Menopause Management
Testosterone for menopausal symptoms
This service is not currently commissioned. Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB plan to review the impact of this, taking into account system benefits, pressures and delivering cost effective services. We will provide more information when it is available. Any complaints should be directed to ciosicb.complaints@nhs.net
Please note there is no commissioned service for management of menopausal symptoms in Cornwall and RCHT do not accept referrals to the gynaecology service for this.
It is estimated that around 75% of menopausal women experience symptoms and around 25% of women experience severe symptoms that are having a negative effect on their lives, often affecting their family and work lives.
The vasomotor symptoms of the menopause are the ones that are most obvious when thinking about the menopause, but these are not the symptoms that affect women the most. It is the symptoms of low mood, anxiety, reduced self-esteem, poor memory and concentration, reduced libido and vaginal dryness that affect them the most.
All the guidelines support the notion that for the majority of women starting HRT when they are under 60 years old, the benefits of taking HRT usually outweigh any risks.
Useful links for menopause management:
https://www.earlymenopause.com/hrt-equivalencies/
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/symptoms.php
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/prematuremenopause.php
Most women with menopausal symptoms can be managed in primary care. There is currently no NHS provision for patients to be seen within Cornwall.
Where there is Premature Ovarian Failure (<40y) and the patient would like to conceive please refer to the infertility guidelines:
Date: December 2021
Review Date: December 2022
Author: Dr S Burns
Contributors: Dr Sarah Gray, Lisa Verity Gynaecology consultant RCHT.
Version 1.2
References:
1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NICE guideline NG23 – Menopause: diagnosis and management 2015 [May 2017]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23
2. Baber RJ, Panay N, Fenton A, Group IMSW. 2016 IMS Recommendations on women’s midlife health and menopause hormone therapy. Climacteric 2016;19:109-50
3. Hamoda H, Panay N, Arya R, Savvas M. The British Menopause Society & Women’s Health Concern 2016 recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women. Post Reproductive Health 2016;22:165-83 4. Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL,