EP.18: Menopause at Work: What No One Told You

Are you a female professional over 35 experiencing unexplained brain fog, low energy, or irritability at work? 

In this episode of Coffee & Coaching, coach Karol Figueroa sits down with menopause coach Judy Hunter to shatter the silence around menopause in the corporate world. Together, they break down the critical differences between perimenopause, menopause (which is actually just a single day!), and postmenopause. 

Learn how silent hormonal shifts can drain your executive functioning, why symptoms can start in your mid-30s, and the life-changing impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). 

If you are ready to reclaim your confidence and stop piecemealing your symptoms, grab your coffee and tune in!

Connect with today’s guest, Judy Hunter

Website:  https://judythemenopausementor.com/ 

Meet your host: Karol Figueroa

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karolfigueroa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karol.figueroa.tate/

Need support at work? HIK Trainings can help.

Website: https://www.hiktrainings.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiktrainings/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiktrainings

Transcript

Intro

SPEAKER_04 0:00

What we know now is because of some of the symptoms that happen within perimenopause, one major one, brain fog, is one that would cause women to lose their confidence in the workplace as leaders. And it's something that impacts your work. Menopause is actually just one day.

SPEAKER_05 0:15

It's more about the longevity piece that you're talking about. We want to be here for as long as we want. The most amount of time with the people we love, this is not a nice to have. It's going to happen. And the better prepared we are, the better off we will be. Hello, hello, hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Coffee and Coaching Season 2 when Lab Hits Work. As you know, Coffee and Coaching was born out of realization that the most powerful conversations we get to have here at HIKA Trainings come from just drinking coffee with our coaches and practitioners, just talking about life and some of the findings that we find ourselves as we're coaching ourselves and our clients through life. So today we're going to talk about a topic that affects so many of our clients, so many women, and yet is still not discussed enough in professional spaces. What happens with menopause at work? And let's be honest, for so many women, menopause does not arrive with a clear instruction manual. It can show up as brain fog, exhaustation, change of focus, and mood chips. But it was not until today when I had a conversation with the amazing Yudi Hunter, certified menopause coach, that I learned things that I was left in awe as to how little did I know and how little care many of my family members, many of our clients, can't take care of this, and how we should start blaming ourselves for a lot of the things that could be very well, just a change in our bodies. Today I'm thrilled to welcome Judy Hunter, who comes with 15 years of professional experience in woman's health, and she is specialized in this topic. She has to gift for this complex hormonal topics and making it sound simple and easy for any woman to digest. So if you are wondering why work just feels more heavier than ever, what is more difficult for you to like control your thinking, brain fog becomes real, and you're a woman over the age of 35. Yeah, I know. Did not know that. Then this episode is for you. So tune in, grab your coffee, and let's go. I'm so glad that we reconnected and now we can have this important topic.

SPEAKER_04 2:39

I love it. It's a topic I'm absolutely passionate about, and I can't wait to dig in to all the things I love to talk about related to menopause.

SPEAKER_05 2:47

So I'm gonna ask you even more questions of this credit because this is so important. Okay. Why any woman after the age of 35 should listen to this and not assume that it's so far away for it to come?

SPEAKER_04 3:00

Okay, here's what I'll say:

Breaking the Age Myth: When Does Perimenopause Actually Start?

SPEAKER_04 3:01

there is a misconception that menopause or perimenopause, and I'm gonna break down the difference between the two terms in a little bit, um, is something that happens to you when you're an elderly woman. Like your mom. Yeah, you have to be like you. Right. It's never happening to us, right? Because we're young. And that's a popular misconception many women have. Yes. And I think what we know now with research is menopause or perimenopause symptoms can begin as early as your mid to late 30s. Wow. And it can last up to about 51 average. Now, that being said, there are women that experience menopause symptoms beyond that, that and that have their cycles up until their late 50s. Yes. But the average age for it to stop is 51. So it's a long time.

SPEAKER_05 3:46

So it's a process. So how long you will say like some people experience it for like 10 years, some people 15 even?

SPEAKER_04 3:53

There are some statistics. So what we know now, as far as research shows, is that Caucasian women tend to experience perimenopause with an average range of 6.5 years and women of color 10.5 years. Wow, that's incredible.

