June 27, 2025 • 30 mins
What do Zumba and Greek dancing have to do with bone density? Why should you shave first and soak later? And who gets to decide whether you can have a hysterectomy for health reasons if you haven’t had kids yet?
In this episode, Endocrinologist Dr Sonia Davison from Jean Hailes for Women’s Health talks about whether diet and exercise can prevent dementia and what waist circumference has to do with healthy ageing. She also discusses how stomping, sleeping and strength training should all be part of the puzzle as you get older.
We also talk about intermittent fasting and how cups of tea with your girlfriends could be just what the doctor ordered.
And, is it possible to delay your ‘hormone window of chaos’?
THE END BITS
For more information on bone density Dr Sonia Davison recommends: Healthy Bones Australia
For more information on fibroids Dr Mariam recommends: ask4ufe
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CREDITS
Hosts: Claire Murphy and Dr Mariam
Guest: Dr Sonia Davison
Senior Producers: Claire Murphy and Sasha Tannock
Audio Producer: Scott Stronach
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Information discussed in Well. is for education purposes only and is not intended to provide professional medical advice. Listeners should seek their own medical advice, specific to their circumstances, from their treating doctor or health care professional.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
So much.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You're listening to a MoMA Maya podcast. Mamma Mayer acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
On Hello, no filter listeners. This is the executive producer
of this program, Naima Brown, and today I'm bringing you
an episode from another Mamma Mia podcast called Well Well
is our women's health podcast. It's where we talk about
the taboo, the annoying, the embarrassing, and the scary. We
cover the concerns you're probably considering seeing a doctor about,
(00:39):
from insomnia to weird periods, to how to prevent dementia.
And today's episode is about body longevity, from our physical
health to our brain health. This is a conversation about
how to go the distance as you get older. I
hope you enjoy let us know what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
This is Well Australian women. Welcome to your full body
health check. I'm Claire Murphy, your resident journal who will
ask you the nosiest questions about your most private parts.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
And I'm doctor Mariam, the person who will have those
answers to those questions and hand you the tools on
how you can take that.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
To your own doctor.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Today we're going to be talking about body longevity. Now,
before you start thinking about that guy the Kardashian spent
time with this season, what's his name, Brian Johnson, we
are not talking about tech bro billionaire longevity, and this
is not about how we look either. We're talking about
all of us women just trying to live our best
lives without becoming like frail old ladies who break and
(01:51):
fall and can't remember anything. We'll also check in with
Briani for a quick consult today. She has a really
serious issue that is absolutely life threatening and she knows
that it can be fixed. She just can't convince her
doctor to actually do the fixing part. But next, I
have a shaving tip for you. Yes, this is going
to change the way you handle your razor. It is
(02:13):
time to go to med school. Welcome to med school.
We are discovering some crazy things about our bodies as
we do research into this podcast, which I've mentioned in
previous episodes, has completely messed up my algorithms. I get
served some pretty wax stuff these days, but we do
come across some really interesting handy hints sometimes too, which
(02:35):
is what I came across this week. Have you ever
like when you've gone to shave your legs yep, soaked
for a bit first in the bath, or done it
as like the last thing you do in the shower,
like after you've done your everything top to toe kind
of business. Well, I've found out that when you soak
in the bath or take a long shower, your skin
essentially swells because the outer layers do absorb that water.
(02:57):
But what that means is that the hair is essentially
getting pulled back into the follicle as your skin expands outwards.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
It makes sense.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, so when you go and shave at the end,
when your skin is all sweat and plump and full
of lovely moisture, you're actually shaving less of the hair,
which is why you might find after you've dried off
and like an hour or so later, when your skin
has gone back to normal, you've already got stubble.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
So don't do that.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Do it the first thing you do when you get
in the bath, or the first thing you do, i
mean gross in the bath, because now you're floating around
with a bunch of your little shaven hairs.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Don't do it on dry skin either, No, Like you
know what, I've just like rushed in and there's just
like the patch of hair.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, because then you get like that weird rash. It's
not very nice hurts. Also, if you do it after
a long socer or long shower, it increases your risk
of ingrown hairs and raizor burn. So the moral of
the story today is dunk, quick shave first, get it
over and done with. Also, Mariam, though, I do understand
that the quality of your razor is of concern here
because you can actually catch like some nasty stuff from
(03:59):
your razor, right, you.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Sure can, So they can be a breeding ground for
bacteria and infections. Using a rusty razor increases.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Your risk of infections.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And will admit I have done that before.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Yeah, like, and they can like compile a lot of
nasty things. And the one thing we think of our
staff infections. So if your razor is starting to look
a little vintage, it is a time to replace them.
So in summary, quicktip, sharp brazer, smooth sailing.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Or you don't even need to shave. That's so true.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Why are we even bothering with hair removaling.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Exactly, especially coming into winter.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Oh my god, sasquatch me is about to emerge. Just
you wait, okay, shave first non rusty raiser people. All right,
it is check up time. We are talking longevity today.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
It's time for the check up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
We know that women in general live longer than men.
Although with our friends, the billionaire tech bros that we
mentioned earlier, all life hacking and trying to live forever,
maybe that will change somewhere down the track. But as
we sit today, women live on average to around eighty
five years of age compared to men at eighty one
here in Australia. That does different where you go in
the world, but marrying there is a big difference between
(05:11):
living until you're eighty five and like living until you're
eighty five. Right, there are so many things we can
do to make sure that our bodies hold up better.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yep, it's not just about adding years to your life.
It's about adding life to years. And while women may
outlive men on paper, we're aiming for more quality years,
not just more candles on the cake.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So I mean, candles on the cake is nice because
it comes with cake.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
But yes, yeah, but you know, what's the point of
making it to eighty five if we can't remember where
we put our dentures? So I have a simple formula
for vibrant aging. Number one is moving your body, so
regular physical activity helping you to stay mobile, strong and
independent as we age. Variety is what's key, So you
want to be doing moderate aerobic activity like whether walking, dancing, swimming,
(06:00):
But you also want to be doing strength training. That's
really important, and that's to support the muscle and bone health.
And we know that flexibility imbalance training is really really
important to stay agile and help prevent falls.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
You don't need to run.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Marathons, but if that's your thing, go for it, but
it's about consistent, gentle movements and they can work wonders.
