Rap Intro: [00:00:00] Stories Labels Misconceptions NHS remains a blessing created in 1948. We want it to remain great. a podcast where we share our stories explore solutions in all their glories They say it's broken but it's not done with your hosts Val Barrett and Dr Jeremy Anderson. 

Val: Welcome to Stories, labels, and Misconceptions co-hosted by me Val Barrett 

Dr Jeremy: and me Dr Jeremy Anderson, 

Val: A podcast where we share our stories, experiences, and explore solutions to the issues we face today within social care and health. 

Val: Hey Jeremy, how are you? 

Dr Jeremy: I'm doing great. How are you, Val? 

Val: I'm good. What have [00:01:00] you been doing all week? What does it been like all week? Yeah. At work? 

Dr Jeremy: Work has been very busy. I think with the shakeup at NHS England, I think we're all wondering what's going to happen. In terms of allocating money going forward, and so what we're setting up in the sickle cell service right now is the, is a community multidisciplinary team.

Dr Jeremy: And so this is, going to be a group of allied health professionals. So psychologists, social workers, social prescribers, pharmacists community nurses. Working with patients in the community. 

Val: Okay. 

Dr Jeremy: And this is really geared towards people who don't come to hospital very often, but need long-term follow-up, or sometimes it's because people are coming into hospitals so much because they don't have support in the community.

Val: Yes. Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: So by providing them support in the community will be able to prevent them from coming into hospital unnecessarily. So that's really exciting. I've been looking at hiring for that post and 

Val: so that's a bit like yeah, a virtual ward [00:02:00] type thing that we discussed before.

Dr Jeremy: It may involve virtual ward on top of that, so that's, yeah, it's a community team. But we may also, and this hasn't been determined yet, but we may also be able to. Look at a virtual ward where we actually use technology to monitor people's vital signs at home. To make sure that they're okay.

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Even if they're not literally in a hospital taking up a hospital bed. 

Val: That makes sense. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah, really exciting. 

Val: Oh, good. This week we've been really busy. Hospital appointments. GP appointments and dental appointments all in one week. Yes. It's been so hectic. 

Dr Jeremy: And has it been easier to get a GP appointment this week?

Val: I've never had any problems. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Honestly, I told you that before. Yeah. I've never had any, in fact, they phoned me. They phoned you? They phoned me. 'cause they phoned for Andre, my son. It was a learning needs review. So they always follow [00:03:00] up with him and they always do a carer's review for me. And at times they just will just phone and it's wow, somebody in the community really does care. So anyway. 

Dr Jeremy: That's really fantastic. Yeah. 'cause most of us have the 8:00 AM scramble trying to. 

Val: Exactly 

Dr Jeremy: the GP practice at that specific time. And you're on hold with 20 other people.

Val: Mine's okay. Since they moved they've been a lot better. But then when we went to the hospital, we came out and a thought, 'cause he went in to have a liver scan. So we came out we thought we haven't got to rush home. Look across the road. There's this pub. I thought, go on, let's go get something to eat and something to drink. Uhhuh. It was nice. 

Dr Jeremy: Oh, great. 

Val: It was nice. Yeah. After a hectic week, it was nice. Just to go in lovely pub. It's a really nice pub. Have a lovely cold lager. 'cause I don't drink that at home. All I drink at home is red [00:04:00] wide. That's all I drink at home. And water. Of course. Of course. But the only alcoholic drink is red wine. So that was to round off our week, which is why, hence we recording on a Saturday. We've both been very busy. So I'm just gonna surprise you with the topics.

Val: Yeah, what's the topic today? So we're gonna be discussing something about men's health. And then little bit about HRT and the menopause, because I received a text message. Okay. I dunno if you saw this story. When I saw this story, I could not believe it. I couldn't because the joke with me and my pharmacist is.

Val: They let, they'll run out of HRT drugs for women. But you can always get Viagra for men. 

Dr Jeremy: Oh, yes. 

Val: And then a man will say it's not for us. It's for you. That's what I've heard them say yeah. Yeah, of course.

Dr Jeremy: I've never had to say that. [00:05:00] 

Val: Someone on television said that. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: So the headlines got me.