SPEAKER_05 4:06

And I I'm not surprised because I see a lot of health issues and things that happen, especially at the moment of birth and a lot of like care things. I I will also say, just as a woman of color, denial is my friend when it comes to health. You're in the company. It's terrible. It's a terrible thing where I'm like, oh, let's just rug it on, put it under the rug, and maybe I'll figure out, we'll tough it up, we will adapt. And and our bodies are screaming hell. Right. Yeah. Right. So let's talk about it because like I I I had a retired chief legal officer that was having a conversation with me. And um recently she got packaged. And one of the things she said is like, I genuinely believe that not being informed that I was going through menopause might have caused a lot of the reasons why this happened. Which I want to start by saying this is happening to everyone. Like there's layoffs happening everywhere. But I want your take as to why do you think this particular leader said the statement?

SPEAKER_04 5:06

What we know now is because of some of the symptoms that happen within perimenopause,

Brain Fog and Losing Your Confidence at Work

SPEAKER_04 5:11

one major one, brain fog, is one that would cause women to lose their confidence in the workplace as leaders. And it's something that impacts your work. And it's something I've experienced myself, not just as, you know, as the person that's gone through perimenopause. Yes. Now I'm postmenopause, and we'll talk about that in a bit. But going through that symptom, it's really debilitating because to be able to be a great leader, especially when you're a high-powered woman working in the workforce, you need those executive function skills. You need to be able to prioritize what happened first, what happens second. You know, and I think a lot of women, they're going through these symptoms and they don't know and they tend to piecemeal what's going on. So it is going to affect your professional career if that's your main, if that's the major symptom for you, right? There's a range of symptoms women can experience, but if you're experiencing brain fog and it's impacting your work, yeah, it's gonna show through. It's gonna take away your confidence and you were not gonna be able to show up the way you normally show up.

SPEAKER_05 6:07

Yes. I I will tell you, my last corporate job, I experienced a lot of brain fog. And uh a lot, I think also something that I would like to talk to you about because I got the opportunity to be with a MetaPlus coach. This is a great opportunity. I think a lot of people do not understand the level of help this will bring. So I want to highlight it because if I had it, I think it would have, it would have avoided certain outcomes, even though I left on my own terms and because I was starting this company. But the brain fog was real. Like the brain fog was real. I cannot express it enough where I was like, I know exactly what to do. I've been doing this for 20 years and I still don't know why I can't get to the next task. Right, right. And if I would have known what was happening, I probably would have been more aware and would have gotten more help. So let's go into the technical aspect: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Can you define those three terms?

SPEAKER_04 6:59

Okay, so

The Difference Between Perimenopause, Menopause, and Postmenopause

SPEAKER_04 7:00

first off, menopause is actually just one day. Menopause is the day that a woman realizes that she has gone 12 consecutive months without her cycle, and it needs to be 12 consecutive months, right? Wow. And then every day after that, you're considered postmenopausal, right?

SPEAKER_05 7:19

That is crazy. Fun fact. I thought, I thought I was gonna get to a point and then experience menopause for 10 years, and that was menopause.

SPEAKER_04 7:29

That phase and then it was over. Yeah, that's perimenopause. Wow. So if you think about the wording, right? There's perimenopause, that's those years leading up to when your cycle stops. And then after that, the day you realize you've gone 12 consecutive months without a cycle, that's menopause. And then after that, the day after, you're in post-menopause and you're in post-menopause forever for the rest of your life. That is incredible.

SPEAKER_05 7:53

Okay, so I just learned something new. I'm gonna leave now. This podcast is over. Um, no, this is great. So why the perception that menopause is more than that?

SPEAKER_04 8:04

I think that because it's kind of a blanket term people are throwing around. Oh, I'm in menopause now. Technically, if your cycles have not stopped, you're in perimenopause, right? So that's what there's a there's misconceptions, right? And so for me, I would never say I'm a woman in perimenopause, right? I've gone 12 consecutive months without a cycle. I am therefore declared postmenopausal.

SPEAKER_05 8:26

That is so great. Right.

