Hormones Special

Reporter Anna Bailey speaks to secondary school teenagers in Birmingham, to see if they are affected by their hormones. 

How much impact do hormones have on our lives as we go about our day to day lives? Of course there are dramatic changes at puberty, pregnancy and at the menopause.  But what about the other times? Dr Amanda Howe, a GP in Norwich who also works at the University of East Anglia Medical School, joins Jane to discuss the kind of problems women bring to her, of which only some can be blamed on hormones.

A bit moody, finding your partner, children or work colleagues particularly annoying? Most women at some point in their lives have had occasion to reflect, “Oh, it’s that time of the month.” For the vast majority of us, though, PMT is a fairly minor irritant. But for a small percentage of women, hormonal fluctuations pre-menstrually, post-natally and around the time of the menopause can be severe enough to stop them living normal lives.  We’ve all heard of post-natal depression.  PMS (premenstrual syndrome)  is perhaps less well known and GPs and psychiatrists have been known to misdiagnose severe premenstrual syndrome as bipolar disorder.  Jane speaks to a listener who was misdiagnosed in this way.  She is also joined by psychiatrist Dr Michael Craig who works at the Female Hormone Clinic at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. 

New research by Nuffield Health has revealed that one in four women aged between 40-65 are struggling to cope with different aspects of life due to hormonal change – with one in ten considered quitting their job. Whilst the menopause is a widely used term – the time leading up to the transition perimenopause, is a less well-known and well used term. But, as Women's Health Expert Dr Annie Evans explains, symptoms can still have a detrimental effect on their lives.

For over a decade the risks of taking HRT have been in the headlines and linked to potential increases in the risk of cancer, having a stroke or heart attack. The publicity has left many women confused and reluctant to take HRT. So how safe is it and what’s the difference between conventional HRT and Bio-identical hormones. Norwich GP Dr Amanda Howe and Dr Jan Toledano from the Marion Gluck Clinic discuss.

Writer Helen Lederer talks to Jane about taking HRT, why she had to stop taking testosterone and life after the menopause.