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: The headline says The bionic manhood. Number of men given bionic willy operations on NHS hit a record high last year.

Val: So the figures have been revealed? 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. I've never heard of such a procedure. 

Val: Oh, you haven't? 

Dr Jeremy: No I haven't seen the story yet. 

Val: Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. So last year at a cost of 5.4 million. 5.4 more than 600 men were given, as they call it bionic willy operations., 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Yeah. So there's a demand for the penis prosthetic. Has grown with a record of 607 [00:06:00] in 2024. It's cost 9,000 per. Operation 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. And so you're saying the number of procedures has grown. Has it? 

Val: Yeah, grown. Okay. And I don't think it's about, a penis enlargement thing.

Dr Jeremy: So it's for men with erectile dysfunction and it allows them to get an erection. 

Val: It's for men that have used things like Viagra and other AIDS Uhhuh, that doesn't work for them.

Dr Jeremy: Oh, I see. Okay. 

Val: So I think the last resort is this operation to help them get an erection. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Yes. So it's risen the number, 

Dr Jeremy: it's risen. Has it? It's grown and it's risen. Okay, that's good. Yeah.

Val: But they're saying it's because men in later life still want to have an active sex life. They do. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. So is it mostly men, like older men? developing erectile dysfunction or I suppose it could be younger men if they have [00:07:00] damage to the penis. 

Val: Could be age. Yeah. Yeah, it could any age. It could be any age. Any age. But they've noticed that, even if you are 60, it doesn't mean you should, it should be the end of your sex life. It doesn't. So I think even, Pacino and Robert De Niro, they've had children very late in life. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: Do you know what I mean? 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: So there are men out there, seventies, eighties. Still wanna have some sex. Some of them need an aid, and it's not just older men, as you said, it could be young men through whatever they could be through some. Illness or something that they've had, which prevents them from getting an erection. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: So we mustn't assume. It's a vanity thing for men because we look at men's health and women's health differently. But like I said, when I ran out of my HRT drugs and I couldn't get them, the pharmacist who is a man made that statement. But you can always get Viagra.

Dr Jeremy: Always. Yeah.

Val: And women are half of the [00:08:00] population. So it's gotta be on equal footing.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Men's health and women's health, and the supply chain. Do you know what I mean? So let me carry on this story one second. So at the end of the day, I think the numbers are gonna rise because that's what they want. 

Dr Jeremy: The innuendo just keeps on coming. 

Val: Yeah. Yeah. So when people hear these figures ' cause the government are talking about cuts for it. Do they give this one the snip? Shouldn't laugh. Shouldn't. 

Dr Jeremy: That's interesting. Yeah. 

Val: They look and these things that they do, like some women or men go abroad. Yeah. They have plastic surgery done. Something goes wrong, they come back, it's done on the NHS Yeah. So there is a lot of things done on the NHS and people might give it like a side eye and think, is that what we should [00:09:00] be paying for? I don't know, through no fault of their own. There could be a illness. 

Dr Jeremy: I was thinking about my patients with sickle cell disease, my male patients, um, they can suffer from complications.

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Affecting the penis. Like they have what's called stuttering Priapism and so if they get sickling in the tissues around the penis that can actually cause priapism, which is a prolonged. Erections of blood can get in, but it can't get out. 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: And so if that lasts long enough, that actually damages the tissue. And it can lead to erectile dysfunction. So even very young men who, who want to get married and their families and all this stuff there, they're suffering from erectile dysfunction. And, I suppose the question is, as you put it, like this is on the National Health Service and.

Dr Jeremy: The question you raised there where people are saying, should we pay for, sexual health? I'm not sure if we should really be thinking about it in that way. Yeah. We have a national health [00:10:00] service, we pay taxes into it. So it's a collective of a collective system where we provide healthcare.

Dr Jeremy: But we're not doing that because we want, the average voter. To decide what kind of healthcare other people can get. Yeah. Right, all we're doing that for is because these procedures are expensive and we don't know who's gonna need them. People won't be able to pay for it. We want people to get healthcare,

Val: of course, 

Dr Jeremy: even if they can't afford it, not because we want to democratise, like what kinds of procedures we're offering. 

