Ask the Celebrity
Q. How did you get into media having started off studying medicine?
A. I started doing speech and drama at the age of four and continued it right up until I finished university. I was a noisy child - I can't dance, I can't sing but I can talk! In fact, when I was very small, my ambition in life was to present the Eurovision song contest. I studied medicine in Cork and then I did my GP training in Cambridge. But I always wanted to do something that was slightly different and didn't want to be doing the same thing for the next 50 years. Not that I don't like being a doctor, but I like a bit of variety. About four years ago, someone forwarded me an email about a production company that was making a television programme called Turn Back Your Body Clock. So I thought I'd apply and see what it was all about. They got me in and in true media fashion, I did three screen tests. For the third one, I even went to Brown Thomas and bought a new outfit, thinking I had this job in the bag and they said 'you're fabulous' and I never heard from them again. It was so embarrassing! I soon learned that that's the way of the world in media and that everyone is 'fabulous'. A while later, I was asked by one of the producers on that show - who was doing a new show for BBC - if I was interested in going forward for another health related show. So I did go and meet them and subsequently - became the on screen doctor for a series that ran on BBC3 called Freaky Eaters. It had a niche audience but was a good inroad into telly. Then Channel 4 called and asked me to take part in a new series called Embarrassing Illnesses and I said yes. We never expected it to be as popular as it was. The rest is history. It's consumed my life for the past three and a half years!
Q. What are the most common health complaints from your female patients?
A. Tiredness is one of the top things that I hear most about in my surgery. Life is busier now. We're a lot busier than our mothers or grannies were. We don't get time to exercise, we're trying to juggle career with a social life and rearing a family. But something has to give. We don't get enough sleep. And most of us don't eat as well as we should. We drink too much tea and coffee, too much wine. Tiredness in women is also caused by a lack of iron due to heavy periods, thyroid problems and also haemochromatosis, an iron overload disorder. It is a genetic condition that causes people to absorb excessive amounts of dietary iron and is extremely common in Ireland.
Another issue is women who have problems with their periods. They're either menstruating very heavily or worried about their fertility. Some people are socially or physically stressed, some don't eat well, some exercise aggressively, or others are binge dieters who are a size zero - all these factors will impact on your menstrual cycle. Lifestyle has an awful lot to do with.
Q. What's the one thing you would recommend to women to stay healthy?
A. Exercise. We underestimate the power of exercise. We are all saying we're too busy. But come on! Barack Obama goes for a jog every day. If he can do it, then I think most of us can fit some exercise in.