SPEAKER_04 8:27

Now there are other, let me kind of explain, there's some other technicalities that might happen. There's also a concept, phenomenon, it's not a phenomenon, but it's a concept called surgical menopause. If a woman has battled cancer and she's gone through any irradiation, that will stop your cycle. And she's old enough or she was close enough, it would stop her cycle. Or if women have um total hysterectomies, oophorectomies, where they remove the ovaries, that kind of puts you in a free fall. You pass, go. Yes, you pass. And you're right in menopause, right? And so that's very different from what women experience in that journey, those years leading up to your cycle stopping. Oh, this is incredible.

SPEAKER_05 9:05

So, what is the effect of being menopause? What is the thing that makes us as women have to manage that?

SPEAKER_04 9:12

Okay, so it's the symptoms. So it's not menopause, first of all, perimenopause, we'll talk about that first, the time leading up to when it stops. It's it's not a disease, right? It's not something that needs to be necessarily like diagnosed the way you would traditionally diagnose things. Typically, doctors, well, a doctor who's a certified hormone, I'm sorry, a certified menopause specialist would kind of like they would look at your labs to just kind of rule out that there's nothing else happening, right? There's not thyroid issues. If you're experiencing certain symptoms, it could be that you're not sleeping at night, you have hot flashes, um, they look at the irregular periods, they're looking at those things, right? Um, but what you need to know is that these symptoms are kind of letting you know what's going on inside your body. Because what's really causing the symptoms is the changes, the shift in hormones, right?

SPEAKER_03 10:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:09

There's many hormones that we can talk about, but for today's conversation, there's three really important ones. When women reach that premenopause stage, so you can be for some women mid to late 30s. Yes. For some, but in your 40s, typically

The Three Key Hormones: Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone

SPEAKER_04 10:23

there's three hormones we're talking about: progesterone, which is what doctors would often refer refer to as the baby's hormone. Then there is testosterone, because women have testosterone too. We don't have as much as men, but we have testosterone and is an important hormone for us. And then, of course, estrogen, which is the everything hormone for us. Those are the three hormones at play that kind of create this environment for these symptoms to start popping up. Okay. And then they disrupt our lives. So those are the things.

SPEAKER_05 10:51

Biologically, this gets produced by the constant production of um of eggs in your system. Is that what happens?

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Sort of. So we so the the process is this, right? These hormones work in conjunction with what your body's anatomy, right? Usually when a woman wants to get pregnant, a doctor would look at um your follicle stimulating hormone. They call it the FSH, right? Lab. That kind of talks, it lets you know what your egg reserve is like. Yes. That that particular lab value is what they're looking at to kind of determine, hey, not just if you have egg reserve, but when there's a number attached to it. And the higher that number goes, right, and the closer it is to 25, 30, 40, now that's how you know you're closer to your egg reserve dwindling, I should say, right? And um, so doctors can use it to kind of gauge to see when you've reached menopause, right? Wow, okay. When you're postmenopausal, but there's really no testing they can do. They're gonna look at your age, they're gonna look at your symptoms. They're gonna say, well.

SPEAKER_05 11:55

So it's like a diagnosis, not it's not a diagnosis, it's just like a hint, like based on this, right?

SPEAKER_04 12:01

Based on your symptoms. So most certified menopause specialists will look at your labs, right? They may, but they're really going by your symptoms. And they're gonna look at your age.

SPEAKER_05 12:10

So I thought that was interesting, and I'm gonna shameless plug because this happened to me, so I'm gonna say it. Um, so when you have children late, because women are having children later in life, does that speed up the perimenopausal process? Is there evidence of that?

SPEAKER_04 12:26

That's a good question. So it's not that

Having Children Later in Life & Menopause Symptoms

SPEAKER_04 12:28

it's gonna, every woman's body is different, right? And no two women will experience perimenopause the same way, right? There's some genetic things going on. God forbid you had some things in your medical history um that is impacting your ability to be able to even reproduce, right? There's a lot of factors, but actually, if you um are an older woman who is later in her 40s, you know, we know that egg reserve is dwindling. The doctor usually tells you, hey, we're gonna try some things to see if we can get you because your egg reserve is dwindling, right? So I think if you're a woman who is closer, depending on when your cycle is going to stop, yes, you can. I mean, after all, it's my story. I was already in perimenopause when I was pregnant with my son.

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Oh, wow. Right.

SPEAKER_04 13:16

So I was 41 years old, I had my son at 42. And maybe a year later, I started really, but the truth be told is I had been experiencing symptoms before that. My first symptoms was at age 39.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_04 13:30

Right, and didn't understand what was going on. I was piecemealing my symptoms, which is what women tend to do. So I think that women, if depending on your age, yeah, you're closer to actually.

