madman
Super Moderator
Watch the full show: Dr Louise Newson's Breaking the Cycle: The Power of Hormones. Menopause, HRT and hormone health explained by the UK's leading women's hormone specialist. Free to watch.
Recorded live in Nottingham, this is the complete theatre show from Dr Louise Newson's 2026 tour. It challenges everything you've been told about hormones, menopause, perimenopause and HRT.
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In this show, Dr Louise answers:
* How do hormones really work, and how can we harness them for a happier, healthier life?
* Why is there so much confusion and misunderstanding about hormones?
* What is the difference between your own hormones and synthetic hormones, including contraceptives, available on prescription?
* What decades of misinformation, medical misogyny and attempts to silence doctors have meant for women's health
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Expect lightbulb moments, myth-busting facts, shocking stories of power and greed, real-life stories and a live audience Q&A. Known as "the medic who kick-started the menopause revolution," Dr Louise unpacks the history and the often-neglected science of hormones, and shows how to reclaim your health and confidence.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome: the women medicine isn't listening to
3:59 'First, do no harm': the harm of doing nothing
7:32 What hormones actually are (and the macrophage)
12:45 Hormones, the whole body and the brain
18:42 UTIs and vaginal hormones
20:08 Trapped in the cycle of labels and pills
23:11 A dark history: Victorian medicine and the asylums
30:35 The birth of HRT: Premarin
34:19 Testosterone's forgotten history
37:34 'Feminine Forever' and a family story
40:50 The contraceptive pill and synthetic hormones
43:35 The Primodos scandal
52:51 Lobotomy, the sleep room and ECT
59:59 Antidepressants and the medicalising of women
1:02:45 The media, HRT and Panorama
1:08:03 K Dalton: PMS, PMDD and progesterone
1:11:21 Hormones in prison
1:18:04 When doctors do harm
1:20:32 Speaking out and the backlash
1:22:51 Patient stories and the Jain monks
1:26:08 The British Menopause Society emails
1:30:56 The FDA removes the black box warning
1:32:41 Suicide prevention, psychiatry and the 92% study
1:39:58 Jay's story
1:53:18 Audience Q&A
2:07:46 Closing: three take-home tips