The second thing is eating smart and enjoying your food
as well, So you want to balanced diet rich in
proteins and veggies, healthy fats as well. As you get older,
the way your body processes alcohol is very different, so
(06:33):
it can take longer to recover. Yeah, absolutely, And then
prioritizing your mental wellbeing that's really important. So your mental
health is just as important as your physical health. You
want to be practicing mindfulness, even if it's just a
couple of minutes a day, spending time with your loved ones,
staying mentally active with new hobbies, and group activities as well.
(06:53):
Talk to your GP about a mental health care plan
if needed. There is support out there for you. We
know that people with depression and anxiety can have a
reduced quality of life and we want to get on
top of that as soon as possible. Social connection is
so crucial, especially as we age. It proves mood memory
and reduces loneliness, which we know is a silent killer.
(07:15):
Sleeping that's so important as well, so we're aiming for
seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Sleep changes
with age, so you're more likely to experience disrupted rest
as you age, and if you're struggling to get good
quality sleep, please speak to your GP. And staying proactive
with your health, going in to see your GP often
for health checks. Don't wait till you become unwell. It's
(07:37):
about preventive care and then.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
Getting ahead of things.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I do like to have these conversations with people early.
They can be uncomfortable, but it's very important. So things
like an advanced care directive, having a power of attorney
and you know, what does life in the future look
for you, and just having that conversation early so when
things do happen, it doesn't take you by surprise.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I've tried having it with my parents. It is a
no go zone right now, so we'll keep working on it.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
But you know, they're so important, and it's about kind
of ensuring that you're treated with the dignity and care
that you deserve in the way that you want to
if these things were to happen.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
One hundred percent, Mariam, how do we go about putting
a plan in place like this, whether it's for ourselves
if we're getting a bit older, or for aging parents,
for example, to make sure that we are aging as
best that we can.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I think as a patient you have a duty to
be proactive as well. We can only do so much
when you come to visit us. There are a lot
of comprehensive health checks that GPS can do as we
start to get older, but we need you to get
to the door first. It's really important not to wait
to your own wealth. We're not saying go in every week,
but going every now and again to make sure everything
(08:49):
is up to date and that we're getting on top
of things before they become a problem.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So that's quite important.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
And if you're living with a chronic disease, you'd be
eligible for something we call a chronic disease management plan,
and that gives you access to build visits with allied
health providers. So linking you in with services like physiotherapists,
exercise physiologists, pedietress, all those sorts of things, and it's
good because then you start to establish this team around
you and we can all the AI's with you to
(09:16):
make sure that you're on top of all your conditions.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I swear if my mother wasn't committed to my father,
I think she was having an affair with her PA
diietress with how often she is to visit him. But
that's besides the point I always recommend, and I know
it's very difficult for people trying to get in, but
as we age, having one.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
GP or seeing GPS within a practice.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
Is really important.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's important because we have access to your notes, we
know what medications you're on. As I see a lot
of people who are aging, there are a lot of
medications prescribed by other doctors that we don't have access to,
and then we're prescribing medications and they can interact with
each other. So I do say, as you're getting older,
try to find a good GP that you're happy with
who knows you really well. Maybe find someone who's not
(10:00):
on the verge of retirement, because that does happen.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Fortunately, I'm so sad.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
But yes, you know someone who's going to be with
you for the long haul, who knows you really well,
who's to pick things up, who is on top of
your medication list, and who you can have these active
conversations with.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, good advice, all right, Moving on on the way,
we're going to hear about Brian's life threatening condition. She's
desperately trying to get her doctor to fixed, but just
because she hasn't had babies yet, they are not letting her.
But next we speak to Gene House for Women's Health
endochronologists lead doctor Sonya Davison to see how we can
make sure that these bodies of ours hold up the
(10:35):
best they can till the very very end. Sonya, thank
you so much for joining us and helping us out
with this today. I have been seeing this one video
everywhere at the moment that says that women who exercise
regularly from midlife onwards have an up to ninety percent
(10:57):
reduction in Alzheimer's compared to women who don't. And if
you are going to get it because there are people
who are genetically predisposed to it, that it will in
fact hit you some eleven years late that it would
have had you not exercised. How much of this is
true and proven.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
There's a lot of different studies out there with exercise
and brain function or cognitive function and dementia. I think
that particular study is being amplified a little bit. I
think it refers to a Swedish study of over fourteen
hundred women who were started to be studied when they
were thirty eight to sixty years in nineteen sixty eight.
(11:36):
They followed them up for forty four years. But what
they found was those who had high fitness there was
a reduction in the risk of getting Alzheimer's by eighty
eight percent. But it was high fitness compared to medium fitness,
and I think that there are very few of us
who can claim to really having an element of high fitness.
(11:58):
The study did suggest there was a delay to the
onset of dementia of about nine point five years, and
that's amazing, But it's a lot to ask someone at
thirty eight or midlife to maintain high fitness just for
that purpose. I just don't want people to get disappointed
when they try and aim for these really big goals,
(12:18):
then have the realities of modern life, lots of other challenges,
and then get disappointed in themselves that they can't. I think,
on any level, any amount of exercise that you can do,
as long as it's good. Making the heart pound exercise,
making your sweat a bit, doesn't have to be going
to a gym or a program. It can be just
(12:39):
a brisk walk, it can be dancing. I think, just
make it real for the person and put an effort in.
I think that's what I encourage women to do.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I'd like to get your take on this too, because
there's also a lot of foods that are being pushed
that are supposedly beneficial for our brain health in order
to avoid dementia and Alzheimer's. I've been reading specifically about fish,
which we've always been told is really good for our
brain health. Berries, red and purple sweet potato, green vegetables,
and herbs and beetrey in particular seemed to be consistently
(13:11):
on this list. What do we know about those particular
foods and their potential to prevent things like dementia?
Speaker 6 (13:18):
We started really getting interested because we saw that there
were regional differences with regard to diet, for example, a
Mediterranean diet. We saw that there were various health benefits
to that diet, and that is typically fish and seafood, grains, vegetables, fruit,
and olive oil. So we thought when we looked at
(13:38):
those studies, those people actually did better with regard to
healthy aging and dementia, green leafy vegetables, plant based diet,
avoiding processed foods, avoiding lots of carbohydrate, avoiding lots of
red meat. But again, it's everything in balance, everything in
moderation and trying to do something that will work for
(14:00):
your life rather than not trying to achieve something that's
really really difficult. But again, yes, I'm all for all
of those foods that you mentioned. Berries. It's interesting with
regard to fruit they said berries rather than other fruit.