SPEAKER_05 13:41

And the reason I asked, so I have a 12-year-old and my three-year-old, right? And very close to my 40s when I had him. And one of the reasons we decided to have Giancarlo as soon as we did is because I was 37. We don't we don't have a lot, you know. We have to we have to figure out if we can't, you know, and we really wanted to to have him. So, but I do believe that a lot of what I felt after, it could have been a mix of that postpartum, yeah, but now is four, it's about he's about to be four. So I'm like, you don't know the postpartum is anymore, you know. And and then I started researching and learning more about this. So there's some I have so many questions, Jesus. I can go on and on with you without this. I heard that there's options. I've heard that there's options for women, their experiences, their life. I've heard the difference from a lot of uh my clients, which are leaders, C-suites, or are in their 50s and and and mid-40s. And it's like there was me before HRT, and there was me after HRT. And it's like it's constant. I hear it all the time during our coaching conversations. So I want to hear from you like what what what is that feeling? The what is the before HRT and after HRT? And what are the other options also that exist? Okay. And what is HRT for those of you who don't know what that is? Perfect.

SPEAKER_04 15:02

All right. So

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Explained

SPEAKER_04 15:03

HRT is uh well the acronym for hormone replacement therapy. And um what we know now, what research is showing clinically is that it is quite effective for women. Yeah. Um, and it's not going to put all the hormones that decline, yeah, right, back. It just gives you just enough gas to keep you going. So if you think of your estrogen levels as being this when you're young and you're you're in your reproductive age, you're getting this much with hormone replacement therapy. Wow. Okay, it's just enough gas to keep you going, but it does wonders for women. And a woman will experience a lot of if you're a woman who had hot flashes, it can help with hot flashes. If you're a woman who had difficulty with um sleeping at night, hormone replacement can help you sleep better at night. Um, so the three, well, I'm gonna speak on there's the two main ones, and we'll talk about testosterone a little bit because that's not FDA approved. But for estrogen, it comes in a patch form. It also comes in a gel. There is a pill form, but doctors are kind of steering away from the pill form.

SPEAKER_05 16:11

Yeah, I think don't give me so nine times out of ten, you'll get recommended a patch, yeah, or you'll get a um a gel, right?

SPEAKER_04 16:20

And then there's progesterone because no woman with a uterus should ever take estrogen without progesterone. The progesterone is going to be in a pill form, you're gonna take it nightly, right? So those are the three, the two things. They kind of they're partners, they work hand in hand. Yes. You have the estrogen that you're gonna change twice week, weekly, depending on what the dosage is with, right? But and then you're going to have your pill that you take at night.

SPEAKER_05 16:41

Yes, right?

SPEAKER_04 16:42

And then there's testosterone, which is kind of like the what I call the wild card because it's not FDA approved for women. It's approved for men to use it if they need it. Well, but it's not approved for women.

SPEAKER_05 16:52

And I think Is it is it because of is it a new thing now, or is it always been this way?

SPEAKER_04 16:57

No, I think it's always been this way for women. I think that there was this misconception also in the medical. That we don't produce testosterone. It's not yeah, and that it's not as important.

SPEAKER_05 17:10

Should started kind of happening in recent years. And we have health for babies, health for everyone else. But for women's health, it's almost like an afterthought. Yeah, we're the ones carrying the babies, we're the ones racing that we're also we're babies.

SPEAKER_04 17:25

And think about it, Carol. We live in a time where we have more access to what we should be doing now than any other time in our lives. Women before, like I think what they were saying is that the fall of the Roman Empire, women were dying at 23. And it would either be from that's like the life expectancy you've reached because it might be that you died in childbirth. Yeah, or you died getting where once you got pregnant, you couldn't carry full term when you passed away. So there's a lot of things, and that's if you made it past childhood, that's another subject. But yeah, and women, we weren't, our bodies weren't studied, like you said. And also when women, occasional women would would kind of like reach 40, yeah, right?

The Shocking History of Menopause Treatments

SPEAKER_04 18:05

Um, back in the 1500s or 1400s, what they would say was, Hey, if she started to experience those symptoms, they would put her away in an asylum. They would send them away. Wow. And then fast forward to the 1940s, they were doing lobotomies on women with symptoms.

