The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Natalie Sykes spent years using heroin and crack cocaine to self-medicate undiagnosed PMDD, autism and ADHD, and now finally understands why.
Natalie, founder of the PMDD & Neurodivergence Alliance, tells Dr Louise Newson how PMDD's crushing hormonal mood swings collided with undiagnosed autism and ADHD to leave her, in her words, "allergic to my own body." Misdiagnosed as bipolar for decades, she turned to substances that numbed what nobody could explain. While using heroin, her PMDD symptoms disappeared completely.
Louise explains that progesterone, estradiol and testosterone act directly on the brain's opioid and dopamine receptors, so when women are chronically short of these hormones, the body looks for relief elsewhere. They discuss why neurodivergent women are especially vulnerable to this pattern and why harm reduction has to be part of the conversation.
Natalie shares her three take-home tips for anyone who suspects PMDD, ADHD or autism might be behind their struggle to cope.
If you've experienced hormonal changes at any stage of life - from menstruation through to menopause - and have experience of addictive behaviours, coping strategies or gambling, you can help shape future support by taking part in this research survey: https://newson.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1YtaHkftP8GrSbc
Follow Natalie @pmddneurodivergencealliance
Let’s connect👉 Been dismissed or misdiagnosed? Book a consultation at Newson Health clinic: https://www.newsonhealth.co.uk/consultations👉 More from Dr Louise Newson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson👉 Follow Natalie's work with the PMDD & Neurodivergence Alliance: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CzUafKyFt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

In India, one woman asked her gynaecologist about HRT and was told: "over my dead body." Dr Louise Newson travels to India to meet Sanjith Shetty, founder of the menopause community Miror and one of the country's most vocal male allies for women's hormone health. Sanjith built Miror after studying hundreds of femtech companies and finding that menopause, a phase every woman goes through, had almost no support compared to maternal and menstrual health. His community has since grown to thousands of Indian women openly discussing HRT, and he is now pushing corporates and government to take hormone health seriously.
Louise and Sanjith discuss why so many doctors in Indiaremain frightened of prescribing HRT, what it costs women's careers and confidence and the early signs that attitudes among doctors, employers and government are starting to shift.
They close with three things Sanjith wants to see happen in the next five years to improve hormone health for women across India.
Let’s connect
👉 To access hormoneinformation in India, download the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 For global clinicianeducation, explore Newson Education: https://bit.ly/4g5V0ps
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson

Rosie Moss spent years being told her symptoms were simply grief, when actually there was undiagnosed PMDD also at play.
Rosie hosts the podcast Widowed AF, and after her husband Ben died suddenly in a scuba diving accident in 2018, she was left to raise three young children while experiencing monthly crises that went far beyond ordinary grief, including periods of being unable to leave her bed for days at a time. Over the following years she was prescribed a succession of medications, from antidepressants to sedatives to an antipsychotic, none of which addressed what was actually happening to her hormones.
Rosie describes being threatened with the police at A&E and being refused the estrogen dose that had finally brought her stability, while Dr Louise explains why physical symptoms such as joint pain and night sweats are often a sign that hormones are involved rather than grief alone, and why current guidelines still recommend antidepressants for PMDD despite limited evidence that they help.
Rosie also shares the three take-home tips she would give anyone navigating grief.
Follow Rosie and Widowed AF: @widowed_af
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

Dr Holly Carding, GP, Women’s Hormone Specialist and Education Lead at Newson Education, joins Louise to expose the hormone training gap that leaves doctors too scared to prescribe hormone treatments including progesterone, estradiol and testosterone.
Holly had almost no training on hormones as a medical student and as a GP, became a menopause champion after returning from maternity leave and now leads global education for Newson Education, building the Confidence in Hormones course from scratch to close a training and education gap for all healthcare professionals globally - including for GPs, nurses, pharmacists, psychiatrists, cardiologists and all other doctors.
They discuss the course's modules on testosterone prescribing, mental health, and individualising care for women with a history of breast cancer or clots, why "just a guideline" isn't enough for real patients, and the Hormones Uncovered conference returning as a two-day event in London, Hormones and Healthspan, in March.
Holly leaves three take-home tips for any healthcare professional wanting to get to grips with hormone health.
Let’s connect
👉 Find out more about the Hormones Uncovered conference: https://bit.ly/4wOmLtm
👉 Doctor, or know one who needs to hear this? Build confidence in hormone health with the Confidence in Hormones course at Newson Education: https://bit.ly/4g5V0ps
👉 More from Dr Louise Newson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson

Content advisory: This episode contains themes of mental health and suicide
Anna, a nurse, was sectioned, hospitalised in psychiatric wards for months and overdosed more than once, all while being diagnosed with everything from treatment-resistant depression to a personality disorder. It took over a decade for anyone to link it to her hormones and to believe her.
She tells Dr Louise Newson how her suicidal episodes tracked her menstrual cycle for ten years, yet doctors dismissed her and used her own theory about hormones as evidence she wasn't well. Even after a hysterectomy, a reaction to synthetic progestogen from a Mirena coil, and repeated admissions, it took a private gynaecologist to diagnose PMDD and start her on hormone treatments (HRT).
Louise and Anna unpick why psychiatry so often overlooks hormones, the real difference between progesterone and synthetic progestogens and why removing the ovaries doesn't usually remove the problem. Plus three take-home tips for getting hormonal symptoms taken seriously.
Let’s connect
👉 Track your moodsymptoms with the Balance app: https://bit.ly/4yZty5A
👉 More from Dr LouiseNewson: https://linkin.bio/drlouisenewson