03 Menopause: An Exploration of Women’s Health and Cannabis Medicines – 30 Nov @ 7pm

Cannabis Health Magazine, Integro Medical Clinics and Cannabis Patients Advocacy and Support Services (CPASS) are delighted to present a four-part webinar series exploring the experience of women who have struggled to feel supported by the healthcare system in their journeys to diagnosis.

The third episode in this ground-breaking series, will focus on the multi faceted and often challenging experiences of women who have found cannabis medicines helpful in managing the symptoms of menopause. Menopause and perimenopause symptoms are chronically poorly treated in the modern healthcare system.

Many women are simply told to ‘manage their stress better’, ‘lose some weight’ or ‘do more exercise’ when seeking medical treatment for symptoms which can have a huge impact on their day to day lives, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, low libido, headaches and hot flushes.

This is due to several factors, both cultural and medical. While women often feel ashamed to speak openly about their experience due to stigma, many doctors lack the training and time to treat symptoms effectively. Increasingly women are finding cannabinoids helpful in managing some of these symptoms.

Since the legalisation of cannabis-based medicines two years ago, female patients have been able to discover that the rebalancing of their endocannabinoid system can be incredibly helpful in the management of conditions ranging from Endometriosis, bladder & nerve pain, gynaecological pain and PMS to mental health conditions such as anxiety, insomnia and depression.

Aimed at both the general public and caregivers, the event will explore the experiences of women who have lived with perimenopause and menopause symptoms and how they have found cannabis based medicines helpful. We will discuss openly and candidly the realities of the transition and the stigma surrounding it in society.

Panelists:

Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason, founder Our remedy CBD – Rachel is the Founder of Our Remedy, a wellness brand for women. After studying graphic design she cofounded two start-ups; a healthy eating cafe and a vape brand. After going through some serious health issues and finding CBD really helpful she launched her own wellness brand focussed on women. Driven by her passion for the environment Rachel has created the UK’s first plastic free CBD oil brand with a focus on women’s health. https://ourremedy.co.uk

Lauren CB

Lauren is 48 and after being diagnosed last year with primary progressive MS, she had to give up her 30 year career as a mental health nurse. Lauren has been using medical cannabis to help ease her symptoms of MS and also menopause, and these have helped give her a new lease of life. Lauren’s mission is to now help raise awareness of medical cannabis and to campaign for this to be free on the NHS. Lauren has 2 rescue dogs, vegan and is a keen urban gardener. https://www.pleacommunity.org.uk/

Dr Sally Ghazaleh

Dr Ghazaleh is a Pain Management Consultant at the Whittington Hospital, and the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, London. She also prescribes cannabis-based medicines and is the Women’s Pain Expert at Integro Medical Clinics.

Sally specialises in managing patients with lower back pain, neck pain, neuropathic pain, abdominal pain, cancer pain, complex regional pain syndrome, post stroke pain and fibromyalgia. She has a particular interest in bladder and abdominal pain in women, and women’s health in general. She is fluent in Arabic, English and Hungarian.

Dr Mayur Bodani

Dr Mayur is a psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist with over 25 years’ experience. He has successfully treated many patients with psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, psychosis, dementia and many others besides. He believes that one has to look at the whole picture to truly help people. His holistic approach enables him to get to the root of the problem, often where it has been previously overlooked. He believes in compassion and empathy when treating patients and my goal is to get patients feeling the best version of themselves possible.

Sarah Higgins, Clinical Nurse Specialist

Sarah is a Clinical Nurse Specialist, with over ten years’ experience working in the NHS. She developed an interest in medical cannabis and its application in women’s health following the implementation of routine screening for recreational drug use in sexual and reproductive health services. On exploring this further she identified a trend in which women were often self-medicating with cannabis for hormone related difficulties. She is the Women’s Health Lead at non-profit organisation CPASS Nurses Arm. The organisations nurse, midwife, and educator-led principal focus is on improving health, clinical outcomes and patient experience, through building nursing and midwifery leadership capacity to make significant improvements to the cannabinoid patient care environment.