SPEAKER_05 18:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 18:18

So if your husband would say, you know what, my wife has the libido, maybe we should like get a lobotomy. The husband can sign and they would do a lobotomy on the woman's brain, right?

SPEAKER_05 18:27

That is so crazy. That is so crazy.

SPEAKER_04 18:29

So that you know, they can help her.

SPEAKER_05 18:32

You know, it's like I feel this Dominican side of me coming out. I'm about to fight somebody. Like, I'm like, I wish somebody would try to put right because I'm dry. That's what I'm saying. I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm saying. You know, because if it was the other way around, right? If your skull wasn't working, can we do a lobotomy on you? Sorry. Sorry, we do sleep. 70% of the washers are men. So let me keep it together. Um, so this is so interesting. I love in love with this because I think that we don't talk about it enough. I I I'm learning so much with you, and I haven't even been here within 30 minutes. Let's talk about the effects at work. Why do you believe that menopause because that's one day we learned that today, but perimenopause and postmenopause affect your energy at work.

SPEAKER_04 19:22

Okay, so there's a few things, right? There's a cycle that happens, right? Because we're going to experience because of the the rise and fall of estrogen in the body, um against all the other hormones that are trying to do what they're supposed to do. Each hormone has a role to play. If a woman is not sleeping at night, if you you're always going to have some brain fog, it's going to be double, right? Wow. Um, so women to women who often complain about brain fog also have trouble getting asleep or sometimes remaining asleep. And they say, I wake up in the morning and I'm like, it's 2 a.m. and why am I waiting? Right.

SPEAKER_05 20:00

And then it's every night. I'm waking up in the middle of the night, I can't help it. And I sometimes I'm hot, nobody else, and you know, he my kids still want to come into my bedroom. I'm talking about the 12-year-old and the three-year-old. And I like, I have to get beds out of my bedroom because they keep sneaking in. We have a king's size bedroom and my husband, and they keep, and I'm like, I'm so hot. And I keep blaming my kids for getting in the bed, but I'm like, it's it probably is that.

SPEAKER_04 20:25

Yep. Yeah. Yep. So

Sleep, Brain Fog, and The Vicious Cycle

SPEAKER_04 20:27

I think women, what you're seeing is this vicious cycle. You're not sleeping. And if if if an average person is who doesn't is not going through perimenopause, they're not gonna operate on all cylinders if they're not sleeping well. So now it's compounded if you're in perimenopause and you have brain fog, you're forgetful, or you have what people call the tip of the tongue syndrome when you know what you want to say. You just can't, but you're like, give me the uh the thing.

SPEAKER_05 20:50

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_04 20:51

Or maybe you might call a child by another name, but you're like, you know who you are. You know, you do all the things. You might or call your husband by your child's name, you're like, Right.

SPEAKER_05 20:59

Just bring the thing.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

You might leave the keys in the refrigerator by accident. So those are the kind of things people are experiencing, and they just don't feel that that takes it's for it takes away your confidence, and the lack of sleep perpetuates that.

SPEAKER_05 21:11

Yes, right. And let me tell you this: my my son, because I when I forget the thing, I call it the thingy thing. So now I got my three-year-old son calling things, mommy, the thingy thing. That's how bad it is, because I do it so often that he now knows that name. So think about all of that happening to you. Now you have to show up at work, and you're potentially even doing these things at work. Like I can see how it can affect someone very greatly.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

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SPEAKER_00 21:47

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SPEAKER_01 22:41

And we're back. You're listening to Coffee and Coaching, where we blend real conversations with real growth. Let's jump in.

SPEAKER_05 22:48

What do you have to say? Now I'm gonna do a quick twist about women having the perception that, oh, I hit menopause or I'm a perimenopause, I'm losing my edge, or I'm not gonna be desirable anymore. Like we like we hide it so much. So I want to talk about that shame a little bit and what are you seeing when you treat your clients?

SPEAKER_04 23:09

Well, I I see many women speak of this idea of being put on the shelf, right? Because now you've reached a certain age where they're not, because women are like in our culture, they're hypersexualized, right?

SPEAKER_05 23:26

Yeah, especially as a woman of color since you're young, because we we we evolve so much earlier as well.

