What kind of help?
Conventional medical practice
- In the UK the first port of call for many women
is the general practice. Doctors and practice nurses are likely to
work as a team, and sometimes the person most interested in menopause
is the
practice nurse. It is worth finding out whether there are specific
menopausal clinics or short-life discussion groups available; ask the
practice receptionists.
- Local community health services provide family
planning clinics and well women clinics which are open to women registered
with a variety
of family doctors. Such clinics are staffed by doctors and nurses with
special training which covers menopausal issues; the staff are often
all female. In some areas they can prescribe for menopausal conditions as
well as give advice. There may also be specialist community clinics
on menopause. Contact your local Community Health service for details in
your area or check the NHS web-site for
local services.
- If you have serious problems which your GP cannot solve,
the next stage is referral to a hospital consultant gynaecologist.
Conventional medicine’s best known
remedy for menopausal conditions is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT),
which has in the past been heavily marketed as the answer to both present
distress and future health risks, notably heart disease and osteoporosis.
It is important to consider up-to-date research, however, which does
not justify the early uncritical enthusiasm.
Some women, and some problems, benefit from HRT; some
do not, and for some it poses a health risk in itself. Finding the right
preparation for an individual woman may also take some time and a certain
amount of experiment. Women need to consider what HRT might be able to
do for them and whether it is worth the risks – which vary with
the individual. If you are considering HRT, discuss the issue in depth
with your doctor as well as informing yourself.
There are now other drugs available as well as HRT. See
the Resources section on conventional
medicine for web-sites with more clinical information.
Complementary and alternative medicine
Although some complementary practitioners work within
the NHS, the majority are in private practice, and the level of provision
in different parts of the country is very varied. For information on the
various therapies, including lists of qualified practitioners, see the
Resources section for lists of web-sites
of regulating bodies.
In private practice, part of what you are paying for
is professional time. You can expect longer sessions and more detailed
history-taking, coupled with attention to your view of the problem. Explanations
of treatment are just as important here as in conventional medical care.
So is research evidence, but unfortunately complementary practice has
attracted far less research attention and funding than the pharmaceutical
industry’s products, and high quality research is therefore in
comparatively short supply. Much complementary practice is based on clinical
experience,
which in the case of the most established specialities is derived from
a long tradition of professional training. This situation is changing,
however, and the Resources section on complementary
practice includes
websites to explore the growing body of research in this area. For a
general,
uncommitted overview of the wide range of complementary therapies, see
the Channel
4 website.
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