October 2, 2025 • 32 mins
Dr. Kelly Casperson shares with Jennie from her new book, The Menopause Moment, a practical tool-kit of resources to survive and thrive in mid-life. What's the difference between peri and post menopause? How to hack your insurance company for reasonable hormone replacement, finding the right doctor and much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny garl.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome back to a bonus I Choose Me. Doctor Kelly
Casperson is back to share some tips. We are going
to make a toolkit for your menopause moment, which is
the title of her new book, and it's a must
reade for anybody navigating this stage of life and reminding
us that menopause doesn't have to be scary. So let's
(00:33):
dive into the toolbox. Okay, So let's stick with the
cold heart facts and not get into the opinions. Let's
I sometimes do. We're just gonna sit here and we're
going to deliver the actual four to one one about
what is happening to our bodies and what we can
do to improve them. Okay, So, Kelly, what is a
difference between peri menopause and menopause? What is the difference periods?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Basically, so peri menopause is your ovaries are basically going offline.
It's reverse puberty menopause, meaning you now have very low hormones.
You over you still make a little bit of disosterone,
but your horns are so low that you no longer
make a period or have fertility basically, So the midlife experts,
(01:16):
a mid life hormone experts, actually hate the word menopause
because it's this very artificial dividing line between this group
of people who ken or cannot do something and this
group of people who ken or cannot do something, and
all of that revolves around like having your last period, right,
a date on the calendar, a date on the calendar,
which a third of women don't have a last period
because of hysterectomy, iud's, birth control, uterimblations, all that stuff, right,
(01:39):
So for a third of women I don't even have
a date on a calendar. That's meaningful, right. So, like
the true hormone experts hate the word menopause because we're like,
it's just a symptom of not having hormones, which is
going on in perimenopause. So that's the difference. But it's
kind of this artificial, stupid, made up thing. But when
they defined or they defined when they coin the menopause,
(02:00):
it was over one hundred years ago. We couldn't measure hormones,
we didn't know what ovaries did well. We could see periods,
and periods stopped right in some people. So like that
just kind of stuck.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So the yeah, the whole meno menstruation pause.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, this is the ceasing of natural periods.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
There's so much more to us. Yeah, yeah, no opinion. Sorry,
Okay about doctors. You say we need a personal relationship
with our doctors, which can feel really hard, you know,
I mean just due to what we talked about on
the podcast. Uh, the scheduling of it all, the timing
of it all, because once you wait in the waiting room,
then you get in that door, you can feel rushed,
(02:41):
and then you kind of lose what you wanted to
ask them about, and then you end up leaving and
be like, oh man, I forgot to ask them about this,
and I just didn't feel like they wanted to hear
it because they had spent enough time with me. You know,
all those things go through your head. Uh you said,
and I'm gonna quote you. If they don't listen to
you or tell you to just read fewer books, get
(03:02):
a second opinion.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yes, in America, we have the privilege of getting a
second opinion. Now, it costs money and it costs time,
but we have the privilege of getting because I just
learned in Canada, the doctor you have is the doctor
you have. And I was like, ooh, because if they
don't know anything about hormones or menopause, that's a problem. Yeah,
So at least in America we get to be a
little more mobile and the online clinics now, so there
(03:25):
are many online companies that only do like their job
is hormones, right, So it's like that's a friendly audience already.
And so it's like keep your primary care doctor for
when you have pink eye and when you break your wrist,
and like for all the doctor things. But maybe if
you really want the hormone specialist, you're either going to
seek out a hormone specialist who will spend time with you,
usually outside the insurance system because insurance doesn't pay enough
(03:47):
for you to actually spend an hour with somebody, but
really like getting to know that relationship if you can
afford that is very valuable, or the online clinics where
it's like you're going to those people for hormones. Everybody
knows why everybody's here, right, It's that kind of party.
So that's also another option for people to seek out.
A lot of people who live in rural America, they
don't have a doctor nearby.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Or their doctor is like, I'm sorry to say it
eighty years old?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh dated? Yeah, yeah, outdated. And the other like pro
tip is when a doctor says I think your risk
of blood clot's too high or whatever whatever they're going
to say, I think you shouldn't have this because your risk.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Is too high.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
In a nice way, say what is that risk? Because
what I hear a lot of is they're like, oh,
you can't have that because the risk of heart diseases
is too high. It's like it actually isn't if you
read the data right. So to me, I'm like, you
don't have to never be confrontational or challenging, but sometimes
when people say your risk is too high, it's okay
(04:44):
to be like, what is that risk?
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Where would I risk? I learned that risk? Like did
you know? I actually know what that risk is. And
the more I read into this like that, especially the
transdermal estrogence that you're not swallowing, they don't go through
your liver, they don't increase your blood clot risk, don't
increase heart disease risk, they don't increase dementia. Risks like
these are incredibly safe. So if doctors are saying they
(05:07):
you can't have that because it increases your risk of X,
Y and Z. If you're like, where can I read
about that risk? Like where do you know that from?
In again, you want to maintain the relationship. But I
think a lot of women take everything as fact instead
of like, maybe it's just outdated data. If they're quoting
the WHI data, those are medications we don't currently use.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
And I think that's a tendency to listen to your
doctor and do what they say. Yeah, well, yeah, totally right. Yeah,
but it's okay to question.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
It's okay to question.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I think the key is curiosity. Yeah, get curious.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Doctors are a profession who are trained to help you,
just like like if I get a lawyer for something,
or my accountant for something, or my mechanic for something.
Is like, it's okay to ask them a question. It's
not off limits. It's a professional trying to help you
with the piece of your life. But it's your body
at the end of the day. You should have autonomy
(06:00):
and be able to ask a question.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, there's a stigma, I think, and a fear of
ev sounding stupid or yeah, being seen as stupid or
just like I don't know anything, but the fact is
there are no stupid questions. Yea, and you can get
really comfortable just being curious about so many things.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, totally. And I think you can open with that
and be like, listen, I'm not a physician. I have
done some reading. My understanding is x y z AM.
I off base with that. You know, it's like learning
just how to be a good communicator and non threatening
way like if like what I've heard is you know,
kind of keep it open. Can we learn about this together?
You know, that might be a cool thing, So it
(06:39):
can be it can be done. And if if you
keep hitting a brick wall, maybe see somebody else.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, I've heard a lot of stories. I've heard a
lot of stories. Where can we find the information about
specialized women's health doctors? Do you recommend a certain website?
I don't want to affiliate you with one if you
have no affiliation, but in general, for a woman that's
listening in Albuquerque, New Mexico, yep, and she needs some
(07:06):
she needs a doctor recommended. So where did you.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Start one of my favorite resources because I don't I
don't have my own, Like it's a beast to try
to maintain one of those things, right. One of my
favorite ones is the International Society for the Study of
Women's Sexual Health. It's a mouthful, but it's called ishish
ish wish dot org. International Society for the Study of
Women's Sexual Health. Why I like that database is number one.
(07:30):
They're very comfortable with women's sexuality. They know a lot
about vaginal estrogen. They know a lot about testosterone because
their biggest, you know, study is in libido, right, so
those people tend to know a lot about hormones and bonus,
they know a lot about sex, and so to me,
I'm like, those are my favorite people. But like they're
already very if you're if you're a physician or a
nurse practitioner a PA who cares about sex lives, you
(07:53):
know how important hormones are because sex is biopsychosocial and
the hormones that you have affect your sex life, right,
So I love that. The other option is menopause dot org,
but it is I wouldn't say everybody on that database
is up to dated on everything, but it's a good
starting point for that. And then the online clinics, I
(08:13):
mean there's several right now, so I'm not affiliated right
primarily with any of them, but alloy ever, now interlude
for vaginal estrogen, they're like vaginal estrogen only they're awesome.
