In this episode of the Menopause Chicks Podcast, host Shirley Weir and guest co-host Jen explore why allies and advocates are the future of menopause care—and how participants in Speak Menopause are bringing education into workplaces, healthcare practices, hair salons, and even Costco! Together with members of the Menopause Chicks Community LIVE!, they tackle questions about vaginal estrogen, recurring UTIs, progesterone, bleeding while using hormone therapy, and blood pressure, while sharing Script Tips™ to help you turn what you learn into a more informed conversation with your healthcare team.
The episode kicks off with a menopause conversation in Costco and a story about a hairstylist who listened. Jen shares how conversations about her changing hair inspired her salon to create a faster-drying gel, reducing the time clients spend under a hooded dryer. It’s an example of what becomes possible when someone understands menopause and gets curious about how they can make a difference.
Shirley expands on why allies and advocates are the future of menopause care, sharing how participants in Speak Menopause are bringing their knowledge into healthcare practices, workplaces, community resources, and everyday conversations. From registered dietitians and nurses to pelvic floor physiotherapists, sexual health educators, and workplace leaders, these women are turning “I wish I’d known” into opportunities for others to learn sooner.
From there, the conversation covers a wide-ranging Q&A with members of the Menopause Chicks Community LIVE!:
Throughout the episode, the recurring theme is clear: menopause knowledge travels through relationships. Allies and advocates can help women understand their options, ask clearer questions, and arrive at health appointments better prepared. Sharing what you learn is one way to make that opportunity available to someone else.
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ABOUT THE HOST
Shirley Weir is the founder of MenopauseChicks.com & its popular private community. She’s been a passionate advocate for women’s health education for 14 years. Shirley’s mission is to change the narrative around menopause, ensure everyone can speak the language of their health… so fluently…it will be impossible to be confused, or dismissed ever again!
MENOPAUSE CHICKS PODCAST — TRANSCRIPT
Shirley Weir, guest co-host Jen, and live members of the Menopause Chicks Community participating too!
Spelling and clear transcription errors have been corrected; spoken claims and conversation order are preserved. The source does not include timestamps or speaker labels, so these have not been invented. Opening conversation and sponsor message are included.
It was almost an hour, and her husband was there with her, and he stayed and he was listening to everything You were talking to someone for an hour in Costco? It was almost an hour, because we were, like, catching up, and then used my question, how are you surviving menopause? And then that's how it opened up the conversation
There we go Is that it? That's better. We're so smart We're so smart We are good. We are good. Very smooth. Totally smooth. You look amazing, my friend. Thank you. I almost wore black with my gold necklace, and then I was like, "No, I better wear blue tonight." Oh. Blue's your color. Yeah, but I wear blue all the time.
I know, right? That's your signature, blue. Yes. I love it. But it's okay, because people should be walking while they're listening to us anyway. Exactly. They shouldn't be watching us. They shouldn't. They should be watching where they're going, right? Right. Look both ways before you cross the street. Exactly. I sent the link to a friend of mine.
She watched it, and then after she asked me, "Do you have to rehearse the answers before the podcast?" And I'm like, "No, this is coming out of my head after years and years of the webinars and the Ask Anything." And she's like, "Wow, that's impressive." See? This is what I'm saying. I know, and it's, it's nice that I'm, like, sending the link to my friends and all that, and they're, like, giving me, like, nice feedback.
Or I just got one today, and she's, "I just finished watching it, and there was, like, a lot of great info, and thank you so much for sharing. And Shirley is right that saying that your friends are so lucky to have you around, because you helped me so much, and you were a godsend." I'm like- Oh ... oh, my God. This is like how Shirley must feel when she hears all this.
It's, "Oh, my gosh." And I'm like, "I learned all of this from Shirley. She helped me out when I was suffering, and I need to pay it forward and pass it on, 'cause I don't want any woman to have to suffer like I did." So then she, "I started telling women whatever I know so far. I'm sharing that with them, too." And I'm like, "That's amazing."