And definitely when you're coming to dementia prevention, those foods
tend to be more useful compared with high saturated fats,
(14:23):
processed foods, takeaway foods, all those sort of things.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
All right, let's talk about perimenopause, because we know that
a lot of change is going on in a woman's
body with hormones and various other things at that time.
But we also change where we store our fat, and
that is something that people are looking into us potentially
helping with body longevity because we start to store it
around our tummies, in and around our vital organs. There,
(14:51):
what is the problem with it being around our tummies
rather than being hips and thighs and bums where we
would normally And what's the benefit of making sure we
limit that.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
We know that when there's a higher waste circumference, and
for women there's a sort of cutoff of eighty eight centimeters,
men it's one hundred and two centimeters. We know when
there's a higher waste of conference, even with a healthy
weight for height. So that's really interesting as well that
there tends to be an increase in visceral fat, so
that's fat around the organs such as the liver, inside
(15:25):
our adoninal cavity. We know that that fat is higher
in insulin, and we know that there are certain risks
associated with that, such as higher blood pressure, higher diabetes risks,
and higher cardiovascular risks, so risks of heart disease and
stroke hypertension. It's interesting that that one measure the waste circumference.
(15:45):
If we can actually get it to less than eighty
eight centimeters, statistically, we're going to do much better with
regard to healthy aging and avoiding. Well, when you consider women,
thirty two percent of us die of a heart attack
or stroke, So if we could get that slightly skinnier waist,
that would be very useful.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I'm also hearing a lot of rumblings about fasting Sonya
and on fasting and its ability to help us age
a little better.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
Well, the studies are pretty convincing, and there's lots of
different ways of fasting. We've seen the five two diet,
the sixteen eight diet, and all sorts of ways of
doing this. I think the important message is to just
not be very extreme with regard to this, do it
in a safe and healthy way. Don't walk around like
a zombie feeling staff the whole time.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
Just don't pass out.
Speaker 6 (16:40):
So, yes, there is some good data that it's actually
good for the body to fast for a bit, not
for a long time. It's good for our insulin levels,
it's good for anti inflammatory, it's good for our microbiome,
it's good for cleaning up inflammation, and it's certainly good
for waste circumference for weight and it's good for reducing
(17:01):
our risks of metabolic things such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, etc.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I also recently saw a video of a woman who
was giving Melbourne radio host a training session on some
of the best exercises to do to avoid bone density
issues like osteoporosis, and she's big on stomping and her
explanation was that you need to exercise in a way
that shocks the bones a little so they continue to
build and stay strong between that and lifting heavy things.
(17:29):
That's the other advice I've been seeing ever at the moment,
are those the best exercises when you do reach middle
age and beyond to make sure you stay strong and
your bones stays strong as you age.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
We do have a rapid decline in bone density from
the time of midlife in women, more so on women
than men, and there's a huge amount of bone thinning
and osteoporosis, and a quarter of women will die in
the year after having a hip fracture. Yes, stomping Greek
or Israeli dancing zomba something that's actually using your skeleton
(18:01):
in the upright form, a bit of jogging, won't hurt.
It can be skipping pretty cheap to get a skipping rope.
And the other thing is weight bearing, so weights are
very important. There's a beautiful information page on exercise for
bone at Healthy Bones Australia. It's a beautiful exercise guide
with pictures of women in black exercise gear showing how
(18:25):
to do the exercises, showing how to do it healthily,
because we just don't want women getting an injury, especially
if they're older and have existing injuries, trying to do
that wonderful exercise for their bones.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Can you actually reverse osteoporosis though once it starts.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
We can gain bone density. So osteoporosis is when we've
lost a lot of bone density and the bones become brittle,
and with minimal trauma we can fracture, so you certainly
can gain bone density. It's hard to go from osteoporosis
to normal and all sorts of things are important. Adequate
(19:01):
calcium in diet, adequate vitamin D, weight bearing, exercise, not smoking,
not drinking to excess, trying to moderate other things in life.
Just keeping a balance again, and sometimes we will need
osteoporosis medications. Sometimes we will need hormone therapy, and that's
an individual decision as well. But we can all do
(19:24):
something for our bones, and it's brilliant to go from
osteoporosis to osteopenia, which is mild thinning and can be
normal in some age groups. We can definitely change our
bone density and work on it.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Can we talk about ovaries for a second, because we
know that it's such a big shift in a woman's life.
When you essentially start running out of eggs, you start
losing your estrogen hormone, window of chaos occurs, we're imperimenopause,
Lots of different symptoms come on board. But there's a
lot of talk now some research is being done into
how to extend the life of your ovary, not for
(20:01):
reproductive purposes, but just for health purposes. Do you know
where we're at with that.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
We're not very far along. What we do know, For example,
smokers have an earlier menopause, so that's obviously one thing
we could avoid. Our real model here is premature menopause.
That's menopause before the age of forty years. We know
when those women are sort of robbed of the estrogen
they were meant to have until average age fifty to
(20:28):
fifty one, that they do have a higher rate of
cardiovascular disease that's heart attack and stroke, cognitive decline, dementia,
and also osteoporosis and fracture. We know when we give
those women back estrogen, if we're able to not all
can have it, that we actually reverse those things. And
also we know in those women who've undergone the earlier
(20:51):
menopause that their mortality is increased if we don't give
hormone therapy. People have looked at other things. For example,
people have said that if you have a high carbohydrate load,
you might have an earlier menopause. If you have moderate
alcohol rather than extreme alcohol used, you might have a
later menopause. So there are some things that can help
(21:13):
us a little, but it's possibly only going to help
you one or two months or maybe a year. The
median age of menopause in Australia is fifty one to
fifty two. It's set, it's genetically programmed. You will do
what your identical twin has done or what mum has done,
mostly unless something else happens like surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, et cetera.
