“When I left the clinic, I felt hopeful for the first time,” said Murray, who is now on personalised testosterone and estrogen therapy.
The hub includes the state’s first hormone and mood clinic, where psychiatrists, gynaecologists and endocrinologists provide specialist care to women experiencing severe mental health impacts due to hormonal changes.
“These are very desperate women,” Eden said. “Some of them are actively suicidal in the premenstrual phase and they need very specialised care that is not always available.”
The use of hormone treatment for menopause dropped dramatically following media coverage of a US 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, which raised concerns about an increased risk of breast cancer.
The study was found to be flawed and hormone therapy is considered safe to use for most women in their 50s or for the first 10 years after menopause onset, and the risk for blood clots, strokes and breast cancer while taking the medication is small.
However, Dr Terri Foran, a sexual health physician and NSW director of the Australasian Menopause Society, said the fallout from the initial study was still evident, despite the benefits and reduced risk of body-identical hormones over the older synthetic hormones.
“We lost a whole generation of doctors who could confidently manage menopause symptoms,” Foran said.
“But we now have women coming through menopause who are not prepared to grit their teeth and bear it and are demanding more evidence-based, agency-driven approach to managing their symptoms.”
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