femalegp

26/08/2026

It’s International Dog Day today!!!

I know not everyone is a big dog person. I certainly wasn’t… until George came along.

He completely changed my world. My own real live teddy bear 🧸

He was my first baby, and he taught me just how much dogs communicate without words. How perceptive they are. How they somehow know when you need them. And how much love, personality and connection can fit into one very fluffy creature.

And also... that tidiness really isn’t as important as I once thought.
I do try. I really do. But with wet dogs, muddy paws, fur everywhere and three Samoyeds, I am basically fighting a losing battle.

And my patients know this too... I LOVE meeting their dogs. Because actually, our dogs can be part of our hormonal health journey too.

They get us outside. They motivate us to walk when we might otherwise not move. They can also help us stop. And sometimes, when we are talking about how on earth to fit exercise into an already busy life, the answer is simply: you need to walk the dog anyway, so how can we make that count for you too? And we have to work around that.

Companionship. Routine. Movement. Fresh air. Connection. And so much more. Georgie taught me that you don’t always need words to communicate. That personality and character come in all shapes and sizes. That caring can be instinctive. And that fur babies really are whānau forever.

So, for International Dog Day, I would LOVE to meet your fur babies.

Please share a photo and tell me: what has your dog taught you?

22/08/2026

Sometimes the most useful part of an MHT review is going back to the beginning: what did you start, what changed, and when? MHT isn’t one medication, and understanding what estradiol and progesterone are each doing can be the clue to working out what needs optimising.

22/08/2026

“I Felt Better When I Started MHT. So Why Am I Tired Now?”

These cases are based on common themes I see in clinic, brought together to share and illustrate how I think about MHT. PS This is a LONG one! But if you like it - tag, and like - and I'll do more!

It is ALL ABOUT the story. I listen to the story, then bring in the science.

Sometimes the most useful part of an MHT review is simply going back to the beginning. What did you start? What happened next? And when did each medication actually begin?

Because MHT isn't one medication. Estradiol and progesterone can each affect us differently, and sometimes the timeline gives us the most useful clues.

👤 Case One: Better From the First Night

A 60-year-old woman came to see me for an MHT review (ie ~10 years post menopause). She had started MHT around two years earlier for a collection of menopausal symptoms: body aches and pains, poor sleep, cognitive and mood changes, and some hot flushes, although these weren't particularly troublesome.

She was taking E25, a 25 mcg estradiol patch, alongside Utrogestan 100 mg. She remembered feeling better almost immediately. In particular, she slept better from the first night, and that had a flow-on effect. Better sleep meant better mood, thinking, pain, energy and ability to cope.

But when we went back through what had improved and what hadn't, I wondered whether Utrogestan had actually been responsible for much of that immediate improvement in sleep, while her estradiol remained under-treated.

E25 is a low dose. We don't routinely manage MHT according to estradiol blood levels, and we shouldn't be chasing a particular number. But in this particular context, we did check. On day two of her patch, her serum estradiol was

22/08/2026

More Than a Period: Cycles, Mood & Everything In Between

Periods. Hormones. Pain. Mood. What’s normal? And when should we actually be asking for help?

Join Dr Sam Newman (femalegp) for a practical, interactive evening designed for tweens, teens and the adults who support them.

📅 Thursday 17 September 2026
⏰ 6.00–8.00 pm
📍 Iona College Performing Arts Centre, Havelock North
We’ll talk openly about the things we often don’t get taught about periods.

We’ll cover:
⭐️ What actually happens during the menstrual cycle
⭐️ What is normal and what might not be
⭐️ Period pain, heavy bleeding and other symptoms
⭐️ Practical ways to manage periods
⭐️ Hormones, mood and wellbeing
⭐️ When it’s worth asking for medical help
⭐️ How all of us can have better conversations about menstrual health

✔️ There’ll be plenty of practical information, opportunities to ask questions, and absolutely no expectation that anyone needs to share personal experiences.