Get interlude maybe maybe joy ja oh I, who am
I missing? Jenev. So there's a lot of online ones.
Some of them take insurance, some of them do not
(08:34):
take insurance, so you can just kind of start learning.
The other thing that you know people can do is
like if you've got a friend who's willing to talk
about because women who are on hormones where it's dramatically
changed their life, they're moving the needle for everybody. They
want to talk about it. Like if you go from
not sleeping to sleeping, you'd like to tell.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
People life change it basically exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Like if you weren't having orgasms and now you are,
you want to talk about it because you want you want,
you want to say yeah. So it's like find the
friend who did it first and be like, where are
you going? Who are you seeing? Blah blah.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's great advice.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
But I would say, because I see this a lot
on the internet, it's like what's the best X, Y
and Z for hormones? And it's like individual results may vary.
Everybody might need a different dose and route. It is individualized, yes, right,
because there's a lot of like, but Susie's on this
and blah blah blah blah blah my on the best
thing in BOLVD. It's like it is individualized, so you like,
(09:27):
don't be on your friend's regimen. It might not be
with right for you, but maybe go to that doctor.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I had a friend who I someone I work with,
and I saw her one day and I was like, wow,
what I knew, Like I could tell Wow, I just
knew she wasn't getting any support. Yeah, So I asked
her about it and she started crying and it deepened
our relationship. I shared information with her, I gave her
(09:53):
books to read, and I saw her recently and she
looks like a completely different person.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Is not a game changer. Well, I mean, thank you
for doing this work because it's like even just people
listening to the podcast, it's going to validate like what
you're experiencing is common and you do not have to suffer.
And then like you see those women and you're like
I was, so I have a puppy and we went
to puppy school and so I'm like, you know, the
adult in the room with my puppy, and in the
(10:19):
middle of it the teachers having this massive hot flash
and like she and she says it like I wasn't
just picking up on it. She's like, hold on, I'm
having this massive hot flashes blah blah blah blah. And
I'm like, what is my role here? Am I just
the person with the puppy? Who am I? Like? Please
see also my books and my podcast and my clinic.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
What did you end up doing? Were you just the puppy?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Because I was like, I don't want to be that, like,
oh hey that person, Yeah, in front of the whole class,
like extra, your patches are completely safe. Family history doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Also, that's so hard though, when you know you know
what you're talking about. Yeah, share it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, I know totally, Just so I.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Can imagine it be hard for you. It was hard, Okay.
Can we tested to find out if we are in
fact in perry or menopause? What is the test?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Such a good question. That's like the internet question every
single day, so there's no current blood testing, Like like
the question is like can I X ray it? Can
I measure it?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Like? Right?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
We like to just know. And in perimenopause is reverse puberty.
So up and down, up and down, up and down
for hormones. So people will get their labs tested and
they will say, you know, I'm mestrogen dominant is an example,
and I'm like, no, on Tuesday in July, you had
high estrogen. But it changes every day. But I think
check labs. It's very validating for people, right Like if
(11:38):
I say, if I go to the doctor and they're
like no and they shut you down, it's kind of invalidating.
So it's like, dude, no skin off your back, check
some labs, right like whatever, let's make and by the way,
when we're doing that, let's check glucose, let's check lipids.
Let's use this as an opportunity to look for everything thyroid,
oh my god, thyroid, vitamin D, all the things. So
check labs. But ideally you're going to be with a
(12:00):
clinician who understands that labs don't really matter because they're
ever changing.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Okay, so how do you hack insurance to get the
hormones you need because paying out a pocket is not
something any of us wanted.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, so, very good question. So I think there's a
big confusion of what's FD approved and what's bioidentical, like
they're different things. Biodentical means what your body makes. We
have many FD approved biodentical products because a lot of
people are paying a lot of extra money for all
this compounded stuff which can be good and can be effective,
(12:39):
but tends to be less standardized and more expensive. Pellets
are more expensive, right and not covered by insurance. So
it's like, start with the stuff that's FD approved. Insurance
should cover it. If they do, not, get loud, get loud,
this is.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Call the damn insurance companies write the letters, be like
this is you need to cover this. It's insane that
they wouldn't cover hormones. But again, insurance, going back to
the longevity conversation, insurance doesn't really care that you're playing
pickleball when you're eighty two, Like they really don't, right,
They care about what's being spent right now, So they.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Kind of want you to get sick. I mean again
kind of a general statement.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
They they what they truly I think I feel safe
saying this, What they truly want you to do is
get on somebody else's insurance before you get sick, which
by sixty five that's medicare right. But so anyways, insurance
should cover FD approved things that are indicated, And that's
your estrogen patch, that's your vaginal estrogen. You get generics.
Generics are cheap if your insurance is still expensive. Look,
(13:39):
there's many pharmacies now that are cash pharmacies. Sadly, we
used to think that having insurance meant you got a
deal on meds. Now it's usually means you're making money
for your insurance company. So Mark Cuban costs plus drugs, Yes,
for the Generics, what brand again? His Mark Cuban costs
plus drugs cost plus? I love them.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Cheapest faginal estrogen that I know about, really, Yes. The
most expensive thing about vaginal estrogen is the tube that
it's made. It's that it's put in for the cream.
It's like if you go to the pharmacy and they
say it's two hundred dollars abort mission, it's way too expensive.
Get this for cheaper. So I think some people they
just don't know it's available for cheaper, right, Like I
went to get my vaginal estrogen, I Blue Cross, Blue Shield.
(14:18):
I went to my pharmacy and they were like, that'll
be two hundred and sixty eight dollars. And I wanted
to be like, do you know who I am and
how much vaginal estrogen? I like, I'm like the vaginal
ESTRASTI the expert on this, and so like I pulled
up my good RX. So good RX is kind of
an app you can get that it will do cheaper
cash prices, and I got it for eighteen dollars.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
What that's the craziest part to me.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It's nuts.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
When a doctor prescribes a medication, you go and they
tell you, oh, that's going to be nine hundred dollars
for the new eye drops that are coming out that
you need so that you don't have dry eye. Nine
hundred dollars for a tiny little doll and we got
it for ten dollars by hacking the system.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah, that's the thing, is like you have to know
how to use the system, which is the definition of
an unfair system, right. But I'm like, I haven't forbidden
my husband went to go pick up my vaginal estrogen,
he wouldn't have known how to get the eighteen dollars. Pissed, Yeah,
and I would and then I would have been like,
oh my god, like I should have told you. So
that's the thing is like there's you can usually find
it cheaper somewhere else. There's an amazing online it's a
(15:19):
it's a membership. I think it's like eighty dollars a
year now, but it's HRT club. They have a lot
of generics, okay, and so a lot of people are
doing that, so there's ways to do it. Again, It's
like ask your friend, like how much are you get
in your patch for stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So yeah, definitely, there are honestly so many varying symptoms.
I can't even say them all. There's too many. Like
my elbow hurts, oh, must be yeah, Oh my teeth
are a little sensitive today. Must like everything I've ever
suffered from I'm now saying must have been my very
(15:55):
menopause and I didn't even know. But what are the
most common symptoms that women should be watching for so
that we can stay proactive and know what's real and
what's not when it comes to this.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
So again, the classic symptoms hot flashes and nights seat,
it's poor sleep, but not everybody has that, right and
you don't need that to get treatment, right, that's not
the only thing that we're like, oh, we will only
replace what your ovaries made for a hot flash. It's like,
no estrogen is fd approved for the prevention of osteoporosis.
