That Time of Life

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome, y'all. Welcome to All Things Women's Health, where we
cover it all, from fitness and nutrition to hormones, menopause,
and the latest in women's wellness. Real talk, real solutions
for every stage of life. You know, it's one of
those what do you say, It's one of those stages

(00:22):
of life that every woman experiences, but it doesn't get
the attention that it deserves. Menopause is is a tough time.
It is a tough time for those those women going
through it, and it's not real easy sometimes for the

(00:44):
people that love or maybe work with those those women.
So we are going to We're going to discuss a
little bit of the symptoms, and then we're gonna talk
about the challenges. I think most importantly, we're going to
hit on some treatments and strategies to help manage these symptoms.

(01:06):
So you know, whether you're in the middle of it,
about to go through it, or like I said, supporting
someone going through it, I think there's some information you're
going to like here. So let's start with some of
the basics here and I wrote this down here, so
I'm just going to read this. Menopause is a natural

(01:29):
biological process that marks the end of a woman's menstrual cycles.
It's officially diagnosed after twelve consecutive months without a period.
Most women experience menopause between the ages of forty five
and fifty five, though it can vary. You know, when
symptoms arise because the body produces less estrogen and progesterone

(01:54):
hormones that play a big role in regulating many bodily functions.
What does that mean. Let's talk about hot flashes, mood swings,
and and a lot more. So that leads us to
to some of the symptoms. And these symptoms symptoms. You know,
there are things that we have. You know, if if

(02:17):
we know someone who's in the middle of menopause, of
what some of those are, you're gonna see some of
those and you're gonna you're gonna hear. Uh. The women
really talk about that, if they're going to share, share this,
whether you you're gonna, you're gonna hear these things and
it's not I mean, this is absolutely a real deal

(02:38):
and it's it's hard to deal with. There's no doubt
about that. So men, be super thankful this is something
that you don't have to go through yourself. Be super
patient with the women in your life that are going
through it. It's it's no easy, easy situation. Now, this
is this is one that's near uh to me, and

(02:59):
and I just my heart goes out to people that
are dealing with this. And that's hot flashes in the
night sweats, I mean, it's it's she has sudden feelings
of heat that can leave you drenched in sweat, and
they they just come out of nowhere. I mean, don't
know what really sets them off. I know sometimes, you know,

(03:25):
sitting there next to my wife and maybe we might
be holding hands and everything's fine, and the next thing
you know, she's got to like throw my hand off
because she's just she just doesn't want to be touched
at all because she is just suddenly so hot and
then so sweaty. It's just it's awful to it's awful

(03:46):
to see it. And sometimes it can happen, you know,
ten fifteen times a night, sometimes once or twice, and
then it happened during the day as well. Not a
good not a good symptom there at all. To have
sleep disturbances. Well, obviously, if you're going through night sweats
and hot flashes at night, you're not going to sleep well.

(04:07):
So insomnia is certainly something that that comes along with that.
Mood changes, increased anxiety, depression and irritability, and sleep deprivation.
I mean, those are all part of menopause. You know,

(04:28):
there's cognitive issues, you can't you can't concentrate, memory lapses,
you know, we can call it brain fog or whatever
you want to. But also you know, just feeling so tired,
and a lot of that does go back to sleep disturbances.
So it's all just kind of like intertwined in together.

(04:52):
You know, vaginal dryness and discomfort. This can make intimacy
uncomfortable and that really just stink for everybody involved. So
you know, that's definitely a symptom. Bone and joint issues,
decreased bone density and joint pain are also concerns. It's

(05:12):
almost like arthritis. So if you're if you're if you're
not in law right now, you know you're not alone.
There are uh tons of of women and and their

(05:34):
partners that are that are going through this. So it's, uh,
it's it's just not an easy thing to deal with.
So that's what we're going to look at. Next. Are
some some treatment options, and I'm sorry I was trying

(05:56):
to go through my notes here, and they wouldn't, they
wouldn't come up. Yeah, let's let's talk about the best
way to uh to handle these symptoms and taking them
head on. Uh. There's there's obviously good news. There are
more options than than ever right now because we've really
taken this a lot more seriously over the past several years,

