Consultation FAQs
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To book a new consultation click here. To book your follow up consultation please contact your Dr’s PA directly click here
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Initial consultations last 30-45 minutes, allowing enough time for us to understand your specific symptoms and patient needs. Follow-up appointments generally take between 20-30 minutes.
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We ask all new patients to come to the clinic for their initial consultation. Follow up consultations may take place virtually, by video call, if a face-to-face follow up appointment is not possible. You must be in the UK for your video call. Both types of consultation are charged at the same rate. Telephone appointments are reserved, at the clinic’s discretion, for more urgent circumstances.
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You will be asked to have some tests before your consultation, which may include blood tests, pelvic ultrasound scans and mammograms. Our clinic team will be able to advise when you book in. Please forward any other tests you have had, plus any relevant doctor correspondence, to info@londonhormoneclinic.com at least 2 weeks before your appointment date.
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We aim to answer all patient emails within 48 hours and allow for two emails per patient following any clinic consultation. After this, there is an additional charge of £30 per email. Please email your Dr’s PA click here
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After your initial consultation, there will be a follow up appointment made 3-4 months later. Once a patient is settled and stable on medication, we generally review them on a 6- or 12-month basis – every patient is different – with blood tests and any other relevant investigation, including pelvic ultrasound.
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It is preferable to email details of any symptoms or side effects to your Doctor’s PA (see here for contact details) and we will aim to get back to you within 48 hours.
We do not have an on-call service so if there are urgent medical concerns out of hours, please call your GP or 111.
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Treatment for the menopause is generally not covered by private medical insurance. But it is always a good idea to double check with your insurance company.
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If you need to cancel your appointment for any reason, we ask for a minimum 2 working days notice in writing.
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Yes
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Yes. Please let us know at your appointment if you require one.
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For patients who require interpreters, London Hormone Clinic engage with LanguageLine for this service. There will be a charge to patients in line with LanguageLine current rates.
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We are not currently taking on any new patients who reside overseas. All existing patients who live overseas must be seen in clinic at least once a year
Treatment FAQs
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At LHC we prescribe bio-identical hormones, also referred to as body-identical hormones.
We routinely start treatment with licensed bio-identical hormones, which can then be prescribed privately, or by your GP on the NHS.
Because some women cannot take or tolerate these standard treatments for a number of reasons, we also offer compounded bio identical hormones, prescribed by our experienced doctors and made in an MHRA-approved pharmacy.
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Compounded bio-identical HRT cannot be regulated simply because each individual prescription is tailor made to a specific patient’s needs and therefore different.
The individual hormones contained in any LHC HRT prescription are fully licensed and regulated. Any compounded versions prescribed by our experienced doctors are made in a fully MHRA regulated pharmacy.
It is important to note that the practice of compounding medications is not uncommon across several therapeutic areas, including dermatology and chemotherapy.
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Most compounded HRT has an expiry date of 6 months after they are dispensed. We recommend you always check your individual prescription.
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Although testosterone is licensed in Australia, it’s not licensed for women here in the UK, even though it has been shown to be safe, effective, and well-tolerated.
Testosterone is a very important hormone for women, improving energy, muscle tone and strength, bone health, libido, and confidence – so our experienced doctors prescribe it for these reasons.
Several medications regularly prescribed in the UK are not officially licensed, so this practice is not uncommon.
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Every patient is different, so there’s no hard and fast rule. For some women the benefits can be immediate, while others may wait up to three months to feel the full effect of their medication.
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Yes. Progesterone is a very important hormone for the whole body, not just for the womb lining. Healthy amounts of anti-inflammatory progesterone are good for the neurological system, help control anxiety levels, protect breast tissue, and promote a good quality night’s sleep.
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Unfortunately, osteoporosis is common in menopausal women not taking HRT and is caused mainly by low oestrogen but progesterone and testosterone are also really important for bones. HRT is the first line treatment and should reverse any bone thinning.
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The vagina and bladder are very sensitive to drops in oestrogen levels but also respond very well to treatment. If you are suffering these symptoms, you may be prescribed vaginal oestrogen to use in conjunction with your other HRT.
