December 20, 2021 • 32 mins
Married to Medicine Dr. Jackie Walters joins Gam to discuss all things menopause, what their mothers never told them about sex, different kinds of lubes, and Dr. Jackie's new book The Queen V.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You can't anti age. You know you're gonna write age,
but you can manage aging. And part of managing menopause
is to use everything we have out there to make
life more comfortable for you. What's up, everybody? I'm Gammy
and this is positively gam Every week I have raw,
(00:20):
in depth conversation with inspirational people pushing for change on
everything from aging, relationships, politics, wellness, to the current issues
facing the black community. In this episode, we're going to
be discussing menopause. Joining me today is Dr Jackie Walter.
(00:41):
She is a philanthropist, health expert, women's advocate, t D personality,
and award winning O B G y N. A two
time breast cancer survivor, Dr Jackie has turned her pain
into a passion for nurturing the emotional and physical needs
of women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. You can
(01:03):
catch Dr Jackie on Bravos Married to Medicine. Welcome, Dr Jackie.
Thank you. We are so glad that you took time
out of your busy schedule to join us. Tell me
what you enjoy most, Dr Jackie, Being the TV personality
or being the doctor The doctor I'm sure lots less
critics absolutely absolutely. This is such an important topic for
(01:28):
women at my age in particular. We're gonna focus our
attention today on menopause. Okay, so can you tell me
exactly what menopause is? Menopause is when a woman has
stopped having her period for twelve consecutive months. The ovaries
(01:48):
have stopped making eggs, so you you lack estrogen, po
jets strong, all the hormones are just in disarray, and
you're not having a period. Your reproductive years have ended. Okay,
So in my mind, there's pre menopausal menopause and post menopause.
Is that correct? So I typically say peri menopause when
(02:10):
you're aware of menopause, which menopause is typically fifty plus
a minus five. It can be as early as forty five,
as late as fifty five some women later. On an
average in the United States it's about fifty one. So
if I can remember back when I was forty five,
and I've been forty five about ten times now. So
(02:32):
when I was you start having the symptoms hot flashes,
and a lot of women really think they're going crazy,
the brain fog. I can't sleep at night. What happened
to my libido? So they're losing their mind minds, and
if you go through it, there are so many things
hair loss, skin is changing, the vagina is changing, There's
(02:54):
so many changes you're going through before you get to
that point where you're not having your period. So prepete
pre menopause or peri menopause is about forty five when
you start having the symptoms. Menopause is that short window
where we say, and it's about seven years or so
before you get to menopause. So around fifty one, let's
(03:16):
just say you're fifty one and you haven't had a
period for a whole entire year, You're in menopause. Some
people you say post menopause is I've gone through all
the symptoms, I've not had my period, and now I'm
in this phase. I think I just called it menopause.
When your period has stopped, you're in menopause. Okay, so
there is no post menopause, because that was gonna be
(03:38):
my next question. When does it end? Like when do
your symptoms end? I'm like sixty seven. I would say
that I went into medically induced menopause around fifty one.
I think because I was getting a treatment for a
(03:58):
hapetit to see with those that would that threw me
into menopause. And so I had menopause at forty because
I did chemo for breast cancer. Yeah, so the chemo
and radiation, especially if you radiate the pelvis ovaries are gone.
So really, once you kind of stopped having the symptoms,
(04:19):
which I don't know if all women stop having them
they like the post MENOPAUSEI okay, but when like I
still have hot flashes, particularly at night, I'm still doing
I guess the body changes, like the vaginal atrophy and dryness,
(04:40):
that's never that will never go away. We'll I'll always
be dealing with that. And you know, I said, we
have to manage menopause. It's not gonna go away, so
you have to do things to make it better. We
have all kinds of lotions and potions to get the
lucy juicy back. I would think that the hot flashes
and the night sweats and the agitional issues are the
(05:01):
major complaints. I know they were for me. They're the
major complaints. And I took hormones probably longer than I
should have, because I tried to do it naturally, and
I just I was suffering. I was suffering, and the
reason why the doctors, of course, didn't recommend it for me,
is because I have a very strong history of cancer
(05:22):
and my family. My mother had breast cancer as well,
and I'm assuming that she went into medically induced um
menopause because of it, but she never talked about it.
I never saw her, I never saw her fanning herself,
or we didn't talk about it in our family, So
I have no idea when she went into it, how
(05:45):
she what that experience was like for her. And that's
one of the determining factors as to win a woman
will go into menopause. We typically inherit that from my
mom's and so you can. And you're right, our almost
didn't talk about it, and so we never you And
that's why I'm so glad you're talking about it now
so that women can talk about it. But what I
(06:05):
do say to women, it's all about quality of life.
Like you have the granola type who I don't want
need hormones. I want to eat plants, I wanna eat berries,
and I want to go through it naturally that's not me.
And so I'm like you, I needed something to manage menopause.
And of course I believe in as many hormones as
(06:27):
you need safely. But I'm believe in biadentical hormones. I
actually put in bioaudentical hormone pellets in my office. And
it is about quality of life, because think about it.
If you're in menopause, hot flashes, you can't sleep at night,
you're gaining weight, you're not having sex, you're a little
bit blue, then what is what quality of life is there?
(06:49):
Exactly exactly, So talk to me about what some of
the modern um techniques are to deal with this. Because
there were a lot of natural stuff that I can
remember taking black co hash, Yeah, all these oil, yes,
if they if they did absolutely, I had all these
(07:11):
supplements lined up. They did nothing, I mean, and I
shouldn't disparage them like that because maybe they do work
for some people. I was not successful and I was
not successful either, and so that's why I took a
class and I came a big believer and I'm a
big provider of bioodentical hormont pellets. Don't talk to me
(07:32):
about that. These pellets are made from soy and yams,
which are natural, and they're made the plant is shaped
to look like an estrogen. It's put into a pellet
that is about as big as a rice and we
implant that into the upper part of your buttocks in
the under the skin sub particular, and the body releases
(07:53):
estrogen and testosterone. If you have a uterus, you do
have to take a projets strong to to balance out
the the estrogen so that you're not getting cancers and
unopposed estrogen effects. But it works. It creates the best
libido in the whole wide world because you're getting your
testosterone back and the benefits of testosterone less belly fat,
(08:18):
more energy. Again, there's a spike in the libido, so
all of the things we're missing in menopause, the bioidentical
hormos give that back. Okay, So I'm not having an
issue with my libido, thank god. But but it's the
vaginal issues that is of the most problematic from me.
