Welcome to The Hot Flash Diaries Podcast

Welcome to the first episode of The Hot Flash Diaries Podcast with your host Jessica Caceres, as she delves into this candid conversation about hormone health, sexual health, and women’s overall wellness. In this introduction to the podcast, you’ll get a first look into Jessica’s background as a Nurse Practitioner, her passion about why she wanted to create this podcast and the misconceptions and education gap surrounding women’s health, with future topics she is going to cover. It’s time to reclaim your wellness and feel empowered in your own body!

In this episode you’ll learn about:
• Jessica's 13+ years experience as a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner and opening Bonita Medical Aesthetics & Wellness.
• The idea behind the podcast and the quest to help women who have been dismissed by healthcare professionals, especially in mid-life.
• Breaking societal expectations and the education gap when it comes to the “aging woman.” 
• Sharing surprising statistics from an article published by Sun Life that takes a deep dive into women’s wellness across their lifespan. 
• What to expect on upcoming episodes, guests and what they will be sharing!

If you’re ready to take control of your health, make sure you’re subscribed, kindly leave us a rating and follow our socials linked below to stay connected! Also, if you’re a woman who would be interested in sharing your story on the podcast or a medical professional with an expertise as it pertains to women's health, be sure to send us a message!

Jessica’s Links For You:

Website: https://www.bonitamedicalaesthetics.com/podcast
Instagram: @thehotflash.diaries & @youare.bonita
• Facebook  •  Tiktok  •   
Youtube: @thehotflashdiariespodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to the Hot Flash Diaries, the podcast where no topic in women's health is off limits. I'm your host, Jessica Casaris, a board-certified nurse practitioner with expertise in hormone and sexual health. This is your safe space for candid conversations about perimenopause, menopause, intimacy, and so much more. If you're tired of being dismissed or want to feel like yourself again, you have found your community. Let's break the silence, tackle tough topics, and help you reclaim your wellness. It's time to feel empowered in your own skin. Welcome to the very first episode of the Hot Flash Diaries podcast. I am so honored and excited that you're here with me today. Thank you so much. I thought that a good way to kick off this podcast would be to share a bit more about myself and the reasons why I decided to launch this podcast. I have been a board certified nurse practitioner in the province of Ontario for over 13 years now. And with that comes a bunch of experience in a variety of clinical settings. I've worked in family medicine, I've done some work in the emergency department, I've done some internal medicine work as well as rehabilitation work. I've worked with kiddos in the settings of pediatrics, and I've also worked in palliative medicine. I have really, really loved all of the work that I do. And I have to say that it is the this vast experience in a variety of settings that has really allowed me to work with women in a variety of different stages in their life that has pushed me into wanting to care for women in midlife. So about seven years ago, I met a colleague of mine who is a guru in the aesthetic medicine world. She introduced me to this concept of Botox and fillers and facial rejuvenation, something that I had never really thought of. You know, my mom was never into really doing anything for herself. And so it was something that was brand new to me. And after delving really deeply into it and doing, going to a lot of different conferences, I fell in love with the art of aesthetic medicine and the idea of helping women and men as well feel really good about themselves and boosting their confidence. So I founded the very first nurse practitioner-led clinic in the region of Waterloo called Bonita Medical Aesthetics and Wellness in 2017. And I have to say, I am so, so proud that we are now a team of three dedicated women whose mission is to empower women in all aspects of aesthetic medicine while also focusing on women's wellness. And I'll share a little bit more about the women's wellness program a little later. So, in addition to my clinical work, I am known as mom at home to my brilliant 14-year-old girl, Alisa. I am also a partner to John, who is undoubtedly the most supportive man I have ever known. And with John came two incredible young men, Adrien and Finn, who I am honored to have as my bonus kiddos. And while the three kids and John might may have been a little bit traumatized by the topics that I bring up around women's health and sometimes at the most awkward times, like, you know, driving to hockey games or, you know, dinner time conversations when friends are over. I really do hope that it serves them well in the years to come. Um, and in particular for my daughter, who I want her to be an empowered woman as she gets to that phase. So, why create this Hot Flash Diaries podcast? Where the heck did that come from? Well, first and foremost, after having worked with women for so many years, I really started to see this recurrent theme in women that they felt as though