The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Jo flew supersonic jets under extreme pressure for a living, but missed the menopause happening inside her own body.
This week Dr Louise Newson is joined by Jo Salter, Britain's first female fast jet pilot, who spent years pushing through severe menopause symptoms without realising what they were, until she found herself mentally ticking off a symptom checklist in the middle of a conference. They talk about why testosterone is still so hard for women to access even on an NHS prescription, and the guidelines that leave many women denied any hormones at all after a surgical menopause.
Louise also explains why breast cancer shouldn't automatically rule out HRT, the buried history of progesterone and postnatal depression, and shares a patient story that shows just how much hormones can transform a life.
Jo closes with her three take-home tips for building the confidence to advocate for your own health.
Let’s connect
👉 Track your symptoms and understand hormones, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr Louise Newson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson
👉Follow Jo: @josaltermbe

Rose Stokes, journalist and host of the Matter of Fat podcast, joins Dr Louise Newson to talk GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, the hormones behind weight gain and the shame around women's bodies.
Rose has lived with obesity on and off for thirty years and is currently taking GLP-1 medication herself, after months of exercise and calorie counting made no difference to her weight post-pregnancy. She and Louise talk candidly about what these drugs can and can't do, and why "easy" is the last word Rose would use to describe taking them.
Louise explains why women are so often told their weight is a food and exercise problem when the real cause can be hormonal. They also cover the research gaps around GLP-1s and women's hormones and why blame and shame make it harder to get the right help.
Rose closes with her three take-home tips for anyone rethinking their relationship with weight.
Let’s connect
👉 Track your symptoms and understand hormones, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson
👉 Follow Rose: Insta: @rosestokeshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-matter-of-fat/id6805913565
https://open.spotify.com/show/469s4SFr3DNivfx1dQVyXR?si=9065a05ed85b4723

Up to 80% of women with PMDD have suicidal thoughts. Online, it's being trivialised as the 'luteal uglies'.
In this solo episode, Dr Louise Newson explains what'sactually happening in the second half of your menstrual cycle. She describes the sharp drop in progesterone that can trigger low mood, anxiety, irritability, brain fog, fatigue and more, and why calling it the 'lutealuglies’ does women a disservice.
Louise traces how PMDD was made a psychiatric condition in the 1960s and 70s, sidelining the work of Dr Katharina Dalton, a GP whose research on natural progesterone was decades ahead of its time. She explains why hormonal contraception doesn't actually contain hormones, why low testosterone is so often mistaken for fibromyalgia or depression, and how a symptom questionnaire can help you track your own pattern across your cycle.
Louise closes with three take-home tips on getting the right diagnosis and treatment and why sharing this episode matters.
Let’s connect
👉 Track your symptoms andunderstand hormones, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson

Kim Smith went on a family holiday to Spain with a UTI and woke up nine weeks later having lost all four limbs to sepsis.
Twice missed by Spanish doctors, Kim's kidney pain and uncontrollable shivering escalated so fast she doesn't remember being flown home. She tells Dr Louise Newson what actually happened, from the misdiagnosis to being told all four limbs would need amputating, and how she's rebuilt her life since as a quadruple amputee and sepsis awareness advocate.
Louise and Kim discuss the sepsis warning signs so often missed, why kidney pain and sudden shivering are red flags, and how around 30% of sepsis cases start as a urine infection. They also cover why vaginal hormones significantly cut UTI frequency and severity and are safe for almost everyone, including women who've had breast cancer, yet are still rarely prescribed.
Kim shares her three take-home tips on sepsis before the episode ends.
Follow Kim: @kims2ndchance
 
Let’s connect
👉 Track your symptoms andunderstand hormones, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson

Nutritionist Dominique Ludwig, author of No NonsenseNutrition, explains why your gut controls your hormones and hunger.
Dominique trained at King's College and has spent 20 years in clinical practice, working with around 4,500m people before writing the book that turns her clinic advice, and the recipes behind it, into something anyone can use at home.
Louise and Dominique talk through how your liver and gut clear out old hormones, why the wrong gut bacteria can impact your hormones and how the Contraceptive Pill can block your absorption of B12, zinc and folate. They also unpick why protein and fibre switch on the body's own satiety hormones (the same pathway GLP-1 medications work on) and why so many of Dominique's clients describe the disappearance of "food noise" as life-changing.
Follow Dominique: @dominiqueludwig_nutrition
Let’s connect
👉 Track your symptoms and understand hormones, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson