March 17, 2025 • 33 mins
The modern menopause experience doesn't have to be shrouded in confusion, isolation, and suffering. Melissa Oliveira and Stacey Ulacia co-founders of HotPause Health, are on a mission to transform how women navigate this significant life transition by creating what they call "the Baby Center of menopause.” Born from their own frustrating perimenopause journeys during the pandemic, HotPause Health launched in August 2024 to fill a critical gap in women's healthcare. They identified that while pregnancy comes with 40 weeks of guidance and support, women experiencing perimenopause and menopause often struggle alone for years, battling symptoms they don't understand and facing healthcare providers who dismiss their concerns.
The HotPause Health platform offers comprehensive resources including symptom education, treatment information, provider directories, and community forums. Their most groundbreaking feature may be the nation's largest menopause provider portal, where women can find specialists across multiple disciplines or access telehealth options if they live in healthcare deserts. All content is vetted by their impressive all-female medical advisory board of 16 specialists ranging from OBGYNs to mental health professionals, dermatologists, and sleep medicine experts.
What truly sets HotPause Health apart is their unwavering commitment to empowering women through evidence and community. They're tackling alarming statistics head-on – like the fact that 23% of American women ages 40-59 are on antidepressants, representing the highest use in any demographic. Through education events, advocacy for legislation like the Menopause Research and Equity Act, and creating safe spaces for women to share experiences, they're changing the narrative around this universal female experience.
Their message is clear and powerful: "You do not have to suffer." Women experiencing rage, insomnia, night sweats, or any of the myriad symptoms of perimenopause aren't crazy – they're experiencing a natural transition that deserves proper medical attention and support. Visit hotpawshealth.com to join their community, find resources, and take control of your menopause journey with evidence-based information and compassionate support.
Website: https://www.hotpausehealth.com
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Email Us: info@midovia.com
MiDOViA is dedicated to changing the narrative about menopause by educating, raising awareness & supporting women in this stage of life, both at home and in the workplace. Visit midovia.com to learn more.
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images & other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source for informationabout menopause and midlife.
Join us each episode, as wehave great conversations with
great people.
Tune in and enjoy the show, heywelcome everyone to the show
today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It's just me.
April's on vacation, so I'mreally excited to introduce my
friends Stacey and Melissa fromHot Paws Health.
Melissa want to tell us alittle bit about yourself and
how you and Stacey came togetherto join in this endeavor.
Yeah, and thank you so much forhaving us.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
We're so grateful.
You know, the elevation of allwomen has just been such a
tremendous part.
I think one of the mostbeautiful parts about starting
Hot Paws Health is this embracethat so many women who we've met
have opened their arms andbrought us in.
So we're so grateful for that.
I am Melissa Oliveira.
I'm the co-founder of Hot PawsHealth with Stacey Leisha.
(00:57):
We met over the many moons ofour career and came out of
proactive prevention within thepediatric space, which really
was this incredible opportunitywhere we got to connect directly
with parents and then also withpediatricians and healthcare
providers and key opinionleaders around really brilliant
(01:21):
and groundbreaking science andbring that to a new generation
to help them understand how toproactively prevent about
pediatric food allergies.
And when that company was soldto Nestle Health Science, you
know Stacey and I had been inthe pandemic together, we had
raised babies together, we hadtraversed our marriages together
(01:41):
and we had this opportunitywhere we looked at each other in
our, you know, forties mine area little bit higher than
Stacey's in the 40 situation andsaid, well, we could do
something.
I mean, there was this realopportunities aha of well, why
not us?
Why couldn't we take, you know,a page out of the playbook that
(02:04):
we've been doing for so manyyears in our respective careers
and mine is really brand brandbuilding strategy, consumer
insights and bringing brands tomarket across the health,
wellness and CPG spaces andbring something that really
impacted women.
I think that as we were on thisroller coaster of perimenopause
(02:27):
particularly in the pandemic wefelt like there was this real
gap, not just a gap of researchand evidence, but really a
connection of a community, aplace where we could go ask
questions without bias.
That there wasn't somethingthat was you know, somebody was
just trying to sell us something.
That that there was a placethat felt really credible, that
(02:51):
was rooted in evidence andresearch to help us navigate.
You know these tentpole momentssimilar to pregnancy right, you
get pregnant and for 40 weeks,people tell you what to do, and
it's not exactly the same, andnor is perimenopause or
menopause linear.
It clearly is a bespoke journeyfor all women.
(03:12):
But where were those key thingsthat we really needed to
understand Cardiovascular healthor bone health, or what am I
supposed to do about myvasomotor symptoms, which are
hot flashes and night sweats andheart palpitations and just
really a place that was simpleand digestible but really
credible.
And so we came up with thisnotion of hot pause health,
(03:33):
which, for all intent andpurpose, is very much like the
baby center of menopause, justin reverse.
And so we did it and it's beena it feels like a very long
journey, but we just launched inAugust of 2024 and it's been
incredible, so I'm so gratefulto be here.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Oh, that's a.
It's a great story and, um, andyou know, stacey, you and
Melissa, like April and myself,reinvented our careers.
Uh, so what was?
What was sort of the impetusand thoughts around when you
were going into this?
What does this mean for me andhow do I think about this?
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think Melissa and I after youknow the acquisition of the
startup we were working atreally took time to think about
what do we want to do next, whoare the types of people we want
to surround ourselves with?
What kind of companies would webe interested in working for?
And we explored going andgetting you know totally, you
(04:36):
know average FTE jobs, and weboth kind of came to the
conclusion like we want to workfor really smart women, we want
to do something that's focusedaround women's health and we
don't want to go back to thenorm.
And it was a big risk for bothof us, but we really felt like
(05:00):
to Melissa's point there wasjust this wide open space for us
to come in and try and drivepositive change.
So you know, we worked on thecompany for about a year before
our launch in August and we'velearned so much along the way.
You know we always joke thatit's too bad that I'm not an
OBGYN and Melissa is the personshe is, or the inverse of that
(05:28):
or the inverse of that.
But we have a lot of reallycommon synergies and we feel
really similarly about thethings in this business that are
really important to us and inareas that we may not have a lot
of expertise, we have hired uparound us really smartly, and
one of those areas is ourmedical advisory board.
And so, because neither Melissaor I are credentialed MD with
(05:49):
years and years of training, weknew we were in no position to
be offering menopause advice orguidance or any sort of
educational information.
So we created an all-femalemedical advisory board of over
16 doctors and experts acrossmultiple specialties, so not
just OBGYNs, but looking reallyholistically at the menopause
(06:12):
experience.
So dermatologists,acupuncturists, naturopaths, an
obesity medicine doctor and theyare guiding every single thing
that we do, every piece ofcontent that lives in our
website, every brand partnershipwe consider to make sure that
we are really out there at theforefront, providing
science-backed information towomen everywhere.