SPEAKER_04 23:32

Exactly. So now as you experience these perimenopause symptoms, there is something to be said about depression, right? Anxiety is another major symptom that women are not aware that they that they will experience through this. Right, they'll experience because it is a symptom of perimenopause. Yeah. And that your mental health takes a big hit, yeah, right, during that time. And so your confidence goes out the window and you might feel less desirable. Yeah. Um, some women experience the libido, and that definitely affects her confidence as well. Um, all those things play a part in how a woman um shows up in the workplace.

SPEAKER_05 24:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 24:12

Especially women in high positions and leadership roles, they feel I had a woman tell me who worked for the FBI and she had to like present in a room full of men, and she would forget things mid-sentence, and she could not believe you know this was happening to her. Her entire career, she's built this career of getting to where she was.

SPEAKER_05 24:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:35

So she's she's she went through that. So those are the things that that women feel that those depressive symptoms, that anxiety about their work, they lose confidence. And um, and it's just it's very insidious, you know?

SPEAKER_05 24:51

Yeah, very and very ingrained. That is wonderful. Okay. Other than hormone replacement, is there other things women can do?

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Yes, absolutely. There's no woman that should take hormone replacement and think that it's like the Lord of all and it's going to be. Um, what women should know is that

Building Your Arsenal: Why Lifting Weights and Protein Matter

SPEAKER_04 25:17

you should think of yourself as building an arsenal to kind of help you combat perimenopause symptoms, but not just to help you combat the symptoms to really increase your longevity post-menopause. Yes. Because we want to- that's a longer road, right? And so women who use hormone replacement therapy, that is a tool, one tool in your toolbox. Another tool would be exercise. And what the experts are emphasizing right now is for women to lift weights.

SPEAKER_05 25:49

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 25:50

So it's lifting, it's not cardio. And a lot of women are attached to cardio because maybe it worked for us before.

SPEAKER_05 25:55

Yeah, but it don't mean it's gonna work now. But it's not gonna work now. There's so many other benefits to it as well because your loss of muscle will determine you determine your health later on in life. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

And as we age, we're all in danger of because we're older, we experience something called anabolic resistance. So that's where a woman, well, or man, this could have to men too, but we're speaking about women. Yeah, it's harder for our bodies to metabolize protein properly. So we need to eat enough so that we can live, so that we can build muscle, because muscle is attached to longevity, right? So that's what we know. There's a brilliant doctor, Dr. Vonda Wright, who's an osteopathic surgeon who wrote a book called Unbreakable, who her whole entire added to my list today. Right. And she in her book, she kind of goes into what the investment should be for women and why it's going to help you look and feel youthful, youthful. Yeah. And you're it'll bring back your confidence if you're a woman. So that coupled with HRT is chef's kiss. Right? So that's that. So we talked about HRT, we talked about the exercise. Then there's eating, right? Everybody should see a nutritionist at that at that at that age range, right? When you're in perimenopause.

SPEAKER_05 27:03

Especially after 40, because I'm like, what used to work, don't work anymore. Right. So you need to can't blame this on baby. Well, no.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

He's four. Okay. It's whole. But but but what you can what you can look at is how lifestyle will impact the weight that we gain, a lot of it is in the midsection. And that weight is hard to lose, not just because it is a lifestyle thing, but it's because estrogen converts into another hormone called esterone, right? And that really kind of causes a redistribution in our bodies that um we don't like. We really don't like because estrogen is what gives us our curves. It's what makes us women, right? It puts the curves in all the right places for us. So esterone kind of undoes that. Yes. Okay. So it so I I got a little too much of that right now. But you know what? But you know what, Carol? The good news is with HRT, now they're saying that that coupled with lifting will help keep that weight off. Yes. Right? With good lifestyle habits, such as getting enough protein at every meal. That's the other tool in your toolbox, right?

SPEAKER_05 28:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 28:08

Protein up. So actually skipping breakfast and for for a lot of us doesn't work if you're not going to get in enough protein for the day.