People don't know that we actually have a prevention FDA
(16:28):
approval for estrogen, which.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Is and you could do osteoporosis testing.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Now you can do exiscans. Yeah. Yeah, they're cheap too,
like cash dexa and my town's like ninety eight dollars
when you live Bellingham, Washington. But they should be cheap,
like they should be less than two hundred inst cakay,
especially like in LA where there's actually competition for it.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
And when should we get those because I just I
had to record you going from my doctor. Haven't had
it yet.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So the guidelines in America are sixty five and less
risk factors. Risk factor would be that you're taking like
high dos steroids or you have a mom with osteop
that'll be a risk factor. So there's multiple risk factors.
But I'm like, just pay cash and it's pretty darn
treat but you can get it whenever. So in my clinic,
I just get everybody a baseline DEXA because I'm like,
(17:12):
if you have osteopenia osteoporosis, we want to know about it.
Why are we waiting? Yeah, Australia is age seventy just
to get their DEXA and I'm like, oh my god,
I learned that. When I went over there. I was like,
good lord, you're just like looking at it like there's
no prevention there. It's too late. Your ovaries usually give
you hormones until about age fifty. Right, your biggest bone loss.
Let's say that rate of bone loss is in the
(17:34):
two years leading up to your last period. Well, that's stupid,
because how do you know what your last period is? Right?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
But it's all the more some people put it on
the calendar.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
I do not, right, Yeah, but how do you know
what's your last one? Oh? Yeah, because you don't know
till a year from now.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Girl, listen to me. I thought for sure I was done.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
That's the date.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I learned it from another doctor. She said, there's one day.
That's the date, and I of course didn't write it down,
so I had no memory of what it was. Maybe
sixteen months later, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I know, So I think you don't know. You don't
know That's why the period, like the period as the
definition of like that you can get treatment or not
is very stupid. And I think like the modern hormone
experts are like, let's stop hanging up on this period
because what it does is it prevents the very symptomatic
perimenopause women from getting any treatment. And I see this
all the time, like, well, I can't treat you yet
because you're still having periods. And I'm like, throw an
(18:26):
iud in that woman now she doesn't have periods, can
you treat her now?
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Right?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Like periods are just a stupid roadblock for people. But
so in perimenopause is not feeling like myself. That not
feeling like myself, which we can't measure, right. It's like
it's not a medical diagnosi. Yeah, it's so hard to defind,
but you know it if it's you, it if it's you,
and you know it if it was you, and you
now you're feeling like yourself. Right. I just had a
woman California f live to see me. She's spent four years,
(18:50):
like five doctors going around being tested for like crazy
autoimmune stuff, all this stuff, and she's like doing her
own research, right, and she's like, I think I peri menopause, right.
So she comes up to see me. She tells me
your whole story, which is now like filled with medical
trauma and gaslight thing. She's there with her husband, and
I'm like, sounds like Perri menopause to me. And if
(19:11):
it isn't, let's give you hormones and see it. Like
the hormones won't work if it's something else, right, right,
that's the magic test, right, But if the hormones work,
like yes, perimenopause. So I did a follow up with her.
She's sleeping, She's like happier, like her brain's back. She's like,
I understand what feeling like myself feels like now because
now I feel like myself, right, And this is one
(19:33):
follow up. She's like, oh, if I want to tell
you this yet, but like I actually kind of want
to sign up for a half marathon. And I'm like,
oh my god. It was like four years of just
like on the couch done, and now she's like one
follow up. She's like, half marathon actually sounds pretty good
to me right now, and I'm like, holy crap.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
That is amazing. I remember once I started with HRT,
I felt like maybe I should run a marathon because
I thought, well, I feel so great now, Like I
don't know what that was, but now I feel so great.
And then I quickly talked myself out of that.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Yeah, I like, it always sounds like kind of out
of the birth. Sounds good when I'm warm on my couch,
but I don't actually want to do that. But yeah,
I would say not feeling like myself sex life changing,
sleep changing. Heart palpitation super.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Common, which also can feel like anxiety.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Oh yeah, it feels very awful and panicky. I think.
I think I wrote about this in my book. A
friend in the hospital, she was We're like in the
surgeon's lounge and she's like, I don't feel safe driving
my kids around because of my heart palpitations. But I
went to the cardiologist. They did all the tests. Everything's fine,
and it's like, everything's fine, but you're still having crazy
heart palpitations that you don't feel safe driving your kids with.
(20:44):
And I'm like, why don't you get on some hormones
and see and she's like what, I'm like, yeah, just
try again. If it's not hormone related, the hormones won't
help them, right. It's the easy test, so she like
comes back the next time and she's like, my heart
palpitations are gone, and I'm like, yeah, because estrogen the heart, right,
And she's like, why did nobody tell me this? And
heart palpitations are one of the most common reasons that
(21:05):
women go to the cardiologists. Right, but remember back to
the nineties, the cardiologists knew hormones were good for the heart.
They knew that, and it's like we've forgotten, We've forgotten,
and now we have to remember everything that we knew.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I talk a lot about heart health. I advocate for it.
And one of the most frustrating things for me is
when women are feeling like something's wrong with them, maybe
they're having heart palpitations, anxiety, you know, it feels like
someone's sitting on your chests a little. They go to
the cardiologist. Finally, after being persuaded to go to a
specialized doctor, and they are given the what do they
(21:49):
give everybody when you oh the egg? Yep, they put
a ekg on you and they see in that very
small moment, then nothing's wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yeah, everything's fine.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Oh look at it's all perfect. You're fine. You go home.
That is for me such a miss for healthcare because
you don't know what happens the many you take off
those yeah, receptors whatever they're called. Totally Yeah, it just
frustrates me beyond beyond.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
It's incredibly frustrating, incredibly frustrating. And there aren't a lot
of female cardiologists right, it's hard to find. It's still
very male dominated. There's still a and to me, I'm like,
I get to kind of speak truth to power because
I'm like, I went through the system, I'm in it.
I still practice medicine and I can now but I'm
old enough and I'm wise enough, and especially like again,
(22:36):
I'm the urologist who gives the man to stop short
in viagra and sees how the women are treated. So
I'm over here being like there's gender bias in medicine
and a lot of people know that, but a lot
of people don't want to know that and they don't
want to believe.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Now they just look the other way.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, like, oh, it's not it's not that bad though,
It's like, but for that woman, it is really bad
because she's suffering and she's not getting help.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
It makes sense that that would be their im back
specifically because it's a male dominated industry. Come on, ladies,
it's hard, yes, but it's hard.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
It's actually very hard.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
But I know it sounds so easy. I'm just gonna go.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I'm just gonna go go spend that money and that
time in my twenties, all of my tent and all
of my twenties.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah, okay. Most important habits to start today to age well,
bang bang bang sleep yep.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Weightlifting huh oh. I mean I would say not just weightlifting,
but like mobility, stretching, Yeah, stretching, like put your hips
through the range of motion, butt your needs to like
number one. I think it feels absolutely fantamic. Like a
mobility class is like ah, like and I'm not even
talking yoga like now, mobility is like rotating, yeah, like
(23:48):
the hip the hip flips right, and like the hamstring stretches.