they didn't have a place to go to get good information. A lot of women felt sort of deflated and discouraged after going to see their trusted healthcare provider and trying to discuss issues around midlife and changes to their body, and they felt super dismissed. And I didn't want that for any of my clients, any of my friends, any of my family. And after working in a variety of clinical settings and realizing that there is such a gap in women's healthcare, I decided that it was time to really delve deeply into the world of women's wellness and sexual wellness. And that is where I decided that it was time to develop the women's wellness program at Benita Medical Aesthetics and Wellness. So approximately four years ago, five years ago now, I started to really invest a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of energy into learning everything I could possibly learn about women's health, including hormone optimization, including vaginal rejuvenation, including how to help women with low libido, because these were all the things that I was hearing women share. You know, even though they were coming in for their Botox treatments or they were coming in for other reasons, they would share all of these troubles that they were having and how awful they felt. And I wanted to be a provider that was able to help. So the reason for this podcast is first and foremost, I want women to really feel supported and empowered during this incredible phase of life. Navigating midlife can be super challenging to say the least, and it is very tough to know where to turn for support and information. So my hope is that this podcast will be that place for women to turn to for education and answers around all things related to women's health, sexual wellness, perimenopause, menopause, and hormone optimization. I really, really want women to stop feeling ashamed about sex and talking about sex being something so taboo. I want them to stop feeling ashamed about their bodies. I want them to be able to understand their own anatomy and what changes they're feeling, understanding what is considered normal, what's not normal, what's part of midlife, what isn't, but also understanding that there are so many things that can be done to feel better, both hormonally and non hormonal or non-hormonal, I should say. You know, women can really feel like themselves again. I really also really, really want to focus on this concept of, you know, women aging poorly. You know, what is the aging woman? You know, you see photos all over the place or on TV of the aging woman being this old sort of decrepit lady, white hair, you know, wrinkles, all the things. And it couldn't be further from the truth. We have this concept that men age like fine wine and wear these shriveled up, like little, you know, raisins. And it really is not the way. There are so many ways to age gracefully and to understand that aging is actually a beautiful thing. And we don't have to feel like old hags. In fact, I just saw a lady yesterday that was helping her with her hormone optimization, and she shared that she was she was told what was happening with her body that she felt like an old hag. Well, that's our societal expectations and cultural expectations that have been geared towards this idea that women aren't supposed to age. And it is so wrong. I do not accept this. We are supposed to age, it's supposed to be exciting, it's supposed to be a time where we step into that. I don't give a rat's behind energy. It's that whole feeling of just being in your own skin and loving everything about it, excelling at your career, doing all of the things that we should be doing. Our children are getting older if you have children who require less sort of hands-on. Um, and you can step back and start to look after yourself a little bit more. But unfortunately, you know, our society tells us that we have to try to look like we're 20 and have, you know, these perky chests and tiny waists and just be this perfect 20-year-old person in a 40, 50, 60, 70-year-old body. And that is impossible. And while much of the work that I do is focused on anti-aging in the aesthetic industry, it is a misnomer because there is no way of stopping chronological aging, meaning that every single year we get one more year added onto our age, and that's okay. It should be celebrated as opposed to being something that we completely want to avoid or pretend doesn't happen. And I really want that for people. I want people to feel healthy. There is a way to slow down that endocrine aging. So we'll get into a little bit more about that, where our endocrine glands are those that release hormones in our bodies. And of course, they do slow down over time and they stop producing hormones. There is a way of improving that so that we can feel healthy and well in our bodies. So, again, rather than wanting to avoid aging, I want women to embrace aging. I want them to feel amazing in their bodies. There is a huge gender gap in our healthcare system that has impacted how women are seen, how they're treated, and their ultimate outcomes related to their health. This is not new. This is something that has been there for a very, very long time. And there's many reasons for this healthcare gap, including, you know, historical and continued lack of research on women and their health. You