All Episodes

November 22, 2025 24 mins
🎙 SHOW NOTES — “PCOS Doesn’t End at 30: The Midlife Metabolic Storm No One Warned Us About”

Most women only hear about PCOS in their teens or twenties — when cycles are irregular, acne is flaring, weight is piling onto the midsection, and fertility becomes a concern. But here’s the truth:

👉 PCOS does NOT disappear. 👉 Symptoms simply shift. 👉 And midlife can amplify everything that was simmering beneath the surface for decades.

In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, Joanne breaks down the real metabolic story behind PCOS — not the simplified, fertility-focused version most women are handed in their early years.

You’ll learn:

💥 Why PCOS is a metabolic condition first — reproductive second

PCOS fundamentally affects insulin, inflammation, and cortisol long before it affects fertility. Those root issues follow women into midlife even when cycle symptoms fade.

💥 Why some symptoms seem to “improve” with age — and why that’s misleading

Regular cycles and clearer skin don’t mean PCOS is gone. It simply means estrogen and progesterone have shifted, masking reproductive symptoms while worsening metabolic ones.

💥 How midlife hormones collide with PCOS physiology

This is the perfect storm no one talks about. Declining estrogen + progesterone + long-standing insulin resistance = intensified midsection fat gain, inflammation, cravings, fatigue, and higher cardiometabolic risk.

💥 The hidden PCOS symptoms many women mistake for “just menopause”

Afternoon crashes, carb cravings, stubborn belly fat, worsening triglycerides, glucose instability, and unexplained inflammation — these aren’t random. They’re PCOS physiology expressing itself in a new hormonal landscape.

💥 Why PCOS is more important, not less, after 40

When estrogen drops, insulin resistance rises. When muscle declines, metabolic flexibility crashes. And when progesterone disappears, inflammation spikes. Midlife magnifies every mechanism behind PCOS.

💥 The good news: midlife is the BEST time to correct PCOS physiology

With the chaos of cycles behind them, women can finally address PCOS with precision: strength training, protein prioritization, carb timing, gut repair, insulin management, targeted supplementation, GLP-1 support, and HRT where appropriate.

This episode is packed with the depth, physiology, and straight-talk education that midlife women deserve — and rarely receive.

🔗 Resources & Links

✨ 5-Amino-1MQ — Metabolic, energy & body composition support 👉 www.5amino.com

✨ SLU-PP-332 (“Exercise in a Bottle”) — A next-generation mitochondrial & longevity compound 👉 www.slu332.com

✨ Joanne’s New Website (80% complete — launching soon!) 👉 www.joannelee.com

✨ To connect with Joanne directly: 📩 joanne@joannelee.com

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.