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There is no contraindication to being on body/bio identical HRT if you have a history of TIAs.
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Yes. Even if you have a history or family history of blood clots or strokes, it is safe to use transdermal oestrogen, along with micronised progesterone.
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Research suggests that HRT is very likely safe and appropriate in women with a family history of breast cancer. Unfortunately, LHC is unable to see women who have had breast cancer.
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Yes. We help with lifestyle, medication and hormones as needed.
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Cost of HRT can vary from £15-£55 per month.
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When starting hormone treatment you may notice certain symptoms – here is what to look out for:
Breast tenderness Bloating/Fluid retention A bleed
Stop oestrogen (If you are on combined therapy then stop everything. If you are on separate then stop oestrogen and continue on progesterone only ) Wait until symptoms have settled then re-start slowly.
Facial spots Greasy skin/hair
Stop testosterone &/or DHEA until it settles then slowly re-start
Hair thinning (very rare)
Stop testosterone &/or DHEA and contact doctor.
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It is common for women to have 2-3 periods after going into menopause and after commencing HRT. We ask our patients to watch out for any pre-menstrual type symptoms that may occur before a bleed, such as breast tenderness, bloating or lower pelvic pain and stop taking oestrogen straight away. Doing this should calm down these symptoms and likely stop the bleed from coming.
Once the symptoms have settled, we restart the oestrogen treatment again, building it up slowly. If your bleeding is very heavy or continues, despite these measures, please contact the clinic.
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Some patients develop breast tenderness and/or bloating initially. We ask our patients to stop oestrogen straight away and these symptoms will settle down.
The oestrogen can be restarted.
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Breakouts are a common symptom of hormonal imbalance and the aim of HRT treatment is alleviate this. If you have been prescribed testosterone or DHEA stop taking these immediately and the spots will settle. Once this happens, you can restart your treatment. If symptoms persist, contact the clinic.
Prescription FAQs
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There are 3 ways in which medications will be dispensed
Customised 4 U- 0800 035 3078- you should receive a text message when your prescription has arrived with them. Please contact them to order.
Specialist Pharmacy – 0207 637 1055- you should receive a text message when your prescription has arrived with them. Please contact them to order.
Cloud Rx - Once your medicine has been prescribed, CloudRx will contact you by email or text to take payment before your medicine is posted to you.
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There is no charge for prescriptions given at the time of consultation. However, if you require further repeat prescriptions, in between appointments, there is a charge of £30.00.
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We will ensure that you have enough medications to last you between appointments. The repeats can be ordered directly through whichever pharmacy ( from the above list) your initial prescription was ordered from. If you need to re-order medication as you have run out then this can be done via our website and will be charged (£30)
Please note medications containing testosterone and DHEA must be ordered within 28 days of the prescription being issued.
Tests and Investigation FAQs
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Please do your blood test on day 21 of a 28-day cycle, where the first day of your period counts as day 1. If your cycles are irregular, please have bloods taken between day 21 and the start of your next period. Your blood tests will help us form a picture of your current hormone levels and general health.
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We ask that you arrange blood tests via LHC, which saves a lot of issues where blood tests arrive to us incomplete or incorrectly carried out. If this is not a possibility, please let our team know straight away with an email to info@londonhormoneclinic.com
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Your LHC doctor will write to you with an analysis of your results following your appointment. You can also request a copy of you results after your appointment.
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No. A more accurate and useful test to check for bone turnover is a blood test called SDPD.
This measures how well your body builds up new bone, compared to how quickly you are breaking it down. This can be performed alongside your other routine blood tests.
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Yes, (unless you have had a hysterectomy). All LHC patients will require pelvic scan annually while on treatment. This will ensure a healthy womb lining and allows us to exclude endometrial cancer. This test also allows our doctors to follow up on other conditions, such as fibroids, cysts or polyps.
Scans are usually carried out by gynaecologists at https://www.clairemellon.co.uk/
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We recommend mammograms for women every 3 years, between the ages of 50 and 70, as part of the national breast screening programme. In some cases, we may recommend some women get a mammogram every 18 months. Based on your personal or family history, your doctor may ask for a mammogram before this age or at more regular intervals.