It's like, well, and that's what a lot of trainers
will say, is like it's not just how strong you are,
but that your body can do the full range of
motion and you keep the keeps moving. Yeah, oh keep
that your joints keep moving. So I would say mobility
is massively important. The data on protein now and like
(24:09):
aging is like we don't we don't. We're not as
efficient with protein as we were when we were younger,
so we really have to prioritize it in the diet
and just and I think I put this in the book,
but it's like they didn't tell women to exercise any
different airlift weights. They just fed one high protein and
the other one was like regular, and their body composition
changed just by having a protein centric food choices.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, this is all conversation that's just been happening.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Yeah, it's brand new stuff. It's brand new stuff. And
I mean for us, like our generations, it's like, do
we grow up in the nineties. I was talking to
you know, I was doing a podcast yesterday and I'm like,
I am I way more than I've ever weighed in
my life. And it's a massive mind trip and you
got to do work on it. Yeah, but I'm like,
I am stronger than I've ever been and frankly, like
I dig it and I know the science now, right,
(24:55):
But it's like.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Oh, we're not supposed to weigh Yeah, we did thirty
years ago.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Kate Moss was our hero, right, Like the nineties did
a number Oh yeah on our generation. Well, yes, very popular,
very popular, and so to me, I'm like, muscle actually
weighs a lot. Yes, and I'm working with a trainer
now so that, like I've told her, I'm like, listen,
I know a lot, but this is still messing with me,
Like you tell me when I need to, you know,
back off or pivot or blah blah blah. And right
(25:20):
now she's like eat e gets strong, gets strong, gets strong,
And I'm like, I'm just going on the journey because
to me, I'm like, it's it's easier to maintain and
build now than twenty years from now. Right right, It's
like it can be done, but keep it up. And
you can keep it up. But it's like everything you
do is just small things, just small things of like
I spent my twenties trying to be as small as possible,
(25:42):
and that is not serving me anymore.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I had doctor Nicholas Paracon on and he said every
day that you're not eating enough protein, you're aging.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I was like, well, taking me your aging, I get
your point.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get your fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
He's he's all about the protein. He oh, he drinks
salmon shakes.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
My brother drinks raw eggs. Okay, I know, I know,
I don't think I'm not there.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
I'm not gonna drink a salmon shank.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I'm sorry, no, oh, but I mean debay. So I've
started this year two scoops of wave protein in my
in my protein shake instead of one.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Oh, instead of like the direction say one scoop.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
One scoop, I'm like two scoops. I got fifty I
got fifty grams in first meal, first meal. Yeah, it's delicious. Good.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
First thing in the morning, when I make a smoothie
and I pour my protein drink into it, like it's
got like thirty or something, thirty two grams of protein
in it. And then by the time I've had like
my after workout protein bar, a little thing that only
has like twolves, I'm already like I'm halfway there, yeah
for my day.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
And it makes me feel so good, like, oh, I
can totally do this totally.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah. Like muscle is so like it helps with insolin sensitivity.
It muscle helps you not fall. Muscle helps you get
off the ground once you do fall. I just read
something people are like, we're doing it wrong. We're telling
people not to fall. We're not telling him how to
get back up once they fell, so like the problem is,
like you get down, you can't get back up again, right, Like,
oh my god, we're not teaching people how to get up.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
The date she was home with my daughters and she
fell in front yard. Oh god, she's fine. Sorry, uh,
but they couldn't get her up. She didn't know how
to get up. They sat there for an hour until
I got home. Yeah, talking on the ground, she was thankfully.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Mobility is because it's like, once you're down, get back up.
It's hard. It's hard.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
It's hard flip your body over. Yeah, Okay, education is
the answer to combating fear around most things, I agreed,
But definitely when it comes to advocating for our healthcare, Yeah,
where to go for the best information and education about menopause.
There's a lot of misinformation out there, as we've talked about,
(27:54):
so it's not always easy to know what is what.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, it's I mean, we have so much availability to free,
easily accessible stuff now it's awesome, but with that comes
a bunch of bullshit. Right, So I mean, these are
the things, right, is somebody trying to sell you something
that might.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Be always it's always every time you need this anti
aging just make.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Your fashion better, like you won't go through menopause. It's like, no,
it's not how science works. But so like that's number one,
number two, and a lot of people who know things
have great things to offer. I'm not saying it's all bad, no,
but like if it's some crazy like this shoe will
make you not go through menopause, that's not how science works.
So like that's the first thing, is like what's their angle?
But I think like the other because I think about
(28:39):
this a lot of like I never I'm I actually
at the end of the day. So I tell women
I put this in my book. I don't care if
you go on hormones or not. I don't care. I'm
not living in your body. You get to decide what
you want to do. But I care desperately that you
have the information so that you can make an educated
decision based upon information and not fear. And I think
what I mean by that on like who to follow
(28:59):
and who to listen into. Do these people actually prescribe hormones?
Is that their job? Because those are the people that
actually know new information. Yeah, they know because they know
their craft. They know what women are telling them when
they come back they know how to dose things, they've
they've read, like that's their job, right. So it's like
if you follow people and they actually see people in clinic,
(29:21):
they're actually doing the work. Those are the people who
know the most about it if you should be on
hormones or not. And I'm like, everybody else is helping
support us, right. Interestingly enough, like the athletic trainer community
is super on board with hormones.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Really, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I have these women they're like, oh yeah, my twenty
six year old trainer told me to go get on hormones.
And I'm like, what's the bro no about this? Right?
And he's like they know that it helps build muscle,
and they know that it's good for sleep, and like
that is a cool industry that like really supports women
in hormones. But it's like, for the most part, a
lot of other people aren't boots on the ground. They're
not doing this work. And there is a level of
(29:57):
expertise that comes from seeing giving women hormones, going to
the conferences and like being obsessed with this topic and
everybody else if they're not prescribing, they don't know as much.
And I think that's kind of an easy way to
be like, what's this person's job, what's their motivation behind
telling you the information that they're telling you? And that's
(30:20):
kind of a good because it is the Internet's kind
of a wild West, and if you're a good salesperson, right,
you can be taken. But it's like what do they
actually do? Did they go to medical school or nurse
practitioner school? Like do they actually prescribe hormones and see
patients and listen to women? Because those are the people
that actually know.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
What do you think should my doctor be a woman?
You're like I can't.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Oh lord, I think any gender can doctor? Very well.
Good good answer, and I actually have a podcast episode
us this year is like in the summer. There's actually
a lot of research that a lot of people don't
want to believe, but they have enough research that they
have meta analyzes, which is studies of studies. That's how
(31:06):
much research is done on this, looking at surviving after surgery,
surviving after a heart attack if your physician is female,
And people don't want to know that that exists because
people because there's a learning opportunity there. Right, what is
it about the way women doctor that's leading to survival benefits?
(31:26):
And people don't want to learn that. But it's like, dude,
there's data on it, like crazy data because because you
could say, well, maybe you just picked the right doctor
or maybe you just knew she was good because you
just got good. Well, when you go into the emergency department,
you don't get to pick who your doctor is. So
that's a pretty good study. So they actually have a
study that if if a female goes to an emergency
department with chest pain, heart attack and her doctor happen
(31:50):
to be female, your chance of living is higher. And
I'm like, I can't make up the data. I can
just report it.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, listen, we're not giving you our opinions right now.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
That is the published literature, and I interviewed the and
the person who's who's spearheading this research is a male urologist.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Okay, first, I want to know how do people find
your podcast?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's called You Were Not Broken?
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You You Are Not Are Not Broken with Kelly Casperson.
And your book that's on shelf right now is just
like Bible material that's pretty good for everybody that.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Needs to read. Wait, show it the show if you.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Guys want to pick up this. The Menopause moment. Can
you see it?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Mindset, hormones and science for optimal longevity. Love it, love.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
It longevity right there on the cover. Thank you, Kelly,
Thanks for having me. You've really added a lot of
tools to my toolkit. And I hope everybody listening. But
if you have more questions, read the book. If you
have more questions, listen to our podcast. She's here to
help us. Thank you so
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Much, thanks for having me.