(21:35):
All those sort of insults We're not really there yet,
but I think the main message is if you want
to maintain a very in function and maybe extend your
menopause a life a little bit, being healthy, well exercised,
don't be too extreme, just do what our body was
meant to do.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Thank you so much, doctor Davison. That was a great
conversation about little ways to make our later lives a
little bit healthier, less painful, and a ton more remembering,
which is very helpful. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Well, with what she said, I think I'm in the
safe zone. I'm Lebanese, I'm already on the Mediterranean.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Diet, and I just like us Irish potato eaters.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
I just need to make sure that I've got a
Lebanese wedding every weekend and do the dub gear, which
won't be hard. I've got thousands of cousins. So I
also wanted to add with the dementia prevention, there are
a few other things that we really want to focus
on for dementia prevention, and that's you know.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
Sleep quality, cognitive stimulation.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
So doing those crosswords sudokus and that lifelong learning to
keep that mind active just as crucial is social connection.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
That's really really important.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
I have cups of teas within your friend, Yeah, finds
a hobby, group, activities, whatever it might be, that's really
really important for dementia prevention. One often overlooked yet highly
modifile risk factor is hearing loss. So you know, getting
regular hearing checks as we start to age is really
really important and if needed, getting hearing aids can significantly
(23:07):
reduce the risk of dementia. And to add some new
research which has just come out, those vaccinated for shingles
have had their risk of dementia diagnosis reduced by twenty
percent over seven.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Years, which is really really great research.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
This is really interesting because we're having this discussion like
it should be for eighty year old ladies, right, But
to be honest, this should be something we're thinking about,
especially if you're in that window of like late thirties
into your forties and fifties. They call it the menopause
window of chaos. Your hormones are all doing crazy stuff
and you lose estrogen. This is when these changes start
to really affect your ability to age well and your longevity.
(23:44):
So we should be having these discussions and putting these
things in practice, like from your thirties onwards.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Right, exactly, you want to implement these changes earlier on,
make it a part of your lifestyle. If I was
to have a conversation with a seventy five year old
and say you need to be exercising this much and
you need to be doing AB and C, it's much
harder to implement than someone who's been doing it since
they have been in their thirties.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, get onto it, gals. Next, it's quick consulet time.
Ryani is really unhappy with advice that she's been given.
She wants to know if every doctor she goes to
is essentially going to tell her the same thing about
a life threatening issue she has which they've said they're
not going to allow treatment for until she's had babies.
Speaker 6 (24:29):
The doctor will see you now.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Just through here to consort Room one. If you have
a question for doctor Mariam. She's a bloody legend. Oh sure,
she's also answering questions for me, which I'm dming her on.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
A Saturday night about my eye and deficiency lots of rashers. No,
I'm joking.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I did tell her that she has that complete permission
to tell me to piss off if I asking your
questions on the DMS on a Saturday night. If you
do have a question, though, you can shoot it through
to the waiting room. You'll find a link to that
in our show notes. And if you do it that way,
it is completely anonymous. So if you have a question
that you don't want to put your name to, which
we totally understand, Okay, Mariam, please do your thing.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
Thank you for waiting. How can I help you?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
In the concert room today is Briani. She has a
problem she thinks she knows the answer to, but cannot
find someone to help her get there. This is what
she wrote.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
I'm twenty nine and want hysterectomy, but my new GP
said I can't have one. I have fibroids that are
so bad that my husband once found me passed out
on the bathroom floor from blood loss and had to
call an ambulance. I've been having regular transfusions and have
also had several oblations to help, but I can't keep
(25:39):
going like this. Sometimes I can't leave the house because
I am bleeding so much. My GP says because I
don't have any children yet and I'm not even thirty,
he will not refer me and that it's something that
my husband needs to be on board as it's something
that will affect him. Do I just need to find
(26:02):
another doctor or will all gps just say the same
thing to me?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Mariam, I've had friends who had to deal with fibroids.
It is absolutely debilitating if you've got really bad fibroids,
and they've since had procedures that have fixed that, including hysterectomy.
So in this case, when we're talking about GP, who
says not until you have babies? Is this a social
issue or is this a medical issue?
Speaker 4 (26:27):
Okay, So I'll just start by explaining what fibroids are
for the listeners. So they're non cancerous growths in the
uterus that can vary in size and location and number.
They can be as small as a pe and larger
than a watermelon in some cases. They affect seventy percent
of women under the age of fifty, and they typically
(26:48):
shrink after menopause, but that's not always the case. While
many women have fibroids, about forty percent will experience symptoms,
and that can include heavy menstrual bleeding, painful periods, fatigue,
shortness of breath due to the irons efficiency, pelvic pain,
pain during sex or frequent urination, among other signs. Now
(27:09):
I am furious hearing I can see you are so
angry hearing this, and I'm so sorry for her experience
because that is just not acceptable. Essentially, when I have
a female present with bleeding, we always order some imaging
and it will tell me about fibroids. It will tell
me fibroids, this is the cause. When we have the diagnosis,
(27:32):
my approach is I sit the patient down. I go
to this website called Ask for UFE and it has
this beautiful print out which has all the treatment options
and it goes through the pros and the cons. I
print it out, we go through it together. I let
them take it home, have a think about it, and
they come back and we have a further conversation about
what they want to do. When I hear stories of
(27:55):
women being refused referrals or treatments, like my blood boils.
If a patient is given all options, including the pros
and cons and risks associated with the treatment and the
fertility implications, and she makes a decision, that's hers and
it's our duty as doctors to respect patient autonomy. She's
(28:17):
clearly symptomatic, she required a referral like yesterday, and she
needs a full work up and she shouldn't be denied
that opportunity because she has a GP who has some
belief structure about fertility. So it's time to say bye
Felicia to this new GP. You deserve to feel better,
and you deserve to have a treatment plan that aligns
(28:39):
with what you want. And I'm so so sorry that
this is an experience that many, many, many females are
still experiencing. It's just unacceptable.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Okay, Briany, it looks like you're on the hunt for
a new doctor. Good luck friend, because it sounds like
you really needed that yesterday.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Absolutely, Bye Felicia, Bye Felicia. All right, thanks for hanging
out with us on Well today. Don't forget if you
do have questions or any concerns or some feedback even
I mean, we'd love for you to rate and review
us in your favorite podcast time because it does allow
us to get into more people's ears, which is the
idea of this also too, if you want to send
(29:18):
through a querier a question, email it well at mamma
mia dot com dot au, leave us a voice note
or an anonymous story. You can find them in your
show notes. If you want more info, to sign up
to the Old World newsletter. There are stacks of really
great stuff on there from all of us to learn from,
extra stories, fact sheets, expert advice, and make sure you
get into that too. Next week we are answering all
(29:39):
your questions about weight, wall of lost drugs, body longevity.
