🎙️ EXCLUSIVE CHAT: Shelly Horton

Our good friend Shelly Horton joins Jonesy & Amanda to chat about her new book, I'm Your Peri Godmother.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
My Heart podcasts, hear more Gold one on one point
seven podcasts.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Playlists and listen live on the Free iHeart app.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
And Amanda jam Nation Jonesy, how would you describe our
mate Shelly Hawden? Well, she is a powerhouse. I'll give
you the words. She's immediate powerhouse.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
What words are there?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
She's a straight talker. She's your go to lady on
so many things. And she's got a new audiobook now
called I'm Your Perry Godmother. And I'm so pleased that
women are talking about this stuff. Finally, you've put your
heart on your sleeve and your reproductive organs on your
sleeve as well.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Should we hought in a low I am bearing my
ovaries for you girls?

Speaker 4 (00:49):
You worry about that?

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Why is it suddenly? And I love that we are
that women are talking about this stuff. When I went
through menopause and I'm still on hit at the age
of one hundred and fifty eight million, I really missed
that My mum wasn't around because I don't remember what
it was like for her, and she never spoke about it.
Why are we suddenly able to talk about it?

Speaker 4 (01:10):
I think that times are definitely changing.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
So I went into perimenopause in twenty twenty, so five
years ago, and it wasn't really spoken about then even
but I feel like gen X has gone, you know what,
enough of the shame and silence. This is a natural
part of life and this is okay to talk about.
My mom didn't talk about it to me, so I'm
so sorry that you didn't have your.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
Mom to talk to.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
But know that often because of that generation of that
stiff upper lip and soldier on, we really have lost
that communication. And what I've realized with putting this book
together is secret women's business doesn't help women. We actually
need to talk about it and men need to know
about it as well. So it's a pretty hectic time

(01:54):
for a lot of women, and it's time for us
to actually let everyone.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
Know it's true.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
My late manner she passed away many years ago, but
she had a mistake toomy like one bosom removed, and
we never knew about it. She had brist cats and
no one need yeah, and it was never talked about
these days. Be a tribute facebook page, tattoo in all
this stuff. And Nana she had a prosthetic boob none
of us knew about and I only found it about

(02:19):
it twenty years after she died.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yeah, as you say, secret women's business doesn't really help anybody.
And often the medical profession didn't know much because even
for HRT and things like that. Initially, when I went
on it, some doctors would say, oh, you can't be
on it for too long because it's none.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Of that's true.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
As long as you can be none of those other markers,
you can be on it for as long as you need.
You can be on it till you're ninety.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
So when I got my first symptoms, because I didn't
know what was going on, I went to a GP
and they hadn't been educated about perimenopause, and when I
described my symptoms, they said to me, oh, that could
be cancer. Oh god, I mean like really, So what
happened was it took me another nine months until I
actually went to a GP, and by that knew about

(03:05):
menopause and perimenopause, and by that state, I had like
one in three women perimenopausal depression, like ninety percent of women.
I had really abnormal bleeding, and I was circling the
drain all because that first GP didn't pick up on
the symptoms.

Speaker 4 (03:23):
So we are that is changing as well.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I have campaigned in Parliament about this and now new
GPS who are coming through they it is compulsory for
them to learn about perimenopause and menopause. GPS who are
now in place are being educated that that WHI study
from two thousand and two claiming that HIT causes breast
cancer has been completely walked back, So we don't have

(03:48):
to have that fear. And I will be buried with
my HIT. I'm going to stay on it until the
very end because it helps me feel like me again.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yeah sure.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
And if you too, like you don't have children, is
it different? Per And I know you can't speak for
people that have had children, but of course I can
but to studies, but do you know what I mean
to study show for those women that choose not to
have children as opposed to those that had children, are
the different reactions to it? To perimed, it's.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
Not actually different as to whether or not you've had children,
but it's a big indicator that if you did have
children then you had post natal depression, then you are
almost one hundred percent going to have perimenopause or depression.
And this is not the sort of depression that you
treat with an antidepressant. This is a hormonal fluctuation, so

(04:37):
therefore HRT is the gold standard for treating this. So
you can kind of look at your history and particularly
if you have had any problems with having kids or
even a lot of women who have really bad PMS
or have problems, you know, emotionally with their periods, they
are going to have a tougher time in perimenopause. So
if anything, it's just a good indicator of what might

(04:59):
be coming and a good way to look out for
the science and make sure that you're looking after yourself.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
And so validating to have it spoken about, to say
this stuff is real and so put up.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
With it absolutely.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
And I've made sure that my book is absolutely evidence based,
so I have incredible menopause experts that I've interviewed from
around the world.

Speaker 4 (05:19):
I actually had an independent GP go through in fact
check it.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
But what I've done is I've taken all the science
and made it very digestible so that it's easy to read.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
It's easy to understand.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
I describe estrogen as like your Beyonce hormone that gives
you all your energy, and your progesterone is your Snoop
Dogg that calms you down and.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
Helps you sleep.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
So I've made it so very conversational. And the thing
that I love about having an audible version is it's
just like having a best friend in your ears. And
I'm just I just wish I could also give everyone
a glass of wine with the audible, so we can
have a glass of wine and talk about that.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Could be a thing in the book. You remember the
vowsack little sachets.

Speaker 4 (06:00):
That's when I was picturing you know, is it too late.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
To do a reprint.

Speaker 4 (06:04):
I think it's time. I think you've struck You've struck gold, Shelley.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
It's always great to talk to you. I'm your perry
godmother as in store and available now exclusively to audible
Shelley Horton, Thank.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
You, Thank you guys.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Love you, bar you carry on, carry on,