You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny garl.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome back to a bonus I Choose Me. Doctor Kelly
Casperson is back to share some tips. We are going
to make a toolkit for your menopause moment, which is
the title of her new book, and it's a must
reade for anybody navigating this stage of life and reminding
us that menopause doesn't have to be scary. So let's
(00:33):
dive into the toolbox. Okay, So let's stick with the
cold heart facts and not get into the opinions. Let's
I sometimes do. We're just gonna sit here and we're
going to deliver the actual four to one one about
what is happening to our bodies and what we can
do to improve them. Okay, So, Kelly, what is a
difference between peri menopause and menopause? What is the difference periods?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Basically, so peri menopause is your ovaries are basically going offline.
It's reverse puberty menopause, meaning you now have very low hormones.
You over you still make a little bit of disosterone,
but your horns are so low that you no longer
make a period or have fertility basically, So the midlife experts,
(01:16):
a mid life hormone experts, actually hate the word menopause
because it's this very artificial dividing line between this group
of people who ken or cannot do something and this
group of people who ken or cannot do something, and
all of that revolves around like having your last period, right,
a date on the calendar, a date on the calendar,
which a third of women don't have a last period
because of hysterectomy, iud's, birth control, uterimblations, all that stuff, right,
(01:39):
So for a third of women I don't even have
a date on a calendar. That's meaningful, right. So, like
the true hormone experts hate the word menopause because we're like,
it's just a symptom of not having hormones, which is
going on in perimenopause. So that's the difference. But it's
kind of this artificial, stupid, made up thing. But when
they defined or they defined when they coin the menopause,
(02:00):
it was over one hundred years ago. We couldn't measure hormones,
we didn't know what ovaries did well. We could see periods,
and periods stopped right in some people. So like that
just kind of stuck.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So the yeah, the whole meno menstruation pause.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, this is the ceasing of natural periods.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
There's so much more to us. Yeah, yeah, no opinion. Sorry,
Okay about doctors. You say we need a personal relationship
with our doctors, which can feel really hard, you know,
I mean just due to what we talked about on
the podcast. Uh, the scheduling of it all, the timing
of it all, because once you wait in the waiting room,
then you get in that door, you can feel rushed,
(02:41):
and then you kind of lose what you wanted to
ask them about, and then you end up leaving and
be like, oh man, I forgot to ask them about this,
and I just didn't feel like they wanted to hear
it because they had spent enough time with me. You know,
all those things go through your head. Uh you said,
and I'm gonna quote you. If they don't listen to
you or tell you to just read fewer books, get
(03:02):
a second opinion.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yes, in America, we have the privilege of getting a
second opinion. Now, it costs money and it costs time,
but we have the privilege of getting because I just
learned in Canada, the doctor you have is the doctor
you have. And I was like, ooh, because if they
don't know anything about hormones or menopause, that's a problem. Yeah,
So at least in America we get to be a
little more mobile and the online clinics now, so there
(03:25):
are many online companies that only do like their job
is hormones, right, So it's like that's a friendly audience already.
And so it's like keep your primary care doctor for
when you have pink eye and when you break your wrist,
and like for all the doctor things. But maybe if
you really want the hormone specialist, you're either going to
seek out a hormone specialist who will spend time with you,
usually outside the insurance system because insurance doesn't pay enough
(03:47):
for you to actually spend an hour with somebody, but
really like getting to know that relationship if you can
afford that is very valuable, or the online clinics where
it's like you're going to those people for hormones. Everybody
knows why everybody's here, right, It's that kind of party.
So that's also another option for people to seek out.
A lot of people who live in rural America, they
don't have a doctor nearby.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Or their doctor is like, I'm sorry to say it
eighty years old?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh dated? Yeah, yeah, outdated. And the other like pro
tip is when a doctor says I think your risk
of blood clot's too high or whatever whatever they're going
to say, I think you shouldn't have this because your risk.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Is too high.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
In a nice way, say what is that risk? Because
what I hear a lot of is they're like, oh,
you can't have that because the risk of heart diseases
is too high. It's like it actually isn't if you
read the data right. So to me, I'm like, you
don't have to never be confrontational or challenging, but sometimes
when people say your risk is too high, it's okay
(04:44):
to be like, what is that risk?
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Where would I risk? I learned that risk? Like did
you know? I actually know what that risk is. And
the more I read into this like that, especially the
transdermal estrogence that you're not swallowing, they don't go through
your liver, they don't increase your blood clot risk, don't
increase heart disease risk, they don't increase dementia. Risks like
these are incredibly safe. So if doctors are saying they
(05:07):
you can't have that because it increases your risk of X,
Y and Z. If you're like, where can I read
about that risk? Like where do you know that from?
In again, you want to maintain the relationship. But I
think a lot of women take everything as fact instead
of like, maybe it's just outdated data. If they're quoting
the WHI data, those are medications we don't currently use.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
And I think that's a tendency to listen to your
doctor and do what they say. Yeah, well, yeah, totally right. Yeah,
but it's okay to question.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
It's okay to question.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I think the key is curiosity. Yeah, get curious.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Doctors are a profession who are trained to help you,
just like like if I get a lawyer for something,
or my accountant for something, or my mechanic for something.
Is like, it's okay to ask them a question. It's
not off limits. It's a professional trying to help you
with the piece of your life. But it's your body
at the end of the day. You should have autonomy
(06:00):
and be able to ask a question.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, there's a stigma, I think, and a fear of
ev sounding stupid or yeah, being seen as stupid or
just like I don't know anything, but the fact is
there are no stupid questions. Yea, and you can get
really comfortable just being curious about so many things.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, totally. And I think you can open with that
and be like, listen, I'm not a physician. I have
done some reading. My understanding is x y z AM.
I off base with that. You know, it's like learning
just how to be a good communicator and non threatening
way like if like what I've heard is you know,
kind of keep it open. Can we learn about this together?
You know, that might be a cool thing, So it
(06:39):
can be it can be done. And if if you
keep hitting a brick wall, maybe see somebody else.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, I've heard a lot of stories. I've heard a
lot of stories. Where can we find the information about
specialized women's health doctors? Do you recommend a certain website?
I don't want to affiliate you with one if you
have no affiliation, but in general, for a woman that's
listening in Albuquerque, New Mexico, yep, and she needs some
(07:06):
she needs a doctor recommended. So where did you.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Start one of my favorite resources because I don't I
don't have my own, Like it's a beast to try
to maintain one of those things, right. One of my
favorite ones is the International Society for the Study of
Women's Sexual Health. It's a mouthful, but it's called ishish
ish wish dot org. International Society for the Study of
Women's Sexual Health. Why I like that database is number one.
(07:30):
They're very comfortable with women's sexuality. They know a lot
about vaginal estrogen. They know a lot about testosterone because
their biggest, you know, study is in libido, right, so
those people tend to know a lot about hormones and bonus,
they know a lot about sex, and so to me,
I'm like, those are my favorite people. But like they're
already very if you're if you're a physician or a
nurse practitioner a PA who cares about sex lives, you
(07:53):
know how important hormones are because sex is biopsychosocial and
the hormones that you have affect your sex life, right,
So I love that. The other option is menopause dot org,
but it is I wouldn't say everybody on that database
is up to dated on everything, but it's a good
starting point for that. And then the online clinics, I
(08:13):
mean there's several right now, so I'm not affiliated right
primarily with any of them, but alloy ever, now interlude
for vaginal estrogen, they're like vaginal estrogen only they're awesome.
