DOCTORS have hit back at Davina McCall’s claim women are being short-changed on hormone therapy for menopause.
They argue the change is “over-medicalised” and said it should be considered a normal part of ageing instead.
Doctors have hit back at Davina McCall’s claim women are being short-changed on hormone therapy for menopause
Davina shone a light on crippling effects of menopause and the benefits of hormone replacement therapy in her latest Channel 4 documentary, Sex, Mind and the Menopause.
It came as pharmacy shelves ran dry of vital treatments and ministers were forced to devise a rescue plan amid our own Menopause Matters campaign.
London GP Dr Rammya Mathew said she “applauds” the top presenter for highlighting issues.
But suggesting loads of women were denied treatment by their GP had led to doctors being abused, she added.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr Mathew said: “This can easily feed into a narrative that the country’s GPs are under-skilled and under-qualified and that, as a result of our incompetence, women are being badly let down.
“However, the truth is that many U-turns have been made regarding the safety of HRT, which have had a lasting impact on practitioners’ confidence.
“Women’s symptoms can’t always be attributed to the menopause and, although the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks in most women, this is not always the case.”
Another BMJ article argued that Brits are too quick to treat menopause as a medical problem, which makes women fear it or think they need treatment.
Experts from King’s College London, Australia and the US said women do not all suffer when their periods stop in middle age.
They said women could benefit from “normalising menopause and emphasising positive or neutral aspects such as freedom from menstruation, pregnancy and contraception”.
Surveys found 90 per cent did not feel hard-hit by body changes and 42 per cent were even glad to be going through the menopause.
Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee, said: “If hot flushes, night sweats, unbearable itching, insomnia, anxiety, etcetera, can all be avoided, then I am astonished the BMJ is telling us to just get on with it.
“For many women, HRT can be a real game-changer, which is why we need consistent availability, better understanding from some medical professionals and support not criticism.”