That's the whole point. You pass it on. You're doing it. Don't keep it to yourself. Pass it on. Pass it on. Welcome, everyone, to the Menopause Chicks Podcast. My name is Shirley Weir. I'm the founder of Menopause Chicks, and we have been hosting this type of an event for quite some time now. It used to be called Ask Anything.
For a while, it was just for folks who had watched my master class, and then we opened it up to the Menopause Chicks community. And the one request that I got the most was, "Will you record it so that I can listen to this on my walk or later or whatever?" So here you go. We were listening. And so the format of this podcast generally follows a little bit of an opening.
We've got some questions that have been pre-submitted. Tell your friends they can also submit their question via text. We also have a voicemail box. So we'll take your questions that way. We can pull some popular questions from the Menopause Chicks community, so that's always going to be your go-to. And, and then for those of you that join us live, we get to answer and have a conversation with you in real life, which is amazing.
This episode of the Menopause Chicks podcast is brought to you by the vulva and vaginal moisturizer by Menopause Chicks. Goodbye dry, hello feel amazing. This product exists because women like you spoke up. That's right. When I first asked members of the Menopause Chicks community what they needed, the answer was overwhelmingly another solution for vulva and vaginal dryness.
So we listened. We worked with women's health professionals, followed the evidence, and created a Health Canada-approved moisturizer with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E for both the vulva and the vagina. And I'm not only the co-founder, I'm a customer, too. I have been moisturizing my vulva and vagina since 2018.
It's one part of how I prioritize my genitourinary health, along with vaginal estrogen and pelvic floor physiotherapy. This is a product created by women for women, and it's been shaped by a community of 60,000 members. Because you deserve to sit, move, dance, exercise, wear your favorite jeans, and enjoy sexual activity comfortably.
Goodbye dry, hello feel amazing. Find the vulva and vaginal moisturizer by Menopause Chicks at moisturizeyourvagina.com. You are welcome to have your camera on or off, your microphone on or off, and use the chat if you'd like to alert us that you have a question or something to say or an update or a clarification.
Or if you want to put your whole question into the chat, that's okay too. But stay on the call because sometimes we have things that we need to clarify with you. And once again, back for the third week in a row, it's my colleague and friend, Jen. Hi, Jen. Hello, hello, everyone. You're still doing this with me.
That's a good sign. Very good sign. I'm so grateful, Jen, and I really wanted to kick off today's conversation. First of all, you let me know that you posted last week's podcast and shared it with your hairstylist. I saw that comment this morning. Yeah. Yes. Tell me more. Tell me more. Dang. What's up? Since I reached menopause, I had changes in my hair.
It wasn't reacting the same to the product. I've been going to my hairdresser for almost 10 years at least, and everything was well until I reached menopause, and then my hair, like the texture was different. It was thinning. It was not reacting to the gel as well anymore. And I remember I used to-- she used to see me, like, when we have to go under the hood dryer, I'd be like melting because I'd be having hot flashes at the same time.
So it was a little brutal, so I always had to come out to get some air until I started menopause hormone therapy. So she knew my struggles over the years, and we always had conversations about menopause because I'd be letting her know, you know how I like to talk anywhere and everywhere about menopause.
So we had some great conversations. So she's known the struggle that I've been through and- She helped me to see what my hair needed. We were testing out different things. Can we do this? Can we do that? And at one point I was like, "Okay, can you just cut it all off?" And she's like, "No, we're gonna find a solution."
So we finally found a solution. My hair is happier, and the salon has even created a new product. It's a gel that it takes, ooh, a shorter amount of time for drying. So it's basically with me in mind and any of her other clients that have come in and have hot flashes, and they're dying under the, the hooded dryer and all that.
So they created a gel that is, dries faster. It's like a thinner gel, and it dries faster, so we're not under that dryer as long. Oh. She didn't tell me that part. Yes. Yes, I'm like excited that it's like, wow, she- Wow ... she heard me. She even did a paper as well about hair changes in menopause and perimenopause, and it was like based on our conversation she said.
