October 20, 2025 • 49 mins
Menopause doesn’t have to mean white‑knuckling through sleepless nights, brain fog, and a maze of appointments. We sit down with Dr. Taylor Hahn, a board‑certified OBGYN and certified menopause practitioner, to map a clearer path: ask better questions, build a care team that truly engages, and use lifestyle medicine as a force multiplier for relief. Instead of cramming everything into a rushed visit, Dr. Hahn shows how to prepare a sharp symptom list, lead with your top priority, and confidently ask whether your clinician feels comfortable managing menopause. Honest answers save months and get you to the right help faster.
We dig into the lever with the biggest payoff: sleep. You’ll learn how fragmented nights fuel inflammation, drag mood and focus, and undermine nutrition and movement—and how simple hygiene shifts and reducing alcohol can restore deep, restorative rest. From there, we reframe exercise as accessible “movement snacks”: counter push‑ups while the coffee brews, squats before the shower, hourly stretch breaks that rebuild capacity without a gym. On the nutrition front, Dr. Hahn favors a plant‑forward, personalized approach guided by your schedule, preferences, and labs, emphasizing consistency over trends like intermittent fasting when they don’t fit your real life.
Brain fog, mood changes, and hot flashes aren’t character flaws; they’re biological and deserve respectful, evidence‑based care. We explore how cognitive behavioral therapy, community, and—when appropriate—hormone therapy can work together. We also highlight why virtual care is a game changer for access, engagement, and follow‑through, and what a menopause‑friendly workplace looks like when education and flexibility become the norm. The main shift we champion is from coping to empowered prevention: assemble your team, open the lines between visits, and claim the right to feel like yourself again.
If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more women can find the support they deserve.
Dr. Hahn is a board-certified OB/GYN and certified menopause practitioner through The Menopause Society. She is an active member of ISSWSH, the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, and the International Society for Sexual Medicine, and has also received additional training through the Obesity Medicine Association. As a prescribing physician for Alloy Health, Dr. Hahn is passionate about education of both patients and clinicians in regards to women’s health and midlife care and strongly believes that fostering a strong, supportive community is vital to empowering women in all aspects of life.
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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_02 (00:03):
Welcome everyone to our special four-part webinar
series in recognition ofMenopause Awareness Month.
We're so proud to bring thisimportant conversation to life
through a partnership with AlloyHealth, a leader in
evidence-based menopause careand telehealth solutions, and
Medovia, the U.S.
workplace leader in menopauseand midlife health.
(00:23):
Throughout the series, we'vebeen breaking down myths,
sharing the latest science, andhighlighting real experiences of
women navigating perimenopause,menopause, and beyond.
And our goal is simple (00:33):
to replace silence with knowledge,
empower women to advocate forthemselves, and give
organizations the tools theyneed to build supportive
cultures.
Together, Alloy and Medovia areworking to change the way
menopause and frankly, thisstage of life is understood in
healthcare, in the workplace,and in society.
(00:55):
So thank you everyone forjoining us as we open the door
to honest, informed, and hopefulconversations.
Today we're addressing lifestylelongevity and the future of
menopause support, and we'rejoined today by Dr.
Taylor Hahn.
Dr.
Hahn is a board-certified OBGYNand certified menopause
practitioner through theMenopause Society.
(01:16):
She's an active member ofITWICH, the International
Society for Study of Women'sSexual Health, and the
International Society for SexualMedicine, and has also received
additional training through theObesity Medicine Association.
As a subscribing physician forAlloy Health, Dr.
Han is passionate about theeducation of both patients and
(01:37):
clinicians in regards to women'shealth and midlife care, and
strongly believes that fosteringa strong, supportive community
is vital to empowering women inall aspects of life.
We've been talking all monthabout awareness, but today we're
going beyond that.
This session is really about howwomen can thrive in midlife and
(01:57):
beyond, in health, in work, andin life.
Dr.
Han, welcome.
We're so thrilled to have youhere.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's really an honor.
SPEAKER_02 (02:09):
Absolutely.
You know, um, I was thinkingabout this session before we
hopped on and just about my ownpersonal experience.
You know, it's hard to not putyourself in the shoes of
patients or employees.
And thinking about the fact thatwomen, you know, we can
experience 34 plus symptoms ofmenopause and oftentimes at the
(02:32):
same time.
Okay, um, they're not inisolation, and it can be really,
really hard.
And that um that brought up thefirst question that I'd like to
ask you to kick it off.
When someone comes to you andsays, you know, what can I do to
feel better?
I'm miserable.
What can I do?
Where do you start with thatpatient?
(02:54):
Do you um do you start withnutrition?
Do you start with sleep,exercise, or something entirely
different?
Where's the conversation start?