(06:35):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So how do I use your website?
Right, you have website for meas someone in menopause.
How do I use your website?
And you have a very and in thatyou have a very strong
community driven approach onyour website too.
So how is building thiscommunity?
What would a person going toyour website look at and find
(06:59):
when they're there?
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Yeah, I think it's a two part response.
The first one on the communityside.
We think about community and avariety of different ways.
(07:28):
So the first thing I would doto be a part of our community is
go on and create an account.
That's number one.
Number two is sign up for ournewsletter.
We send out a weekly newsletterand it's full of content,
education, resources, videocontent from our medical
advisory board, recipes, what'sgoing on in the news.
That is, you know, the secondthing I would do.
Then, from a communitystandpoint, there is a community
section on our website that isa Reddit-like forum where women
can come and interact, but wealso have a private Facebook
community where we found thatwomen maybe feel a little bit
more comfortable coming andparticipating there.
So, in terms of creatingcommunity, those are the first
(07:51):
things I would do.
And then, in terms of using thewebsite, there are a variety of
things you can do After youjoin the community.
You can go on and learn aboutyour symptoms.
You can go on and learn aboutall the different treatment
options that are out therehormonal, non-hormonal, more
holistic approaches.
You can find a doctor, and wehave heard from our community
(08:13):
how hard this is for women thatthey are struggling to find a
doctor who can help them, thatthey have been gaslit, that they
have been ignored, that theyhave gone to multiple doctors to
get help, and so we built thenation's largest provider portal
where we have ingested all ofthe menopause certified OBGYNs,
(08:34):
plus doctors across otherspecialties that you might need
to see in your menopause journey.
So if your hair is falling outor you have acne, we have
dermatologists that are in there.
If your mental health issuffering because of your
menopause journey, we havecredentialed mental health
experts in there.
So you can go in, put in yourzip code and then sort by the
(08:57):
type of doctor you're lookingfor and get connected to a
doctor.
If you live in a healthcaredesert where there aren't any
menopause certified OBGYNs nearyou, we have a telemedicine
option and we are agnostic.
We have put in the middies ofthe world the gen Fs of the
world, the alloys of the world,so that you can get connected to
(09:18):
a telehealth doctor whospecializes in menopause.
We are also crowdsourcing on ourwebsite.
So if you have a doctor thatyou love, who has been amazing,
please go to our doctor portaland submit them through.
We review them with our medicaladvisory board and then push
them back out into the communityto make sure we keep growing
(09:38):
that so more and more women canreach doctors that will be
helpful to them.
There is a product section ofthe website where we have vetted
appropriate menopause andperimenopause products for women
.
We are also crowdsourcing fromour community on that section of
the website as well.
So if you have a product thathas changed your life that you
(10:00):
want to share, you can do that.
So there's a lot of things thatyou can do on our website.
But first and foremost to your,do that.
So there's a lot of things thatyou can do on our website.
But first and foremost, to yourpoint, I think it's important
to join our community.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, and that's great.
And so, Melissa, I'm talkingabout community.
You know many women inmenopause find this time
confusing and isolating.
How do you approach thecommunity with education and
information?
Stacey talked a little bitabout the Facebook page and the
website, but how do you helpwomen feel empowered with the
(10:31):
resources that you haveavailable?
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah, great, that's a great question.
I think one of the mostinteresting pieces of feedback
that we get from community andemails that we get, or outreach
that we get, or DMs or what haveyou is this notion of thank you
.
There's a real gratitude of Ithought I was crazy or I didn't.
(10:55):
I would have thought thatsomething was really wrong with
me until I realized that fill inthe blank symptom right Ringing
in my ears, or this hair loss,that I thought I had some sort
of endocrine disorder or youknow.
So many women have come backand said thank you for just
(11:17):
letting me know that I'm notinsane, and I think that so many
women feel this sense of likeI'm losing my mind, right?
I mean my symptoms were rage.
I mean wild rage, like I couldburn a house down with my
eyeballs.
Rage, and then I would be fineand be like, oh, and then I'd
have to apologize to all mychildren and my husband, be like
(11:40):
super sorry, mommy had thatmoment out of my body, like
levitating out of my body.
Um, night sweats aredebilitating, but it was really
the insomnia that I thought okay, cause sleep used to be my
superpower.
Like my head hit the pillow and32 seconds later I was out and
when sleep was taken away,that's when I thought I think I
(12:02):
might die, like I can't, Icannot live like this.
And so I think you know part ofwe we use the word empowerment a
lot, but I think, the more thatI sit with it, it's about
giving control to women, aboutdecision-making about their
bodies, about how they want tolive, and so empowerment, you
(12:27):
know, can be thrown around and Ialso feel like it might be used
too much.
But it's really like what can Icontrol?
I would like this back in mycontrol.
I would like to be the CEO ofmy own body.
You know, I think Dr Mary ClaireHaver coined that one and I
totally agree with her which isyou're in charge and, moreover,
women know their bodies.
I mean, I know my body.
(12:47):
When I was pregnant, I knewwhen things were right or wrong,
or you just have this sense,you, you feel you know yourself,
right?
I mean, they say that oftenwith cardiovascular for women,
they have to go in multipletimes and she's having a heart
attack, but they're like havesome Tylenol, I mean, and that's
just wrong.
(13:08):
So I think that giving womenthe tools and the resources and
the advocacy for self isprobably the most important work
that we're doing, and givingher a forum and a place, a
(13:32):
platform to say I'm not crazy, Iknow what I'm talking about and
now I'm going to go get thechange that I deserve.
And so, to me, I think thefeedback that we get is really
this acknowledgement ofgratitude and that she's finally
being seen and that she's notalone.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
And I think those are really, really that can
radically change conversationsif you touch enough women bit
about being at an event lastweekend where Stacy and I were
at booths and everyone comes totell you their story, but it's a
safe space, they might not havesaid this to anyone before and
all of a sudden they're able tosay like, oh, my God, let me
(14:10):
tell you what's going on with me, right?
Um, also, I haven't figured outsleep yet.
So if you, if and when youfigure out the sleep thing, uh,
I would love a little um,community huddle on that,
because that's still a challengefor me.
But you talk about advocacy andyou have done advocacy for
(14:31):
things like the MenopauseResearch and Equity Act.
How are you doing this advocacyand why is it part of your,
your sort of platform, stacey,to really look at healthcare
policies around menopause?
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Yeah, it's certainly not something that Melissa and I
feel like we are at theforefront leading these efforts,
but it's certainly somethingthat we want to be supporting
every step of the way.
So we recently launched anadvocacy section of our website
that talks about these differentefforts that are going on out
there from the AdvancingMenopause Care Act, there's the
(15:08):
Menopause Research and EquityAct.