SPEAKER_05 28:15

You need you need the protein order to protect. Enough protein. I try to do at each meal. The whole uh intermittent fasting, but I was breaking my fasting with like bread, pastries, which you know I'm a fan of. Uh so no, I I love this. And I I do want to give a shout out in this episode to younger women that, you know, are listening to this episode or might be preparing or might be thinking about a loved one, or even a man that is listening to this episode and kind of like thinking about a loved one. Um, I uh as a woman, we have unrealistic standards constantly be put on on us. Um, and at times this topic brings a lot of shame. And it's like, but but I'll tell you the the not wanting to think about it or the usponing it, it's not about you looking a certain way or not looking a certain way. I'm fake and my husband loves it. So there's there's more than one way to live this life. That's right. That's right. However, it's

Prioritizing Longevity and Breaking the Secret

SPEAKER_05 29:11

more about that longevity piece that you're talking about. We want to be here for as long as we want. We want the most amount of time with the people we love. And this is not a nice to have. This is uh it's going to happen. And the better prepared we are, the better off we will be. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you, Judy. What will you leave if anyone listening in, if you had to leave them on one thing today, what will that one thing be?

SPEAKER_04 29:38

I guess what women need to know is that the research has changed. There used to be a time when women just kind of kept something like this a secret. You didn't want to share. We live in a time when women are sharing. Yes. Online, they're sharing everywhere about their symptoms, and and there's actually answers to the questions we have. We know that hormone replacement therapy can work for some women, right? We know that exercise, we have the science that shows us for the exercise and even the eating.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 30:09

Um, what I'd add to that is we also know that stress, reducing your stress and doing things that kind of decrease your stress can work. Yes. And getting a good night's sleep can help. All those things can help. So I think now we're living at a time where we have more information than ever before about everything. Right. And also another thing because women, some women are afraid of HRT because they think that um, because it used to be it had a black box warning, because there was a research done in the past that showed that it was causing debilitating diseases, right? And issues, right? There was a study done in 2002, 2003, a WHI study that they did that that kind of caused doctors to pull hormone replacement therapy away from women. Now, with the new research, um, what we know is that a lot of that research has been refuted. That first of all, that research was conducted on women much older than menopause, that they're pre-menopause women. I think the the average age was like 65 or 70 in those studies. So it's different. We have more information now. Also, if a woman wants information, please see someone who is a certified menopause specialist. Love that. It doesn't matter if your OBGYN has been with you, she's been rocking with you hard for years. If she is not a certified menopause specialist, that means she does not have access to the new research.

SPEAKER_05 31:24

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_04 31:25

And she might be telling you, oh no, don't take hormal placement therapy, you're gonna get cancer.

SPEAKER_05 31:28

Is there a link we can get so we can put it in the comment section so people can access like a directory?

SPEAKER_04 31:32

Sure. Let's do that. Sure.

SPEAKER_05 31:34

I want to make sure that everyone has access to this. Absolutely. And I'll tell you, because I had a like a scary situation where I wish the person I was going to was more informed. Like I'm I'm telling all the symptoms, and you're not asking for anything around it. And and that to me was a big hint. And I was treated more like a number, and I hate that. When especially treat you more like a number than an actual patient. So do your research. This is one of the positive things about having way too much information in today's days, is that they actually want more women sharing what is happening to them. And I just want to bring this back because culturally, I still remember women in my family telling me if anything with that is happening, don't tell men. Don't tell men because you know, you keep it hidden, don't say anything. And I'm like, that's not helping anyone. And this is about your long time health, not someone else's comfort. So yeah, there you go. Judy, always a pleasure to see you, honey. Thank you so much for having me. I'm gonna give you a hug. Thank you for coming. Yes, and I know this will not be the last time we'll have you here because I I think this is such an important topic, and you're so knowledgeable in so many subjects. So I'm so excited that you're here.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_05 32:42

Wow, what an amazing conversation with Judy. It was so important, and I felt so validated, and I felt so empowered. And a lot of the things that she mentioned, I had no idea about for our listeners. I hope this episode reminds you that menopause is not a sign that you're broken, failing, just old myths that you're losing who you are. It is a biological transition and it deserves information and support and compassion. Be graceful to yourself. One of the biggest takeaways from today is that we need to start interpreting hormonal changes as a lack of discipline, motivation, or capability. You are as capable as you have always been. So many women are still performing, leading, caregiving, and showing up while carrying symptoms that they were never taught to name. Today we are naming it. I hope this episode was as useful to you as it was for me. I look forward to seeing you on our next episode. Take care.