know, there are a lot of research studies that are done that exclude women, in particular women in the reproductive years for a variety of reasons. There's also a lack of understanding on how women present with conditions compared to our male counterparts. And that's one thing I remember when I first started working in the emergency department. This wise, wise emergency physician said to me, never ever, ever assume that a woman is coming in with a heart attack if she's only complaining of chest pain going down her arm. If she comes in with abdominal pain, back pain, et cetera, you assume it's a heart attack until proven otherwise because women are complex beasts and they present entirely different than that of men. And it could not be, you know, more valuable information that was hit the nail on the head in every aspect of life, not just coming in with symptoms of, you know, cardiovascular events. In every aspect, we present very differently than our male counterparts. And that is not really well understood. And part of that is because we're not studied enough. There's also this crazy stigma associated with talking about issues related to women's health, both from the clinician standpoint and the patient's standpoint. You know, it's it's seen as taboo or gross or weird to talk about our bodies and what we're experiencing or sexual health issues with the people we trust the most, which is our family doctors, our nurse practitioners, nurses, whomever, even our own talking with our own parents, our sisters, our our friends, all of these people that are experiencing the exact same thing or have at one point or another in their lives, it is seen as abnormal to talk to them about it. It's not okay. And we've made it weird. And here's the thing, guys, if we don't make it weird, it's not weird. So we need to talk more about that. I had this incredible wise physician that I've provided locum coverage for many times uh share with me that he was so thrilled that I was starting to offer virtual care for hormone optimization because he felt that there was such a barrier in our healthcare system for women to access care around perimenopause and menopause. And that although he felt highly skilled in that area of women's health in midlife, he would try to actively talk with his patients. And numerous times he would get shot down because the patient felt that it was uncomfortable to speak with him about what was happening with her body. And it's such a strange concept. Here you have this incredible clinician who's knowledgeable and ready to provide care. And the patient's withholding because of their own, you know, various stigmas and biases associated with, you know, talking about your vagina or, you know, talking about sex and various things or low libido. And it's just, it's gotta stop. It's gotta stop. It's creating a barrier. What's interesting is that in 2023, a very well-known Canadian insurance company, Sun Life, published a fabulous paper that took a deep dive into women's wellness across the lifespan. And sadly, the statistics were not surprising. And I just wanted to share a few of the statistics with you guys so that you could really understand just how um, you know, deep-seated and uh really far-reaching um the effects of midlife changes have on women and overall in the family unit and in society. So, first and foremost, three out of four women experience menopausal symptoms that interfere with their daily lives. That's 75%. So, in a group of, you know, eight women, that is almost everybody in that group that has experienced menopausal symptoms that is interfering with their daily lives. And I was actually shocked at that number. Although I see so many women in my practice, I would have guessed about 60, but 75 just blew my socks off. I just thought that can't be, but it's true. 75%. That is crazy. 40% of disability claims for women are related to mental health disorders compared to 30% in men. 10% more disability claims in women related to mental health concerns. These claims are often related to caregiver roles or stress of reproductive health. That's crazy. And this last one was wild. 10% of women left their job or were planning to leave their job because of menopausal symptoms. Can you imagine you work so hard to have an established career, and then you have to leave because your symptoms are so poorly managed or they haven't even been identified that you feel so unwell that you can't work, you can't get out of bed. And then the far-reaching impact of that on your marriage or how it impacts your children, your financial situation, your housing, you know, and then the burden of that on the healthcare system is crazy. And it's just so wild that we don't talk more about this type of thing, about all the symptoms associated with menopause, because it's not just about hot flashes or night sweats or vaginal dryness. There are tons and tons and tons of symptoms associated with menopause. Did you know that the lesser-known symptoms of menopause include lack of sleep, insomnia, anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, memory issues, brain fog, feeling overwhelmed. Like all of a sudden, these tasks that you know you used to do or do them many times over in a day have become so challenging. That feeling of wanting to get out of bed in the morning is gone. You just