Val: But with the challenge that the government has with spending. And we know they're cutting disability payments, PIP and whatever.

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: Could they, might they be looking at certain operations? I don't know. Because there's the spring budget it's coming out on Wednesday. So they're already cutting things for people with disability, 

Dr Jeremy: although they're getting a lot of pushback on that from their own MPs.

Val: [00:11:00] True. But where are the cuts coming from? They always seem to punch down, they use the word reform and it's not reform because this system has been around for a long time. When Ian Duncan Smith changed the system and got rid of income support and wanted to streamline it and bring so many benefits under one system and created universal credit. They had a chance then, and that's when they got rid of DLA for adults and brought in PIP. The Tories had a chance then. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah,

Val: look at this. But I think back then, since Covid, I think there's been more people claiming PIP than ever before. So it getting higher. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: And they're thinking yes, do you really need to be claiming it for X, Y, z? And there's people that are suffering, but there are people that really, genuinely need it. And they, yeah. And they [00:12:00] couldn't get it.

Dr Jeremy: What I heard.

Val: It's not that easy to get. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. What I'd heard was that you're right, a lot of people have been claiming benefits post covid. 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: And I think that's something unique to the uk that's not something that other European countries are seeing. 

Val: Okay. 

Dr Jeremy: So I think that's where they're scratching their heads, saying, what is it about the UK that's causing people to claim disability benefits Post covid?

Dr Jeremy: Whereas other countries it's not. And I don't really know what the answer is whether, it's if the system we have is different or more generous or it's easier to claim benefits, maybe that explains it. Or, and this, no offence to anyone, is the UK less healthy on average than other countries? And so they're affected by Covid more? I don't know. 

Val: I don't know because 

Dr Jeremy: I'm just throwing these ideas out because 

Val: yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: There is a difference and I wonder what explains it so 

Val: well. It's not that [00:13:00] easy to claim. 

Dr Jeremy: No, it's not. 

Val: 'cause I claim for my son. It's not that easy. The size of it. When I used to fill it out, I did it over weeks. Because I really needed to just do it bit by bit because it is a major headache. 

Dr Jeremy: And even though, Andre has some permanent conditions. 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Do you have to keep applying every few years? Do you have to keep getting re-evaluated all the time? 

Val: This is what happened, I think, I can't remember which minister did it, but it used to be that once you applied and you had a condition that was never going to be cured or until a cure happened, whatever, it was an indefinite. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Once, you got it, then they changed it. Some people might, have had to apply every two years, every three years, whatever. I think we have to reapply. I've got the award letter somewhere, but we do have to reapply in so many [00:14:00] years time. They have given us a date. But there again. This government could change the goalpost.

Dr Jeremy: Exactly.

Val: Because it always moves, so you never know where you are. Yeah. You just don't, 

Dr Jeremy: and so that's, that seems strange to me. 'cause if someone's got a permanent condition, a permanent disability,

Val: yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: That isn't going to change. Why are we making people go through the process of getting reassessed every few years, right? Yeah. If you're a soldier who's stepped on a landmine. You've lost your leg. Do you have to, every three years you have to say to the government, yep. My leg is still missing. You know what I mean? 

Val: Yes. I'm just looking for the name , there was a minister that said exactly that. 

Dr Jeremy: Exactly that. Yeah. 

Val: He was in Theresa Mays government Uhhuh, half of me. I just can't remember his name. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 'cause it seems like a massive waste of money to have [00:15:00] permanently disabled people. Going through a repetitive assessment process every few years. That makes no sense to me.

Val: The strange thing is I think, I can't remember what country they were from, who did that biggest fraud that this country's ever had and then you hear stories like that. They're not coming from somebody who's living with cancer, living with heart condition. It's coming from people. If they're going to defraud the system they're going to defraud it. No matter what you put in place. They're going to, so we suffer. The genuine ones suffer. At the hands of the ones that do this massive fraud because it was absolute millions.

Dr Jeremy: That's usually like organized crime, that one? 

Val: Yes. 

