NAPS to host Katherina Dalton Memorial Lecture
Be sure to book your place at the NAPS annual meeting on December 15 taking place at The Kings Fund 11-13 Cavendish Square, London W1G OAN from 6pm-9pm.
Nicholas Panay, Chairman of NAPS and the leading UK expert on PMS and the Menopause, will give the inaugural Katherina Dalton Memorial Lecture 'PMS through the years'. He will be recounting the history of PMS from Hippocrates, through to the ground-breaking theories of Katherina Dalton up to present day modern management.
We look forward to seeing you there. Please contact us on AGM@pms.org.uk if you intend to join us on the night.
NAPS Annual clinical conference - Friday February 17 2006 - Derby
To join us at this annual event please complete the application form by following the link below.
NAPS members will be eligible for a preferential rate of £45.00. For all other delegates the cost will be £65. This includes access to the full day of presentations, refreshments and buffet luncheon.
This will be your opportunity to listen and speak with the top experts in the country - a day packed with interest for clinicians as well as patients. There will be a number of exhibitors and sponsors at the event, representatives from the pharmaceutical industry as well as various over the counter products.
New contraceptive pill to help with PMDD
A new low dose contraceptive pill, said to be as effective as SSRIs for treating severe cases of PMS, will be available in the USA next year.
Called Yaz, it contains a new progestin, known as drospirenone, which is combined with an oestrogen, called ethinyl estradiol.
Yaz is taken for 24 days, followed by 4 days of inactive pills instead of 21 days followed by 7 days of inactive pills until the end of the cycle.
The study, led by Dr Kimberley Yonkers, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, looked at 450 women aged 18-40 from across America. All had been diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) - one of the most severe forms of PMS. The women were either given the oral contraceptive pill or a placebo and their moods and other symptoms were charted on a daily basis. The study did not directly compare Yaz against antidepressants, although Dr Yonkers stated that findings showed that the new pill seemed to provide users with about the same degree of symptom relief as antidepressants have displayed in previous studies.
Around 48% of the women taking the pill reported a decrease in symptoms compared with 36% not taking it. The study also showed that women taking Yaz were more likely to report improvements in their daily lives, relationships and the enjoyment of hobbies and social activities than those women not taking the drug.
Commenting on the new contraceptive pill, NAPS Chairman, Mr Nicholas Panay, the leading UK expert on PMS and the Menopause, said that although he had not yet seen the full data for the new low dose pill, the reports looked very encouraging. "Some clinicians already use the higher dose version of this pill (Yasmin) to good effect in their PMS patients who are asked to take the pill without a 7 day break. The nice thing about Yaz is that it seems to maintain the efficacy of its higher dose sister, but at a lower daily dose, with 24 rather than 21 active pills per month helping with PMS for those using the pill cyclically."
The study appeared in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Nominate NAPS before National Giving Week 17 - 24 October
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has teamed up with Kent radio station KMFM, to give £50,000 during National giving week.
http://www.nationalgivingweek.org/events/get_kent_giving.asp
To nominate NAPS as your chosen charity and include us in this lottery please click http://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=21401 to register your wish. Your nomination needs to be made before 14 October to ensure that we are included in this draw.
It is very easy, doesn't cost anything and could well help the cause you already support.
NAPS (charity number 289901) originated and remains based in Kent even though we are now an international organisation with members worldwide. NAPS has achieved an award from Kent County Council as an Employer of Excellence, we are proud that our office volunteer Samantha Lunam, was runner up as Kent Volunteer of the Year 2004.
NAPS supports thousands of women and their families. If every one of you, our supporters, nominates NAPS for this award, maybe, just maybe we will have the opportunity to receive a portion of this pot of gold!!
Thank you for your support.
World Mental Health Day
To mark World Mental Health Day, NAPS is highlighting the mental health symptoms experienced by women during the premenstrual phase of their menstrual cycle.
NAPS says: "Depression is the most frequent symptom experienced by women affected by PMS. Yet few of the organisations with a specialist interest in mental health even acknowledge the effect of menstrual cycle on the mental health of women. As a result many are prescribed medication that treats their PMS as a mental health condition rather than as arising from their menstrual cycle. We believe that as a result many women are pushed towards anti-depressants without an accurate diagnosis of their symptoms."
NAPS Forum goes from strength to strength
The NAPS Forum (www.pms.org.uk) is going from strength to strength with over 630 registered members and almost 6,500 posts.
Feedback for the Forum, which was launched in April 2004, has been extremely positive with visitors to the site discussing and sharing problems on everything from diet to relationships. If you would like to check up on any of the issues discussed over the last 18 months, once you have logged on and registered, simply click on the search button and look for any subject that has been discussed during this time.
Running for NAPS
One of our members is hoping to run in next year's London Marathon on behalf of NAPS.
She is aiming to raise around £5000. Members will have the opportunity of sponsoring her on-line. Further details will be posted here in due course. If you would like to help raise money to help us further our research and development of menstrual related problems, we'd love to hear from you.
'Menstrual health in the work place - workshop at Kent college 29 October 2005
The Menstrual Health Workshop to be held at Hadlow College entitled 'Women's Learning Day' will be held on 29 October 2005 and not 2006 as printed in our e-bulletin headline last month. Apologies for any confusion caused.
Kent based Hadlow College, www.hadlow.ac.uk, a training centre in the heart of Kent, has recently been awarded European Social Funding with the intention of developing a free training and personal development project for women in part-time employment in Kent.
Hadlow College will be holding a 'Women's Learning Day on 29 October 2005. NAPS will be attending and running a workshop - 'Menstrual Health in the Work Place'. If you live in Kent, are unemployed or in part-time employment please contact Carol Thorpe (contact details at the end of this article) - the day is FREE.
Managing Menopause - a new approach
Mr Nicholas Panay, Consultant Gynaecologist at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London and leading Menopause specialist, takes a look at natural alternatives in a new approach to menopause management.
Given the confusion and controversy surrounding conventional medical methods of managing the menopause there is much concern about their use among both women and their doctors.
However, the importance of continuing to help women to maintain their health, energy and vitality through managing the menopause effectively has not diminished. So although some media reports have been exaggerated, there is a need for practical, common sense guidance on how to deal with the menopause that takes into account the reduction in confidence in conventional methods.
Reflecting this need, a down to earth, straightforward management approach has been developed. It emphasises a central role for natural alternatives, including redclover isoflavones, alongside lifestyle changes, as the first choice management option for the majority of women. It also tackles the question of when the use of conventional methods is still appropriate.
Redclover isoflavones are recommended on the basis of studies showing they can help maintain health and well-being during and after the menopause. Just as significant, is that isoflavones have been shown to have a good safety profile.
It's important to choose a redclover isoflavone supplement labelled as containing a 'standardised extract'. A supplement carrying this label is produced under quality control measures that ensure a level of isoflavones in each tablet that can be relied on.
Exercise and Menopause
A British expert says that although exercise is important for reducing the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease in post-menopausal women, too much exercise in pre-menopausal women may actually increase the risks.
Helen's Smoothie
The importance of diet for the effective management of PMS is paramount. Here, Helen in the NAPS office shares her recipe for a diuretic smoothie, which is both delicious and simple to make.
| Ingredients |
2 large cucumbers, peeled
A large handful of dandelion leaves
Helen says: "Simply place all the ingredients into a smoothie maker or blender and mix together. This makes a large jugful, which lasts for several days in the fridge. It's a refreshing and tangy diuretic drink which is really easy to make and great if you have a glut of home grown cucumbers at the end of the season."
