From perimenopause anxiety to chronic cough, Dr Jeff answers your health questions
DR JEFF FOSTER is The Sun on Sunday’s GP and is here to help YOU.
dr jeff, The 43-year-old divides his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his H3 Health clinic, which is the first of its kind in the UK to deal with hormonal issues in both men and women.
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See h3health.co.uk and email drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q: I just turned 50 and have been on the Yasmin pill for a few years to deal with the anxiety of menopause.
Now that I’ve reached that age, my GP says he can’t give me anything for my anxiety other than antidepressants or HRT. I don’t want to either.
I have no other symptoms at all. Can you offer an alternative solution like the herbal route?
My GP prescribed Elleste Duet – is this comparable to the pill? I am very confused.
Gemma Akehurst, Ashton Under Lyme
A: Perimenopause can last up to ten years before “true” menopause occurs. Therefore, symptoms often appear in women in their early 40s.
People think of menopause as missing their period, but there are many other symptoms, including psychological ones, such as brain fog, anxiety, loss of libido, personality changes, and feeling unwell.
It’s easy to mistake this for a mental health problem.
You should speak to a menopause specialist who can explain the many options to you.
Elleste Duet is just one type of treatment and there are many others.
Do not opt for herbal treatments as these are unlikely to give you the full benefits as they are less regulated than drugs and could have additional side effects.
Q: I am a fit and healthy 80 year old male but four years ago I started coughing like I had something in my throat and no matter how hard I cough it doesn’t get clear.
I had two very quick endoscopies that found nothing, four years later.
I constantly have to cough and swallow to get rid of something. What should I do?
Alexander Youngson, Scarborough
A: A colleague of mine who is a specialist in respiratory diseases recently told me that the most common symptom they see in the clinic is chronic cough and that in a significant number of these patients they never find a cause.
If you’ve looked down your throat with a camera, not all causes of coughing are ruled out.
There are many causes of this common condition and they can be bottom-up or top-down.
This means the cough may be coming from your chest. Therefore, it is important to rule out pulmonary causes.
It can also be due to stomach acid being washed out and irritating your throat.
If we look at it “top down,” it may be due to postnasal drip and mucus running down your throat.
In any case, go back to your family doctor and ask him to treat the matter further.