There's an unboxing menopausecampaign, working to remove FDA
box label warnings.
There's information on thetestosterone project, like.
There are so many amazingefforts underway out there and
we want to make sure we are outthere amplifying them in
whatever way we possibly can.
(15:29):
So there are forms you can goonline to write to your
legislators.
We are sharing all of this onsocial media and it's really our
hope that we just continue touplift these efforts and the
amazing you know brands andnonprofits behind them.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
No, that's, that's great.
So, while you've been growingthis business, what have been
some of your challenges?
Where have you guys gottenstuck?
What do you like?
What did you learn?
What do you like?
What kind of feedback have yougotten where you're like, oh, we
should have considered that inthe first place.
Like Melissa, what are kind ofyour thoughts there?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
well, I think there I mean there are too many to
count right.
I think that when you talk toany entrepreneur or anybody
who's started a business fromnothing, you just have this idea
and from the ether you startbuilding that you are going to
make mistakes and you are goingto fail.
But if you fail fast and youidentify where the gap or the
barriers were and you quicklyoptimize, to me speed becomes
(16:31):
really important.
I think, particularly in themenopause category, which, at
this point and maybe we're justin an echo chamber, but there's
a lot of movement, there are alot of people joining it, there
are a lot of people who arewanting a quote, piece of the
pie, so to speak, and so I think, being really intentional and
focused on where your true Northis, I mean Stacey and I wrote
(16:54):
down our, our values, and ourvalues are really important to
us.
You know, urgency is one ofthem.
We have to go past, we can'tjust sit around and hang out,
and so the benefit of beingco-partners and co-founders with
Stacey is that we are highly,highly urgent humans in all
(17:14):
facets of our life.
So the application to businesscame very naturally to us and
that you're going to fail.
And if you can get over thatand actually take it as a really
important opportunity.
And if you're failing,everybody else is failing too.
So how do you, how do you lookat that and say, ooh, well,
(17:36):
where's the potential there?
You know, as Stacey mentionedearlier, neither of us are board
certified MDs and instead ofbeing like, oh shucks, wish we
were board certified MDs, webuilt this female forward,
unbelievable medical advisoryboard.
That that's I mean.
These women are rock stars intheir own world, right Like you
(17:57):
have Dr Ken Yuen, who's at UCSFand is a professor of sleep
medicine at Stanford and focuseson women's health.
You have Dr V Yuen, who's atUCSF and is a professor of sleep
medicine at Stanford andfocuses on women's health.
You have Dr Vicky Yang, who'sat the forefront of
gastroenterology at Stanford,who's looking at the gut health
connection.
They're so smart.
And it's not just aboutobstetrics and gynecology.
I think, when you think aboutthe fact that you have estrogen
(18:19):
receptors from the tip of yourhead to the tip of your toes, on
most cells of your body,there's not going to be a one
size fits all, and I think whereStacey and I've leaned into
that is it's not again justabout your OB-GYN or your family
medicine doctor.
It really touches so manydifferent parts of a woman's
experience and herperimenopausal journey, an
(18:40):
example being we have threemental health professionals on
our medical advisory board.
23% of women in the UnitedStates of America are in an SSRI
between the ages of 40 and 59.
It's the highest age sex ratioof any age sex ratio.
Women are really sad and that'snot normal, right.
(19:01):
Like this is highest rates ofsuicide, highest rates for
divorce.
Like it just is such a miss forour country that we're not
focusing on women's health, andparticularly mental health,
right?
So back to where you know.
Your question was where are thegaps?
Where have we failed?
We failed a lot.
Lawyers are super expensiveDevelopers, whether it's app
(19:26):
developers or our website, ormeta is crazy.
You're trying to figure outyour digital path to purchase
and conversion, et cetera.
But with failure comes theseother opportunities, like, for
example, our medical advisoryboard.
I'm leading into them andfiguring out how we can quickly
meet the needs of our communityand what she wants, and that,
(19:46):
that nimbleness, I think, canbecome power, um, particularly
if you're just a you know,scrappy female entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So yeah, I love it.
My favorite part of yourwebsite is the ability to search
for providers, and I love thatyou have not just OBGYNs but you
have everyone, because wealways are like you know, we get
questions on both ends of thespectrum, like I'm nowhere near
menopause, why do I need thisinformation?
(20:16):
And I'm always like go gatheryour team, go get your doctor,
your PT, your acupuncturist,your massage therapist, make
sure you have them in play.
And then on the other side,people are like I've already
done this, I don't need to dothis anymore.
And I'm like, yes, you do,because your bones are impacted,
your, your cardiac health isimpacted, so go find those
(20:39):
resources.
So I love that part of yourwebsite and also I sort of
fangirl your, your advisoryboard, because they are they're
pretty awesome.
Stacey talk, given that, talkabout some of the feedback
you've heard success from thecommunity.
That stands out to you whereyou know you guys, this
(21:01):
entrepreneur thing's got its upsand downs April and I have like
days where like my God, this isthe best thing that could ever
happen.
And then we have days wherelike how, what are we going to
do next?
You know, but success storiesare why you guys are in this
right.
You want to empower women.
So what kind of what?
Where?
What have you seen?
What kind of feedback have yougotten?
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Yeah, I mean to your point.
There have been so manysuccesses and so many bummer,
bummer situations, right, um,but I think one of the things
that we've started to lean intoa little bit more are all these
events, right, we're seeing, youknow, mid Ovia and lots of the
same companies in the Seattlearea, but also in the Bay area,
where Melissa is as well, and sowe have been doing more and
(21:46):
more of these in-person eventsand we're seeing success in
seeing these women collectivelycome together and have their aha
moment about perimenopause.
You know, I'm in my earlyforties and, you know, brought
my community to an event in theBellevue area and so many of
them did not know this freighttrain that was coming for them,
(22:08):
right, and so getting them thiseducation and the upfront, maybe
before they're even starting toexperience symptoms, to have
this education, to say, gosh,when this starts happening, I
know what to do so they don'thold on for five years and
suffer and, you know, wait tillthey're 50, 55, right out the
(22:29):
gate.
They're going to know what to doand I think that's been, you
know, a success for Melissa andI to know that we're out there,
you know, making improvements towomen's health education that
way, but it's also a win forwomen everywhere who are
starting to get educated thatway.
We don't want women to make itto the other side of menopause
(22:51):
and then say, gosh, that wasawful, I don't know why that
happened.
I'm going to retrospectively golook at what I could have would
have should have done.
We want to get them in theupfront so that they're prepared
and ahead of that.
So I think that's beensomething that has made Melissa
and I feel amazing and like weare really out there helping
women.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I love it.
Where are you guys going?
What's happened in the nextfive years, like?
What's your plan?