(08:43):
So would bioidenticals be something that I should consider with
the history of cancer and my family. If there's not
been a genetic predisposition, did your mom have a gene
for breast colon are over And if she didn't, you
can certainly safely go to the doctor and make sure
it's okay. But you could get estrogen back, and it's
(09:04):
gonna give you more vaginal fluff because the vagina has
become very thin. That's why sex is uncomfortable and there's
no slipping slide happening because you don't have any estrogen there. Now,
I do have products that I do recommend to women.
If you can't use an estrogen that you put in
the vagina. It's a hyuronic acid. It makes the vagina
(09:26):
thicker and more moist. That will bypass needing hormones. So
there are things out there that you can use and
not have to use a hormone. You just have to
use it when you need it. Okay. So it's that's
a product that I would use right before I engage
in sexual activity. You can, and you know, you can
use it twice a week just to make the vagina
(09:48):
more moist, but right before sex makes it even better. Okay,
you see how I'm just focused on it. We had
your friend on Doctor Doctor to any Henry. We had
a whole conversation on this. Women like yourself, and I
call us more mature when you're over fifty five year mature.
(10:08):
We're not older, we're just mature women. It's still having
that energy and the wherewithal who want to have sex? Yeah?
You know how many women I see every day and
they're thirty five, forty five and they don't want to
have sex. Wow, But you certainly can use bioidentical hormones
to give you back your rolls and folds. I call
(10:32):
in the vagina and make it thicker and moist But
there are products you can use to just give you moisture.
What are some of the what are some of the
changes that that women would feel, not just physically but emotionally. Uh,
(10:55):
they're depressed. That broken sleep at night can lead to
the freshion because it throws those hormones off because you
wake up, you take the cover off, and in about
five minutes you're cold, so you put the cover back
on and that can happen seven eight times a night.
So broken sleep can lead to depression and sadness and
anxiety and the brain fog. I mean, at one point,
(11:17):
and I can definitely tell you when I really noticed it.
I lost my dad to Alzheimers, and I thought, oh
my god, I'm getting Alzheimers. Because I would walk in
a room and go, what am I coming here for?
And so to that all the time. Yeah, and they
get really stressed out about not knowing that they don't
know and it's just the brain fog. I mean you
(11:39):
can get in the car and you're driving sometimes to
go okay, where was I going? And crazy enough it happens,
and women don't realize that it's menopause. Yeah. Yeah. So
the modern treatments then are I mean old school pills.
You could do an oral tablet where you would take
(12:02):
an estrogen and progesterone if you have a uterus, or
estrogen if you don't. Uh. New school. We're really into
bio identicals and whether we're taking it by mouth or
we're using a cream or a vaginal suppository. But I'm
a really big believer in the bio identical pellets because
you put it in, you don't have to think about
it again for six months. Got it? Oh wow? Six months? Okay,
(12:28):
that's pretty cool. What do you think about these new
This doesn't necessarily well, yes, it does have to do
with menopause. It's more of how your vagina changes as
you age, and a lot of women are getting these
treatments for their the outside of their vagina, how their
vagina looks, what is your feeling about treatments like that.
(12:52):
I've tried. I think it was Mona Lisa. Yeah, I've
done the Mona Lisa and I felt like if the
lips of my vagina more plump, But it didn't. It
did not really help me feel more moist I still
had to use lubricants. Yeah, you're supposed to get a
(13:13):
regrowth of the collagen, so it makes it plumper, it
makes it less painful with intercourse. But you're right, it
should give you some moisture, but you may not get
a lot. You always have to supplement with a little
bit of something. We have the J shows now where
they're doing facials on the vagina. Oh now, what what
is that? But J show is almost like a facial
(13:37):
where they go in and remove unwanted hair and hair
bombs and uh, the sugar ring and all of the
stuff that you do to your face. Women are doing
it to the vagina to give it that look and feel.
Oh that seems like a lot. Yeah, we put it.
We put in collagen in the volva so that we
(13:58):
can plump up the volva and make them plumper and
more comfortable during intercourse. So the same thing we're doing
with faces. Now we're doing with the vagina. I understand, okay,
and I know you you have talked about this before
and it's pretty much whatever floats your boat. But you're
a big proponent of maintaining your your pubic hair. If
(14:23):
you're asking me personally, not well, I'm saying it's from
not personally, but as a doctor, I always give it.
There are benefits to public hair, yeah, you know. Public
hair can release older and can get in the way.
And so I'm all about what the patient wants. I'm
(14:46):
supera of what they want. Whether they wax or shave,
laser hair removal, or they say grow hair or go there.
It's up to yea yeah, yeah, it's totally up to them.
But most women and are not are going there. Yes, yes,
which is challenging now that we're going through COVID. It's difficult. Absolutely.
(15:10):
I put a lot of it. I wrote the Queen
V I have to tell you about that, and I
put it in the book that there are different types
of personalities around the vagina. And I talked about a
patient and women who are called Coochie condri x. Yes,
I got your books. Yes, they are terrified of their vagina.
But then you have girls who are notorious v A
(15:32):
g s. They will come in the room. You walk
in there totally naked, and I'm like, I left your gown. No,
I don't need it. I don't need it. Yes, and
they don't mind taking out the vagina, pulling it up,
showing you exactly what it looks like. So I have
them from what I call Mary Jane sanctified snatch virgin
Mary's who don't even want to talk about the vagina
(15:54):
out loud to the girls who come in there. I
have girls who would put tattoos on the ones and
wo yeah it's a GPS. Yes, I've seen it all.
So if you get the book, there's a test in
the book that helps you determine which vaginal personality you are.