And I'm like, "Really?" Wow. So- Wow You know what? I'm forever grateful to her Me too I love her. Please pass that along. I'm gonna come visit when I'm in Montreal. Exactly. The reason I love to see her comment this morning about the podcast and about the work that you do was because as this year I started the Allies and Advocates program, which essentially is training for those people that are either currently serving women or want to go out into the world and share quality menopause information and education.
And I'll tell you a bit about the folks that have joined that program and what they've been up to this summer in the last month or so. Jen, at the beginning of the summer, you didn't know you were gonna be co-hosting a podcast. Nope. That was a surprise. So that's amazing. We, in the summer, there was two registered dietitians that went through the program with you.
Jill has launched her business. She's also interested in training other health professionals, which I think is amazing because there's so many allied health professionals, and really no one is getting a formal education in menopause. So hearing it and learning through this peer learning is amazing. Jen, another Jen, is also a registered dietitian, and she is migrating, I think, her career from working in the hospital setting to supporting women in midlife with all sorts of things, probably starting out with those biggies like constipation, right?
Mm-hmm. So many people are dealing with, and really not getting answers from their primary healthcare provider. It requires that extra dietician education expertise and experience. We have a registered nurse who's in the program this month, and she is working on her Menopause Society certification, and just spoke to her on Friday also about- Serving other nurses and other health professionals.
So I can really see the seeds have sprouted, and they're starting to spread in all sorts of directions. Ilene we spoke about last week. She's a wellness, a workplace wellness coordinator, and her capstone project was having a menopause education event with 100 of her colleagues last week, so super proud of that.
Deanna's on her way to becoming a sexual health educator with a specialty in menopause. Erin has created an online resource. Krista has created an online resource. Tara, who's an HR professional, is looking to maybe pivot or add on to her toolkit of skills and supporting the midlife working professional, which is amazing.
Jackie came up with this amazing idea for e-cards, so how we can support our friends, our peers, our book club colleagues by sending out an e-card. And Kathy, who is a pelvic floor physiotherapist, has created her own menopause course. I don't know if I hit everyone, but off the top of my head, I'm just ... I can't even...
The word proud doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about you, Jen, and all of your colleagues who have said yes to this learning opportunity Amazing. Wow, what an, like the different array of like- The list, yeah ... women, like, in the session. That is amazing. I'm excited to see- What, what- ... what they come up with.
I know What they do. It's so cool. It's so cool. Okay, so we've got Mary and Crystal joining us. Let's go to the questions that were submitted, I think there's three, and then we'll open it up and see if we can't answer some questions live tonight as well. Sound good? Great. Perfect. How does that look to you?
Yep, looks great. Is that- Okay ... question one? I think this is the first question. Okay. Great. So when it comes to preventing UTIs, is there another option besides vaginal for someone who does not want to use that method? You know how we were talking about how you have to peel back the layers of the onion on a question sometimes and find out what's the question behind the question?
So when this came in this morning, I'm thinking perhaps the asker i- has a mother or a grandmother or an older person in her life where maybe vaginal hormone therapy is lower down on the rung of the ladder, or maybe it's just not possible. Maybe there's resistance to using something vaginal. So I think it's an important question.
However, to answer it fully, I think we have to make sure that everyone understands that localized therapy, which means it treats the spot where we put it, is probably the most effective in preventing urinary tract infections. So after menopause, when estrogen goes for a steep decline, yes, we can get UTIs at any time of our life, and any gender could experience a urinary tract infection, but women are more susceptible to infections post-menopause when the urethra shrinks in size.
And, and some women in post-menopause are getting multiple reoccurring UTIs per year. So the Canadian and the American Urological Association recommend that we use vaginal estrogen. I have an example here. I think we did this maybe a couple weeks ago, but this is an example of [vaginal suppository brand name unclear in supplied text]. It's a suppository that's inserted, and it melts upon body heat.