want to sleep all the time, having worsening migraine headaches, having fluctuating periods, full body pain, shoulder, frozen shoulder issues, um insulin resistance, irritability, worsening PMS, mood changes, night sweats, dry mouth, wringing in the ear, bloating, you name it, there are hundreds of symptoms that are associated with menopause. And unfortunately, they are lesser known and they are not taken into consideration when you see clinicians that are not well versed in this, and it's unfortunate that is something that needs to change. There are so many women out there, so many of you that are listening who have tried to seek care during this phase of life, because you know that something is just not right, but you have been turned away, gaslit, or worse yet, you've been dismissed. Perhaps some of you were even misdiagnosed with the underlying culprit, uh, you know, knowing that it's declining estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, but yet you're leaving your family doctor's office with an antidepressant or a sleep aid. And while those still may need to be as or used as part of your treatment plan, the underlying reason as to the way why you're feeling the way you're feeling is not being addressed. And that's a problem. It's not okay. And every single day I have the privilege of working with women in midlife and the stories I hear make my toes curl. Women who have sat in their GP or MP offices in tears feeling terrible, and yet they walk out of their office feeling more helpless than ever. I'll delve deeper into why this is in our next episode, where I share how much I wish I knew then what I know now, because I could have helped so many more women, including my own mother. I was one of these clinicians who was ill-equipped and felt helpless caring for women in midlife because I wasn't taught how. Every single time I would come into the GP's office to cover, or when I was working for the family health team, and I would have my list of patients and what their complaints were coming in for the day, and I would see that there would be a woman coming in with questions around hormones, perimenopause, menopause. I would just cringe because I didn't know what to do. And it was an awful feeling for myself, and I hated that I wasn't able to provide the best care possible to my patient. And although I would try to chat with different colleagues who were more experienced, everyone sort of shared the same sentiment that we were ill-prepared for this aspect of a woman's life and their care. So over the last six years, I have really dedicated countless hours and resources to learning all that I could about hormone health. And this is why I feel or I felt it was so natural to include a women's health program as part of the services that we offer at Bonita Medical Aesthetics and Wellness. I've been fortunate to be able to have been mentored by some gurus in the women's health uh realm, including that of hormone specialists. And I continue to challenge myself every single day to learn something new that pertains to women's health and women's wellness. So I really look forward to inviting some experts onto the podcast as well and stories from real women going through this stage of life so that we can learn from them around a variety of different uh areas of health, including, you know, changes to our hair, changes to our skin. I'm gonna chat with another clinician, uh colleague of mine who's a men's health specialist, because actually I get a lot of women who ask me, well, what about my husband? You know, he's not feeling great. Can you see him? And the answer is, I can't, but I know who to send him to. Um, so I'm gonna see about getting my colleague on here to chat about men. Um, but really, I want this place to be a safe community for women to come to and for their partners and men to listen to as well, so that they know how to support their spouses and wives along the journey. But I want it to be uh a really great place for people to come and listen and just feel heard, feel empowered, and leave feeling better about themselves. So together we'll continue to learn and share this valuable information in hopes of empowering women in midlife. And if you're ready to learn more and to take control of your health, make sure that you subscribe and follow and of course review our episodes. And don't forget to give us a follow on Instagram. You can follow us at Benita Medical Aesthetics. Our Instagram is ur, so y-o-ar-e dot benita. Also hotflash.diaries. I'd also love to hear from you if you are a woman interested in sharing your story on my podcast, um, or as if you're another medical professional who would like to come on and share your expertise as it pertains to women's health. And as always, I am open to learning about different topics uh that you would like shared on the podcast. So please feel free to reach out to me about that. I wish you all the most beautiful day ever, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon. Thank you for tuning into the Hot Flash Diaries podcast. I hope that today's episode left you feeling more informed and empowered. This is your safe space for honest conversation, so be sure to subscribe, share, and join again for more insights on reclaiming your health and wellness. Take good care of yourself, and we'll see you next time.