagram.

 Connect with Effin Hormones, a podcast about perimenopause and beyond

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Connect with Sam Walker: 

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"If a dinner lady from Swansea can make changes, anyone can."

Carolyn Harris MP has been a dinner lady and a barmaid. Nowadays - she's an MP who's been doing INCREDIBLE work as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Menopause. If you're getting HRT on prescription in England, it's thanks to Carolyn that you're going to be able to pay for your prescription yearly. That means you're going to save a lot of money.  

Carolyn breaks a LOT of the stereotypes of what you might expect an MP to be like. She's happy to have a good swear with the Effin Hormones gang; she dyes her hair all kinds of different colours - and most importantly she gets things done, with cross party support.

She's as far away from a career politician as you can possibly imagine, but as she says, she's not doing anything that other people can't do.  The Effin Hormones gang get inspired to keep on raising awareness and influencing government policy. Hopefully you'll feel inspired too.

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Without Louise Minchin, there would be no Effin Hormones!

Louise is a TV presenter, journalist and author. She's well known in the UK for being one of the presenters of BBC Breakfast, a job she’d had for years until announcing her departure in 2021.

Louise was holding down that high profile job while going through perimenopause. At the time, she kept asking the production team to cover menopause - because she knew it would get a big response from viewers. In the end, her producer decided to cover it - for a whole week! Louise told her story as a part of it. Louise's openness had a huge impact on both the audience - and producer Helen, who came up with the idea for Effin Hormones after seeing the impact that BBC Breakfast’s Menopause Week was having.

You'll hear all about that, plus you'll find out why Louise is so passionate that women experiencing menopause get the right information and support. Hopefully you'll also get some inspiration on taking up sport too. Louise credits her new passion with getting her through some trying times.

Connect with Effin Hormones. A perimenopause podcast.

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Connect with Louise Minchin

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Sarah Graham is an award winning health writer, whose book 'Rebel Bodies', is a manifesto for change when it comes to women's health. Find out why it's not all in your head, in this bonus Effin Hormones episode!

Has Emma solved her hot flushes with HRT? Has Helen finally worked out whether she's perimenopausal or not?!

The gang have a couple of updates for you. Seeing as it's the start of a new year, Emma, Helen, Beena and Terri also put the world to rights and discuss what more needs to be done to improve menopause and perimenopause care for all.

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Sharon and her husband JB are the first couple to chat to the Effin Hormones gang! What a brilliant couple they are too. They’re both very much in love, and a right laugh to hang out with. So - how did they cope when menopause hit Sharon like a ton of bricks? 

Sharon and JB discuss the impact menopausal symptoms have had on Sharon's career, her mental health and their relationship.  They also share some great tips on how to communicate with each other through what can be an incredibly challenging and frightening time.  They’ve managed to get through it together with their shared interests and a cracking sense of humour. 

Connect with Effin Hormones. A perimenopause podcast.

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"Companies collaborate in the menopause space to make a difference"

Sally Mueller and Michelle Jacobs are the co-founders of Womaness - a new brand covering the menopause market in the United States.

They've worked for huge US brands like Target, Pfizer and the shopping TV network HSN. But as Sally asks, "Why was I creating all these brands for millennials? Why am I not tackling this space for women like me?"

They’re on a mission to spread some - as they call it - 'menopositivity' into the world.

Plus, the Effin Hormones gang discuss the importance of checking your boobs and bits, to keep yourself healthy. Here are a couple of links to help with that:

NHS: How to check my breasts

Coppa Feel

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"Everyone should be able to get their hormones back on the NHS shouldn't they?"

Dr Louise Newson is the UK's leading voice on menopause and perimenopause. Seven years ago, she set up a private clinic because she'd heard from so many women who were being offered antidepressants for their menopause, instead of HRT.

Louise hadn't wanted to go down the private route - she had found that was her only option. Her aim, at first, was to be able to help a few people, but word spread and now her clinics see over 4000 women a month.

Since then, she's set up the Balance website and app, specifically to help women who can't afford to go private, and she's set up The Menopause Charity, which is all about working with healthcare professionals and individuals, to help them through menopause too.

The Effin Hormones gang discover what prompted Louise to campaign so passionately for an evidence based approach to the treatment of menopause, and how she managed to miss her own symptoms! Louise also answers questions from Effin Hormones listeners. You'll learn a heck of a lot in this episode, and hopefully find some inspiration too.

Louise cites some research papers, which you can access here:

Back to the future: Hormone replacement therapy as part of a prevention strategy for women at the onset of menopause

Menopause and cardiovascular disease

Menopausal hormone therapy: why we should no longer be afraid of the breast cancer risk

Chin chin from all the gang as we celebrate our win at the British Podcast Awards 2022!

Effin Hormones won GOLD for the Best Wellbeing Podcast in those awards, so join the gang as we chink chink to our success - with prosecco, nosecco and.........a cup of tea.

You'll hear what it's been like for Emma as a new mum, plus we give an update on the government's plans for women's and girls' health over the next ten years, with the Women's Health Strategy for England.

Yeah baby - we are gold! We've won Best Well-being in the British Podcast Awards!

Here's a little message of thanks from Producer, Helen x