There are other types of same estrogen, same form of estrogen, but it would come with an applicator that may or may not be met with resistance for the person who's asking this question. There are also creams- That can be applied internally and externally, and there are vaginal rings. Now, a ring might be an option for somebody who doesn't want to be inserting something every day or three times a week into the vagina.
A ring is a slow-release product, so it is good for three months, and it can be inserted by the individual or by their doctor. So those are the three forms of vaginal estrogen. I wanted to make sure that she understood all of the items for localized estrogen first, and then if vaginal is completely off the table, I did include in my response to her the fact that there is a non-hormone treatment.
It's called Osphena. Osphena is the brand name. It's n- a non-hormone, and it's also an oral treatment. So it's an oral tablet that the individual could take in the morning. Now, it's appro- in the morning. What ... Take it daily. It's approved for the treatment of dryness and atrophy. It is not approved for the prevention of urinary tract infections.
However, dryness can exasperate, and then, of course, that dryness is extended to the skin at the outside of the urethra. So it's a good idea for if you have someone older in your life who is post-menopause, not using any form of menopause hormone therapy, and is resisting this conversation about vag- the benefits of vaginal estrogen to know that there is that other oral option for vaginal dryness.
And yeah, that would be how I would wrap That make sense, Jen? Yes, it does. But the only thing is that there's no protection for UTIs. So if they were to do the oral, if they were to do the oral, then how would they still be protected? There's no other way, right? They would have to have the localized.
Correct. Okay
Whoops. Okay, here's the next one. All right. Is it okay to take my progesterone in the morning versus in the evening? Okay, what do you think? Well- I have an answer for this ... it is suggested for it to be taken in the evening because it could cause drowsiness. But what I've learned is some, it affects some women more than others, and some are able to take it during the day, but it would depend on how you're reacting to it.
But it's usually taken in the evening. Yeah. Yeah. So of course, the monograph for progesterone says to take it in the evening, and that is because progesterone is supportive of our sleep. It is not a sleeping aid. It's not a sleeping pill. It's supportive. It's the hormone that supports the quality of our sleep.
And what that means is that different people may have different types of reactions. So if you want to change up how you are taking any type of medication, I think it's important that you understand why the instructions were there in the first place. In this case, progesterone taken in the evening might cause drowsiness.
And if you wanna change that up, speak to your pharmacist. If you can't get back to your prescriber or get back to your doctor, ask your pharmacist if it makes sense. And, and shift workers, they have to certainly make adjustments to the time of day in which they would take a certain medication. So definitely there's room for customization 'cause we're all so individual.
But yeah, two things. One, follow the directions if you can. If you wanna make some adjustments, talk to your pharmacist. And, and third, know that we are all individuals, and we're all going to react in a different way. If I forget to take my progesterone at night, I'll take it in the morning, and I'm usually not drowsy from it at all.
I work all day. That's my own personal experience, but we never wanna be in a position to tell anyone to just change how their prescription was directed for them. And I'm going to do another post on this too, Jen, because there was a lot of chatter around this question in the Menopause Chicks community, and it breeds that perhaps a misunder- misinterpretation that progesterone is a sleeping aid, and it is not.
So if you have a sleep condition like chronic insomnia disorder, that's gonna require a different conversation and probably a, a different treatment plan, and we can talk about that if someone wants to at the end. Oh, this is a biggie
Yes. Okay. "I am 58, four years post-menopause, living in Tennessee. I've been on bioidentical hormones for six months, estradiol patch, and compounded progesterone troche." Troche. "It's been tough to get balanced without the ups and downs of bleeding. It's been so frustrating. While BHRT has changed my life for the better, the frustrations of getting balanced seem never ending.
Every time I try a new dose, the bleeding starts. Is there a trick to finding balance more quickly? I feel like it's been an exhausting game, but I'm certainly not gonna give up." That's good to hear that she's not giving up. You know what this immediately made me think about? And I'm just gonna move to the next slide, because it does come up a lot, but I will kind of hang on to the fact that she's using estradiol and compounded progesterone, and probably the most disruptive side effect has been breakthrough bleeding, and that is definitely something that you want to address.