What's your plans for thisamazing, unique resource for
women?
What's your vision, melissa?
Do you have you guys thinkabout that?
Are you right here now, in thismoment?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I think it's both.
I think again, as entrepreneurs, you have to have this duality
right.
You have to be able to manifestand see your five years out or
your 10 years out and say wewant to be the baby center of
menopause period.
End of sentence.
I think at its height babycenter had 87% of expectant
mothers come through its doorsdigital doors.
(23:52):
That's important, that'samazing.
So, if we can become that yes,that is what we set out to build
.
At the same time, if you are notin the present, I think, as
founders and builders, andyou're constantly asking your
consumers and your audience whatdo you want?
Where are you seeing barriers?
(24:13):
How are we providing value?
What's that value exchange looklike?
What are we doing poorly?
What are we doing really,really well that you want to see
more of?
And I think, in that infancymoment, you have to constantly
have this conversation anddialogue, with reciprocity of
back and forth, to understandhow you can improve and provide
(24:34):
that value.
And what is she looking for?
I think what's interesting aboutthe menopause space currently
is it's truly in its infancyacross the board, right In
research, in access to care, inthe treatments that we're seeing
some of them have incredibledata behind them and, for
(24:54):
example, menopause hormonetherapy has been around for a
long, long time, around for along, long time and yet there's
a continued decrease in thenumber of women who are getting
hormone replacement therapy ormenopause hormone therapy now,
and we believe that that shouldchange.
(25:14):
So how do you begin to changethat narrative and give women
access to that treatment whenthey've had the worst PR jobs
since 2002, when the Women'sHealth Initiative really had a
botched situation around, poorlyread and incorrectly read data?
So I think that who do we wantto be?
Yes, we have a vision, you know, a five, 10 year vision of
(25:37):
where we want to go, but everysingle day is a learning moment
and every single day we learningmoment and every single day we
are constantly optimizing,tweaking, evaluating so that we
can be the best platform andforum and community that she
wants.
And it's always changing.
The conversation keeps moving.
(25:57):
It's so elastic, it's sofascinating and I think only
with time will we have a morerobust ability to provide her
with more research and moretreatments.
You know, for example,diagnostics right?
So many women come in and, likeI, had my hormones tested and
(26:19):
because that's that's yourimmediate response to what you
think it's a similar like I tooka pregnancy test, right, I'm
pregnant.
That's what she wants to think.
I took my, took my cholesterol.
This is my cholesterol.
Until we have those biomarkersidentified or some sort of way
to assess where a woman is inher stage, I think that there
(26:39):
will just be continued confusion, but but that will happen.
Um, so I think that's my answer.
Near-term and short-term.
Constantly that's my answer.
Near term and short termconstantly.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
That's a great answer .
So what piece of advice?
Speaker 4 (27:00):
would you give to a woman Stacey who's just starting
her menopause journey?
Get educated.
There is so much to learn.
And, to Melissa's point, someof the symptoms you might be
experiencing you might not beattributing it to perimenopause
and menopause.
So doing the research, doingthe hard work to figure out gosh
, what am I experiencing, howdoes it ladder back to
(27:22):
perimenopause and menopause andhow can I build a care team
around this to ensure I get thetreatment I need that is
customized to me and my healthjourney?
If you don't get that from yourprovider, keep looking, Find
someone else.
Go interview other doctors.
You are not crazy.
(27:44):
This is probably happening andthere, hopefully, is an ideal
treatment plan and solution tohelp you feel better.
So do your education and don'tgive up.
If you don't find a doctor onthe first, second or even third,
try.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, and you don't have to suffer.
You do not have to suffer, youdo not have to suffer, and I
love that.
Like, how much suffering isenough, right?
No, you don't have to suffer.
As soon as you realize you'resuffering, like, yeah, don, you
don't have to suffer.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
As soon as you realize you're suffering, like,
yeah, don't write off yoursymptoms to your point.
It's like oh well, it's justnight sweats three nights a week
.
Okay, so three nights a weekyou're not sleeping, right?
That impacts your overallhealth.
Don't write these things off asonesie, twosie little things
that aren't a big deal.
It is a really big deal andthey will continue to pile up
and be an even bigger deal.
(28:32):
So you know, acknowledge yoursymptoms and find someone who
will help you.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Where can people find you guys?
Speaker 4 (28:40):
You can find us at hot pause healthcom.
Hot pause Health is all of oursocial media handles.
Please join our newsletter.
You know, melissa and I writethat every single week.
We try and infuse some humorinto everything we do, so
hopefully it gives you a littlepiece of not only education, but
maybe a little laugh as well.
And yeah, you can find us onalmost any platform and send us
(29:06):
feedback.
Send us things that you'relooking for, maybe content that
we have not yet written, orquestions that you might have
that we could get our medicaladvisory board to answer for you
.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
So I think I'd be remiss, Melissa, like Hot Paws
Health.
How did you guys come up withthat name?
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Well, great question.
We, I come from a brandingnaming.
I've named so many companiesover my tenure and when you have
to name your own, it's it's,it's a much.
It's like naming a child.
Right, it's going to be yourbaby, so you better love it.
Um, you know, I think that wewanted to have, as Stacey just
alluded to, humor is a very bigcomponent.
(29:45):
It's actually one of our values.
Um, because we always chooselaughter and levity over, you
know, sadness in this state,because you could get really sad
and really dark really quickly,and so we wanted to lean into
this kind of quippy, fun,humorous nod, but then also have
it be rooted in something thatwas very immediate and
(30:09):
understood.
So the hotness and the pauseright was really important and
then really grounding it inhealth.
I think that Stacey and I verymuch both come from appreciate
and prioritize science andevidence and data, science and
(30:36):
evidence and data, and so thisnotion of health good health was
really important to us as well.
So that combination of taking ahot pause and then health was
was how we got there.
So it was really fun.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, I know it took us a very long time to come up
with a name, so I totallyappreciate that, okay, so the
final question and I actuallydidn't prep you for this, so I'm
sorry, but the final questionthat we ask all of our guests is
what is the best piece ofadvice you've ever received?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I have my list.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
You want to go first.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Yeah, mine, and I tell it to all my children.
Um, mine and I tell it to all mychildren I have four sons is
pressure as a privilege.
And Billie Jean King said itand I find you know people pause
when they hear that and what itmeans in my purview Cause I
heard her say at an event yearsago and it really clicked with
(31:27):
me that this notion of pressureyou know, I'm a firstborn female
, I'm a high achiever, I'mtotally neurotic, type A, but
what a gift for me to have that,what a gift that I get to think
about achievement and pressureand performance.
Right, you know Billie JeanKing, for you know, at the
(31:48):
foreground and she was theunbelievable breaker of so many
things and women's sports andher point was what a what a
privilege for me to have thatpressure.