(16:14):
And I took the test in the book, and I
believe that I'm a Mary Jane. But like you said,
you typically are kind of like a combination. Yes, yeah,
so I would be the Mary Jane and then sank
and I hate to say it, but yes, definitely not
(16:37):
the notorious be I'm not her, No, you're I'm not
her and not that's a little bit old school, even
though there's some really closet. Notorious vags out there, Oh yeah,
oh yeah, my age notoriously. I have one in particular
who describes herself as a general manager. And she's a
(16:57):
mature woman that's fifty and over. And she had five
players on her team and you know what I mean,
and each player served a different purpose, and so she
was very comfortable talking about this one does this, and
this one's real good at that. And I'm sitting down
and she was like, who's your hand down? Girl? You're
(17:18):
a doctor. Yeah, I guess you have to be able
to listen to all of that. Dr Jackie, Yes, I've
heard it all. Now, for my girlfriends who indulge in
libations from time to time, what would you say? White wine,
red wine or both are okay? Because I heard that
(17:42):
during during menopause, one is not so good. All alcohol
will aggravate some hot flashes, got it, And so red wine,
I've been told, okay, gave me really bad hot flashes.
So if I had to pick one, I was a
drink white wine got you? Okay? All right? But the
(18:04):
thing about hot flashes, gam is if you notice if
you're excited, good excitement, bad excitement, you may notice a
hot flash come on, So I think there is something.
It's a vasomotor response, and so anything that triggers that
thermoregulatory center. Good stuff that excites you or if you're frustrated,
(18:26):
you may feel a hot flash come. And so not
only foods, but your mental response can trigger more hot flashes.
And I'm like, am I dreaming at night because I
get so many hot flashes some nights. But it definitely
is one due to the lack of estrogen. We know that.
But if you start noticing when you get a hot flash,
(18:48):
if you're in a tight if you're rushing, or if
somebody comes in you go hi, you may notice a
hot flash come. Yeah. And you mentioned food too, so
it depends on the kinds of foods that are eating.
If you're eating really spicy foods, maybe exactly that made
gout more hot flashes. And then women who smoke will
notice menopause a lot earlier, probably two to three years
(19:10):
earlier than they normally would have had it, because the
nicotine destroys the follicles the eggs in the ovaries, and
so they go through menopause a lot earlier. Okay, Now
I asked this question to dr um Tiffany as well.
I'm gonna ask you, do you have any preference as
far as lubricants for lubricating the vagina for inter course?
(19:36):
Do you have a preference leaning towards border based or yes,
definitely water based. And again, there's a suppository that I like,
the one I was mentioning, and it's a Rivari and
it's a small suppository slides in the vagina and it
just feels like natural vaginal moisture. It feels like mucus.
(19:58):
And so that's my favorite. A suppository. You put it
in and within ten minutes the body tempt will heat
it up and your moist Yeah. I use a suppository too.
It's not Ravari though, it's another brand, and I can't
think of the name of it. But I use a
very small suppository and it seems to be working for me.
But I would be really interested in talking to my
(20:19):
O B G y N about the bioidenticals. That's that
sounds like something I might be interested in trying. And
we'll get some information from Failing and I'll send you
some info and we'll send you some of those suppositories. Perfect, perfect,
I see it behind you. Dr Jackie talked to us
about your new book. Absolutely, so the Queen, the sex, intimacy,
(20:41):
and down their healthcare. I've been in the O. B. G.
Y An for twenty four plus years. I think I've
heard it all, and I'll tell you that some of
the weirdest things I've gotten from a vagina again was
a glass base and nuts and boats snicker bars. Wait
a minute, well and back up that. You say that again.
(21:05):
So I had a couple who were having a good
time on a Friday night and they used the little
bud vase as a toy. And so you think about it,
they put the opening of the bud vase in the
vagina in and out, and he created a suction and
they couldn't get it out. And it's stuck and it's stuck.
(21:26):
And they added water and they added oil, which only
made that suction tighter. Oh my god. So by Sunday,
there in the emergency room and they're calling like, okay,
you need to come to the ear and here we
are with a glass base in the vagina, yes, and
we have to get it out. I was concerned because
(21:49):
I'm like, oh, please, don't let this base break because
now we're sisters. But once we got it out. It
was like, let's talk about toys. So with that being
saying and all of the stuff I said, when I
say that we ministry of vagina is not making history.
Somebody has done it before. So I wanted to write
a book taking the stories, of course, making the patients anonymous,
and share the stories with women so you realize you're
(22:12):
not the only one who's done it. Let's talk about it.
So it's to educate, inspiring up lift women and to
make him laugh, to realize some painful situations s t
I s like her peace. You're not the first person
to get her peace. It's okay. It's not written on
your forehead. It is okay. And this is how you
manage these things with a vagina to get through life.
(22:33):
Because it's for procreation and recreation. Exactly say it again,
Dr Jackie, only louder. It is for procreation and when
you're finished with that, a lot of recreation. But again,
I want the women to I want women to be free.
Our mom's had us a little embarrassed to talk about
my goodness. Please. Yeah, you couldn't say sex. And we
(22:54):
see that girls who come into the office and they
look around the room to make sure you know it's
just me, you and god babe, and she say I
had sex last night and you're like good, was it good?
And they don't want to talk about it, or they
don't want to talk about it being bad sex, or
they don't even want to come into the appointment if
they've had us that, if they've had sex to day before.
(23:16):
That was me. I'm gonna have to cancel and reschedule
because I had sex lass, Okay, No, you can come
be And that's what I try to be. I want
to be a good girlfriend doctor. I want you to
be able to come in, be open on this transparent,
tell me those crazy things. And I'm like, look, good
people make bad decisions, and girl, how we're in this together.
(23:37):
Let me help you figure out how to get out
of this place. And so that's why I have that book,
like I want women to know be free. Yeah, and
to be able to come and speak with your Ghana
cologists without judgment is so important, so important, absolutely, and
that's my thing. I'm like, you do know that happened
(23:57):
to me too, And they're like you've had it, girl,
you have had b V before And they were like
I'm like, okay, and just for me since I became
an adult. I think when I started out as a
young girl or as a teenager when my mother had control,
my gannacologist was a man. But as an adult I
(24:21):
quickly switched to a female gnacologist just for my own comfort.
And that's not to throw shade on anybody's choice of doctors,
but just for me, for my own comfort level. I
wanted to how and I say, from my comfort level too,
I'm like you, I need to go to a girl.