So, whenever we are taking menopause hormone therapy, or any therapy for that matter, we have to make sure that if we have an adverse side effect, that we don't assume we have to grin and bear it or just get through it. That adverse side effect is an invitation or a tap on our shoulder that's saying, "I, you, I need some attention here, and we need to address this."
And so the best way to address an adverse reaction, especially bleeding, but anything else as well, is to review these four questions with your prescriber. One is, am I taking the right hormones for my age and stage? So she mentioned that she's taking estradiol, which would make sense for someone post-menopause, and she's using a compounded progesterone.
So that might be a little question mark that I would take, if this was me, into my healthcare provider and say, "Would I do better on oral micronized progesterone? Would that be something that would help eliminate this bleeding?" And of course, with oral micronized progesterone, it can be prescribed at 100 milligrams, 200 or 300 milligrams.
So even there's room to tweak doses there. And I know lots of people who do that, and then they finally land in the sweet spot that, that works for them. And that's a nice segue to the question number two, which is, am I using the right doses for my age and stage? We're not prescribers. We don't talk about doses that much.
But knowing what's available, knowing that this, you are taking a therapy that can be increased or decreased, that's an important conversation to have with our prescriber. And definitely one that is going to n- have to be asked, especially with bleeding or breakthrough bleeding present. And then number three is, am I using the mode of delivery that has the best or the highest efficacy rate for me?
So generally speaking, women in post menopause, the, the hormone-- the types of hormone therapy that are first line are going to be a transdermal form of estrogen or estradiol, so something that you take through your skin either via a patch or a gel. But there are oral options. I'm just saying usually the first line is transdermal.
And then the first line for progesterone is oral micronized progesterone. And so this individual's using a compounded version, and I'm wondering if that might be a thing that has to be questioned and maybe tweaked or trialed in order for her to live with vitality without that breakthrough bleeding.
And the fourth question on this list is, and you can screenshot this if you have an, an appointment coming up and there's something specific about your menopause hormone therapy protocol that you want to get curious about. Fourth question, hardly anybody knows the answer to this when I ask them, and that is, when should I book my next review appointment?
Because hormone therapy is individualized. It's a, a custom protocol. And yeah, I've been on menopause hormone therapy for 10 years, so for me, my protocol's pretty static, and I review it once a year with my prescriber. But if you are new to this or you have experienced some adverse experiences and you're tweaking things, it's really important to leave that conversation knowing when you should come back.
Should you book an appointment in 90 days? Is that... Can you get that on the calendar? Walking away and just kinda hoping for the best, I've found actually puts more people into a place of, "I tried, but it didn't work for me." And having this ongoing conversation with your prescriber is, I think, our job, our job number one, especially when we're reviewing a protocol like this.
Can I, can I add another question in there? Oh, yeah. Can you? Please do. But short of questions to review- Yeah ... to ask yourself is, am I being compliant? And we're like, yes. Yes. I always assume that, Jen. I've assumed that for years. But that could be like the piece, the missing piece to the puzzle, and it could explain things.
Ex- explain. Explain that for everyone. If they're not taking it daily as it's prescribed- Right ... then they could have some issues or breakthrough bleeding or any kind of adverse effect that you wouldn't even think to ask, right? Because like you were saying, you're just thinking that they're taking it as prescribed, and that's not even an issue.
But then surprise, surprise, it could be. That is so good, and that is why you are here. Thank you for that. There's something else whenever I hear the word compliant that we could add to this conversation, and that is, you know, in the box of your prescription, there's this big folded piece of paper that's kind of gross and kind of hard to read.
Do you know why all these words are here? Do you know why the manufacturer has to do this? No. I, I would say to scare us. I don't think it's to scare us. It, it's sometimes when I read it, it's just like- I know. Oh, yeah, so I don't read them ... and this could happen, and this could happen, and this could happen.
