femalegp

24/10/2025

Testosterone for women yes - and we need to shout about its importance!

Women make testosterone too and it’s vital for energy, mood, motivation, cognition, and sexual wellbeing. But right now in Aotearoa, no funded option exists for women, while four testosterone products are funded for men.

⚖️ This is a clear inequity and we can change it.

🖊️ Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/get-pharmac-to-fund-the-only-approved-testosterone-treatment-for-women-in-nz

📖 Read more | share your story | https://www.femalegp.co.nz/androfeme

Your stories and signatures matter.
Let’s make sure women have access to all three hormones - estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Because women’s health deserves equal funding and equal respect.
Please tag a friend, and share. Because this taboo topic needs talking about because it impacts all of us.

21/10/2025

Testosterone for women. Yes it is a ‘thing’
- the benefits for women extend to whānau and beyond. Libido is relevant- partnered or unpartnered.

But let us think a little bit more.. libido is not just one area of the brain.. is it?? So, even though testosterone is only licensed for libido and for women in the postmenopause, it is logical that many experience ‘side effects’ of improved energy, motivation, brain fog…

We can’t change the guidelines right now- but we can get males, females and our community behind the fact that women have and therefore need testosterone too.

Share your support with https://www.femalegp.co.nz/androfeme (link in bio) where I have stated the facts, guidelines and evidence. But your STORIES are important.

Womens health has been dismissed for so long. We got progesterone funded we now need our third hormone funded.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360857778/huge-inequity-women-missing-out-life-changing-hormone-while-pharmac-funds-four-types

🖊️THE PETITION: https://www.change.org/p/get-pharmac-to-fund-the-only-approved-testosterone-treatment-for-women-in-nz

Eva Bradley told her doctor she had “bitchy wife syndrome”. Two years later, she’s a better version of herself.

20/10/2025

I used to think gratitude theory only worked if I was about writing down my list at the end of a long day. And honestly? Sometimes it felt like one more thing on my to-do list - a bit forced, a bit flat.

But recently, I reframed it. And it changed something for me.
Instead of what I was grateful for, I started asking myself:�“How did this good thing come to be?”
For example - recently I got one of those rare bluebird days on the mountain skiing. But what made it so meaningful wasn’t just the snow or sunshine. It was realising:�- My practice manager had cleared my schedule.�- A friend lent me gear we needed.�- My practice manager waved her magic wand and reorganised my schedule
It wasn’t just a moment of joy - it was a whole chain of people and care that made it possible.�And when I traced it back like that, something softened in me. I felt calmer. Held. Less alone.
Science backs this up - gratitude impacts the nervous system most when it connects us to support, safety, and relationships.
So if you’ve ever struggled to feel grateful when life is overwhelming… you’re not doing it wrong. You might just need a new lens.

With gratitude,�Dr Sam x

19/10/2025

Have you ever been so proud of yourself for finishing something that you just want to tell everyone? That’s me right now!

After so many incredible messages from women who took my first course, Is It My Hormones?, I wanted to go one step further - to help you understand how to actually treat hormonal problems once they’re identified.

So I created HORMONE THERAPY DECODED - clear, fact-checked, practical information on what really works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to hormone therapy. It’s everything you need to know, without the overwhelm.

This isn’t just a course, I want it to be an investment in your health, your confidence, and your conversations with your healthcare team.

✨ Intro offer: 25% off for OCTOBER, code FEMALEGP
👉 Link in bio or www.femalegp.co.nz/all

18/10/2025

What does menopause mean to me?

It means opportunity.

When I meet a new patient, or one I’ve known for a while, I smile.. because I know there are likely some “ah-ha” moments ahead, and real empowerment to come.

The concept of hormones and menopause means opportunity. It’s a biological shift that’s been misunderstood for far too long, and a chance for us to do better.

This year’s International Menopause Day theme is lifestyle, and that matters. Movement, sleep, nutrition, and connection all shape how we feel. But as a doctor, I’ve also seen how powerful it is when women understand their hormones and realise they don’t have to just cope.

We can support the whole picture - body, mind, and hormones. Lifestyle matters, but so does access to accurate information and the choice to use hormone therapy when it’s right for you.

For me, menopause means breaking the silence, helping women put the puzzle pieces together, and guiding them toward clarity, health, and self-trust. And importantly, we shouldn’t wait until menopause to start. The clues are there from the moment we transition through menarche, the day our periods begin.

That’s why I’ve created my course, building on Is It Hormones? And today, I’m proud to launch Hormone Therapy Decoded a comprehensive guide to hormone medications, their roles, risks, and most importantly, their benefits.

Menopause isn’t the end of anything.
It’s the beginning of understanding ourselves differently and of changing the dialogue for good.

18/10/2025

What does menopause mean to me?

It means opportunity.

When I meet a new patient, or one I’ve known for a while, I smile.. because I know there are likely some “ah-ha” moments ahead, and real empowerment to come.