So when I say you see this right here, she's
(24:43):
seen it before and she understands. Or if you talk
about cramps, you understand. I'm like you not to say
anything to my brother's and O B G I N.
But a woman can tell me what a cramp feels like,
or women can talk to you about what labor pain
feels like. So I'm all for women seeing women, but
(25:04):
again it's up to you and what I feel like.
It's so unfair. I feel it's so unfair that men
have the little Blue pill and women don't have anything.
What is the deal with that? Now they do have
pells now for women, So they do some pill they
have they call it the viagraph for women, but that
(25:24):
we've not heard of that. Yeah, they'll give you some
more and why can't I think of the name of
it at the moment. But it increases blood flow to
the clearteress. It's a pink peel. It's pink. Okay, Yes,
so they do have things for women. Now. Now, I'll
be honest, if you're more mature like me and you've
gone through menopause, whether it's surgically induced, chemo induced, or age,
(25:46):
it's not gonna give you that moisture like you need.
But it will definitely boost your libido. But they're kind
of there are a lot of things. I love Biot pellets,
and I'll say Biot because that's the brand I use.
Because when I started using Biot bioidentical hormone pellets, let
me put it that way, it was like unspeakable libido. Libido. Yeah, okay,
(26:15):
I might that might get on my husband's nerves. Yes,
I mean we have everything. Now I do a wow
shot where we're taking your platelets and we're inserting it
into the clitterest and into the vagina where we give
you back your own growth factors, which will help. And
another thing in menopause is when got to go to
the bathroom now that you didn't have when you were forty,
(26:36):
Now at fifty, if you gotta go, you gotta get
there fast or there's going to be an accident. So
we take and put platelets back into the clitteral area
and into the vagina. It reduces stress, urinary incontinence, and urgency,
so you don't feel like you're gonna with your clothes
when you have to go to the bathroom. Menopause is
about managing menopause. You can't anti age, you know you're
(26:58):
gonna age, but you can manage aging. And part of
managing menopause is to use everything we have out there
to make life more comfortable for you. So I would
(27:19):
just encourage my friends and women my age because with
the conversations we have, I hear a lot of frustration,
a lot of frustration. So I would just tell people
to number one, take a look at your book, because
I think your book is so informative, but it's also fun. Yes,
(27:39):
But I would encourage that and just be hopefully try
to develop a relationship with your ganecologists where you can
really talk about what you need. Because there is light
at the end of this tunnel, and it doesn't have
to be as difficult as we make it. I'm like
I said, I'm six seven. I am still very um
(28:02):
in love with my husband, and we are still very
active and enjoying life. And I mean, you made some
great points. This is the time and life where you're
supposed to enjoy. Absolutely we say whatever we want to.
After fifty five, feel free to say whatever. But you
don't have to act like our mom's did, where you
have to wear it look like you were fifty five
(28:23):
sixty five at No. This is the time in life
where you want to be free. Find a doctor that
you can talk to if you and I end every conversation,
every visit with do you have any questions? Because a
lot of times women want and I call them door
knob questions in the book. They won't really tell you
(28:43):
what they're there for until my hand hits the door
knob and then they'll say, okay, okay, we got hand
sex with two people, and and I don't. They'll start
talking to you, but you want that, and I'm like, girl,
tell me more, because sometimes it's like, oh I remember
that from college. Yeah, And so you are right be
free to enjoy life menopause is not the end of life.
(29:05):
It's just the end of your reproductive years. And there
are so many things out there. And that pink peel
is called Eddie and it's the pink peel a d y. I. Yeah,
So they have everything out there now that we can
feel like we're still young. And so I tell everybody
go do what you need to do to manage menopause,
to manage aging. So you look good, feel good. We
(29:28):
all want to be happy, healthy and wealthy. There you go.
That's a great way to end the show. Tell the
listeners where they can find you. You can find me
on Instagram at the real Dr Jackie and on Facebook
Dr Jackie Walters reach out. Make sure you get the book.
And so my first part podcast is Dr Jackie's Point
(29:50):
of v is in February, and I want everybody to
catch the first of all because it is it's something
that was very hard for me. And of course you
probably seen it. You've seen it on the show where
we my husband and I went through an infidelity issue.
And I don't think anybody didn't talk about the talk
to the man. So I allowed my husband, Oh that's great, Yeah,
(30:13):
he gets to share what happened the moment he found
out I knew, and just the healing and the journey
because again I said, good people do bad things and
absolutely made it. And infidelity does not always mean the
end of the relationship. And we're so quick to want
to cut things off, not necessarily baby, And I was
(30:33):
persecuted by the world because I stayed with my husband. Really,
oh my god, oh my god, I was I was
weak and I was weary. I don't believe it. And
I re used to disregard him, disrespect or dishonored him
on a TV show because again I didn't stop loving him. Now.
I wanted to kill him at the moment, but for
(30:54):
I can't say killed. I wanted to children, but again
I chose to And so my first podcast will be
us talking about him and how we got through that time.
I am excited to listen to that podcast. So I
will definitely be joining you for that. So here's my
(31:15):
takeaway after my conversation with Dr Jackie. As women, we're
all going to go through menopause if we're blessed, and
it's not the end of the world. It's all about
learning how to manage your queen be So make sure
you're having conversations with friends and family and most importantly
your doctor. Figure out whether you're going to use bioidenticals,
(31:39):
all natural supplements or maybe for you it's the little
pink pill. But whatever your decision, girl, get you a
fan and figure out how to keep your groove so
you don't have to worry about getting your groove back. Yes, ma'am,
So thank you to my guests, Dr Jackie Walters. If
you're listening on Apple Podcasts, be sure to rate and
review the podcast as follow me on my Instagram at
(32:02):
gammy nars to share with me your thoughts on this episode.
I'm here, I'm talking, and I'm listening and as always,
stay grateful y'all. Positively Gam is produced by Westbrook Audio
(32:24):
Executive producers Adrian Vanfield, Narris, Jada Pinkett Smiths, Amanda Brown
and Fallon jethro Co Executive producer Sam Hoti, associate producer
Erica Ron and Crystal Devon, Editor and mixer Calvin Bailiff.