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
I I like to get a sense um overall of just how my
patients have um adapted intheir everyday life.
So I actually just like to get asense of like, what's your
daily, what's your like normalday like?
Um, are you working?
Um, are you also kind of theprimary caretaker for your
(03:26):
children?
Are you primary caretaker forother family members?
Um, what's what's that stresslevel like?
Um what have you triedpreviously?
I think all those questions,rather than like first diving in
and saying, oh, I need todiagnose you with something, I
need to um, I need to get allthese labs and you know, labs
(03:46):
and evaluation, all of thatcomes down the road, but I think
getting a sense for a patient asto what they have tried, what
um, what is sort of affectingtheir daily life?
Um, you can learn so much moreabout a patient just by asking
those questions first.
unknown (04:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
Yeah, and and I appreciate that.
And most doctors only have 15minutes.
You know, women get frustratedbecause they don't get answers
when then when they go in totalk to their talk to their
doctor.
How should they prepare to beable to talk to their doctor so
that you can begin looking atways in which you can help them?
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
I think that's a really excellent point.
Um, and one that in my ownpractice we've tried to sort of
tackle so that we can make themost out of the patients' time
with us, um, even though we dohave a little bit of extended
time to spend with our patients.
Um, I think first is really umwriting out a list um of what is
(04:49):
kind of your primary um issuesthat you think are sort of top
of your list of what you want toaddress.
Um, and then, but still kind ofa list out what you've been
experiencing overall.
Um, and then I know that there'skind of some lists out there
floating around of questionsthat you can ask of your
provider.
Um, I think one of the topquestions that I would encourage
(05:13):
you to ask is do you feelcomfortable managing menopause,
perimenopause, um, some of thesymptoms that I'm going through?
Um, I don't think that that is aquestion that should be ever off
the table because if thatprovider is comfortable, they're
going to be confident in thecare that they're they're giving
you.
Um, I think that it shouldn't betaboo for providers to be able
(05:36):
to say, you know what, I am notthe best person for you to have
that conversation, but I knowwho is.
And to be able to sort of buildthat community network, we as
physicians and as justhealthcare providers in general,
we can't be everything toeverybody, right?
Um, and I think it's okay for usto say, I'm not the expert, but
(05:56):
I want to get you the help thatyou need.
Um, and so one that I think thatis one of the most important
questions to ask because youdon't want to go through this
whole conversation only to haveyour concerns not be addressed
or sort of be dismissed.
Um, and then you are are leftthinking, okay, are they are
they not important enough?
(06:17):
Or, you know, am I am I reallykind of making this up in my
mind?
Um so you want those to beaddressed.
SPEAKER_02 (06:25):
Yeah, it's interesting um that you say that
because we we often um recommendto employers and employees uh as
part of the prep for theappointment, when you call the
receptionist, you call thescheduler to ask who in your
office specializes in menopauseor hormone health.
But um I don't think we've takenthat one step further to say,
(06:47):
hey, include this in yourquestions for your healthcare
practitioner as well.
Ask, right?
And that might feel a little bitbold for some people.
I think um, you know, if I thinkabout myself and I'm 57 years
old, um, I was brought up, youknow, never to question
healthcare providers.
Um you take it at face value,you don't you don't question um
(07:10):
their authority, I guess, if ifwe want to call it that for lack
of a better way of saying that.
So I think here we're justgiving permission, right?
You have permission to ask yourhealthcare provider if they're
comfortable managing yourmenopause, everyone, right?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (07:28):
And I and I think vice versa, where you're um
you're encouraging them toreally um avoid having sort of a
very poor experience with thehealthcare system, right?
Like we want to, it itoftentimes takes four to six
months to get in to see someone.
(07:48):
So why would you want to towaste that entire waiting time
only to get to an appointmentwhere they say, you know what, I
actually can't help you?
Um so as far as I love that youhave um that encouragement to to
ask that up front, like, hey, doyou have someone who um who's
interested in this or who reallyfeels comfortable managing this?
(08:09):
Um, but I don't think that itshould ever um I think we're
entering a time of healthcarewhere we're more we're
partnering with patients a lotmore than just telling them what
to do.
Um, and that taking at facevalue, um, I think can sometimes
be detrimental to patient caretoo.
unknown (08:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:27):
And some of my favorite doctors have referred
me to people that they that knewmore about the situation than
what they knew.
And it saves so much time.
And I and I just, you know, Ireally, really appreciate that
someone that wants to help melike that.
But you know, you know thestatistic, like women see
between seven to nine doctors totry and find the right person,
(08:48):
you know, something around that,but a lot of doctors trying to
find the right person that canhelp them.
And they're already stretchedtoo thin on everything else.
So it's just one more task toadd on to that list.
