Perimenopause marks a period of increased migraine prevalence in women and many women also report troublesome vasomotor symptoms. Migraine is affected by fluctuating estrogen levels with evidence to support estrogen 'withdrawal' as a trigger of menstrual attacks of migraine without aura, while high estrogen levels can trigger migraine aura. Maintaining a stable estrogen environment with estrogen replacement can benefit estrogen-withdrawal migraine particularly in women who would also benefit from relief of vasomotor symptoms. In contrast to contraceptive doses of ethinylestradiol, migraine aura does not contraindicate use of physiological doses of natural estrogen. In women with migraine with or without aura, using only the lowest doses of transdermal estrogen necessary to control vasomotor symptoms minimizes the risk of unwanted side effects. Cyclical progestogens can have an adverse effect on migraine so continuous progestogens, as provided by the levonorgestrel intrauterine system or in continuous combined transdermal preparation, are preferred. There are no data on the effect of micronized progesterone on migraine, either cyclical or continuous. Non-hormonal options for both conditions are limited but there is evidence of efficacy for escitalopram and venflaxine.

Menopause is defined as permanent cessation of menstrual periods, determined retrospectively after a woman has experienced 12 months of amenorrhea without any other obvious cause. Over the years, the discourse surrounding the Climacteric was mainly elicited as a "disease of the castrates", as opposed to the feminist views. There has been a large feminist contribution to both the debate of contraception and menopause in the last few years. Over the years, menopause has been treated in a uniform fashion, as a disease, excluding the different circumstances and lived experiences that patients go through during this sensitive period. Every primary care provider should be familiar with the menopausal process and be able to provide adequate care for these women, respecting patient's autonomy and decision making. A brief historical of menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will be reviewed in this paper. We will also discuss the different views of the menopausal discourse as well as the benefits and risks, compliance rates and reasons for discontinuation of HRT.

Restricted accessAbstractFirst published online September 20, 2017British Menopause Society 27th Annual Conference AbstractsVolume 23, Issue 3https://doi.org/10.1177/2053369117722909

Hot flushes and generalised sweating are relatively common presenting complaints, with hypogonadism an important differential diagnosis in both sexes and menopause being the most typical cause in females of climacteric age. However, a variety of other conditions do need to be carefully considered in respect of eugonadal individuals and also for those hypogonadal ones where properly dosed sex steroid replacement has failed to control flushing and sweating, or where the presentation is atypical. Alternative aetiologies may be immediately obvious from the history and physical examination, but more unusual conditions may require deeper scrutiny. This clinical review elaborates on the non-menopausal endocrine and non-endocrine causes of flushing and sweating, including both common and rarer conditions.

Since the June 2014 consensus statement published in Post Reproductive Health we have had definitive guidelines on menopause treatment from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in November 2015. These included robust and evidence based information about many non-estrogen based treatments, which are particularly useful for patients who do not wish to take hormone replacement therapy, or who have medical contraindications to hormonal therapy such as hormone dependent cancers. Whilst none of these therapies is as effective as hormones, we must be able to advise patients about them and recommend which treatments may be helpful for individual women.

Introduction The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on the diagnosis and management of the menopause states that women who are likely to go through the menopause as a result of surgical treatment should be offered information about the menopause and the importance of starting hormonal replacement therapy before they have their treatment. Objectives To determine compliance with NICE guidelines at the Royal Derby Hospital. Study design We undertook a retrospective review of all pre-menopausal women undergoing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for benign pathology between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2016. Results Thirty-six cases were reviewed. Women were aged between 32.5 and 49.8 years old (median 45.13, inter-quartile range 42.6-47.6). The commonest indications for bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were dysfunctional uterine bleeding (36.1%), chronic pelvic pain (30.5%), complex cyst (13.9%), and pre-menstrual syndrome (13.9%). Fifteen women (41.7%) did not have hormonal replacement therapy discussed. Only two (5.6%) had hormonal replacement therapy discussed pre-operatively. The remaining 19 had hormonal replacement therapy discussed post-operatively, either on the ward prior to discharge (n = 3) or, more commonly, in clinic six to eight weeks later. Although hormonal replacement therapy was only contraindicated in one woman (3%), it was only prescribed to five (24%). Results were slightly better for women under 40 but still only 28.6% had hormonal replacement therapy discussed with them pre-operatively. Conclusion This audit has demonstrated that compliance with the NICE guidelines is poor. We suspect similar results might be found in other gynaecology departments nationally. A hospital guideline to aid clinicians and a patient information sheet to educate women has been devised. A re-audit is planned six months after ratification of these documents.