Get your questions in people asap before your time runs out.
Remember again the advice that you've heard here today, it's general.
It may not suit you one hundred percent, so make
sure you speak to your own GP or your own
health specialist about these things. Get that info that is
correct for you. If you're like Briany, go find yourself
(30:00):
a new GP if it is not working out for you,
And of course we will see if your appointment right
here this time next week. Bye Bye Well is produce
by Me Claire Murphy and Our Group, Executive Producer Georgie
Page and senior producer Sasha Tannic, with audio production by
Scott Stronik,
So much.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You're listening to a MoMA Maya podcast. Mamma Mayer acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
On Hello, no filter listeners. This is the executive producer
of this program, Naima Brown, and today I'm bringing you
an episode from another Mamma Mia podcast called Well Well
is our women's health podcast. It's where we talk about
the taboo, the annoying, the embarrassing, and the scary. We
cover the concerns you're probably considering seeing a doctor about,
(00:39):
from insomnia to weird periods, to how to prevent dementia.
And today's episode is about body longevity, from our physical
health to our brain health. This is a conversation about
how to go the distance as you get older. I
hope you enjoy let us know what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
This is Well Australian women. Welcome to your full body
health check. I'm Claire Murphy, your resident journal who will
ask you the nosiest questions about your most private parts.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
And I'm doctor Mariam, the person who will have those
answers to those questions and hand you the tools on
how you can take that.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
To your own doctor.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Today we're going to be talking about body longevity. Now,
before you start thinking about that guy the Kardashian spent
time with this season, what's his name, Brian Johnson, we
are not talking about tech bro billionaire longevity, and this
is not about how we look either. We're talking about
all of us women just trying to live our best
lives without becoming like frail old ladies who break and
(01:51):
fall and can't remember anything. We'll also check in with
Briani for a quick consult today. She has a really
serious issue that is absolutely life threatening and she knows
that it can be fixed. She just can't convince her
doctor to actually do the fixing part. But next, I
have a shaving tip for you. Yes, this is going
to change the way you handle your razor. It is
(02:13):
time to go to med school. Welcome to med school.
We are discovering some crazy things about our bodies as
we do research into this podcast, which I've mentioned in
previous episodes, has completely messed up my algorithms. I get
served some pretty wax stuff these days, but we do
come across some really interesting handy hints sometimes too, which
(02:35):
is what I came across this week. Have you ever
like when you've gone to shave your legs yep, soaked
for a bit first in the bath, or done it
as like the last thing you do in the shower,
like after you've done your everything top to toe kind
of business. Well, I've found out that when you soak
in the bath or take a long shower, your skin
essentially swells because the outer layers do absorb that water.
(02:57):
But what that means is that the hair is essentially
getting pulled back into the follicle as your skin expands outwards.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
It makes sense.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, so when you go and shave at the end,
when your skin is all sweat and plump and full
of lovely moisture, you're actually shaving less of the hair,
which is why you might find after you've dried off
and like an hour or so later, when your skin
has gone back to normal, you've already got stubble.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
So don't do that.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Do it the first thing you do when you get
in the bath, or the first thing you do, i
mean gross in the bath, because now you're floating around
with a bunch of your little shaven hairs.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Don't do it on dry skin either, No, Like you
know what, I've just like rushed in and there's just
like the patch of hair.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, because then you get like that weird rash. It's
not very nice hurts. Also, if you do it after
a long socer or long shower, it increases your risk
of ingrown hairs and raizor burn. So the moral of
the story today is dunk, quick shave first, get it
over and done with. Also, Mariam, though, I do understand
that the quality of your razor is of concern here
because you can actually catch like some nasty stuff from
(03:59):
your razor, right, you.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Sure can, So they can be a breeding ground for
bacteria and infections. Using a rusty razor increases.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Your risk of infections.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And will admit I have done that before.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Yeah, like, and they can like compile a lot of
nasty things. And the one thing we think of our
staff infections. So if your razor is starting to look
a little vintage, it is a time to replace them.
So in summary, quicktip, sharp brazer, smooth sailing.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Or you don't even need to shave. That's so true.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Why are we even bothering with hair removaling.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Exactly, especially coming into winter.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Oh my god, sasquatch me is about to emerge. Just
you wait, okay, shave first non rusty raiser people. All right,
it is check up time. We are talking longevity today.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
It's time for the check up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
We know that women in general live longer than men.
Although with our friends, the billionaire tech bros that we
mentioned earlier, all life hacking and trying to live forever,
maybe that will change somewhere down the track. But as
we sit today, women live on average to around eighty
five years of age compared to men at eighty one
here in Australia. That does different where you go in
the world, but marrying there is a big difference between
(05:11):
living until you're eighty five and like living until you're
eighty five. Right, there are so many things we can
do to make sure that our bodies hold up better.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yep, it's not just about adding years to your life.
It's about adding life to years. And while women may
outlive men on paper, we're aiming for more quality years,
not just more candles on the cake.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So I mean, candles on the cake is nice because
it comes with cake.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
But yes, yeah, but you know, what's the point of
making it to eighty five if we can't remember where
we put our dentures? So I have a simple formula
for vibrant aging. Number one is moving your body, so
regular physical activity helping you to stay mobile, strong and
independent as we age. Variety is what's key, So you
want to be doing moderate aerobic activity like whether walking, dancing, swimming,
(06:00):
But you also want to be doing strength training. That's
really important, and that's to support the muscle and bone health.
And we know that flexibility imbalance training is really really
important to stay agile and help prevent falls.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
You don't need to run.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Marathons, but if that's your thing, go for it, but
it's about consistent, gentle movements and they can work wonders.
The second thing is eating smart and enjoying your food
as well, So you want to balanced diet rich in
proteins and veggies, healthy fats as well. As you get older,
the way your body processes alcohol is very different, so
(06:33):
it can take longer to recover. Yeah, absolutely, And then
prioritizing your mental wellbeing that's really important. So your mental
health is just as important as your physical health. You
want to be practicing mindfulness, even if it's just a
couple of minutes a day, spending time with your loved ones,
staying mentally active with new hobbies, and group activities as well.
(06:53):
Talk to your GP about a mental health care plan
if needed. There is support out there for you. We
know that people with depression and anxiety can have a
reduced quality of life and we want to get on
top of that as soon as possible. Social connection is
so crucial, especially as we age. It proves mood memory
and reduces loneliness, which we know is a silent killer.