(06:18):
you know, ranging everything from lifestyle changes to medical treatments.
So here are a few things, and this is something
that I wholeheartedly believe in, and that's hormone replacement therapy.
What is hormone replacement therapy also known as h RT.
It involves taking estrogen sometimes progesterone to replace your hormones

(06:41):
so your body no longer that your body no longer produces,
and there may be some testosterone added into that as well.
This is highly effective for hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings,
vagual dryness, and can also help protect against osteoporosis. So
HRT to me is by far the number one thing

(07:02):
to do here. You need to see a physician about
that and go to a hormone expert to get that done. Well,
they'll do a blood test, they'll take a look at
what what what your blood looks like, what your results are,
and then they will put in a a plan just
for you for your what levels of hormones you need added.

(07:26):
A lot of hormones are are bioidentical, so that means
that they match up with what your body makes naturally.
There are some drawbacks to hr TUH. Some some studies
do link it to increase risk of certain cancers and
blood clots, so it's essential to consult with your doctor

(07:49):
and stay on top of it. That's why you want
to continue to have blood tests so you can tech
tests the thickness of your blood and any adalities that
could cause cancer as well. And the thick blood is
what can can lead to blood clots, which leads to

(08:10):
you know, possible strokes, et cetera. There are some non
hormonal medications we can We'll take a look at antidepressants.
They work by lowering doses of certain s s r
I s, which can reduce hot flashes and mood swings.

(08:31):
Some people are very uh into the antidepressants, you know,
and I don't know that that's we've never gone down
that route, but evidently it is something that does work,
so that's something you might want to check out Gava penton,
often prescribed for nerve pain by pain doctors and and

(08:55):
things like that. Professionals like that this can also help
with hot flash, especially at night. Clonodyne, with a medication
typically used for high blood pressure. It can reduce hot
flashes in some women. So these options are great for
women who can't or don't want to use HRT. The

(09:16):
key is finding the right one for you in your body.
If you're not a candidate for HRT, I'll definitely try
some of these others. But like I said, my first
go to when this is not Obviously I'm not going
through menopause, but I have a lot of women in
my life that are, and the HRT seems to be
by far the best way to go. Dietary change is okay,

(09:39):
so this is non medical, you know, just a healthy diet.
Vitamin D, calcium, phido, estrogens, flax seeds, chickpeas. It's in
things like that can support bone health and hormone balance.
Very important is exercise weight bearing exer, which means lifting weights,

(10:01):
resistance training. If you combine that with just with walking
or maybe some yoga, it will definitely help your mood
and reduce stress. It's it's huge. The women don't want
to you know, women don't want to lift heavy weights. Okay,

(10:22):
lift as heavy as you can. I guarantee you'll notice
the big difference. Sometimes the simplest changes can make the
biggest difference. So you know, start with you know, natural
and alternative therapies, you know, going with herbal remedies, acupuncture,

(10:43):
mind body practices. I'm sorry the landscape are just showed
up by outside my studio. Yeah, I love hearing stories
about women who find relief through alternative therapies. It's if
it works, then that is the way to go. But
if it doesn't work, please check it with your doctor.

(11:04):
That's the you know, that's that's kind of what we
are because there are treatments out there, like we've talked
about before that will help help you get through this
tough time in your life and help loved ones get
past that. So we're going to we're going to talk

(11:25):
some more about this next time. We'll go into a
little bit more in depth on some of the therapies
and some of the treatments put together some entire plans
of exercise programs. We're going more into some of the HRT,
which is something that I think we definitely need to
look at. So I hope this is a little bit informative.

(11:45):
Is not always the easy subject for men to talk about,
but it absolutely affects everyone involved, including men. So if
your wife or a mother, or a sister or any
loved one, UH, this woman is going through this, please
be patient and try to help help her come up
with ways to treat treat these symptoms. I hope everyone

(12:10):
has a great day and we will reconvene soon