Positively Gam is in partnership with Art nineteen
You can't anti age. You know you're gonna write age,
but you can manage aging. And part of managing menopause
is to use everything we have out there to make
life more comfortable for you. What's up, everybody? I'm Gammy
and this is positively gam Every week I have raw,
(00:20):
in depth conversation with inspirational people pushing for change on
everything from aging, relationships, politics, wellness, to the current issues
facing the black community. In this episode, we're going to
be discussing menopause. Joining me today is Dr Jackie Walter.
(00:41):
She is a philanthropist, health expert, women's advocate, t D personality,
and award winning O B G y N. A two
time breast cancer survivor, Dr Jackie has turned her pain
into a passion for nurturing the emotional and physical needs
of women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. You can
(01:03):
catch Dr Jackie on Bravos Married to Medicine. Welcome, Dr Jackie.
Thank you. We are so glad that you took time
out of your busy schedule to join us. Tell me
what you enjoy most, Dr Jackie, Being the TV personality
or being the doctor The doctor I'm sure lots less
critics absolutely absolutely. This is such an important topic for
(01:28):
women at my age in particular. We're gonna focus our
attention today on menopause. Okay, so can you tell me
exactly what menopause is? Menopause is when a woman has
stopped having her period for twelve consecutive months. The ovaries
(01:48):
have stopped making eggs, so you you lack estrogen, po
jets strong, all the hormones are just in disarray, and
you're not having a period. Your reproductive years have ended. Okay,
So in my mind, there's pre menopausal menopause and post menopause.
Is that correct? So I typically say peri menopause when
(02:10):
you're aware of menopause, which menopause is typically fifty plus
a minus five. It can be as early as forty five,
as late as fifty five some women later. On an
average in the United States it's about fifty one. So
if I can remember back when I was forty five,
and I've been forty five about ten times now. So
(02:32):
when I was you start having the symptoms hot flashes,
and a lot of women really think they're going crazy,
the brain fog. I can't sleep at night. What happened
to my libido? So they're losing their mind minds, and
if you go through it, there are so many things
hair loss, skin is changing, the vagina is changing, There's
(02:54):
so many changes you're going through before you get to
that point where you're not having your period. So prepete
pre menopause or peri menopause is about forty five when
you start having the symptoms. Menopause is that short window
where we say, and it's about seven years or so
before you get to menopause. So around fifty one, let's
(03:16):
just say you're fifty one and you haven't had a
period for a whole entire year, You're in menopause. Some
people you say post menopause is I've gone through all
the symptoms, I've not had my period, and now I'm
in this phase. I think I just called it menopause.
When your period has stopped, you're in menopause. Okay, so
there is no post menopause, because that was gonna be
(03:38):
my next question. When does it end? Like when do
your symptoms end? I'm like sixty seven. I would say
that I went into medically induced menopause around fifty one.
I think because I was getting a treatment for a
(03:58):
hapetit to see with those that would that threw me
into menopause. And so I had menopause at forty because
I did chemo for breast cancer. Yeah, so the chemo
and radiation, especially if you radiate the pelvis ovaries are gone.
So really, once you kind of stopped having the symptoms,
(04:19):
which I don't know if all women stop having them
they like the post MENOPAUSEI okay, but when like I
still have hot flashes, particularly at night, I'm still doing
I guess the body changes, like the vaginal atrophy and dryness,
(04:40):
that's never that will never go away. We'll I'll always
be dealing with that. And you know, I said, we
have to manage menopause. It's not gonna go away, so
you have to do things to make it better. We
have all kinds of lotions and potions to get the
lucy juicy back. I would think that the hot flashes
and the night sweats and the agitional issues are the
(05:01):
major complaints. I know they were for me. They're the
major complaints. And I took hormones probably longer than I
should have, because I tried to do it naturally, and
I just I was suffering. I was suffering, and the
reason why the doctors, of course, didn't recommend it for me,
is because I have a very strong history of cancer
(05:22):
and my family. My mother had breast cancer as well,
and I'm assuming that she went into medically induced um
menopause because of it, but she never talked about it.
I never saw her, I never saw her fanning herself,
or we didn't talk about it in our family, So
I have no idea when she went into it, how
(05:45):
she what that experience was like for her. And that's
one of the determining factors as to win a woman
will go into menopause. We typically inherit that from my
mom's and so you can. And you're right, our almost
didn't talk about it, and so we never you And
that's why I'm so glad you're talking about it now
so that women can talk about it. But what I
(06:05):
do say to women, it's all about quality of life.
Like you have the granola type who I don't want
need hormones. I want to eat plants, I wanna eat berries,
and I want to go through it naturally that's not me.
And so I'm like you, I needed something to manage menopause.
And of course I believe in as many hormones as
(06:27):
you need safely. But I'm believe in biadentical hormones. I
actually put in bioaudentical hormone pellets in my office. And
it is about quality of life, because think about it.
If you're in menopause, hot flashes, you can't sleep at night,
you're gaining weight, you're not having sex, you're a little
bit blue, then what is what quality of life is there?
(06:49):
Exactly exactly, So talk to me about what some of
the modern um techniques are to deal with this. Because
there were a lot of natural stuff that I can
remember taking black co hash, Yeah, all these oil, yes,
if they if they did absolutely, I had all these
(07:11):
supplements lined up. They did nothing, I mean, and I
shouldn't disparage them like that because maybe they do work
for some people. I was not successful and I was
not successful either, and so that's why I took a
class and I came a big believer and I'm a
big provider of bioodentical hormont pellets. Don't talk to me
(07:32):
about that. These pellets are made from soy and yams,
which are natural, and they're made the plant is shaped
to look like an estrogen. It's put into a pellet
that is about as big as a rice and we
implant that into the upper part of your buttocks in
the under the skin sub particular, and the body releases
(07:53):
estrogen and testosterone. If you have a uterus, you do
have to take a projets strong to to balance out
the the estrogen so that you're not getting cancers and
unopposed estrogen effects. But it works. It creates the best
libido in the whole wide world because you're getting your
testosterone back and the benefits of testosterone less belly fat,
(08:18):
more energy. Again, there's a spike in the libido, so
all of the things we're missing in menopause, the bioidentical
hormos give that back. Okay, So I'm not having an
issue with my libido, thank god. But but it's the
vaginal issues that is of the most problematic from me.