I'm not thinking about food,I'm not thinking about shelter,
I'm not thinking about my safety.
I get to do all these otherthings and I think that's such a
gift and a perspective toalways have, that, you know,
(32:10):
such a privilege that we get towork this hard.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I love that Melissa's is so good, like.
I think we just have to end onthat because mine's never going
to be as good as that.
That was so nice Melissa.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
You want that one too .
You can have that one too.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Yeah, ditto what Melissa said.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Okay, well, you'll have to come back on Stacy,
because I didn't prepare you forthat.
So we'll give you the out onthat.
Thank you both very much.
We've talked about doing thisfor a really long time.
I appreciate your friendship,your kindness, your holding each
other up, supporting each other.
(32:48):
I just really it's's.
I feel so blessed.
So thank you.
And for our listeners out there.
Go find joy in the journey andwe'll see you next time.
Thanks, you guys.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Thank you for listening to the Medovia
menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes,leave a review and share this
episode with a friend.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at medoviacom.
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source for informationabout menopause and midlife.
Join us each episode, as wehave great conversations with
great people.
Tune in and enjoy the show, heywelcome everyone to the show
today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It's just me.
April's on vacation, so I'mreally excited to introduce my
friends Stacey and Melissa fromHot Paws Health.
Melissa want to tell us alittle bit about yourself and
how you and Stacey came togetherto join in this endeavor.
Yeah, and thank you so much forhaving us.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
We're so grateful.
You know, the elevation of allwomen has just been such a
tremendous part.
I think one of the mostbeautiful parts about starting
Hot Paws Health is this embracethat so many women who we've met
have opened their arms andbrought us in.
So we're so grateful for that.
I am Melissa Oliveira.
I'm the co-founder of Hot PawsHealth with Stacey Leisha.
(00:57):
We met over the many moons ofour career and came out of
proactive prevention within thepediatric space, which really
was this incredible opportunitywhere we got to connect directly
with parents and then also withpediatricians and healthcare
providers and key opinionleaders around really brilliant
(01:21):
and groundbreaking science andbring that to a new generation
to help them understand how toproactively prevent about
pediatric food allergies.
And when that company was soldto Nestle Health Science, you
know Stacey and I had been inthe pandemic together, we had
raised babies together, we hadtraversed our marriages together
(01:41):
and we had this opportunitywhere we looked at each other in
our, you know, forties mine area little bit higher than
Stacey's in the 40 situation andsaid, well, we could do
something.
I mean, there was this realopportunities aha of well, why
not us?
Why couldn't we take, you know,a page out of the playbook that
(02:04):
we've been doing for so manyyears in our respective careers
and mine is really brand brandbuilding strategy, consumer
insights and bringing brands tomarket across the health,
wellness and CPG spaces andbring something that really
impacted women.
I think that as we were on thisroller coaster of perimenopause
(02:27):
particularly in the pandemic wefelt like there was this real
gap, not just a gap of researchand evidence, but really a
connection of a community, aplace where we could go ask
questions without bias.
That there wasn't somethingthat was you know, somebody was
just trying to sell us something.
That that there was a placethat felt really credible, that
(02:51):
was rooted in evidence andresearch to help us navigate.
You know these tentpole momentssimilar to pregnancy right, you
get pregnant and for 40 weeks,people tell you what to do, and
it's not exactly the same, andnor is perimenopause or
menopause linear.
It clearly is a bespoke journeyfor all women.
(03:12):
But where were those key thingsthat we really needed to
understand Cardiovascular healthor bone health, or what am I
supposed to do about myvasomotor symptoms, which are
hot flashes and night sweats andheart palpitations and just
really a place that was simpleand digestible but really
credible.
And so we came up with thisnotion of hot pause health,
(03:33):
which, for all intent andpurpose, is very much like the
baby center of menopause, justin reverse.
And so we did it and it's beena it feels like a very long
journey, but we just launched inAugust of 2024 and it's been
incredible, so I'm so gratefulto be here.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Oh, that's a.
It's a great story and, um, andyou know, stacey, you and
Melissa, like April and myself,reinvented our careers.
Uh, so what was?
What was sort of the impetusand thoughts around when you
were going into this?
What does this mean for me andhow do I think about this?
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think Melissa and I after youknow the acquisition of the
startup we were working atreally took time to think about
what do we want to do next, whoare the types of people we want
to surround ourselves with?
What kind of companies would webe interested in working for?
And we explored going andgetting you know totally, you
(04:36):
know average FTE jobs, and weboth kind of came to the
conclusion like we want to workfor really smart women, we want
to do something that's focusedaround women's health and we
don't want to go back to thenorm.
And it was a big risk for bothof us, but we really felt like
(05:00):
to Melissa's point there wasjust this wide open space for us
to come in and try and drivepositive change.
So you know, we worked on thecompany for about a year before
our launch in August and we'velearned so much along the way.
You know we always joke thatit's too bad that I'm not an
OBGYN and Melissa is the personshe is, or the inverse of that
(05:28):
or the inverse of that.
But we have a lot of reallycommon synergies and we feel
really similarly about thethings in this business that are
really important to us and inareas that we may not have a lot
of expertise, we have hired uparound us really smartly, and
one of those areas is ourmedical advisory board.
And so, because neither Melissaor I are credentialed MD with
(05:49):
years and years of training, weknew we were in no position to
be offering menopause advice orguidance or any sort of
educational information.
So we created an all-femalemedical advisory board of over
16 doctors and experts acrossmultiple specialties, so not
just OBGYNs, but looking reallyholistically at the menopause
(06:12):
experience.
So dermatologists,acupuncturists, naturopaths, an
obesity medicine doctor and theyare guiding every single thing
that we do, every piece ofcontent that lives in our
website, every brand partnershipwe consider to make sure that
we are really out there at theforefront, providing
science-backed information towomen everywhere.
(06:35):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So how do I use your website?
Right, you have website for meas someone in menopause.
How do I use your website?
And you have a very and in thatyou have a very strong
community driven approach onyour website too.
So how is building thiscommunity?
What would a person going toyour website look at and find
(06:59):
when they're there?
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Yeah, I think it's a two part response.
The first one on the communityside.
We think about community and avariety of different ways.
(07:28):
So the first thing I would doto be a part of our community is
go on and create an account.
That's number one.
Number two is sign up for ournewsletter.
We send out a weekly newsletterand it's full of content,
education, resources, videocontent from our medical
advisory board, recipes, what'sgoing on in the news.
That is, you know, the secondthing I would do.
Then, from a communitystandpoint, there is a community
section on our website that isa Reddit-like forum where women
can come and interact, but wealso have a private Facebook
community where we found thatwomen maybe feel a little bit
more comfortable coming andparticipating there.