Dr Jeremy: When there's a massive benefit fraud, it's usually an organized system of people defrauding. 

Val: Yeah. Yeah. It was huge. It really was. Like I said, it's, over 50 [00:16:00] million pounds. They were guilty of. It, I just don't understand. 'cause I used to work for the Department of Social Security in the eighties. And I just don't know how they got away with it for so long. It's the length of time as well. It just beggars belief because you, yeah. You could be a person that think Okay. Let me try my luck there. And you fill out the form and you might tell a few lies, but then it's up to the person at the other end. Yeah. That's checking that to fact-check that. Sure. How can a woman have so many children and she doesn't have any, it makes no sense. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah.

Val: So it's like the incompetence has to be on that side as well. Yet the genuine ones always get the blame. And now all I'm hearing, when I'm watching a chat show last week people phoning in, going on about people [00:17:00] with their disability cars, they don't need it. He looks all right. She looks all right, they've never worked. I've worked all my life. Now that conversation is starting again. They've created this narrative and now the punch down is happening. So you've got, the jams that are just about managing that working. And people seem to forget a lot of people that work also get benefits. They seem to absolutely forget. That. But once they find out about all these brand new cars that people, that's it. They exploded. This car system was created in the seventies. The Motability scheme.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: And it was to help disabled people to get around easier, just to make their lives that bit easier. Sure it's not gonna cure the ailments or whatever. It's just to make their lives that much easier. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: And the sad thing [00:18:00] is you've got people thinking they know what a disability is by just looking at a person. And I'll give you an example. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: Because you know my son. Yeah. And you've seen him walk.

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: We go shopping.

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: We park in the disabled bay. He has a blue badge. The amount of times I've had somebody bang on the window before we've even gotten out the car before we've taken a foot out the car, you are not disabled. Do you know where you are parked? It's yes, I do. Thanks. Even there was even one man that went inside the supermarket and complained. Lucky enough they knew me 'cause we were regulars. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: But the fact that they just looked at us looked our faces and said we weren't disabled. So it's like you have to [00:19:00] prove to them and the world 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: That you have a disability. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. Yeah. 

Val: And that's what it's coming to again. And there's times on a foot, do I really need the hassle today? There's times I don't use it. Because I'll say, to Andre you're not coming out the car, is it? I won't use it because if I'm not in the mood, because I don't wanna react. I don't wanna do little black, angry woman don't want to react. 'cause I'm the one who doesn't have a disability. So they'll see me. Get out the car, they see me walk into the shops. Yeah. But the person sitting beside me has, 

Dr Jeremy: yeah. 

Val: But, so it, so we put up with a lot of that and I think that's on two levels. One, I think because of our ages. And two, our colour, as one of them said, and I reported him 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: To the store. I reported him. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. '

Val: cause he pointed to my arm and said, that's the reason why. The colour of my skin. And [00:20:00] I reported it. I did because disability doesn't discriminate against age. Yeah. Gender or ethnicity. It doesn't. 

Dr Jeremy: No. 

Val: And I think people have gotta get over themselves.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: I think they know what disability looks like, yeah. I've seen plenty elder people. Yeah. Being older doesn't mean you are disabled. Yeah. It's, you are just older, but yet you've got, 

Dr Jeremy: so when people challenge you 

Val: Yeah.

Dr Jeremy: When people challenge you and say, you are not disabled, right? 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Do you ever just ask them, like, how did you come to that determination? 

Val: Only once. I did. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Yeah. Once I did. 

Dr Jeremy: And what was the response? Just 

Val: I told you he was, 

Dr Jeremy: he just pointed at you. 

Val: My skin. Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: At your skin. Yeah. Literally said it's your skin colour. 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: So I don't, wow. 

Val: And you know what you are thinking. [00:21:00] The person that did that is white. He wasn't, you are wrong. He was black.

Dr Jeremy: so you're saying it was a black man who looked at you and looked at your colour

Val: yes. 

Dr Jeremy: And said,

Val: but I think your assumption, 

Dr Jeremy: you're not disabled. 

Val: When I told you the story, your assumption in your head. 

Dr Jeremy: Absolutely it was. 