(08:43):
So would bioidenticals be something that I should consider with
the history of cancer and my family. If there's not
been a genetic predisposition, did your mom have a gene
for breast colon are over And if she didn't, you
can certainly safely go to the doctor and make sure
it's okay. But you could get estrogen back, and it's
(09:04):
gonna give you more vaginal fluff because the vagina has
become very thin. That's why sex is uncomfortable and there's
no slipping slide happening because you don't have any estrogen there. Now,
I do have products that I do recommend to women.
If you can't use an estrogen that you put in
the vagina. It's a hyuronic acid. It makes the vagina
(09:26):
thicker and more moist. That will bypass needing hormones. So
there are things out there that you can use and
not have to use a hormone. You just have to
use it when you need it. Okay. So it's that's
a product that I would use right before I engage
in sexual activity. You can, and you know, you can
use it twice a week just to make the vagina
(09:48):
more moist, but right before sex makes it even better. Okay,
you see how I'm just focused on it. We had
your friend on Doctor Doctor to any Henry. We had
a whole conversation on this. Women like yourself, and I
call us more mature when you're over fifty five year mature.
(10:08):
We're not older, we're just mature women. It's still having
that energy and the wherewithal who want to have sex? Yeah?
You know how many women I see every day and
they're thirty five, forty five and they don't want to
have sex. Wow, But you certainly can use bioidentical hormones
to give you back your rolls and folds. I call
(10:32):
in the vagina and make it thicker and moist But
there are products you can use to just give you moisture.
What are some of the what are some of the
changes that that women would feel, not just physically but emotionally. Uh,
(10:55):
they're depressed. That broken sleep at night can lead to
the freshion because it throws those hormones off because you
wake up, you take the cover off, and in about
five minutes you're cold, so you put the cover back
on and that can happen seven eight times a night.
So broken sleep can lead to depression and sadness and
anxiety and the brain fog. I mean, at one point,
(11:17):
and I can definitely tell you when I really noticed it.
I lost my dad to Alzheimers, and I thought, oh
my god, I'm getting Alzheimers. Because I would walk in
a room and go, what am I coming here for?
And so to that all the time. Yeah, and they
get really stressed out about not knowing that they don't
know and it's just the brain fog. I mean you
(11:39):
can get in the car and you're driving sometimes to
go okay, where was I going? And crazy enough it happens,
and women don't realize that it's menopause. Yeah. Yeah. So
the modern treatments then are I mean old school pills.
You could do an oral tablet where you would take
(12:02):
an estrogen and progesterone if you have a uterus, or
estrogen if you don't. Uh. New school. We're really into
bio identicals and whether we're taking it by mouth or
we're using a cream or a vaginal suppository. But I'm
a really big believer in the bio identical pellets because
you put it in, you don't have to think about
it again for six months. Got it? Oh wow? Six months? Okay,
(12:28):
that's pretty cool. What do you think about these new
This doesn't necessarily well, yes, it does have to do
with menopause. It's more of how your vagina changes as
you age, and a lot of women are getting these
treatments for their the outside of their vagina, how their
vagina looks, what is your feeling about treatments like that.
(12:52):
I've tried. I think it was Mona Lisa. Yeah, I've
done the Mona Lisa and I felt like if the
lips of my vagina more plump, But it didn't. It
did not really help me feel more moist I still
had to use lubricants. Yeah, you're supposed to get a
(13:13):
regrowth of the collagen, so it makes it plumper, it
makes it less painful with intercourse. But you're right, it
should give you some moisture, but you may not get
a lot. You always have to supplement with a little
bit of something. We have the J shows now where
they're doing facials on the vagina. Oh now, what what
is that? But J show is almost like a facial
(13:37):
where they go in and remove unwanted hair and hair
bombs and uh, the sugar ring and all of the
stuff that you do to your face. Women are doing
it to the vagina to give it that look and feel.
Oh that seems like a lot. Yeah, we put it.
We put in collagen in the volva so that we
(13:58):
can plump up the volva and make them plumper and
more comfortable during intercourse. So the same thing we're doing
with faces. Now we're doing with the vagina. I understand, okay,
and I know you you have talked about this before
and it's pretty much whatever floats your boat. But you're
a big proponent of maintaining your your pubic hair. If
(14:23):
you're asking me personally, not well, I'm saying it's from
not personally, but as a doctor, I always give it.
There are benefits to public hair, yeah, you know. Public
hair can release older and can get in the way.
And so I'm all about what the patient wants. I'm
(14:46):
supera of what they want. Whether they wax or shave,
laser hair removal, or they say grow hair or go there.
It's up to yea yeah, yeah, it's totally up to them.
But most women and are not are going there. Yes, yes,
which is challenging now that we're going through COVID. It's difficult. Absolutely.
(15:10):
I put a lot of it. I wrote the Queen
V I have to tell you about that, and I
put it in the book that there are different types
of personalities around the vagina. And I talked about a
patient and women who are called Coochie condri x. Yes,
I got your books. Yes, they are terrified of their vagina.
But then you have girls who are notorious v A
(15:32):
g s. They will come in the room. You walk
in there totally naked, and I'm like, I left your gown. No,
I don't need it. I don't need it. Yes, and
they don't mind taking out the vagina, pulling it up,
showing you exactly what it looks like. So I have
them from what I call Mary Jane sanctified snatch virgin
Mary's who don't even want to talk about the vagina
(15:54):
out loud to the girls who come in there. I
have girls who would put tattoos on the ones and
wo yeah it's a GPS. Yes, I've seen it all.
So if you get the book, there's a test in
the book that helps you determine which vaginal personality you are.