Exactly. Yeah. It's actually legalese. So this is written by lawyers to protect the manufacturing company from lawsuits from people who are non-compliant. I love them. Okay Does that make sense? Yeah, that's good. So I don't know the statistic. I heard it once and I'll have to go look it up again, but like X percent of people that are pr- that are on prescribed treatment are non-compliant.
They forget to take it, they don't take it regularly, or maybe they don't believe in the treatment that they've received. They didn't have agency over that decision-making process, and so then they are less compliant with the therapy. So it's important to keep in mind. Compliance is a really good word
All right. Crystal, did you have any questions or an update or something you wanted to share tonight? Same. Hey. Hi. Yeah, actually I did submit one, but I didn't get my act together until just about the time you were going live, so I don't expect you to have seen it. Oh, okay. Go ahead. So my story is- Much better.
So I'm 51. My last period was May 9th, like about 143 days ago. Okay. And I'm in Ottawa. And recently, so back in April, I got an IUD inserted, and I started on estrogen gel to deal with a plethora of minor issues: sleep, brain fog, uh, lots of cramping and headaches and that type of thing. Okay. But my question now revolves around blood pressure and how it is affected by menopause and what happens
At my last checkup a, a couple of weeks ago, it was determined that my blood pressure was very high. It had been high when I was pregnant with my second, and that was about 16 years ago, so then I lost track of it. At various doctor's appointments between then and now, they've said it was high-ish, but we just keep an eye on it kinda thing.
Now it's high enough that we wanted to do something about it. So I started on some medication, and my doctor did some blood tests, and the only thing aside from low B12 was that she says my blood pressure is affecting my kidneys, and I don't know exactly what that means. And then just a kind of related thing is that also my gynecologist had said she wanted me to increase the estrogen gel, but also not to do that until the blood pressure was more under control, and she didn't go into details on what that exactly meant either.
So are you able to give me any insight on those issues? I will do my best to give you the insights that may help you in having your next health conversation. I don't quite understand the connection to the kidneys, so make sure that you probe and ask for that explanation with your healthcare provider.
But it doesn't sound like you have reached menopause fully, but we wouldn't know that for a few more months of ... Because your last period was May 2026. Did I get that right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But regardless, estrogen can be low in perimenopause even before you reach menopause, or maybe this will be your year.
And what happens when estrogen declines, and it goes for a steep decline at menopause, is that cholesterol and blood pressure go up naturally. And this is a conversation that is not universally understood by women or their healthcare teams. In fact, Crystal, what I hear the most from members like you is that our doctors will say things like, "Oh, you never had high blood pressure before, and look, it's elevated.
I wonder why that is," right? And they're just so, like, dismayed, and they don't draw the connection to a decline in estrogen at menopause. So it's common, but you might also have a preexisting history, or somebody might have preexisting health conditions that also would overlap that. I'm delighted to hear that you took the medication for the high blood pressure 'cause that's step one.
Step two would then be reviewing your menopause hormone therapy. So a change in dose to your estrogen might be on the table, if not now, maybe down the road. That's an option. You are using an IUD, which is protecting the lining of your uterus, but you could also entertain the option of taking oral progesterone.
So that could be on your list to discuss as well. And, and I guess I dove in really quickly, Crystal, but I should have asked you, do you, how do you feel on your current protocol of menopause hormone therapy, and is it addressing your initial concerns of sleep, brain fog, and headaches? No, it hadn't done any of that yet, but I was told that with those changes, I wouldn't know really how it was working out or making
If it was helping for six months, and it's not been that yet quite, so- A long time to tell a woman to continue suffering. And, and, and I do ... If I could interject about the progesterone, I did ask my gynecologist about that because somebody I knew who's a couple years older than me had said that progesterone had helped significantly with her sleeping.
And when I brought it up to my gynecologist, she just said, "Oh, that's anecdotal and not proven, and we won't look at that." So I'm wondering what else aside from the, the sleeping aspect would be a benefit to the progesterone? So when progesterone ... When our cycles are regular, progesterone, the hormone, it's made in the second half of our cycle, and its job is to provide a woman's body with calmness after she just spent two full weeks developing an egg follicle, releasing an egg, estrogen being really high.