Val: It was a white person. This is why I didn't say

Dr Jeremy: Absolutely

Val: straight away because I knew you were thinking that 

Dr Jeremy: you're very crafty Val

Val: no, I'm just saying it goes both ways. Some black people, just that man had this attitude in his head that we are not disabled. Our people aren't disabled. Oh, please. I A, I don't have the time to debate with anyone. B, it is nobody's business what is in my son's medical record. This is not, yeah. You are not his doctor. You are not his nurse. So really and truly, I don't have to prove anything to any of them. I don't, and even if they call [00:22:00] the police. We've got no reason to hide. The Blue Badge has his photo on it. 

Dr Jeremy: Exactly. 

Val: He's in the car. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: So I've learned now I'll just block it out and I go along my way. I just leave it. 

Val: So let me quickly roll back. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. 

Val: Because I wanna say something in defence of the. Bionic Willies. I did see a statistic. Last year, the average age of men having the procedure was what do you think it was? What do you think the average age was? 

Dr Jeremy: The average age? I'm gonna go, I don't know, 45, 50. 

Val: 57. 

Dr Jeremy: 57. Okay. 

Val: Yeah. So you got seven more years. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay.

Val: There were 30 cases of men in their thirties. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: And 46 and aged over 70, [00:23:00] though they're not as old as we may think. They're not old. 

Dr Jeremy: No. 

Val: But then the consultant said. Most of these men have significant problems, such as prostate cancer or diabetes, so yes, there are, as we said before, despite, we were laughing and that, and blah, blah, blah. We don't mean to be, yeah. Disrespectful. But the headline itself bionic. And when you think of Bionic I dunno. If you were born then we were watching when I was young, we were watching these shows called The Bionic Man. 

Dr Jeremy: Oh, the $6 million Man. Yeah, the Bionic Woman. $6 Million Man. Yes, I remember that.

Val: You think? Yeah. What is the bionic penis going to do? 

Dr Jeremy: No, I, 

Val: you know what I mean? 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. I know what you mean. , I think all kidding aside, sexual health is really an important part of people's lives.

Val: It is. 

Dr Jeremy: I think, sometimes we can be bashful or we have hangups about sex, but [00:24:00] really it is a perfectly normal. Human function that is an important part of people's lives. And when it's missing that, it's it can greatly improve someone's life if you can actually function in that way. I certainly have no problem putting money towards sexual health.

Val: And what I'll do I'll, if we need to go private, I'll save up some money for you. for your bionic. 

Dr Jeremy: Very hopeful. I'll not require it, but 

Val: fingers crossed.

Dr Jeremy: Yes. Fingers crossed. We'll see. 

Val: So let's move on. 

Dr Jeremy: Were transitioning to women's health?

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Oh, menopause. HRT. And the reason why, 'cause I received a text message out of the blue. Good afternoon, Alert implant shortages, and that was it. I was ready to collapse. I think these implants are imported from the US and at present, the manufacturer has ceased production of implants [00:25:00] with the result. Our service has been suspended due to lack of stock. Please do not attend your next appointment Gyne. So I'm due to, have my implants replaced. But they're not going to be replaced. And the thing is, you just never know when it's coming in. And I must admit, I do suffer really bad. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes, 

Val: my menopause really bad, so I did panic.

Dr Jeremy: So this shortage is due to the, a manufacturing problem in the US is it related to all of the tariff issues and trade wars going on? Or is it, I've, no. Is it separate? Do you have any idea? 

Val: No idea. No. No idea. I just care that I can't get it. Reasons I can't control them.

Val: But I just can't get it. The fact that they said don't even come to [00:26:00] clinic. Is that right? Because Yeah. I remember when I first started I didn't even know it was the menopause because when I was growing up, my mother passed away at age 37. So I never saw anyone go through it.

Val: And in those days nobody really talked about the menopause. You didn't even have adverts on television about periods. You just didn't have that then in the seventies. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: As I got older, I just assumed it was, you just didn't want sex anymore. That was it. Yeah. That was it. I didn't think about symptoms. I didn't think, I just didn't think about anything else. It was just, that's it. You are done. Your periods. Done. You're done with men or women, whatever, you know It is. 