So, in terms of creatingcommunity, those are the first
(07:51):
things I would do.
And then, in terms of using thewebsite, there are a variety of
things you can do After youjoin the community.
You can go on and learn aboutyour symptoms.
You can go on and learn aboutall the different treatment
options that are out therehormonal, non-hormonal, more
holistic approaches.
You can find a doctor, and wehave heard from our community
(08:13):
how hard this is for women thatthey are struggling to find a
doctor who can help them, thatthey have been gaslit, that they
have been ignored, that theyhave gone to multiple doctors to
get help, and so we built thenation's largest provider portal
where we have ingested all ofthe menopause certified OBGYNs,
(08:34):
plus doctors across otherspecialties that you might need
to see in your menopause journey.
So if your hair is falling outor you have acne, we have
dermatologists that are in there.
If your mental health issuffering because of your
menopause journey, we havecredentialed mental health
experts in there.
So you can go in, put in yourzip code and then sort by the
(08:57):
type of doctor you're lookingfor and get connected to a
doctor.
If you live in a healthcaredesert where there aren't any
menopause certified OBGYNs nearyou, we have a telemedicine
option and we are agnostic.
We have put in the middies ofthe world the gen Fs of the
world, the alloys of the world,so that you can get connected to
(09:18):
a telehealth doctor whospecializes in menopause.
We are also crowdsourcing on ourwebsite.
So if you have a doctor thatyou love, who has been amazing,
please go to our doctor portaland submit them through.
We review them with our medicaladvisory board and then push
them back out into the communityto make sure we keep growing
(09:38):
that so more and more women canreach doctors that will be
helpful to them.
There is a product section ofthe website where we have vetted
appropriate menopause andperimenopause products for women
.
We are also crowdsourcing fromour community on that section of
the website as well.
So if you have a product thathas changed your life that you
(10:00):
want to share, you can do that.
So there's a lot of things thatyou can do on our website.
But first and foremost to your,do that.
So there's a lot of things thatyou can do on our website.
But first and foremost, to yourpoint, I think it's important
to join our community.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, and that's great.
And so, Melissa, I'm talkingabout community.
You know many women inmenopause find this time
confusing and isolating.
How do you approach thecommunity with education and
information?
Stacey talked a little bitabout the Facebook page and the
website, but how do you helpwomen feel empowered with the
(10:31):
resources that you haveavailable?
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah, great, that's a great question.
I think one of the mostinteresting pieces of feedback
that we get from community andemails that we get, or outreach
that we get, or DMs or what haveyou is this notion of thank you
.
There's a real gratitude of Ithought I was crazy or I didn't.
(10:55):
I would have thought thatsomething was really wrong with
me until I realized that fill inthe blank symptom right Ringing
in my ears, or this hair loss,that I thought I had some sort
of endocrine disorder or youknow.
So many women have come backand said thank you for just
(11:17):
letting me know that I'm notinsane, and I think that so many
women feel this sense of likeI'm losing my mind, right?
I mean my symptoms were rage.
I mean wild rage, like I couldburn a house down with my
eyeballs.
Rage, and then I would be fineand be like, oh, and then I'd
have to apologize to all mychildren and my husband, be like
(11:40):
super sorry, mommy had thatmoment out of my body, like
levitating out of my body.
Um, night sweats aredebilitating, but it was really
the insomnia that I thought okay, cause sleep used to be my
superpower.
Like my head hit the pillow and32 seconds later I was out and
when sleep was taken away,that's when I thought I think I
(12:02):
might die, like I can't, Icannot live like this.
And so I think you know part ofwe we use the word empowerment a
lot, but I think, the more thatI sit with it, it's about
giving control to women, aboutdecision-making about their
bodies, about how they want tolive, and so empowerment, you
(12:27):
know, can be thrown around and Ialso feel like it might be used
too much.
But it's really like what can Icontrol?
I would like this back in mycontrol.
I would like to be the CEO ofmy own body.
You know, I think Dr Mary ClaireHaver coined that one and I
totally agree with her which isyou're in charge and, moreover,
women know their bodies.
I mean, I know my body.
(12:47):
When I was pregnant, I knewwhen things were right or wrong,
or you just have this sense,you, you feel you know yourself,
right?
I mean, they say that oftenwith cardiovascular for women,
they have to go in multipletimes and she's having a heart
attack, but they're like havesome Tylenol, I mean, and that's
just wrong.
(13:08):
So I think that giving womenthe tools and the resources and
the advocacy for self isprobably the most important work
that we're doing, and givingher a forum and a place, a
(13:32):
platform to say I'm not crazy, Iknow what I'm talking about and
now I'm going to go get thechange that I deserve.
And so, to me, I think thefeedback that we get is really
this acknowledgement ofgratitude and that she's finally
being seen and that she's notalone.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
And I think those are really, really that can
radically change conversationsif you touch enough women bit
about being at an event lastweekend where Stacy and I were
at booths and everyone comes totell you their story, but it's a
safe space, they might not havesaid this to anyone before and
all of a sudden they're able tosay like, oh, my God, let me
(14:10):
tell you what's going on with me, right?
Um, also, I haven't figured outsleep yet.
So if you, if and when youfigure out the sleep thing, uh,
I would love a little um,community huddle on that,
because that's still a challengefor me.
But you talk about advocacy andyou have done advocacy for
(14:31):
things like the MenopauseResearch and Equity Act.
How are you doing this advocacyand why is it part of your,
your sort of platform, stacey,to really look at healthcare
policies around menopause?
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Yeah, it's certainly not something that Melissa and I
feel like we are at theforefront leading these efforts,
but it's certainly somethingthat we want to be supporting
every step of the way.
So we recently launched anadvocacy section of our website
that talks about these differentefforts that are going on out
there from the AdvancingMenopause Care Act, there's the
(15:08):
Menopause Research and EquityAct.
There's an unboxing menopausecampaign, working to remove FDA
box label warnings.
There's information on thetestosterone project, like.
There are so many amazingefforts underway out there and
we want to make sure we are outthere amplifying them in
whatever way we possibly can.
(15:29):
So there are forms you can goonline to write to your
legislators.
We are sharing all of this onsocial media and it's really our
hope that we just continue touplift these efforts and the
amazing you know brands andnonprofits behind them.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
No, that's, that's great.
So, while you've been growingthis business, what have been
some of your challenges?
Where have you guys gottenstuck?
What do you like?
What did you learn?
What do you like?
What kind of feedback have yougotten where you're like, oh, we
should have considered that inthe first place.
Like Melissa, what are kind ofyour thoughts there?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
well, I think there I mean there are too many to
count right.
I think that when you talk toany entrepreneur or anybody
who's started a business fromnothing, you just have this idea
and from the ether you startbuilding that you are going to
make mistakes and you are goingto fail.