Along comes progesterone, and progesterone's role is to offer support for mood, support for sleep, to regulate bleeding, and to protect the lining of the uterus. Progesterone has hundreds of other roles and responsibilities in our body in all of, all the systems. It supports brain health and bone health as well.
But sort of the hallmark superstars, superstar benefits of progesterone are sleep, mood, and managing bleeding Any time that somebody is taking an estrogen therapy, it cannot go unopposed. Otherwise, the lining of the uterus will grow, and when it grows, it may turn into cancer cells. So when estrogen is prescribed, your gynecologist is absolutely right that the progestin in your IUD is providing that match.
So in her training and in her expertise, that's a check mark. We've taken care of business. But your role is to say, "I know that when progesterone declines, it can show up as brain fog, sleep disruption, and I'm cur- I'd like to be curious as to whether or not I could also benefit from progesterone." And I can help you write that script, or we can work on script tips together if you'd like to pursue that again, either with your gynecologist or your family doctor.
It's not what they learned in medical school, but it, the logic that goes along with it, with not prescribing progesterone to someone who has an IUD or who has had a hysterectomy, the logic then for them would say, "Oh, progesterone's only role is to protect the lining of the uterus." And we know that's not true
Ah, okay. Yeah, I'm not against some script, script tips. Okay. I just, they seem to go out the window when I'm actually there, and part of that is because I don't wanna be that person who says, "Yeah, I know you went to medical school for X number of years, but I still know better because I've heard things on podcasts."
Oh, for sure. For sure. I actually have a podcast from a few seasons ago with Dr. Jerilynn Prior, and she is the lead endocrinologist who has studied perimenopause and progesterone here in, in Canada at UBC, and she taught me one of the best ways to have this conversation with your healthcare provider. So it might go something like this: "Hi, Doctor.
My goal today is to discuss with you the benefits of progesterone. As I'm 51 and my last period was in May, my symptoms of sleep disruption and brain fog and headaches have continued even though I have been taking X and Y. I have the IUD and I'm taking estradiol. I know that at 51 with my full life, I deserve to feel better than I currently do.
I've recently learned that progesterone is responsible for supporting mood and sleep. And what I'm wondering is would you be interested in working on an experiment with me? Would you be interested in prescribing 30, 60, maybe even 90 days of progesterone? I'll try it out. I'll see if that's the missing piece of the puzzle for me.
I'll keep really good notes and I'll come back here in three months and I'll share my experience with you. And that might help me, and it might help other people in your patient panel. And I'm just wondering if we could work on this together."
That sounds good. Good. And you want to, if you wanna write that out or have a screenshot of it, I have a script tip tool that's at speakmenopause.com. All right. Okay. And you can fill in the blank. You can also edit it. You can send, email it to yourself or, or create a screenshot. But it's definitely worth trying, and within that script tip is context that you, Crystal, bring from your own health experience.
So for example, like I look at the notes I took while you were speaking, and I see headaches, and I'm curious, were the headaches a result of declining progesterone, or were they a result of your high blood pressure? So these are things that you can bring to that conversation. Maybe even sketch it out in a diagram and say, put blood pressure next to kidneys, next to the symptoms that you're experiencing in little circles, and start to check off what you are working on.
And I think that really helps to articulate how you are leading this conversation and that you're driving your own health. For sure.
Jen, do you wanna dive in there? I know you have the exper- I know you have the experience of having had a hysterectomy, but you also take progesterone Yes, and thanks to the information that you provided me, I was able to speak with my doctor to actually be prescribed the progesterone, because she was saying I no longer have a uterus, so I don't need it.
So I agree- You don't need uterine protection. Exactly, right? Because you don't have a uterus anymore. So then I had to tell her there's other benefits for sleep and mood. It also helps with the hot flashes as well and all that. Yes. I brought the documentation in and I was showing it to her, and then she had agreed, 'cause I also had mentioned that my naturopathic doctor said that estrogen should not go unopposed.