I turned 50, had my heart attack. Nice. Present. I remember you [00:27:00] came to visit me. Yes. I had no wig on my head, but yeah, you will. You laughed. 

Dr Jeremy: You remember that? 

Val: Yes I do. Because you were standing there laughing. 

Dr Jeremy: I think I remember laughing that you were worried that you didn't have a wig on, but 

Val: I know 

Dr Jeremy: you were in hospital.

Val: The ambulance doesn't matter where I'm, when the ambulance came, it's like I was lucky I had something on my head. Because that would've been really bad. But I had a scarf on my head.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: I did phone my friend and said, look, go buy my home and please get my wig, please.

Val: You just, oh, it's hard to explain to people that don't wear them. But yeah, I've lost all my hair. Due to menopause. I've got a great big shiner on the back. It's just nothing will grow. Nothing. So I, it is not something [00:28:00] that I worry about because I can put a wig on it. It's not. I've got heart and lung disease, arthritis, the least I'm going to worry about is my hair not growing. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: To me. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Next minute, I thought, why am I always crying? I would just cry at a drop of a hat. Really cry. Somebody looked at me, I'd burst into tears. Or I'd wanna fight them. I'd get angry as well. One, one minute. I'm angry, there's, I'm crying. Yeah. It was just really strange. I felt as if my body, my feelings were getting outta control, 

Dr Jeremy: yeah. 

Val: My periods on and off, on and off. But what really got to me, and even the doctor laughed, what really got to me. I was getting ready to go out. And I put my makeup on and my makeup slid off my face. It [00:29:00] literally slid off it wouldn't stick, so I thought, oh, there's something wrong with the makeup, so I brought another one. Thinking it's a faulty product. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Honestly I did, so came, I tried it again, slid right off.

Dr Jeremy: And so what was the problem?

Val: The menopause really affected my skin. 

Dr Jeremy: It affected your skin. 

Val: Even water just slid off my face. It was weird. And then I got eczema, as you can see. Because poor Jeremy, you looking look all around my eyes. I look like kung fu panda and Oh yeah, you can laugh. And I never knew. Yeah, I know you wanna laugh. 

Dr Jeremy: And all of this is from menopause? 

Val: Yes. 

Dr Jeremy: Wow. 

Val: I didn't know. And then I found a company online that does [00:30:00] products for women going through the menopause. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: And I brought it for my eczema. It got rid of eczema. But, you know the roughness of the. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Yeah. So they got rid of that. Yeah. But I still look like Kung fu Panda. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah, 

Val: I do. I do. My, what can I do? 

Dr Jeremy: My wife is my wife has been reading a lot of books about perimenopause now, and so I've, and she's been sharing a lot of stuff with me. I think a lot of these symptoms are. Not very well appreciated. So you mentioned, being tearful or being angry, like wanting to jump up and fight someone. I think, for a lot of people you probably get told you need to go see a psychologist because you've gotta a mental health problem. But it's not. It's menopause and it's an underappreciated symptom of menopause. 

Val: I was quite lucky. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Because my doctors listened. But the worst thing was as well, the sweats. The sweats. Yeah, the sweats. 'cause even now I have to sleep even in [00:31:00] winter. My window open. Butt naked on top of the sheets. That's how I have to sleep. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: So you can imagine in my home, my son's condition, he has to be kept warm. I need it cold. 

Dr Jeremy: You need it cold. Yes. 

Val: But he always wins and I'm sitting here drenched. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Right now as I'm talking to you, I've turned everything off. The everything is off. And I'm still feeling it. I go across to the pharmacy. Which is just across the road. That's all it is across the road. I come back, I have to turn on the fan and I have to peel off. My clothes peel them off and I'm just drenched. So I stopped going out unless I had to go out because it's so [00:32:00] uncomfortable.

Dr Jeremy: And then what happened when you started HRT? 

Val: My anger subsided. I don't know. My son might say, oh, nothing changed, but nothing changed. Yeah, no, it did. 

Dr Jeremy: But you felt much different. 