Like, you know, they're dealingwith all of their symptoms and
probably their children andprobably their parents.
And how do you help them makesustainable changes when they're
(09:12):
already stretched too thin byeverything else going on?
You've spent the time to get toknow what's going on with them.
How do you help them think aboutactionable steps that they can
take given everything elsethat's going on in their life?
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
I think that the the establishing a good, strong
relationship with your provideris so important.
You know, I think we we think ofhealthcare almost in small
boxes, to where it's like, okay,I have to get everything done in
this one visit and everythingcovered in this one visit.
I oftentimes will set the stagefor patients that, hey, I'm not
(09:48):
going to be able to cureeverything in this one visit.
We really need good qualityfollow-up.
And that oftentimes is in theform of visits, but oftentimes
that's in the form of justcheck-ins, you know, like I want
you to be able to check in withme and say, hey, I just want to
update you.
This is what I'm feeling.
(10:10):
Um, you know, I've had a coupleof weird things happen.
Is this normal?
You know, like you, it shouldn'tbe isolated in a box to where
it's like, well, I'm not gonnatalk to you about that.
Talk to me about it at yourvisit.
Um and so I think justencouraging patients to know
that this is um, it's very mucha journey and it's not
everything's not going to getfixed in one visit.
(10:32):
So just building thatrelationship with a provider
that you trust is so, soimportant.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
I also love that you're setting an expectation
too.
Cause I would go in and be like,okay, you understand this.
So tell me, what should I do?
And I'm in and out, and I'll seeyou in a year, right?
Yeah.
I've found that the best doctorsand the best treatments, it
takes time, which is also hardwhen you don't have any, but
also important for that personto get to know you.
(10:58):
So I appreciate that you set theexpectation.
Like, we can kind of deal with afew things today and not all of
it.
So let's just make sure we're intouch.
And that's the kind of doctoryou want to find, right?
That's the one that wants tohear from me later and cares.
Oh, oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00 (11:15):
You know, yes.
I have really found um that it'sbeen such a profound um change
in the dynamic with patientswith my patients and me.
Um, just by saying, I want tohear from you.
I want you to check in.
I want you, I want to make surethat what we're doing for you is
(11:36):
the right plan and not waste sixmonths.
And then you come back and yousay, actually, I didn't do any
of that.
Because, you know, the thenumber one thing is that I hear
is um uh I went to go pick upthe medication and they didn't
have it.
And then I didn't call, I didn'tfollow up.
Um, because the the healthcaresystem has sort of set up um,
(12:00):
again, that that feeling ofisolation and that, oh, I should
be able to figure this out on myown and I don't want to bother
them.
Um, but that's not how goodquality preventative health care
should function.
And that's not how you shouldfunction with your relationship
with someone who is who istaking care of one of the most
important aspects of you, right?
(12:21):
Your health.
SPEAKER_02 (12:22):
It's so funny that you that you mentioned that
because I did just that and I'min the menopause space.
So I mean, I know better, right?
Yeah, and I feel like I am ahuge advocate for my own health
and I'm educated andknowledgeable.
And I still questioned sendingan email to my doctor.
(12:43):
I had a question about a newmedication, and I was like, oh,
I don't wanna, I don't want tobother her, right?
Um, so that that really goes wayback.
Um we're really changing thatmindset when we give permission,
again, giving permission tocommunicate with your healthcare
provider.
It's okay.
SPEAKER_00 (13:01):
Yep.
And it's deeply ingrainedbecause um, you know, the way
that my current practice is setup and the way that Alloy is set
up as well, um, is that we havethat open line of communication,
um, that messaging, the easyphone calls.
Like it's so easy for me now tobe able to message securely with
my patients, um, just to say,hey, I went ahead and updated
(13:25):
that or I sent in that newprescription that you needed,
rather than waiting three tofive days down the road because
your inbox is full and you'rejust so overwhelmed as a
provider to do that.
Like it's more of a, it's justmuch more of a um comfortable
and trusting relationship ratherthan a I'm in this like this
(13:49):
building that is like secure andyou cannot reach me, you cannot
talk to me.
Um obviously you can't do thatwhen you're seeing a lot of
patients throughout the day, butI think it's so much nicer to be
able to build that relationshipwhere where patients feel
comfortable um bringing theirconcerns to you.
SPEAKER_01 (14:08):
Yeah, it's great.
SPEAKER_02 (14:10):
You know, I want to dive into conversation um about
lifestyle medicine.
And um, we haven't really had anopportunity to talk to other
providers with alloy aboutlifestyle medicine.
Um, we talked a lot abouthormone therapy, um, you know,
the the myths, and we debunkedsome of those myths and
misunderstandings.