Then I was able to get the progesterone. So it's great. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Like you're saying, you have to be your own health advocate, right? To either get some kind of knowledge just to show your doctor that you are aware of the benefits of progesterone, and at least you're, like, bringing up the conversation.
And I think if they see, oh, okay, this person is knowledgeable, or they are looking into their health, and they're not just referring to ... They're not saying, "I Googled it, and I saw this and that," right? They're like, you're, like, coming with evidence-based information from a trusted source and all that. Yeah.
And I think it just helps to open up the conversation to actually have a conversation, and feel like you're at the same level, and you're working together with your doctor. So that's how my relationship with my doctor evolved, and we're, like, working together towards my health. I think that's amazing. I think for all of our listeners too, and for Crystal, it's helpful when we can shift our paradigm going into the health appointment with an understanding of what that health professional learnt in school.
It's not disrespecting their medical degree. It's actually acknowledging it and saying, I know this is what is taught. I know that according to the guidelines, as long as I have an IUD or I no longer need uterine protection, I don't need progesterone. I know that was what's taught, but here's my lived experience.
So I'm gonna put this in one column. I'm gonna line it up against my lived experience. And then the third column is what can we get curious about together? And I'm here today to get curious about progesterone, but I also wanna be curious as to whether this blood pressure medication is going to work for me.
And I also wanna be-- And like, what are all the things that we can try? And I think that's a really-- We're establishing relationships with our healthcare providers. It is a really great way to lead with curiosity. That's sorta how I would wrap that up, right?
Thank you so much. Okay, Crystal, will you please circle back and let me know how it goes? And again, reach out to me directly if there's some- anything that you need to have personalized or customized for your next appointment. For sure. Okay. Thanks for jumping on tonight.
I think we're good, Jen. Or it, there was a comment in the chat from Mary. Oh, from Mary? I don't know if Mary's still there. Mary had to step away. She just wanted to know if we're still rec- if we're recording and making it available. Oh, okay. And the answer is yes. Oh, she said, "Thank you for offering this as a live podcast.
I think you answered my question at the beginning, and that it will be available for later viewing and listening." That's great. One more audience member. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you for doing this, Jen. Again, I'm, I'm so proud of everything you do on this podcast and in between these recordings, including dinner with your husband, and taking care of his coworkers, and your friends that you meet at Costco, and just the passion that you bring to this topic.
I love sharing it with you. Thank you so much, Shirley, for everything. Good night. Bye.
Wow. Thank you. And that's it for this week's Menopause Chicks Podcast. A huge thank you to my guest co-host, Jen, for joining me, and to everyone who showed up live, and especially to those of you who trusted us with your questions today. Because when you share your question, you're not only prioritizing your own health, you're helping someone else who has been wondering the exact same thing.
And now, I want your questions for future episodes. What are you curious about? What have you been googling at 2:00 AM? What did you forget to ask at your last health appointment? And what have you been told that doesn't quite yet make sense? Or what's happening in your body right now that has you wondering, what does this mean for me?
Curiosity is where clarity begins. So please go to menopausechicks.com/podcast. You can send me your question privately, leave me a voice note, submit a video question, or find out how to join us live on the next episode of the Menopause Chicks Podcast. And when you submit your question, give me a little context.
Tell me your age, the date of your last period, what you're currently doing or have tried, and then ask your question. Again, menopausechicks.com/podcast. If today's conversation gave you insight or an aha moment, please follow the Menopause Chicks Podcast wherever you love to listen to your favorite podcasts, and share this episode with someone you love, because quality information deserves to travel, and your question might be her question too.
I'm Shirley Weir. Thank you for listening. Stay curious and keep your questions coming because you deserve quality information, you deserve quality healthcare, and you deserve to feel amazing. The Menopause Chicks Podcast is for education and information only, and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Everybody and every health history is different. Use what you learn here to help you ask informed questions, understand your options, and have conversations with your own healthcare professionals about what is right for you.