Val: Oh God, I felt a lot better.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: I wasn't so tearful. That went that edginess. Bit on edge. That feeling of not being in control. When my skin came back to normal. Yeah. It was just that now the sweat will sweat off the makeup, but, the sweats are still bad. And the brain fog. The brain fog. I have to. Write everything down. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah.

Val: Everything. A lot of sticky notes everywhere. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. Did you get a lot of resistance to the idea of taking HRT? Because like I'm told that for a while there was a lot of stigma about it, or concern that it was dangerous. But apparently [00:33:00] that was based on faulty research. It's not nearly as dangerous. In fact, it's, it's a, it's actually quite healthy to get HRT. 

Val: Well They did have concerns. We had to speak with the cardiac team. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: Because of my heart problems. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: So when I do get it I have to consent to it.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. What was the concern there that you could have another heart attack because of it, or It could. 

Val: Yeah. But I had the heart attack before I had it.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Then I'm living with lung disease as well, and the thing about living with three things, heart disease and lung disease, and going through the menopause, all three of those make me sweat. They all give me breathlessness. So when I was ill, the GP has to then decide. Is it my heart, my lungs, or the menopause? What is it? And I remember once we diagnosed it as it, there was a problem with my lungs because I do [00:34:00] have bronchiectasis. But we were wrong. It was my heart.

Dr Jeremy: Ah. 

Val: So it, so that's tricky because they can both give off the same symptoms. Because I'm forever producing a lot of, sputum, there's fluid on my, lungs it's, and 

Dr Jeremy: so now that the particular HRT that you use is not available, are you restricted in your options, your alternatives? Are you able to try a different type of HRT or are you limited in what you can do? 

Val: There's loads of support groups on Facebook. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: So I'm gonna see if I can go all natural. 

Dr Jeremy: Okay. 

Val: I'm gonna see I don't want to stress about it. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: That's one thing I don't want to do. If I've gotta stay in because I'm dripping dripping, then so be it. But I don't want to stress yeah, I'm up for trying different, but then I can't just buy anything. I remember I brought something from Holland and Barrett, and I just happened to be [00:35:00] chatting to the pharmacist. And I just mentioned it and he said, don't take it. I said, why? I said I brought it. He said, no, it will interact with your heart meds. 

Dr Jeremy: Oh, I see. 

Val: So even though these are things that you can walk in a shop and buy 

Dr Jeremy: like a supplement or something? 

Val: Yes. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. Okay. 

Val: I still have to run it by the doctor or the pharmacist and say, look, am I able to take this? Obviously, they've got a list of my meds. I can't just think, I can take anything because I can't. And I was unaware of that because you think the only things that you really have to be aware of or wary of are things that are given to you on prescriptions, not things that you can walk into a shop and purchase.

Dr Jeremy: Exactly. 

Val: So that was new for me, so I'm just gonna see what other options there are. I might go back to, I [00:36:00] can't remember what they're called offhand, but I do have a gel. That you can apply every day, 

Dr Jeremy: right?

Val: Because of the sweats and everything like that. Especially when it's cold. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: When it's freezing cold and I go out there, I'm even worse because I've got the cold impact on my body that's got the heat. And when I come home, it's I just wanna cry. It's awful. So I don't go out, I don't if I go anywhere, it's, I'm going there and I'm coming back home. It's not that I'm going out and going to someone's home. Or I'm going out and I'm going to sit down somewhere with someone else. It's hard at times. Yeah. And it depends on the weather. It depends on the weather. 'cause even when it's really hot. Because when I got ill with my chest, infection, the disease pushed my [00:37:00] heart over so it's very close to my other organ, so I still can't sleep on my right side.

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Because I can feel the pain. And I can't go out when it's really cold because of the breathlessness. I can't speak, I can't walk far. It is it's hard. You hear those alerts on the news and people with certain conditions don't go out. One summer I just sat at the window, just looked out, and you look at me and you would think. You look okay. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: Do you see what, do you see what I mean? 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. Yeah. 

