216 - The Girlfriend’s Guide to Menopause & HRT with Dr Mary Jane Minkin

Today you will hear our version of the Girlfriend’s Guide to Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy. Our guest, Mary Jane Minkin, is possibly the best-suited person to speak on this subject and I’ll tell you why. She is a practicing gynecologist who has been teaching at the Yale University School of Medicine for over 41 years! She has ridden the menopause rollercoaster, experiencing society’s many changing beliefs and recommendations over the past 40+ years. She has treated 1000s of women to help them find hormone relief. She’s written 7 books on the subject. And she’s been through menopause herself. Plus, she is excited to share what she’s learned and help kick the stigma around menopause. 

I first discovered Dr Minkin on Selene Yeager’s Hit Play Not Pause podcast in an episode called Happy Vaginas. Which led me to your fabulous, Information-packed website Madame Ovary. Finally I recently read the brilliant NY Times article by Susan Dominus titled "Women Have Been Misled About Menopause" that debunked some long-held myths about menopause and included some very powerful quotes from Dr Minkin. I decided I needed to get her on this show so we could help more women make sense of this crazy rollercoaster of a ride that we all go through.

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Today you will hear the following and so much more!

• Dr Minkin's path to practicing medicine and in particular, women's medicine (spoiler: it all started with Sputnik!)
• Her personal menopause journey two decades ago
• Check out menopause.org - the 2022 Hormone Therapy Guidelines
• The Girlfriend's Guide:
  • How do I know when I'm perimenopausal?
  • How long will it last?
  • How can I help my symptoms?
  • Can you recommend some natural remedies?
  • What is HRT and how do I know if I'm a candidate for it?
  • What are HRT risks? (and an explanation about the WHI study from the 90s that caused a breast cancer scare associated with HRT)
  • What are HRT benefits?
  • Does HRT help with cognitive issues (brain fog)?
  • How do I know when to stop?
  • What are the positives to menopoause?

For more on Dr Mary Jane Minkin, go to MadameOvary.com - you can reach her directly here. 

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