But if you fail fast and youidentify where the gap or the
barriers were and you quicklyoptimize, to me speed becomes
(16:31):
really important.
I think, particularly in themenopause category, which, at
this point and maybe we're justin an echo chamber, but there's
a lot of movement, there are alot of people joining it, there
are a lot of people who arewanting a quote, piece of the
pie, so to speak, and so I think, being really intentional and
focused on where your true Northis, I mean Stacey and I wrote
(16:54):
down our, our values, and ourvalues are really important to
us.
You know, urgency is one ofthem.
We have to go past, we can'tjust sit around and hang out,
and so the benefit of beingco-partners and co-founders with
Stacey is that we are highly,highly urgent humans in all
(17:14):
facets of our life.
So the application to businesscame very naturally to us and
that you're going to fail.
And if you can get over thatand actually take it as a really
important opportunity.
And if you're failing,everybody else is failing too.
So how do you, how do you lookat that and say, ooh, well,
(17:36):
where's the potential there?
You know, as Stacey mentionedearlier, neither of us are board
certified MDs and instead ofbeing like, oh shucks, wish we
were board certified MDs, webuilt this female forward,
unbelievable medical advisoryboard.
That that's I mean.
These women are rock stars intheir own world, right Like you
(17:57):
have Dr Ken Yuen, who's at UCSFand is a professor of sleep
medicine at Stanford and focuseson women's health.
You have Dr V Yuen, who's atUCSF and is a professor of sleep
medicine at Stanford andfocuses on women's health.
You have Dr Vicky Yang, who'sat the forefront of
gastroenterology at Stanford,who's looking at the gut health
connection.
They're so smart.
And it's not just aboutobstetrics and gynecology.
I think, when you think aboutthe fact that you have estrogen
(18:19):
receptors from the tip of yourhead to the tip of your toes, on
most cells of your body,there's not going to be a one
size fits all, and I think whereStacey and I've leaned into
that is it's not again justabout your OB-GYN or your family
medicine doctor.
It really touches so manydifferent parts of a woman's
experience and herperimenopausal journey, an
(18:40):
example being we have threemental health professionals on
our medical advisory board.
23% of women in the UnitedStates of America are in an SSRI
between the ages of 40 and 59.
It's the highest age sex ratioof any age sex ratio.
Women are really sad and that'snot normal, right.
(19:01):
Like this is highest rates ofsuicide, highest rates for
divorce.
Like it just is such a miss forour country that we're not
focusing on women's health, andparticularly mental health,
right?
So back to where you know.
Your question was where are thegaps?
Where have we failed?
We failed a lot.
Lawyers are super expensiveDevelopers, whether it's app
(19:26):
developers or our website, ormeta is crazy.
You're trying to figure outyour digital path to purchase
and conversion, et cetera.
But with failure comes theseother opportunities, like, for
example, our medical advisoryboard.
I'm leading into them andfiguring out how we can quickly
meet the needs of our communityand what she wants, and that,
(19:46):
that nimbleness, I think, canbecome power, um, particularly
if you're just a you know,scrappy female entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So yeah, I love it.
My favorite part of yourwebsite is the ability to search
for providers, and I love thatyou have not just OBGYNs but you
have everyone, because wealways are like you know, we get
questions on both ends of thespectrum, like I'm nowhere near
menopause, why do I need thisinformation?
(20:16):
And I'm always like go gatheryour team, go get your doctor,
your PT, your acupuncturist,your massage therapist, make
sure you have them in play.
And then on the other side,people are like I've already
done this, I don't need to dothis anymore.
And I'm like, yes, you do,because your bones are impacted,
your, your cardiac health isimpacted, so go find those
(20:39):
resources.
So I love that part of yourwebsite and also I sort of
fangirl your, your advisoryboard, because they are they're
pretty awesome.
Stacey talk, given that, talkabout some of the feedback
you've heard success from thecommunity.
That stands out to you whereyou know you guys, this
(21:01):
entrepreneur thing's got its upsand downs April and I have like
days where like my God, this isthe best thing that could ever
happen.
And then we have days wherelike how, what are we going to
do next?
You know, but success storiesare why you guys are in this
right.
You want to empower women.
So what kind of what?
Where?
What have you seen?
What kind of feedback have yougotten?
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Yeah, I mean to your point.
There have been so manysuccesses and so many bummer,
bummer situations, right, um,but I think one of the things
that we've started to lean intoa little bit more are all these
events, right, we're seeing, youknow, mid Ovia and lots of the
same companies in the Seattlearea, but also in the Bay area,
where Melissa is as well, and sowe have been doing more and
(21:46):
more of these in-person eventsand we're seeing success in
seeing these women collectivelycome together and have their aha
moment about perimenopause.
You know, I'm in my earlyforties and, you know, brought
my community to an event in theBellevue area and so many of
them did not know this freighttrain that was coming for them,
(22:08):
right, and so getting them thiseducation and the upfront, maybe
before they're even starting toexperience symptoms, to have
this education, to say, gosh,when this starts happening, I
know what to do so they don'thold on for five years and
suffer and, you know, wait tillthey're 50, 55, right out the
(22:29):
gate.
They're going to know what to doand I think that's been, you
know, a success for Melissa andI to know that we're out there,
you know, making improvements towomen's health education that
way, but it's also a win forwomen everywhere who are
starting to get educated thatway.
We don't want women to make itto the other side of menopause
(22:51):
and then say, gosh, that wasawful, I don't know why that
happened.
I'm going to retrospectively golook at what I could have would
have should have done.
We want to get them in theupfront so that they're prepared
and ahead of that.
So I think that's beensomething that has made Melissa
and I feel amazing and like weare really out there helping
women.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I love it.
Where are you guys going?
What's happened in the nextfive years, like?
What's your plan?
What's your plans for thisamazing, unique resource for
women?
What's your vision, melissa?
Do you have you guys thinkabout that?
Are you right here now, in thismoment?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I think it's both.
I think again, as entrepreneurs, you have to have this duality
right.
You have to be able to manifestand see your five years out or
your 10 years out and say wewant to be the baby center of
menopause period.
End of sentence.
I think at its height babycenter had 87% of expectant
mothers come through its doorsdigital doors.
(23:52):
That's important, that'samazing.
So, if we can become that yes,that is what we set out to build
.
At the same time, if you are notin the present, I think, as
founders and builders, andyou're constantly asking your
consumers and your audience whatdo you want?
Where are you seeing barriers?
(24:13):
How are we providing value?
What's that value exchange looklike?
What are we doing poorly?
What are we doing really,really well that you want to see
more of?
And I think, in that infancymoment, you have to constantly
have this conversation anddialogue, with reciprocity of
back and forth, to understandhow you can improve and provide
(24:34):
that value.
And what is she looking for?