For women still under our care after the age of 70, we still recommend continuing with breast screening.
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We recommend that smear tests are done in line with the NHS national cervical screening programme.
Age 25-50- cervical smears are done every 3 years
Age 50-65- cervical smears are done every 5 years
Based on your personal history we may recommend some patients have additional screening in between the routine tests. This can be arranged via Claire Mellon https://www.clairemellon.co.uk/
Potential Side Effect FAQs
Oestrogen & Progesterone Treatment
When you start taking the hormones prescribed for you, the body may need to get used to them. You may notice certain symptoms early on in treatment and here is what to do:
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If you notice some breast tenderness or sensitive nipples, STOP taking the hormones (cream or lozenge or oestrogen only part of a gel/patch regime).
Wait until these symptoms have disappeared and then gradually restart your treatment. This should take a few days (between 12 hours to 5 days usually)
It is nothing to worry about. It means there is a tiny bit too much hormone in your system, but your body will get used to it.
If this happens again after stopping and restarting, then take only half the prescribed dose.
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If you notice some bloating or fluid retention, STOP taking the hormones (cream or lozenge or oestrogen only part of a gel/patch regime).
Wait until these symptoms have disappeared and then gradually restart your treatment. This should take a few days (between 12 hours to 5 days usually)
It is nothing to worry about. It means there is a tiny bit too much hormone in your system, but your body will get used to it. If this happens again after stopping and restarting then take only half the prescribed dose.
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Regular (usually yearly) pelvic ultrasound scans and medical assessment is part of the normal surveillance that you will have to ensure a healthy womb lining and ovaries. So, if you get a bleed this is what to do:
If you notice some spotting or an unexpected period, STOP taking the hormones (cream or lozenge or tablets or patches). Wait until these symptoms have disappeared and then gradually restart your treatment This should take a few. days (between 12 hours to 5 days usually)
It is usually nothing to worry about. It means there is a tiny bit too much hormone in your system, but your body will get used to it.
If you get ay recurrence of the bleeding then stop the hormones until it settles, then go back on half the prescribed dose and get in touch with us at the clinic immediately so that we can assess further.
If you are not up to date with your pelvic ultrasound scans, then please contact the clinic.
Progesterone Only Treatment
What you may notice initially as you start progesterone or even in later cycles:
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Breast tenderness is due to the progesterone making your body more sensitive to its own oestrogen and will settle down. If you notice this then STOP taking your treatment and wait until the symptoms have settled down. This usually takes a few days (between 1 -5 days), then restart the progesterone gradually until you are up to full prescribed dose.
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Progesterone can make your period come a little early or a little late. This will usually settle down so CONTINUE TO TAKE YOUR TREATMENT until your next appointment.
Testosterone Treatment
Side effects with testosterone are extremely rare especially at the relatively low doses that we prescribe at LHC. Sometimes the body reacts to starting the treatment and the unwanted initial effects will settle down after a week or two. These are some unusual but possible side effects
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If you notice some facial spots or greasy skin, then STOP using your treatment until the symptoms have settled down and then restart the treatment but using it less frequently. So, if you were using it daily only use it 3 times a week! If you were using it 3x week then use it once a week.
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If you notice some hair loss or hair thinning on the treatment STOP using the treatment and get in touch with us at the clinic.
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If you notice some dark hairs coming up on your inner arm where you are using the cream, STOP using the cream on your arm. Use it instead on your inner thigh or behind your knees until your next appointment. If your appointment is a long way off, then please get in touch with us sooner.
Don't worry the dark hairs will fall out and not return.
DHEA Treatment
This is very safe and has few side effects at the doses that we prescribe at LHC. But if you notice:
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STOP DHEA and wait until your skin clears up. If it was mild you can try against a less frequent dose so using it only 3x week.
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If you feel wired or agitated after taking DHEA DO NOT TAKE IT THE NEXT day. In fact stop it altogether for a week If you feel back to normal you can try it again but only take it 3x week. If it did not agree with you because of this or another reason then get in touch with us at the clinic.
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This is very rare but if you notice some hair thinning/ hair loss on DHEA, STOP TAKING IT and get in touch with us at the clinic.