(16:14):
And I took the test in the book, and I
believe that I'm a Mary Jane. But like you said,
you typically are kind of like a combination. Yes, yeah,
so I would be the Mary Jane and then sank
and I hate to say it, but yes, definitely not
(16:37):
the notorious be I'm not her, No, you're I'm not
her and not that's a little bit old school, even
though there's some really closet. Notorious vags out there, Oh yeah,
oh yeah, my age notoriously. I have one in particular
who describes herself as a general manager. And she's a
(16:57):
mature woman that's fifty and over. And she had five
players on her team and you know what I mean,
and each player served a different purpose, and so she
was very comfortable talking about this one does this, and
this one's real good at that. And I'm sitting down
and she was like, who's your hand down? Girl? You're
(17:18):
a doctor. Yeah, I guess you have to be able
to listen to all of that. Dr Jackie, Yes, I've
heard it all. Now, for my girlfriends who indulge in
libations from time to time, what would you say? White wine,
red wine or both are okay? Because I heard that
(17:42):
during during menopause, one is not so good. All alcohol
will aggravate some hot flashes, got it, And so red wine,
I've been told, okay, gave me really bad hot flashes.
So if I had to pick one, I was a
drink white wine got you? Okay? All right? But the
(18:04):
thing about hot flashes, gam is if you notice if
you're excited, good excitement, bad excitement, you may notice a
hot flash come on, So I think there is something.
It's a vasomotor response, and so anything that triggers that
thermoregulatory center. Good stuff that excites you or if you're frustrated,
(18:26):
you may feel a hot flash come. And so not
only foods, but your mental response can trigger more hot flashes.
And I'm like, am I dreaming at night because I
get so many hot flashes some nights. But it definitely
is one due to the lack of estrogen. We know that.
But if you start noticing when you get a hot flash,
(18:48):
if you're in a tight if you're rushing, or if
somebody comes in you go hi, you may notice a
hot flash come. Yeah. And you mentioned food too, so
it depends on the kinds of foods that are eating.
If you're eating really spicy foods, maybe exactly that made
gout more hot flashes. And then women who smoke will
notice menopause a lot earlier, probably two to three years
(19:10):
earlier than they normally would have had it, because the
nicotine destroys the follicles the eggs in the ovaries, and
so they go through menopause a lot earlier. Okay, Now
I asked this question to dr um Tiffany as well.
I'm gonna ask you, do you have any preference as
far as lubricants for lubricating the vagina for inter course?
(19:36):
Do you have a preference leaning towards border based or yes,
definitely water based. And again, there's a suppository that I like,
the one I was mentioning, and it's a Rivari and
it's a small suppository slides in the vagina and it
just feels like natural vaginal moisture. It feels like mucus.
(19:58):
And so that's my favorite. A suppository. You put it
in and within ten minutes the body tempt will heat
it up and your moist Yeah. I use a suppository too.
It's not Ravari though, it's another brand, and I can't
think of the name of it. But I use a
very small suppository and it seems to be working for me.
But I would be really interested in talking to my
(20:19):
O B G y N about the bioidenticals. That's that
sounds like something I might be interested in trying. And
we'll get some information from Failing and I'll send you
some info and we'll send you some of those suppositories. Perfect, perfect,
I see it behind you. Dr Jackie talked to us
about your new book. Absolutely, so the Queen, the sex, intimacy,
(20:41):
and down their healthcare. I've been in the O. B. G.
Y An for twenty four plus years. I think I've
heard it all, and I'll tell you that some of
the weirdest things I've gotten from a vagina again was
a glass base and nuts and boats snicker bars. Wait
a minute, well and back up that. You say that again.
(21:05):
So I had a couple who were having a good
time on a Friday night and they used the little
bud vase as a toy. And so you think about it,
they put the opening of the bud vase in the
vagina in and out, and he created a suction and
they couldn't get it out. And it's stuck and it's stuck.
(21:26):
And they added water and they added oil, which only
made that suction tighter. Oh my god. So by Sunday,
there in the emergency room and they're calling like, okay,
you need to come to the ear and here we
are with a glass base in the vagina, yes, and
we have to get it out. I was concerned because
(21:49):
I'm like, oh, please, don't let this base break because
now we're sisters. But once we got it out. It
was like, let's talk about toys. So with that being
saying and all of the stuff I said, when I
say that we ministry of vagina is not making history.
Somebody has done it before. So I wanted to write
a book taking the stories, of course, making the patients anonymous,
and share the stories with women so you realize you're
(22:12):
not the only one who's done it. Let's talk about it.
So it's to educate, inspiring up lift women and to
make him laugh, to realize some painful situations s t
I s like her peace. You're not the first person
to get her peace. It's okay. It's not written on
your forehead. It is okay. And this is how you
manage these things with a vagina to get through life.
(22:33):
Because it's for procreation and recreation. Exactly say it again,
Dr Jackie, only louder. It is for procreation and when
you're finished with that, a lot of recreation. But again,
I want the women to I want women to be free.
Our mom's had us a little embarrassed to talk about
my goodness. Please. Yeah, you couldn't say sex. And we
(22:54):
see that girls who come into the office and they
look around the room to make sure you know it's
just me, you and god babe, and she say I
had sex last night and you're like good, was it good?
And they don't want to talk about it, or they
don't want to talk about it being bad sex, or
they don't even want to come into the appointment if
they've had us that, if they've had sex to day before.
(23:16):
That was me. I'm gonna have to cancel and reschedule
because I had sex lass, Okay, No, you can come
be And that's what I try to be. I want
to be a good girlfriend doctor. I want you to
be able to come in, be open on this transparent,
tell me those crazy things. And I'm like, look, good
people make bad decisions, and girl, how we're in this together.
(23:37):
Let me help you figure out how to get out
of this place. And so that's why I have that book,
like I want women to know be free. Yeah, and
to be able to come and speak with your Ghana
cologists without judgment is so important, so important, absolutely, and
that's my thing. I'm like, you do know that happened
(23:57):
to me too, And they're like you've had it, girl,
you have had b V before And they were like
I'm like, okay, and just for me since I became
an adult. I think when I started out as a
young girl or as a teenager when my mother had control,
my gannacologist was a man. But as an adult I
(24:21):
quickly switched to a female gnacologist just for my own comfort.
And that's not to throw shade on anybody's choice of doctors,
but just for me, for my own comfort level. I
wanted to how and I say, from my comfort level too,
I'm like you, I need to go to a girl.