I think what's interesting aboutthe menopause space currently
is it's truly in its infancyacross the board, right In
research, in access to care, inthe treatments that we're seeing
some of them have incredibledata behind them and, for
(24:54):
example, menopause hormonetherapy has been around for a
long, long time, around for along, long time and yet there's
a continued decrease in thenumber of women who are getting
hormone replacement therapy ormenopause hormone therapy now,
and we believe that that shouldchange.
(25:14):
So how do you begin to changethat narrative and give women
access to that treatment whenthey've had the worst PR jobs
since 2002, when the Women'sHealth Initiative really had a
botched situation around, poorlyread and incorrectly read data?
So I think that who do we wantto be?
Yes, we have a vision, you know, a five, 10 year vision of
(25:37):
where we want to go, but everysingle day is a learning moment
and every single day we learningmoment and every single day we
are constantly optimizing,tweaking, evaluating so that we
can be the best platform andforum and community that she
wants.
And it's always changing.
The conversation keeps moving.
(25:57):
It's so elastic, it's sofascinating and I think only
with time will we have a morerobust ability to provide her
with more research and moretreatments.
You know, for example,diagnostics right?
So many women come in and, likeI, had my hormones tested and
(26:19):
because that's that's yourimmediate response to what you
think it's a similar like I tooka pregnancy test, right, I'm
pregnant.
That's what she wants to think.
I took my, took my cholesterol.
This is my cholesterol.
Until we have those biomarkersidentified or some sort of way
to assess where a woman is inher stage, I think that there
(26:39):
will just be continued confusion, but but that will happen.
Um, so I think that's my answer.
Near-term and short-term.
Constantly that's my answer.
Near term and short termconstantly.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
That's a great answer .
So what piece of advice?
Speaker 4 (27:00):
would you give to a woman Stacey who's just starting
her menopause journey?
Get educated.
There is so much to learn.
And, to Melissa's point, someof the symptoms you might be
experiencing you might not beattributing it to perimenopause
and menopause.
So doing the research, doingthe hard work to figure out gosh
, what am I experiencing, howdoes it ladder back to
(27:22):
perimenopause and menopause andhow can I build a care team
around this to ensure I get thetreatment I need that is
customized to me and my healthjourney?
If you don't get that from yourprovider, keep looking, Find
someone else.
Go interview other doctors.
You are not crazy.
(27:44):
This is probably happening andthere, hopefully, is an ideal
treatment plan and solution tohelp you feel better.
So do your education and don'tgive up.
If you don't find a doctor onthe first, second or even third,
try.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, and you don't have to suffer.
You do not have to suffer, youdo not have to suffer, and I
love that.
Like, how much suffering isenough, right?
No, you don't have to suffer.
As soon as you realize you'resuffering, like, yeah, don, you
don't have to suffer.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
As soon as you realize you're suffering, like,
yeah, don't write off yoursymptoms to your point.
It's like oh well, it's justnight sweats three nights a week
.
Okay, so three nights a weekyou're not sleeping, right?
That impacts your overallhealth.
Don't write these things off asonesie, twosie little things
that aren't a big deal.
It is a really big deal andthey will continue to pile up
and be an even bigger deal.
(28:32):
So you know, acknowledge yoursymptoms and find someone who
will help you.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Where can people find you guys?
Speaker 4 (28:40):
You can find us at hot pause healthcom.
Hot pause Health is all of oursocial media handles.
Please join our newsletter.
You know, melissa and I writethat every single week.
We try and infuse some humorinto everything we do, so
hopefully it gives you a littlepiece of not only education, but
maybe a little laugh as well.
And yeah, you can find us onalmost any platform and send us
(29:06):
feedback.
Send us things that you'relooking for, maybe content that
we have not yet written, orquestions that you might have
that we could get our medicaladvisory board to answer for you
.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
So I think I'd be remiss, Melissa, like Hot Paws
Health.
How did you guys come up withthat name?
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Well, great question.
We, I come from a brandingnaming.
I've named so many companiesover my tenure and when you have
to name your own, it's it's,it's a much.
It's like naming a child.
Right, it's going to be yourbaby, so you better love it.
Um, you know, I think that wewanted to have, as Stacey just
alluded to, humor is a very bigcomponent.
(29:45):
It's actually one of our values.
Um, because we always chooselaughter and levity over, you
know, sadness in this state,because you could get really sad
and really dark really quickly,and so we wanted to lean into
this kind of quippy, fun,humorous nod, but then also have
it be rooted in something thatwas very immediate and
(30:09):
understood.
So the hotness and the pauseright was really important and
then really grounding it inhealth.
I think that Stacey and I verymuch both come from appreciate
and prioritize science andevidence and data, science and
(30:36):
evidence and data, and so thisnotion of health good health was
really important to us as well.
So that combination of taking ahot pause and then health was
was how we got there.
So it was really fun.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, I know it took us a very long time to come up
with a name, so I totallyappreciate that, okay, so the
final question and I actuallydidn't prep you for this, so I'm
sorry, but the final questionthat we ask all of our guests is
what is the best piece ofadvice you've ever received?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I have my list.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
You want to go first.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Yeah, mine, and I tell it to all my children.
Um, mine and I tell it to all mychildren I have four sons is
pressure as a privilege.
And Billie Jean King said itand I find you know people pause
when they hear that and what itmeans in my purview Cause I
heard her say at an event yearsago and it really clicked with
(31:27):
me that this notion of pressureyou know, I'm a firstborn female
, I'm a high achiever, I'mtotally neurotic, type A, but
what a gift for me to have that,what a gift that I get to think
about achievement and pressureand performance.
Right, you know Billie JeanKing, for you know, at the
(31:48):
foreground and she was theunbelievable breaker of so many
things and women's sports andher point was what a what a
privilege for me to have thatpressure.
I'm not thinking about food,I'm not thinking about shelter,
I'm not thinking about my safety.
I get to do all these otherthings and I think that's such a
gift and a perspective toalways have, that, you know,
(32:10):
such a privilege that we get towork this hard.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I love that Melissa's is so good, like.
I think we just have to end onthat because mine's never going
to be as good as that.
That was so nice Melissa.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
You want that one too .
You can have that one too.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Yeah, ditto what Melissa said.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Okay, well, you'll have to come back on Stacy,
because I didn't prepare you forthat.
So we'll give you the out onthat.
Thank you both very much.
We've talked about doing thisfor a really long time.
I appreciate your friendship,your kindness, your holding each
other up, supporting each other.
(32:48):
I just really it's's.
I feel so blessed.
So thank you.
And for our listeners out there.
Go find joy in the journey andwe'll see you next time.
Thanks, you guys.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Thank you for listening to the Medovia
menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes,leave a review and share this
episode with a friend.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at medoviacom.
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
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