Why didn’t Dr Newson tell me about all the risks?
IN AUGUST we published the story of Paula Rastrick, who was given twice the maximum licensed dose of HRT at ‘a private clinic’. Then we did not name her doctor for legal reasons, but can now confirm it was Dr Newson, who she saw privately in 2017 before Newson Health opened.
Ms Rastrick, a psychotherapist and mother-of-one, had her first appointment when she was 45 and suffering from anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and a low libido, which she thought were signs that she was perimenopausal.
After a 30-minute consultation, Dr Newson prescribed the maximum dose of oestrogen and a standard dose of progesterone.
‘I barely knew what oestrogen was. I just did what was recommended,’ said Ms Rastrick.
Three months later she returned to Dr Newson, reporting bleeding and worsening symptoms. Her oestrogen patches were increased to twice the maximum dose, while the progesterone remained the same.
But when Ms Rastrick’s mental health and bleeding continued to get worse, she turned to her GP who was ‘alarmed’ at the HRT dose. She had also developed endometrial hyperplasia.
‘I was told by my gynaecologist it had happened because I’d not been given enough progesterone to protect my womb,’ she says.
Urgent cancer tests came back clear, but the ordeal terrified her. Ms Rastrick recently complained about the way she was treated, claiming she had not been told her HRT was above the licensed maximum and she had not, therefore, given informed consent based on the risks and benefits.
Newson Health clinical director Dr Magnus Harrison responded: ‘We are not aware of any peerreviewed data that shows there is an increased clinical risk associated with higher doses [of oestrogen]. Informed consent is not used at Newson Health Group. We have a philosophy of shared decisionmaking and empowerment of the women who choose to attend.’
Ms Rastrick said: ‘It felt like a cut-and paste response and there was a total lack of empathy.’