The concept of hormones and menopause means opportunity. It’s a biological shift that’s been misunderstood for far too long, and a chance for us to do better.

This year’s International Menopause Day theme is lifestyle, and that matters. Movement, sleep, nutrition, and connection all shape how we feel. But as a doctor, I’ve also seen how powerful it is when women understand their hormones and realise they don’t have to just cope.

We can support the whole picture - body, mind, and hormones. Lifestyle matters, but so does access to accurate information and the choice to use hormone therapy when it’s right for you.

For me, menopause means breaking the silence, helping women put the puzzle pieces together, and guiding them toward clarity, health, and self-trust. And importantly, we shouldn’t wait until menopause to start. The clues are there from the moment we transition through menarche, the day our periods begin.

That’s why I’ve created my course, building on Is It Hormones? And today, I’m proud to launch Hormone Therapy Decoded a comprehensive guide to hormone medications, their roles, risks, and most importantly, their benefits.

Menopause isn’t the end of anything.
It’s the beginning of understanding ourselves differently and of changing the dialogue for good.

Link in bio, or go to my website for more info www.FemaleGP.co.nz

17/10/2025

Appropriate use, of appropriate medications at appropriate time- can change your world.

17/10/2025

✨ World Menopause Day ✨

Today is an important reminder that lifestyle matters and there is strong evidence for non-hormonal approaches that support mood, sleep, and wellbeing through menopause. 🧘‍♀️🥦💤

But it’s also a moment to acknowledge something important:
The relationship between our hormones and how we feel and behave is real, intricate, and powerful.

After years of working in this space, I’ve created a course on Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT), because I now feel a responsibility to share the incredible results it can bring, and the clarity and validation it offers so many women. 💛

Let’s change the dialogue on women’s health.
We are not “crazy.”
And if it’s our hormones.. it means there is A LOT we can do.

https://www.femalegp.co.nz/online-courses

13/10/2025

Testosterone isn’t just a “male hormone.”

From Jenna & Dr Sam - two women joining forces to bring fairness, evidence & compassion to hormone health in Aotearoa.

Women make testosterone too and it’s vital for sexual wellbeing, energy, confidence, and connection.

✅ Androfeme®️ 1 was officially registered in NZ on 24 April 2025.
🇦🇺 Already licensed & funded in Australia for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) - a recognised medical condition affecting 30–50 % of women.
🇳🇿 In New Zealand there’s still no funded option for women, yet four for men (and Vi**ra available OTC).

The impact is real:
• Loss of intimacy and relationship strain
• Decline in confidence and motivation
• Low mood, anxiety, and high out-of-pocket costs

The science is clear:
– Safe and effective at physiological female doses
– Evidence-based for HSDD in post-menopausal women
– Restores quality of life and relational wellbeing

We’re calling on PHARMAC & the Ministry of Health to:
• Fund testosterone for women with HSDD
• Support clinician education inclusive of wāhine Māori & Pacific communities
• Bring fairness back to women’s hormonal health

This isn’t about luxury or lifestyle - it’s about health, dignity, and equity.

✍️ Read the letter & sign the petition:
🔗 femalegp.co.nz/androfeme

💗 Petition link: https://www.change.org/p/get-pharmac-to-fund-the-only-approved-testosterone-treatment-for-women-in-nz

Every signature = one more voice for fairness.

10/10/2025

We aren’t medicalising menopause, we now know that hormonal change in mid life causes, unnecessary suffering and there are safe medications that should be offered. And these clearly aren’t being offered enough. In 2019, only 5% of women had hormone therapy. There are almost 900,000 women in New Zealand who are over 50, and the majority of these will be post menopause. One in two women over 65 will develop osteoporosis – a condition that thins the bones and hip fractures can be associated with a life expectancy of six months and a marked loss of independence. The most common cause of death in women is cardiovascular disease menopause hormone therapy is the most effective way to improving menopausal symptoms which are experienced by 80% of women AND MHT decreases rates of osteoporosis by 30% and cardiovascular disease by 30 to 50% (when started within 10 years of menopause). Are we really over treating menopause? Or denying our people effective treatment for their suffering that also improves risk of chronic disease.

09/10/2025

When my neurodivergent patients - including autistic women - go through hormonal changes, I now see it differently.

Perimenopause can feel like the solid ground they had learned to walk confidently on over a lifetime has given way beneath them. There’s now a constant sense of over overstimulation that’s out of their control, and no way to communicate this clearly to a healthcare professional, or connect the dots to understand what’s driving this ‘new normal’ that’s feeling FAR from normal.

‘Overreaction’ might not be when hormonal chaos, sensory sensitivity and nervous system overwhelm collide.

It’s not DRAMA. It’s BIOLOGY.

If you are a neurodivergent woman, I can help. But you can also help yourself by understanding the role hormones play in your brain and body, and learning how to talk to your own GP about what you need.

My course ‘Is It My Hormones’ is a practical toolbox to support you if you’re feeling lost. Download it now via the link below.

https://allaboutus.teachable.com/p/hormone