Get interlude maybe maybe joy ja oh I, who am
I missing? Jenev. So there's a lot of online ones.
Some of them take insurance, some of them do not
(08:34):
take insurance, so you can just kind of start learning.
The other thing that you know people can do is
like if you've got a friend who's willing to talk
about because women who are on hormones where it's dramatically
changed their life, they're moving the needle for everybody. They
want to talk about it. Like if you go from
not sleeping to sleeping, you'd like to tell.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
People life change it basically exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Like if you weren't having orgasms and now you are,
you want to talk about it because you want you want,
you want to say yeah. So it's like find the
friend who did it first and be like, where are
you going? Who are you seeing? Blah blah.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's great advice.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
But I would say, because I see this a lot
on the internet, it's like what's the best X, Y
and Z for hormones? And it's like individual results may vary.
Everybody might need a different dose and route. It is individualized, yes, right,
because there's a lot of like, but Susie's on this
and blah blah blah blah blah my on the best
thing in BOLVD. It's like it is individualized, so you like,
(09:27):
don't be on your friend's regimen. It might not be
with right for you, but maybe go to that doctor.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I had a friend who I someone I work with,
and I saw her one day and I was like, wow,
what I knew, Like I could tell Wow, I just
knew she wasn't getting any support. Yeah, So I asked
her about it and she started crying and it deepened
our relationship. I shared information with her, I gave her
(09:53):
books to read, and I saw her recently and she
looks like a completely different person.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Is not a game changer. Well, I mean, thank you
for doing this work because it's like even just people
listening to the podcast, it's going to validate like what
you're experiencing is common and you do not have to suffer.
And then like you see those women and you're like
I was, so I have a puppy and we went
to puppy school and so I'm like, you know, the
adult in the room with my puppy, and in the
(10:19):
middle of it the teachers having this massive hot flash
and like she and she says it like I wasn't
just picking up on it. She's like, hold on, I'm
having this massive hot flashes blah blah blah blah. And
I'm like, what is my role here? Am I just
the person with the puppy? Who am I? Like? Please
see also my books and my podcast and my clinic.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
What did you end up doing? Were you just the puppy?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Because I was like, I don't want to be that, like,
oh hey that person, Yeah, in front of the whole class,
like extra, your patches are completely safe. Family history doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Also, that's so hard though, when you know you know
what you're talking about. Yeah, share it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, I know totally, Just so I.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Can imagine it be hard for you. It was hard, Okay.
Can we tested to find out if we are in
fact in perry or menopause? What is the test?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Such a good question. That's like the internet question every
single day, so there's no current blood testing, Like like
the question is like can I X ray it? Can
I measure it?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Like? Right?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
We like to just know. And in perimenopause is reverse puberty.
So up and down, up and down, up and down
for hormones. So people will get their labs tested and
they will say, you know, I'm mestrogen dominant is an example,
and I'm like, no, on Tuesday in July, you had
high estrogen. But it changes every day. But I think
check labs. It's very validating for people, right Like if
(11:38):
I say, if I go to the doctor and they're
like no and they shut you down, it's kind of invalidating.
So it's like, dude, no skin off your back, check
some labs, right like whatever, let's make and by the way,
when we're doing that, let's check glucose, let's check lipids.
Let's use this as an opportunity to look for everything thyroid,
oh my god, thyroid, vitamin D, all the things. So
check labs. But ideally you're going to be with a
(12:00):
clinician who understands that labs don't really matter because they're
ever changing.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Okay, so how do you hack insurance to get the
hormones you need because paying out a pocket is not
something any of us wanted.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, so, very good question. So I think there's a
big confusion of what's FD approved and what's bioidentical, like
they're different things. Biodentical means what your body makes. We
have many FD approved biodentical products because a lot of
people are paying a lot of extra money for all
this compounded stuff which can be good and can be effective,
(12:39):
but tends to be less standardized and more expensive. Pellets
are more expensive, right and not covered by insurance. So
it's like, start with the stuff that's FD approved. Insurance
should cover it. If they do, not, get loud, get loud,
this is.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Call the damn insurance companies write the letters, be like
this is you need to cover this. It's insane that
they wouldn't cover hormones. But again, insurance, going back to
the longevity conversation, insurance doesn't really care that you're playing
pickleball when you're eighty two, Like they really don't, right,
They care about what's being spent right now, So they.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Kind of want you to get sick. I mean again
kind of a general statement.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
They they what they truly I think I feel safe
saying this, What they truly want you to do is
get on somebody else's insurance before you get sick, which
by sixty five that's medicare right. But so anyways, insurance
should cover FD approved things that are indicated, And that's
your estrogen patch, that's your vaginal estrogen. You get generics.
Generics are cheap if your insurance is still expensive. Look,
(13:39):
there's many pharmacies now that are cash pharmacies. Sadly, we
used to think that having insurance meant you got a
deal on meds. Now it's usually means you're making money
for your insurance company. So Mark Cuban costs plus drugs, Yes,
for the Generics, what brand again? His Mark Cuban costs
plus drugs cost plus? I love them.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Cheapest faginal estrogen that I know about, really, Yes. The
most expensive thing about vaginal estrogen is the tube that
it's made. It's that it's put in for the cream.
It's like if you go to the pharmacy and they
say it's two hundred dollars abort mission, it's way too expensive.
Get this for cheaper. So I think some people they
just don't know it's available for cheaper, right, Like I
went to get my vaginal estrogen, I Blue Cross, Blue Shield.
(14:18):
I went to my pharmacy and they were like, that'll
be two hundred and sixty eight dollars. And I wanted
to be like, do you know who I am and
how much vaginal estrogen? I like, I'm like the vaginal
ESTRASTI the expert on this, and so like I pulled
up my good RX. So good RX is kind of
an app you can get that it will do cheaper
cash prices, and I got it for eighteen dollars.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
What that's the craziest part to me.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
It's nuts.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
When a doctor prescribes a medication, you go and they
tell you, oh, that's going to be nine hundred dollars
for the new eye drops that are coming out that
you need so that you don't have dry eye. Nine
hundred dollars for a tiny little doll and we got
it for ten dollars by hacking the system.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah, that's the thing, is like you have to know
how to use the system, which is the definition of
an unfair system, right. But I'm like, I haven't forbidden
my husband went to go pick up my vaginal estrogen,
he wouldn't have known how to get the eighteen dollars. Pissed, Yeah,
and I would and then I would have been like,
oh my god, like I should have told you. So
that's the thing is like there's you can usually find
it cheaper somewhere else. There's an amazing online it's a
(15:19):
it's a membership. I think it's like eighty dollars a
year now, but it's HRT club. They have a lot
of generics, okay, and so a lot of people are
doing that, so there's ways to do it. Again, It's
like ask your friend, like how much are you get
in your patch for stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So yeah, definitely, there are honestly so many varying symptoms.
I can't even say them all. There's too many. Like
my elbow hurts, oh, must be yeah, Oh my teeth
are a little sensitive today. Must like everything I've ever
suffered from I'm now saying must have been my very
(15:55):
menopause and I didn't even know. But what are the
most common symptoms that women should be watching for so
that we can stay proactive and know what's real and
what's not when it comes to this.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
So again, the classic symptoms hot flashes and nights seat,
it's poor sleep, but not everybody has that, right and
you don't need that to get treatment, right, that's not
the only thing that we're like, oh, we will only
replace what your ovaries made for a hot flash. It's like,
no estrogen is fd approved for the prevention of osteoporosis.