So when I say you see this right here, she's
(24:43):
seen it before and she understands. Or if you talk
about cramps, you understand. I'm like you not to say
anything to my brother's and O B G I N.
But a woman can tell me what a cramp feels like,
or women can talk to you about what labor pain
feels like. So I'm all for women seeing women, but
(25:04):
again it's up to you and what I feel like.
It's so unfair. I feel it's so unfair that men
have the little Blue pill and women don't have anything.
What is the deal with that? Now they do have
pells now for women, So they do some pill they
have they call it the viagraph for women, but that
(25:24):
we've not heard of that. Yeah, they'll give you some
more and why can't I think of the name of
it at the moment. But it increases blood flow to
the clearteress. It's a pink peel. It's pink. Okay, Yes,
so they do have things for women. Now. Now, I'll
be honest, if you're more mature like me and you've
gone through menopause, whether it's surgically induced, chemo induced, or age,
(25:46):
it's not gonna give you that moisture like you need.
But it will definitely boost your libido. But they're kind
of there are a lot of things. I love Biot pellets,
and I'll say Biot because that's the brand I use.
Because when I started using Biot bioidentical hormone pellets, let
me put it that way, it was like unspeakable libido. Libido. Yeah, okay,
(26:15):
I might that might get on my husband's nerves. Yes,
I mean we have everything. Now I do a wow
shot where we're taking your platelets and we're inserting it
into the clitterest and into the vagina where we give
you back your own growth factors, which will help. And
another thing in menopause is when got to go to
the bathroom now that you didn't have when you were forty,
(26:36):
Now at fifty, if you gotta go, you gotta get
there fast or there's going to be an accident. So
we take and put platelets back into the clitteral area
and into the vagina. It reduces stress, urinary incontinence, and urgency,
so you don't feel like you're gonna with your clothes
when you have to go to the bathroom. Menopause is
about managing menopause. You can't anti age, you know you're
(26:58):
gonna age, but you can manage aging. And part of
managing menopause is to use everything we have out there
to make life more comfortable for you. So I would
(27:19):
just encourage my friends and women my age because with
the conversations we have, I hear a lot of frustration,
a lot of frustration. So I would just tell people
to number one, take a look at your book, because
I think your book is so informative, but it's also fun. Yes,
(27:39):
But I would encourage that and just be hopefully try
to develop a relationship with your ganecologists where you can
really talk about what you need. Because there is light
at the end of this tunnel, and it doesn't have
to be as difficult as we make it. I'm like
I said, I'm six seven. I am still very um
(28:02):
in love with my husband, and we are still very
active and enjoying life. And I mean, you made some
great points. This is the time and life where you're
supposed to enjoy. Absolutely we say whatever we want to.
After fifty five, feel free to say whatever. But you
don't have to act like our mom's did, where you
have to wear it look like you were fifty five
(28:23):
sixty five at No. This is the time in life
where you want to be free. Find a doctor that
you can talk to if you and I end every conversation,
every visit with do you have any questions? Because a
lot of times women want and I call them door
knob questions in the book. They won't really tell you
(28:43):
what they're there for until my hand hits the door
knob and then they'll say, okay, okay, we got hand
sex with two people, and and I don't. They'll start
talking to you, but you want that, and I'm like, girl,
tell me more, because sometimes it's like, oh I remember
that from college. Yeah, And so you are right be
free to enjoy life menopause is not the end of life.
(29:05):
It's just the end of your reproductive years. And there
are so many things out there. And that pink peel
is called Eddie and it's the pink peel a d y. I. Yeah,
So they have everything out there now that we can
feel like we're still young. And so I tell everybody
go do what you need to do to manage menopause,
to manage aging. So you look good, feel good. We
(29:28):
all want to be happy, healthy and wealthy. There you go.
That's a great way to end the show. Tell the
listeners where they can find you. You can find me
on Instagram at the real Dr Jackie and on Facebook
Dr Jackie Walters reach out. Make sure you get the book.
And so my first part podcast is Dr Jackie's Point
(29:50):
of v is in February, and I want everybody to
catch the first of all because it is it's something
that was very hard for me. And of course you
probably seen it. You've seen it on the show where
we my husband and I went through an infidelity issue.
And I don't think anybody didn't talk about the talk
to the man. So I allowed my husband, Oh that's great, Yeah,
(30:13):
he gets to share what happened the moment he found
out I knew, and just the healing and the journey
because again I said, good people do bad things and
absolutely made it. And infidelity does not always mean the
end of the relationship. And we're so quick to want
to cut things off, not necessarily baby, And I was
(30:33):
persecuted by the world because I stayed with my husband. Really,
oh my god, oh my god, I was I was
weak and I was weary. I don't believe it. And
I re used to disregard him, disrespect or dishonored him
on a TV show because again I didn't stop loving him. Now.
I wanted to kill him at the moment, but for
(30:54):
I can't say killed. I wanted to children, but again
I chose to And so my first podcast will be
us talking about him and how we got through that time.
I am excited to listen to that podcast. So I
will definitely be joining you for that. So here's my
(31:15):
takeaway after my conversation with Dr Jackie. As women, we're
all going to go through menopause if we're blessed, and
it's not the end of the world. It's all about
learning how to manage your queen be So make sure
you're having conversations with friends and family and most importantly
your doctor. Figure out whether you're going to use bioidenticals,
(31:39):
all natural supplements or maybe for you it's the little
pink pill. But whatever your decision, girl, get you a
fan and figure out how to keep your groove so
you don't have to worry about getting your groove back. Yes, ma'am,
So thank you to my guests, Dr Jackie Walters. If
you're listening on Apple Podcasts, be sure to rate and
review the podcast as follow me on my Instagram at
(32:02):
gammy nars to share with me your thoughts on this episode.
I'm here, I'm talking, and I'm listening and as always,
stay grateful y'all. Positively Gam is produced by Westbrook Audio
(32:24):
Executive producers Adrian Vanfield, Narris, Jada Pinkett Smiths, Amanda Brown
and Fallon jethro Co Executive producer Sam Hoti, associate producer
Erica Ron and Crystal Devon, Editor and mixer Calvin Bailiff.
Positively Gam is in partnership with Art nineteen
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