(07:15):
Sleeping that's so important as well, so we're aiming for
seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Sleep changes
with age, so you're more likely to experience disrupted rest
as you age, and if you're struggling to get good
quality sleep, please speak to your GP. And staying proactive
with your health, going in to see your GP often
for health checks. Don't wait till you become unwell. It's
(07:37):
about preventive care and then.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
Getting ahead of things.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I do like to have these conversations with people early.
They can be uncomfortable, but it's very important. So things
like an advanced care directive, having a power of attorney
and you know, what does life in the future look
for you, and just having that conversation early so when
things do happen, it doesn't take you by surprise.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I've tried having it with my parents. It is a
no go zone right now, so we'll keep working on it.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
But you know, they're so important, and it's about kind
of ensuring that you're treated with the dignity and care
that you deserve in the way that you want to
if these things were to happen.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
One hundred percent, Mariam, how do we go about putting
a plan in place like this, whether it's for ourselves
if we're getting a bit older, or for aging parents,
for example, to make sure that we are aging as
best that we can.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I think as a patient you have a duty to
be proactive as well. We can only do so much
when you come to visit us. There are a lot
of comprehensive health checks that GPS can do as we
start to get older, but we need you to get
to the door first. It's really important not to wait
to your own wealth. We're not saying go in every week,
but going every now and again to make sure everything
(08:49):
is up to date and that we're getting on top
of things before they become a problem.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So that's quite important.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
And if you're living with a chronic disease, you'd be
eligible for something we call a chronic disease management plan,
and that gives you access to build visits with allied
health providers. So linking you in with services like physiotherapists,
exercise physiologists, pedietress, all those sorts of things, and it's
good because then you start to establish this team around
you and we can all the AI's with you to
(09:16):
make sure that you're on top of all your conditions.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I swear if my mother wasn't committed to my father,
I think she was having an affair with her PA
diietress with how often she is to visit him. But
that's besides the point I always recommend, and I know
it's very difficult for people trying to get in, but
as we age, having one.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
GP or seeing GPS within a practice.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
Is really important.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's important because we have access to your notes, we
know what medications you're on. As I see a lot
of people who are aging, there are a lot of
medications prescribed by other doctors that we don't have access to,
and then we're prescribing medications and they can interact with
each other. So I do say, as you're getting older,
try to find a good GP that you're happy with
who knows you really well. Maybe find someone who's not
(10:00):
on the verge of retirement, because that does happen.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Fortunately, I'm so sad.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
But yes, you know someone who's going to be with
you for the long haul, who knows you really well,
who's to pick things up, who is on top of
your medication list, and who you can have these active
conversations with.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, good advice, all right, Moving on on the way,
we're going to hear about Brian's life threatening condition. She's
desperately trying to get her doctor to fixed, but just
because she hasn't had babies yet, they are not letting her.
But next we speak to Gene House for Women's Health
endochronologists lead doctor Sonya Davison to see how we can
make sure that these bodies of ours hold up the
(10:35):
best they can till the very very end. Sonya, thank
you so much for joining us and helping us out
with this today. I have been seeing this one video
everywhere at the moment that says that women who exercise
regularly from midlife onwards have an up to ninety percent
(10:57):
reduction in Alzheimer's compared to women who don't. And if
you are going to get it because there are people
who are genetically predisposed to it, that it will in
fact hit you some eleven years late that it would
have had you not exercised. How much of this is
true and proven.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
There's a lot of different studies out there with exercise
and brain function or cognitive function and dementia. I think
that particular study is being amplified a little bit. I
think it refers to a Swedish study of over fourteen
hundred women who were started to be studied when they
were thirty eight to sixty years in nineteen sixty eight.
(11:36):
They followed them up for forty four years. But what
they found was those who had high fitness there was
a reduction in the risk of getting Alzheimer's by eighty
eight percent. But it was high fitness compared to medium fitness,
and I think that there are very few of us
who can claim to really having an element of high fitness.
(11:58):
The study did suggest there was a delay to the
onset of dementia of about nine point five years, and
that's amazing, But it's a lot to ask someone at
thirty eight or midlife to maintain high fitness just for
that purpose. I just don't want people to get disappointed
when they try and aim for these really big goals,
(12:18):
then have the realities of modern life, lots of other challenges,
and then get disappointed in themselves that they can't. I think,
on any level, any amount of exercise that you can do,
as long as it's good. Making the heart pound exercise,
making your sweat a bit, doesn't have to be going
to a gym or a program. It can be just
(12:39):
a brisk walk, it can be dancing. I think, just
make it real for the person and put an effort in.
I think that's what I encourage women to do.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I'd like to get your take on this too, because
there's also a lot of foods that are being pushed
that are supposedly beneficial for our brain health in order
to avoid dementia and Alzheimer's. I've been reading specifically about fish,
which we've always been told is really good for our
brain health. Berries, red and purple sweet potato, green vegetables,
and herbs and beetrey in particular seemed to be consistently
(13:11):
on this list. What do we know about those particular
foods and their potential to prevent things like dementia?
Speaker 6 (13:18):
We started really getting interested because we saw that there
were regional differences with regard to diet, for example, a
Mediterranean diet. We saw that there were various health benefits
to that diet, and that is typically fish and seafood, grains, vegetables, fruit,
and olive oil. So we thought when we looked at
(13:38):
those studies, those people actually did better with regard to
healthy aging and dementia, green leafy vegetables, plant based diet,
avoiding processed foods, avoiding lots of carbohydrate, avoiding lots of
red meat. But again, it's everything in balance, everything in
moderation and trying to do something that will work for
(14:00):
your life rather than not trying to achieve something that's
really really difficult. But again, yes, I'm all for all
of those foods that you mentioned. Berries. It's interesting with
regard to fruit they said berries rather than other fruit.
And definitely when you're coming to dementia prevention, those foods
tend to be more useful compared with high saturated fats,
(14:23):
processed foods, takeaway foods, all those sort of things.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
All right, let's talk about perimenopause, because we know that
a lot of change is going on in a woman's
body with hormones and various other things at that time.
