May 2, 2024 – Rebecca Levy-Gantt, DO, says a lot of her menopausal patients first turn to social media to assist them manage various symptoms. It’s how she stays up to this point on the world of Food supplements and other products with little or no actual medical profit:
The ever-growing list of patches, Collagen gummy bearsand even Infrared matS Designed to “charge” a patient’s body using electromagnetic pulses which might be marketed as a miracle cure for the symptoms of menopause.
Even more concerning to Levy-Gantt, an obstetrician-gynecologist and menopausal specialist in Napa, California, is that products contain ingredients that will interact with other medications or are prescribed without their patients' complete medical history.
“I've told people that they need to be more skeptical when they see, hear or someone tells them that they can 'cure' menopause,” Levy-Gantt said. “It seems like a lot of people want to 'do' menopause, there are all these” products, services and marketing gimmicks popping up online.
More than 1 million people enter menopause yearly. And in 2024, advice on how one can take care of this condition is big business, stuffed with overpriced therapies and false guarantees. Much of this misinformation is spread through social media, and an increasing number of women are turning to this medium for help.
Family doctors may also help patients think critically in regards to the motives of online influencers, a wealth of questionable informationand analyze the hype on a scientific level, experts said.
After the actual fact
Several of Levy-Gantt's patients bought hormone supplements promoted on social media and online advertisements through virtual health providers and subsequently developed uncontrollable menstrual bleeding, she said. Others received only estrogen supplements despite having a uterus, risking Estrogen-associated Endometrial hyperplasiaand their risk of uterine cancer increases. Patients in menopause with uterus should take combined estrogen-progestogen therapy, after clinical guidelines.
Other patients were persuaded by influencers touting the libido-enhancing effects of testosterone and received high doses of the hormone through online doctors. Too much of this drug can result in negative effects akin to weight gain, nausea or increased cholesterol. Some patients seek the advice of them before choosing telemedicine alone, as within the case of a girl who requested a menopausal drug that will have greatly increased her risk of stroke and even death.
“What scares me most is if she doesn't come to me but finds someone online who will prescribe it to her without knowing her entire medical history,” Levy-Gantt said.
Patients assume the identical treatment will work for them because a friend or celebrity raved about it on social media, Levy-Gantt said.
While she is open to considering options with more limited clinical evidence, she tries to teach her patients about finding reputable sources of data.
According to Monica Wang, PhD in science and associate professor of public health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health, patients' confusion about what health information they will trust is comprehensible. Doctors can acknowledge the knowledge overload and ask patients about their current understanding of a selected topic or treatment. They could use plain English and culturally appropriate language to dispel misinformation.
Influencers in menopause often advertise expensive supplements or special diets that belong to the The most common Sources of health misinformation spread online, Wang said. Patients needs to be cautious of online advertisements for dietary supplements, especially if the products are endorsed by celebrities, in the event that they are ordered from one other country or if the corporate doesn't make it clear that it conducts safety or quality checks.
Even therapies that appear healthy could be harmful if taken in large quantities or if a patient has an underlying disease. False information or questionable solutions from other medical professionals are particularly difficult to refute, said Levy-Gantt.
Green tea, known for its antioxidant properties and the flexibility to scale back inflammation could also be helpful for some women going through menopause. But consuming large doses of green tea extract, often sold in complement form, has been linked to liver toxicity and liver failure. Some reports link Black cohosh, a preferred Herbal remedies for warm flashes, to liver problems. Dong Quai, a conventional Chinese herbal treatment for warm flashesshould not be taken by women with fibroids, hemophilia and other clotting problems, in keeping with the Menopause Society.
Ask your doctor
According to Levy-Gantt, women may encounter misinformation because they've symptoms which might be ignored or neglected by their primary care physicians.
Jewel Kling, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Women’s Internal Medicine on the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, maintains an inventory of Influencers in menopause who provide accurate information and suggestions, because “there are some people who do great work,” she said.
Doctor-patient conversations are sometimes time-constrained. However, ask your doctor to proceed the conversation through follow-up visits or calls, or by messaging through the portal, or ask in the event that they can schedule a separate consultation with team members akin to nurses or physician assistants to deal with additional questions.