People don't know that we actually have a prevention FDA
(16:28):
approval for estrogen, which.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Is and you could do osteoporosis testing.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Now you can do exiscans. Yeah. Yeah, they're cheap too,
like cash dexa and my town's like ninety eight dollars
when you live Bellingham, Washington. But they should be cheap,
like they should be less than two hundred inst cakay,
especially like in LA where there's actually competition for it.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
And when should we get those because I just I
had to record you going from my doctor. Haven't had
it yet.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So the guidelines in America are sixty five and less
risk factors. Risk factor would be that you're taking like
high dos steroids or you have a mom with osteop
that'll be a risk factor. So there's multiple risk factors.
But I'm like, just pay cash and it's pretty darn
treat but you can get it whenever. So in my clinic,
I just get everybody a baseline DEXA because I'm like,
(17:12):
if you have osteopenia osteoporosis, we want to know about it.
Why are we waiting? Yeah, Australia is age seventy just
to get their DEXA and I'm like, oh my god,
I learned that. When I went over there. I was like,
good lord, you're just like looking at it like there's
no prevention there. It's too late. Your ovaries usually give
you hormones until about age fifty. Right, your biggest bone loss.
Let's say that rate of bone loss is in the
(17:34):
two years leading up to your last period. Well, that's stupid,
because how do you know what your last period is? Right?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
But it's all the more some people put it on
the calendar.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
I do not, right, Yeah, but how do you know
what's your last one? Oh? Yeah, because you don't know
till a year from now.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Girl, listen to me. I thought for sure I was done.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
That's the date.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I learned it from another doctor. She said, there's one day.
That's the date, and I of course didn't write it down,
so I had no memory of what it was. Maybe
sixteen months later, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I know, So I think you don't know. You don't
know That's why the period, like the period as the
definition of like that you can get treatment or not
is very stupid. And I think like the modern hormone
experts are like, let's stop hanging up on this period
because what it does is it prevents the very symptomatic
perimenopause women from getting any treatment. And I see this
all the time, like, well, I can't treat you yet
because you're still having periods. And I'm like, throw an
(18:26):
iud in that woman now she doesn't have periods, can
you treat her now?
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Right?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Like periods are just a stupid roadblock for people. But
so in perimenopause is not feeling like myself. That not
feeling like myself, which we can't measure, right. It's like
it's not a medical diagnosi. Yeah, it's so hard to defind,
but you know it if it's you, it if it's you,
and you know it if it was you, and you
now you're feeling like yourself. Right. I just had a
woman California f live to see me. She's spent four years,
(18:50):
like five doctors going around being tested for like crazy
autoimmune stuff, all this stuff, and she's like doing her
own research, right, and she's like, I think I peri menopause, right.
So she comes up to see me. She tells me
your whole story, which is now like filled with medical
trauma and gaslight thing. She's there with her husband, and
I'm like, sounds like Perri menopause to me. And if
(19:11):
it isn't, let's give you hormones and see it. Like
the hormones won't work if it's something else, right, right,
that's the magic test, right, But if the hormones work,
like yes, perimenopause. So I did a follow up with her.
She's sleeping, She's like happier, like her brain's back. She's like,
I understand what feeling like myself feels like now because
now I feel like myself, right, And this is one
(19:33):
follow up. She's like, oh, if I want to tell
you this yet, but like I actually kind of want
to sign up for a half marathon. And I'm like,
oh my god. It was like four years of just
like on the couch done, and now she's like one
follow up. She's like, half marathon actually sounds pretty good
to me right now, and I'm like, holy crap.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
That is amazing. I remember once I started with HRT,
I felt like maybe I should run a marathon because
I thought, well, I feel so great now, Like I
don't know what that was, but now I feel so great.
And then I quickly talked myself out of that.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Yeah, I like, it always sounds like kind of out
of the birth. Sounds good when I'm warm on my couch,
but I don't actually want to do that. But yeah,
I would say not feeling like myself sex life changing,
sleep changing. Heart palpitation super.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Common, which also can feel like anxiety.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Oh yeah, it feels very awful and panicky. I think.
I think I wrote about this in my book. A
friend in the hospital, she was We're like in the
surgeon's lounge and she's like, I don't feel safe driving
my kids around because of my heart palpitations. But I
went to the cardiologist. They did all the tests. Everything's fine,
and it's like, everything's fine, but you're still having crazy
heart palpitations that you don't feel safe driving your kids with.
(20:44):
And I'm like, why don't you get on some hormones
and see and she's like what, I'm like, yeah, just
try again. If it's not hormone related, the hormones won't
help them, right. It's the easy test, so she like
comes back the next time and she's like, my heart
palpitations are gone, and I'm like, yeah, because estrogen the heart, right,
And she's like, why did nobody tell me this? And
heart palpitations are one of the most common reasons that
(21:05):
women go to the cardiologists. Right, but remember back to
the nineties, the cardiologists knew hormones were good for the heart.
They knew that, and it's like we've forgotten, We've forgotten,
and now we have to remember everything that we knew.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I talk a lot about heart health. I advocate for it.
And one of the most frustrating things for me is
when women are feeling like something's wrong with them, maybe
they're having heart palpitations, anxiety, you know, it feels like
someone's sitting on your chests a little. They go to
the cardiologist. Finally, after being persuaded to go to a
specialized doctor, and they are given the what do they
(21:49):
give everybody when you oh the egg? Yep, they put
a ekg on you and they see in that very
small moment, then nothing's wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yeah, everything's fine.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Oh look at it's all perfect. You're fine. You go home.
That is for me such a miss for healthcare because
you don't know what happens the many you take off
those yeah, receptors whatever they're called. Totally Yeah, it just
frustrates me beyond beyond.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
It's incredibly frustrating, incredibly frustrating. And there aren't a lot
of female cardiologists right, it's hard to find. It's still
very male dominated. There's still a and to me, I'm like,
I get to kind of speak truth to power because
I'm like, I went through the system, I'm in it.
I still practice medicine and I can now but I'm
old enough and I'm wise enough, and especially like again,
(22:36):
I'm the urologist who gives the man to stop short
in viagra and sees how the women are treated. So
I'm over here being like there's gender bias in medicine
and a lot of people know that, but a lot
of people don't want to know that and they don't
want to believe.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Now they just look the other way.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, like, oh, it's not it's not that bad though,
It's like, but for that woman, it is really bad
because she's suffering and she's not getting help.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
It makes sense that that would be their im back
specifically because it's a male dominated industry. Come on, ladies,
it's hard, yes, but it's hard.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
It's actually very hard.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
But I know it sounds so easy. I'm just gonna go.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I'm just gonna go go spend that money and that
time in my twenties, all of my tent and all
of my twenties.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah, okay. Most important habits to start today to age well,
bang bang bang sleep yep.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Weightlifting huh oh. I mean I would say not just weightlifting,
but like mobility, stretching, Yeah, stretching, like put your hips
through the range of motion, butt your needs to like
number one. I think it feels absolutely fantamic. Like a
mobility class is like ah, like and I'm not even
talking yoga like now, mobility is like rotating, yeah, like
(23:48):
the hip the hip flips right, and like the hamstring stretches.