But we also change where we store our fat, and
that is something that people are looking into us potentially
helping with body longevity because we start to store it
around our tummies, in and around our vital organs. There,
(14:51):
what is the problem with it being around our tummies
rather than being hips and thighs and bums where we
would normally And what's the benefit of making sure we
limit that.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
We know that when there's a higher waste circumference, and
for women there's a sort of cutoff of eighty eight centimeters,
men it's one hundred and two centimeters. We know when
there's a higher waste of conference, even with a healthy
weight for height. So that's really interesting as well that
there tends to be an increase in visceral fat, so
that's fat around the organs such as the liver, inside
(15:25):
our adoninal cavity. We know that that fat is higher
in insulin, and we know that there are certain risks
associated with that, such as higher blood pressure, higher diabetes risks,
and higher cardiovascular risks, so risks of heart disease and
stroke hypertension. It's interesting that that one measure the waste circumference.
(15:45):
If we can actually get it to less than eighty
eight centimeters, statistically, we're going to do much better with
regard to healthy aging and avoiding. Well, when you consider women,
thirty two percent of us die of a heart attack
or stroke, So if we could get that slightly skinnier waist,
that would be very useful.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I'm also hearing a lot of rumblings about fasting Sonya
and on fasting and its ability to help us age
a little better.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
Well, the studies are pretty convincing, and there's lots of
different ways of fasting. We've seen the five two diet,
the sixteen eight diet, and all sorts of ways of
doing this. I think the important message is to just
not be very extreme with regard to this, do it
in a safe and healthy way. Don't walk around like
a zombie feeling staff the whole time.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
Just don't pass out.
Speaker 6 (16:40):
So, yes, there is some good data that it's actually
good for the body to fast for a bit, not
for a long time. It's good for our insulin levels,
it's good for anti inflammatory, it's good for our microbiome,
it's good for cleaning up inflammation, and it's certainly good
for waste circumference for weight and it's good for reducing
(17:01):
our risks of metabolic things such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, etc.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I also recently saw a video of a woman who
was giving Melbourne radio host a training session on some
of the best exercises to do to avoid bone density
issues like osteoporosis, and she's big on stomping and her
explanation was that you need to exercise in a way
that shocks the bones a little so they continue to
build and stay strong between that and lifting heavy things.
(17:29):
That's the other advice I've been seeing ever at the moment,
are those the best exercises when you do reach middle
age and beyond to make sure you stay strong and
your bones stays strong as you age.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
We do have a rapid decline in bone density from
the time of midlife in women, more so on women
than men, and there's a huge amount of bone thinning
and osteoporosis, and a quarter of women will die in
the year after having a hip fracture. Yes, stomping Greek
or Israeli dancing zomba something that's actually using your skeleton
(18:01):
in the upright form, a bit of jogging, won't hurt.
It can be skipping pretty cheap to get a skipping rope.
And the other thing is weight bearing, so weights are
very important. There's a beautiful information page on exercise for
bone at Healthy Bones Australia. It's a beautiful exercise guide
with pictures of women in black exercise gear showing how
(18:25):
to do the exercises, showing how to do it healthily,
because we just don't want women getting an injury, especially
if they're older and have existing injuries, trying to do
that wonderful exercise for their bones.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Can you actually reverse osteoporosis though once it starts.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
We can gain bone density. So osteoporosis is when we've
lost a lot of bone density and the bones become brittle,
and with minimal trauma we can fracture, so you certainly
can gain bone density. It's hard to go from osteoporosis
to normal and all sorts of things are important. Adequate
(19:01):
calcium in diet, adequate vitamin D, weight bearing, exercise, not smoking,
not drinking to excess, trying to moderate other things in life.
Just keeping a balance again, and sometimes we will need
osteoporosis medications. Sometimes we will need hormone therapy, and that's
an individual decision as well. But we can all do
(19:24):
something for our bones, and it's brilliant to go from
osteoporosis to osteopenia, which is mild thinning and can be
normal in some age groups. We can definitely change our
bone density and work on it.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Can we talk about ovaries for a second, because we
know that it's such a big shift in a woman's life.
When you essentially start running out of eggs, you start
losing your estrogen hormone, window of chaos occurs, we're imperimenopause,
Lots of different symptoms come on board. But there's a
lot of talk now some research is being done into
how to extend the life of your ovary, not for
(20:01):
reproductive purposes, but just for health purposes. Do you know
where we're at with that.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
We're not very far along. What we do know, For example,
smokers have an earlier menopause, so that's obviously one thing
we could avoid. Our real model here is premature menopause.
That's menopause before the age of forty years. We know
when those women are sort of robbed of the estrogen
they were meant to have until average age fifty to
(20:28):
fifty one, that they do have a higher rate of
cardiovascular disease that's heart attack and stroke, cognitive decline, dementia,
and also osteoporosis and fracture. We know when we give
those women back estrogen, if we're able to not all
can have it, that we actually reverse those things. And
also we know in those women who've undergone the earlier
(20:51):
menopause that their mortality is increased if we don't give
hormone therapy. People have looked at other things. For example,
people have said that if you have a high carbohydrate load,
you might have an earlier menopause. If you have moderate
alcohol rather than extreme alcohol used, you might have a
later menopause. So there are some things that can help
(21:13):
us a little, but it's possibly only going to help
you one or two months or maybe a year. The
median age of menopause in Australia is fifty one to
fifty two. It's set, it's genetically programmed. You will do
what your identical twin has done or what mum has done,
mostly unless something else happens like surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, et cetera.
(21:35):
All those sort of insults We're not really there yet,
but I think the main message is if you want
to maintain a very in function and maybe extend your
menopause a life a little bit, being healthy, well exercised,
don't be too extreme, just do what our body was
meant to do.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Thank you so much, doctor Davison. That was a great
conversation about little ways to make our later lives a
little bit healthier, less painful, and a ton more remembering,
which is very helpful. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Well, with what she said, I think I'm in the
safe zone. I'm Lebanese, I'm already on the Mediterranean.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Diet, and I just like us Irish potato eaters.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
I just need to make sure that I've got a
Lebanese wedding every weekend and do the dub gear, which
won't be hard. I've got thousands of cousins. So I
also wanted to add with the dementia prevention, there are
a few other things that we really want to focus
on for dementia prevention, and that's you know.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
Sleep quality, cognitive stimulation.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
So doing those crosswords sudokus and that lifelong learning to
keep that mind active just as crucial is social connection.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
That's really really important.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
I have cups of teas within your friend, Yeah, finds
a hobby, group, activities, whatever it might be, that's really
really important for dementia prevention. One often overlooked yet highly
modifile risk factor is hearing loss. So you know, getting
regular hearing checks as we start to age is really
really important and if needed, getting hearing aids can significantly
(23:07):
reduce the risk of dementia. And to add some new
research which has just come out, those vaccinated for shingles
have had their risk of dementia diagnosis reduced by twenty
percent over seven.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Years, which is really really great research.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
This is really interesting because we're having this discussion like
it should be for eighty year old ladies, right, But
to be honest, this should be something we're thinking about,
especially if you're in that window of like late thirties
into your forties and fifties. They call it the menopause
window of chaos. Your hormones are all doing crazy stuff
and you lose estrogen. This is when these changes start
to really affect your ability to age well and your longevity.
