Dr Sarah Ball is a former GP who has been specialising in menopause for many years. She shares her knowledge and thoughts about the menopause journey and womens options around hormone replacement therapy.
About Dr Sarah
I’m Dr Sarah Ball. For many years I worked in General Practice where I developed my interest in women’s health. This sparked a love of women’s midlife health and a keen interest in understanding the changes that occur in perimenopause and menopause. For several years I have dedicated my time to providing specialist menopause care to women of all ages. I have a particular interest in unpicking the evidence behind the medicine to enable women to understand what it means for them as individuals. I believe that medicine is both a science and an art. The science guides and informs our practice but it’s the art of applying the medicine to women that makes medicine special.
I graduated from Birmingham University (MBChB) in 1998 and went on to complete postgraduate training in General Practice where I achieved diplomas in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Family Planning and practical contraceptive techniques (coil fitting and implant insertion).
Menopause support for all
Sarah points out that all women who have been born with ovaries and reach a certain age will go through menopause. And so she feels privileged to provide help and support, by using both her own experience and knowledge plus other experts and research from the field.
Although there is a woeful amount of evidence and research within the field of female health in general, including menopause. This is getting better and as we gather more evidence Sarah is confident that this picture will change and that her daughters generation will have a much better understanding because of the work that we are doing now.
Menopause is not the end
Perimenopause and menopause is just halfway through many of our lives. Sarah describes it as half-time, and an opportunity to take a pause – look at the first half and to re-evaluate what has happened. Then going forward what we want the second half to look like, and embracing the opportunity to change.
The brain and body coming out of perimenopause is going to be different to the one that you entered into with. This does not have to be a negative, but you may need to make changes whilst you are going through the process. And at the end you will be wiser and more in tune with your body.
What is HRT?
Hormone Replacement Therapy – is replacing the reproductive hormones that decline and drop off in menopause. These are Oestrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone. Whilst oestrogen levels drop significantly post menopause, however it is the roller-coaster of oestrogen and progesterone balance that causes many of the symptoms that are experienced during perimenopause.
Each woman may need some or all of these hormones. Sarah is very clear that everyone will require different combinations of some or all of these. Sarah likens them to flour, milk and eggs, these are her raw ingredients but she can make many different things from these three ingredients.
Not everyone will need HRT, but there are many protective benefits of oestrogen which is why Sarah is so passionate about it being available to those that choose to take it.
Being informed for choice.
The 30 year lag
The oestrogen that is now available to us is relatively new, and is much better quality that that used on the women’s health initiative study. Whilst it is not possible to be certain at this date, Dr Sarah is quietly confident that this form of oestrogen is particularly supportive of brain and heart health, which we won’t really be able to start to find out for another 30 years.
Sarah is keen to state that she is not advocating that everyone goes on HRT in their early 40’s, or that those who have not taken HRT and are older have missed out on this benefit. It is just part of the picture that she is seeing and is part of the knowledge that she wants to share.
It’s all connected
Whilst Sarah is a huge advocate for diet and lifestyle measures supporting women’s menopause journey, and that she doesn’t simply give everyone a prescription for HRT when they visit her clinic. She is keen to highlight that sometimes the reason that diet and lifestyle changes seem to be beyond reach might be because of the imbalances in their hormones.
Menopause is a great big jigsaw and there are an awful lot of pieces to fit together. And each individual woman needs to be supported to make those changes at the time, and in the order that works for them.
This is an amazing podcast with lots of information that is presented in an accessible way that everyone will benefit from listening to.
Dr Sarah’s links
My links
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Want to know more about ways to work with me?
There are many ways that you can work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health and wellbeing.
On Facebook the Fab Female Nutrition Club is a wonderful FREE community where I offer lots of support and advice on female health and wellbeing. I also love to cook and create recipes and I’ll often be seen in the group cooking live and sharing all the wonderful health benefits of the ingredients used.
My Fab Female Nutrition Membership sits alongside the free club, but offers you lots of resources and group coaching with me. The hub has the full recipe book that is constantly being updated, the 5 elements of health containing resources and guides to help support you in your health journey. And 6 group coaching calls a year, plus access to other member benefits such as discounts from group programs.
A few times a year I work with groups of ladies to transform their health and wellbeing. Appropriately called The Transformation Program it can help with many differing issues and we have had hugely impressive results – including up to 100% reduction in symptoms. If you suffer with IBS, fatigue, inflammation, hormonal imbalances or just want to spend some time concentrating on your health and wellbeing they are fabulous value and great fun.
If you feel like you need a more bespoke option, then my 1:1 coaching and testing is for you. We will concentrate on your specific needs creating nutritional protocols that support your health goals. We take a full health history, then tailor testing to help create and refine protocols so that you learn about your body and how to support it. I will be with you every step of the way to guide you and ensure that you realise your true health potential. Find out more here.