✔️ For young people: come and learn about your body without the awkwardness.

✔️ For parents and caregivers: come away with the language and knowledge to have these conversations at home.

✔️ For anyone who works with, teaches, coaches, supports or cares for someone who menstruates.

Because periods don’t just happen at home. They happen at school, at work, on the sports field and everywhere in between. Knowing what’s normal, recognising when something isn’t, and feeling confident talking about it can make a real difference.

🙌 And there’s an added bonus ➡️ 100% of the proceeds from the evening will support Heretaunga GirlGuides to attend Jamboree in January 2027.
So you’ll be supporting local rangatahi while helping us build better menstrual health literacy across Hawke’s Bay.

🎟️ Tickets available now via Eventbrite (link in comments)

Bring your daughter 🩵 Bring your mum 🩵 Bring a friend 🩵 Bring a colleague 🩵 Or just bring yourself

Come together, or come on your own. Everyone is welcome.

Because understanding periods shouldn’t be something we have to figure out by ourselves.

Tag a friend who might want to come along, and follow this event. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share more about what we’ll be talking about, how the evening will work, and why we think better period education can make such a difference.

Our hope is simple: that everyone leaves feeling a little more informed, a little more confident, and better able to understand their own body or support someone they care about

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/more-than-a-period-cycles-mood-everything-in-between-tickets-1997801884215?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

19/08/2026

The room was bursting!! I presented the evidence, and the safety. Along with the science. Because, here in Aotearoa, we can practise in the best interests for our wāhine. Testosterone for women can be a game changer, even if the data doesn’t offer statistically significant evidence. But, there are no known significant adverse health effects when levels maintained in the premenopausal range. Moral of the story. Stay safe and be curious ☺️

14/08/2026

At Te Pae in Christchurch. My aims for today are for attendees to sit with potential discomfort of discussing libido, address confounding factors and be CONFIDENT to prescribe testosterone. Because there really are more benefits than risks. Ie “adverse effects are uncommon if levels are maintained within the female physiological range” [British Menopause Society]. So are there more risks of ‘not’ prescribing?

29/07/2026

29/07/2026

Hormones.

The 62yo who stares at me blankly when I ask, “How did you sleep when you were pregnant?” Then, slowly, remembers that for the first time in years, she slept through the night.

The 43yo with new-onset insomnia who realises she experienced the same thing during her only pregnancy. She tells me having another child was incomprehensible because she felt so awful, but she had never connected the two.

The 24yo who quietly says that the contraceptive pill made life feel worth living. Then later discovers she feels even better on body-identical estradiol.

The 26yo referred for therapy because of painful s*x. But the cause was her hormones... she had profound vaginal dryness from oestrogen deficiency. A condition we often associate with menopause, but one that can occur at any age.

The 41yo with ‘just’ PMS. Who then remembers feeling unexpectedly calm and well during pregnancy & breastfeeding. Her symptoms have now returned.

The 46yo whose migraines disappeared for decades, now to return. She remembers they first appeared at puberty.

The 37yo who expected IVF to be dreadful but instead felt remarkably well throughout hormone support and the hormonal environment of pregnancy.

The 51yo who bursts into tears because she believed she was developing the same “psychosis” that affected her mother at 51. Instead, she discovers another explanation. One that suddenly makes sense of what she has been experiencing, and one that can often be treated.

The stories continue. And no single story proves anything, but there are clear patterns. And there is data.. evidence.. in the stories, in the literature [but you need to know where to look].

That is why this has become my mahi.
Not because I think hormones explain everything.
But because I have learnt that they explain far more than many of us were ever taught.

NB these aren’t individual patient stories. They are amalgamations of hundreds of conversations, shared to protect privacy while reflecting the patterns that have shaped how I now practise medicine.

But, seeing is believing. And once you’ve seen these patterns and believe in these patterns, it becomes impossible to stop asking the