(23:44):
So we should be having these discussions and putting these
things in practice, like from your thirties onwards.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Right, exactly, you want to implement these changes earlier on,
make it a part of your lifestyle. If I was
to have a conversation with a seventy five year old
and say you need to be exercising this much and
you need to be doing AB and C, it's much
harder to implement than someone who's been doing it since
they have been in their thirties.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, get onto it, gals. Next, it's quick consulet time.
Ryani is really unhappy with advice that she's been given.
She wants to know if every doctor she goes to
is essentially going to tell her the same thing about
a life threatening issue she has which they've said they're
not going to allow treatment for until she's had babies.
Speaker 6 (24:29):
The doctor will see you now.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Just through here to consort Room one. If you have
a question for doctor Mariam. She's a bloody legend. Oh sure,
she's also answering questions for me, which I'm dming her on.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
A Saturday night about my eye and deficiency lots of rashers. No,
I'm joking.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I did tell her that she has that complete permission
to tell me to piss off if I asking your
questions on the DMS on a Saturday night. If you
do have a question, though, you can shoot it through
to the waiting room. You'll find a link to that
in our show notes. And if you do it that way,
it is completely anonymous. So if you have a question
that you don't want to put your name to, which
we totally understand, Okay, Mariam, please do your thing.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
Thank you for waiting. How can I help you?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
In the concert room today is Briani. She has a
problem she thinks she knows the answer to, but cannot
find someone to help her get there. This is what
she wrote.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
I'm twenty nine and want hysterectomy, but my new GP
said I can't have one. I have fibroids that are
so bad that my husband once found me passed out
on the bathroom floor from blood loss and had to
call an ambulance. I've been having regular transfusions and have
also had several oblations to help, but I can't keep
(25:39):
going like this. Sometimes I can't leave the house because
I am bleeding so much. My GP says because I
don't have any children yet and I'm not even thirty,
he will not refer me and that it's something that
my husband needs to be on board as it's something
that will affect him. Do I just need to find
(26:02):
another doctor or will all gps just say the same
thing to me?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Mariam, I've had friends who had to deal with fibroids.
It is absolutely debilitating if you've got really bad fibroids,
and they've since had procedures that have fixed that, including hysterectomy.
So in this case, when we're talking about GP, who
says not until you have babies? Is this a social
issue or is this a medical issue?
Speaker 4 (26:27):
Okay, So I'll just start by explaining what fibroids are
for the listeners. So they're non cancerous growths in the
uterus that can vary in size and location and number.
They can be as small as a pe and larger
than a watermelon in some cases. They affect seventy percent
of women under the age of fifty, and they typically
(26:48):
shrink after menopause, but that's not always the case. While
many women have fibroids, about forty percent will experience symptoms,
and that can include heavy menstrual bleeding, painful periods, fatigue,
shortness of breath due to the irons efficiency, pelvic pain,
pain during sex or frequent urination, among other signs. Now
(27:09):
I am furious hearing I can see you are so
angry hearing this, and I'm so sorry for her experience
because that is just not acceptable. Essentially, when I have
a female present with bleeding, we always order some imaging
and it will tell me about fibroids. It will tell
me fibroids, this is the cause. When we have the diagnosis,
(27:32):
my approach is I sit the patient down. I go
to this website called Ask for UFE and it has
this beautiful print out which has all the treatment options
and it goes through the pros and the cons. I
print it out, we go through it together. I let
them take it home, have a think about it, and
they come back and we have a further conversation about
what they want to do. When I hear stories of
(27:55):
women being refused referrals or treatments, like my blood boils.
If a patient is given all options, including the pros
and cons and risks associated with the treatment and the
fertility implications, and she makes a decision, that's hers and
it's our duty as doctors to respect patient autonomy. She's
(28:17):
clearly symptomatic, she required a referral like yesterday, and she
needs a full work up and she shouldn't be denied
that opportunity because she has a GP who has some
belief structure about fertility. So it's time to say bye
Felicia to this new GP. You deserve to feel better,
and you deserve to have a treatment plan that aligns
(28:39):
with what you want. And I'm so so sorry that
this is an experience that many, many, many females are
still experiencing. It's just unacceptable.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Okay, Briany, it looks like you're on the hunt for
a new doctor. Good luck friend, because it sounds like
you really needed that yesterday.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Absolutely, Bye Felicia, Bye Felicia. All right, thanks for hanging
out with us on Well today. Don't forget if you
do have questions or any concerns or some feedback even
I mean, we'd love for you to rate and review
us in your favorite podcast time because it does allow
us to get into more people's ears, which is the
idea of this also too, if you want to send
(29:18):
through a querier a question, email it well at mamma
mia dot com dot au, leave us a voice note
or an anonymous story. You can find them in your
show notes. If you want more info, to sign up
to the Old World newsletter. There are stacks of really
great stuff on there from all of us to learn from,
extra stories, fact sheets, expert advice, and make sure you
get into that too. Next week we are answering all
(29:39):
your questions about weight, wall of lost drugs, body longevity.
Get your questions in people asap before your time runs out.
Remember again the advice that you've heard here today, it's general.
It may not suit you one hundred percent, so make
sure you speak to your own GP or your own
health specialist about these things. Get that info that is
correct for you. If you're like Briany, go find yourself
(30:00):
a new GP if it is not working out for you,
And of course we will see if your appointment right
here this time next week. Bye Bye Well is produce
by Me Claire Murphy and Our Group, Executive Producer Georgie
Page and senior producer Sasha Tannic, with audio production by
Scott Stronik,
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