It's like, well, and that's what a lot of trainers
will say, is like it's not just how strong you are,
but that your body can do the full range of
motion and you keep the keeps moving. Yeah, oh keep
that your joints keep moving. So I would say mobility
is massively important. The data on protein now and like
(24:09):
aging is like we don't we don't. We're not as
efficient with protein as we were when we were younger,
so we really have to prioritize it in the diet
and just and I think I put this in the book,
but it's like they didn't tell women to exercise any
different airlift weights. They just fed one high protein and
the other one was like regular, and their body composition
changed just by having a protein centric food choices.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, this is all conversation that's just been happening.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Yeah, it's brand new stuff. It's brand new stuff. And
I mean for us, like our generations, it's like, do
we grow up in the nineties. I was talking to
you know, I was doing a podcast yesterday and I'm like,
I am I way more than I've ever weighed in
my life. And it's a massive mind trip and you
got to do work on it. Yeah, but I'm like,
I am stronger than I've ever been and frankly, like
I dig it and I know the science now, right,
(24:55):
But it's like.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Oh, we're not supposed to weigh Yeah, we did thirty
years ago.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Kate Moss was our hero, right, Like the nineties did
a number Oh yeah on our generation. Well, yes, very popular,
very popular, and so to me, I'm like, muscle actually
weighs a lot. Yes, and I'm working with a trainer
now so that, like I've told her, I'm like, listen,
I know a lot, but this is still messing with me,
Like you tell me when I need to, you know,
back off or pivot or blah blah blah. And right
(25:20):
now she's like eat e gets strong, gets strong, gets strong,
And I'm like, I'm just going on the journey because
to me, I'm like, it's it's easier to maintain and
build now than twenty years from now. Right right, It's
like it can be done, but keep it up. And
you can keep it up. But it's like everything you
do is just small things, just small things of like
I spent my twenties trying to be as small as possible,
(25:42):
and that is not serving me anymore.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
I had doctor Nicholas Paracon on and he said every
day that you're not eating enough protein, you're aging.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I was like, well, taking me your aging, I get
your point.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get your fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
He's he's all about the protein. He oh, he drinks
salmon shakes.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
My brother drinks raw eggs. Okay, I know, I know,
I don't think I'm not there.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
I'm not gonna drink a salmon shank.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I'm sorry, no, oh, but I mean debay. So I've
started this year two scoops of wave protein in my
in my protein shake instead of one.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Oh, instead of like the direction say one scoop.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
One scoop, I'm like two scoops. I got fifty I
got fifty grams in first meal, first meal. Yeah, it's delicious. Good.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
First thing in the morning, when I make a smoothie
and I pour my protein drink into it, like it's
got like thirty or something, thirty two grams of protein
in it. And then by the time I've had like
my after workout protein bar, a little thing that only
has like twolves, I'm already like I'm halfway there, yeah
for my day.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
And it makes me feel so good, like, oh, I
can totally do this totally.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah. Like muscle is so like it helps with insolin sensitivity.
It muscle helps you not fall. Muscle helps you get
off the ground once you do fall. I just read
something people are like, we're doing it wrong. We're telling
people not to fall. We're not telling him how to
get back up once they fell, so like the problem is,
like you get down, you can't get back up again, right, Like,
oh my god, we're not teaching people how to get up.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
The date she was home with my daughters and she
fell in front yard. Oh god, she's fine. Sorry, uh,
but they couldn't get her up. She didn't know how
to get up. They sat there for an hour until
I got home. Yeah, talking on the ground, she was thankfully.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Mobility is because it's like, once you're down, get back up.
It's hard. It's hard.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
It's hard flip your body over. Yeah, Okay, education is
the answer to combating fear around most things, I agreed,
But definitely when it comes to advocating for our healthcare, Yeah,
where to go for the best information and education about menopause.
There's a lot of misinformation out there, as we've talked about,
(27:54):
so it's not always easy to know what is what.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, it's I mean, we have so much availability to free,
easily accessible stuff now it's awesome, but with that comes
a bunch of bullshit. Right, So I mean, these are
the things, right, is somebody trying to sell you something
that might.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Be always it's always every time you need this anti
aging just make.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Your fashion better, like you won't go through menopause. It's like, no,
it's not how science works. But so like that's number one,
number two, and a lot of people who know things
have great things to offer. I'm not saying it's all bad, no,
but like if it's some crazy like this shoe will
make you not go through menopause, that's not how science works.
So like that's the first thing, is like what's their angle?
But I think like the other because I think about
(28:39):
this a lot of like I never I'm I actually
at the end of the day. So I tell women
I put this in my book. I don't care if
you go on hormones or not. I don't care. I'm
not living in your body. You get to decide what
you want to do. But I care desperately that you
have the information so that you can make an educated
decision based upon information and not fear. And I think
what I mean by that on like who to follow
(28:59):
and who to listen into. Do these people actually prescribe hormones?
Is that their job? Because those are the people that
actually know new information. Yeah, they know because they know
their craft. They know what women are telling them when
they come back they know how to dose things, they've
they've read, like that's their job, right. So it's like
if you follow people and they actually see people in clinic,
(29:21):
they're actually doing the work. Those are the people who
know the most about it if you should be on
hormones or not. And I'm like, everybody else is helping
support us, right. Interestingly enough, like the athletic trainer community
is super on board with hormones.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Really, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I have these women they're like, oh yeah, my twenty
six year old trainer told me to go get on hormones.
And I'm like, what's the bro no about this? Right?
And he's like they know that it helps build muscle,
and they know that it's good for sleep, and like
that is a cool industry that like really supports women
in hormones. But it's like, for the most part, a
lot of other people aren't boots on the ground. They're
not doing this work. And there is a level of
(29:57):
expertise that comes from seeing giving women hormones, going to
the conferences and like being obsessed with this topic and
everybody else if they're not prescribing, they don't know as much.
And I think that's kind of an easy way to
be like, what's this person's job, what's their motivation behind
telling you the information that they're telling you? And that's
(30:20):
kind of a good because it is the Internet's kind
of a wild West, and if you're a good salesperson, right,
you can be taken. But it's like what do they
actually do? Did they go to medical school or nurse
practitioner school? Like do they actually prescribe hormones and see
patients and listen to women? Because those are the people
that actually know.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
What do you think should my doctor be a woman?
You're like I can't.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Oh lord, I think any gender can doctor? Very well.
Good good answer, and I actually have a podcast episode
us this year is like in the summer. There's actually
a lot of research that a lot of people don't
want to believe, but they have enough research that they
have meta analyzes, which is studies of studies. That's how
(31:06):
much research is done on this, looking at surviving after surgery,
surviving after a heart attack if your physician is female,
And people don't want to know that that exists because
people because there's a learning opportunity there. Right, what is
it about the way women doctor that's leading to survival benefits?
(31:26):
And people don't want to learn that. But it's like, dude,
there's data on it, like crazy data because because you
could say, well, maybe you just picked the right doctor
or maybe you just knew she was good because you
just got good. Well, when you go into the emergency department,
you don't get to pick who your doctor is. So
that's a pretty good study. So they actually have a
study that if if a female goes to an emergency
department with chest pain, heart attack and her doctor happen
(31:50):
to be female, your chance of living is higher. And
I'm like, I can't make up the data. I can
just report it.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, listen, we're not giving you our opinions right now.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
That is the published literature, and I interviewed the and
the person who's who's spearheading this research is a male urologist.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Okay, first, I want to know how do people find
your podcast?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's called You Were Not Broken?
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You You Are Not Are Not Broken with Kelly Casperson.
And your book that's on shelf right now is just
like Bible material that's pretty good for everybody that.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Needs to read. Wait, show it the show if you.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Guys want to pick up this. The Menopause moment. Can
you see it?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Mindset, hormones and science for optimal longevity. Love it, love.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
It longevity right there on the cover. Thank you, Kelly,
Thanks for having me. You've really added a lot of
tools to my toolkit. And I hope everybody listening. But
if you have more questions, read the book. If you
have more questions, listen to our podcast. She's here to
help us. Thank you so
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Much, thanks for having me.
Hosts And Creators
Tori Spelling
Jennie Garth
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