Val: You look okay. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. I think that's a frequent, theme of this episode, this idea that you look okay, or I can't see anything like 

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: Obviously wrong with you. And it reminds me a little bit of, um, as we were coming out of Covid and occasionally you'd see people wearing masks on the bus or on the tube or something like that. 

Val: Yes. 

Dr Jeremy: And some ignorant person would challenge someone and [00:38:00] say, oh, you don't have to wear a mask now. As if it was any other business. And also assuming that the person is wearing a mask. On account of covid, right? As we know, people have health conditions that make them vulnerable. They might be the kind of person who would need to wear a mask, even if Covid had never happened, they might still be wearing a mask in public.

Val: Yeah. 

Dr Jeremy: If they have, if they're immune compromised or they have some sort of condition. 

Val: Yeah.

Dr Jeremy: You never know why someone is presenting the way they are.

Val: I don't challenge anyone because it's, yeah, people need to just, it's none of my business. Yeah, 

Dr Jeremy: exactly. 

Val: It's not gonna change my life. No. If you choose to wear a mask on the bus, I've seen people walk on the street with a mask and I think you are outside. But it's up to them. It is entirely up to them and it's none of my business, but, I just find it strange when people. Poke their noses in people's business like me. In the car and the blue badge. Do you know where you are parked? Yes, I do. Thanks. They poke their [00:39:00] noses in constantly. Mm-hmm. Because to them, to their eyes. 'cause it's just their eyes alone. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: You don't look like you should be parked in a disabled bay. And they want to challenge you. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah. 

Val: And really and truly, it's none of their business. So I think on that note thank you. He just barked. 

Dr Jeremy: Oh he's just snoring a little bit. 

Val: Is that, was that a snore? 

Dr Jeremy: He's snoozing there. Yeah.

Val: He wants his daddy. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. It's time to go for a walk. 

Val: Alright. On that note, okay, Before we go, as this episode we will be doing a story label and misconception. Would you like to go and do yours?

Dr Jeremy: I think as I was saying, really the label for today is really that idea of disabled. And who's disabled and who's not? Yeah. And the stories we tell ourselves about what that means, right? What counts as disabled? Is, we [00:40:00] came back repeatedly in this episode of just, these are the misconceptions people have. Yeah. About about disability and what it means. And so I think that's really the key theme for me for this episode. 

Val: What about your misconception? 

Dr Jeremy: The misconception there is really that, you know someone who's not in a wheelchair. Or someone who, as you were saying, just looking at you because you're black and saying you must not be disabled. Yeah. That's, just obvious misconceptions about what it means and why people might have a blue badge. How about you, Val? What would what was the key theme? Of a story label misconception that stands out for you? 

Val: The story of the bionic willies. 

Dr Jeremy: Yeah, 

Val: because that's a new one on me, Uhhuh. It really is. I would not have realized that there are so many men out there that, that need it, yeah. And, we mustn't judge my label, of course, is labelling me and my [00:41:00] son. Mm-hmm. Just because we are of color that we're not disabled. So that's a label. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And I think the misconception is until I read the full story of the bionic Willie operations. I would thought that. It was just about a lot of old men that just want to carry on having sex. Yeah. And I didn't think that, could be somebody that's got prostate cancer, diabetes and they in their thirties or forties or fifties, which is in this day and age very young. Yeah. So we've learned a lot today. 

Dr Jeremy: Absolutely. Yeah. 

Val: Which is a good thing. 

Dr Jeremy: Yes. Good talking you Val. 

Val: And you too. And thank you Jamie for coming out on a Saturday. Thank you. Junk Hillel. Is it Junk Hillel? 

Dr Jeremy: It's Jean-Guy French. I know. I dunno why I'd give him a French. 

Val: I know he's French. Does he only [00:42:00] understand French or does

Dr Jeremy: responds to both. We used to speak to him only in French, 'cause he was born in France. 

Val: Do you speak French? 

Dr Jeremy: I speak, I'm half bilingual, but my wife is quebecoise so she speaks French as a first language. 

Val: Okay. Thank you again. Yeah. au revoir 

Dr Jeremy: oh, olive. Okay. 

Val: Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr Jeremy: Absolutely. Alright, bye bye-bye. Bye-bye.