(14:30):
And we know that hormone therapyis important, we know that it's
the first line of recommendationfrom the menopause society, but
there are people that eitherdon't want to take it, can't
take it, or um they are takingit.
And as we mentioned earlier,lifestyle medicine is so
critically important as well.
So I'm wondering if you could ifyou could just share with
(14:53):
listeners one lifestyle changethat delivers the biggest
impact, what would it be?
Sleep.
SPEAKER_00 (15:03):
Number one, um, especially, you know, sleep gets
completely disrupted inmenopause for so many patients.
Um, and it's the smalldisruptions.
It's not the like, oh my gosh, Ihave full-on insomnia.
I can't, I haven't had a goodnight's sleep in, you know,
weeks to months.
(15:24):
It's the, oh, well, that I thinkthat that was just related to
this, but you know, I got fourhours of sleep here and I got
six hours of sleep there.
Um, all of those things add up.
Um, and the sleep component, um,it really encourages
inflammation, it encourages umfatigue overall, which then is
(15:47):
sort of a vicious cycle for umnot only your movement
throughout the day, but alsoyour nutrition.
Um, and it affects mood.
Uh, it absolutely can affect um,you know, how well you're
functioning just uh at abaseline level.
So it's probably one of the topthings that I sort of start the
(16:08):
conversation with patients on,um, especially if they're
looking more to um, you know,non-hormonal ways to to look at
their symptoms.
unknown (16:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:17):
Is there is there a recommended um number of hours
of sleep that we should begetting in midlife?
SPEAKER_00 (16:23):
Typically, um the the general recommendation is
seven to eight hours atbaseline.
Um now I can't even tell you thelast time that I got like a full
eight to ten hours of sleep, butum, even more than eight hours
is actually very is much morereasonable as far as um really
seeing that difference.
Um what I talk to patients abouta lot is overall sleep hygiene.
(16:47):
I mean, we live in the the umthe the era of screens, right?
Um, and so um that's probablyone of the number one things
that I talk to patients about isjust um what's your nighttime
hygiene routine?
Um are you watching TV in thebedroom as you're trying to fall
asleep?
Do you have a lot of screens onand a lot of lights on?
(17:10):
Do you have, do you scrollthrough your phone or an iPad or
or something like that?
Um, you know, within the thelast couple of hours before
you're going to bed.
Um, I can tell you that, youknow, I give that
recommendation.
And then a lot of times I'mdoing that anyways because I
have small kids and um that alot of times is the only time I
(17:31):
can get a little bit of likenon-work, but you know, things
accomplished um whenever they'rethey're put to bed.
So I totally get it.
Um, it's again more aboutconsistency and change making
those changes rather than oh mygosh, I didn't do it for three
days in a row, so I'm just gonnasort of stop and give up.
(17:53):
Um, it's more so about long-termum in terms of the longevity of
that habit.
SPEAKER_01 (18:00):
And I don't think people really understand how
sleep's important, but why?
I mean, it is it fixes so manythings and helps prepare your
body for the next day in so manyways.
I don't think we've paidattention to why it's important
and what it does for you.
Yes.
Can we talk about that realbriefly?
SPEAKER_00 (18:19):
It's our primary repair time.
I mean, we if you think aboutit, we do so much damage to all
of our body cells throughout theday, whether that is um because
of actual physical elements andyou know, being outside and um
and experiencing actual likeweather elements, or whether
(18:40):
that is stress to the body withum, you know, new deadlines and
um and new assignments and uhand all of that, we do so much
damage and encourage so muchinflammation um as far as you
know the types of nutrition thatwe have throughout the day, um
you know, the the aspects ofjust daily life in our city now,
(19:05):
as far as driving um and socialmedia and you know, just there's
so many other outside elementsthat affect us now.
Um, that sleep is our time toactually like calm the body,
help repair.
And if you are only doing thatrepair process for two, three
(19:26):
hours of like actual goodquality sleep a night, that
repair process is not happening.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (19:33):
It's it's so um, it's so important.
And I'm I'm thinking about umjust recent conversations with
some women that we're talkingabout wine.
You know, I just like to drinksome wine at night to relax.
I'm stressed out.
Um, you know, we are in thismidlife stage where we might
still be caring for kids, wemight be caring for adults, we
(19:56):
might have um, you know, a highimpact stress job as well.
We might not be sleeping becauseof our hormone fluctuations or
decline.
So there's a lot in that, inthat recipe.
So a glass of wine sounds greatto relax.
But we know that alcohol affectsour sleep.
Can you just touch on that for amoment as well?
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
Yes.
Um, I will first off say I'mI've been guilty of it
previously.
So yep, yep.
So it's this is not like a, ohmy gosh, you absolutely
shouldn't be doing this.
And if you are, you're terriblekind of thing.
That's not at all.
Um, we all kind of have that umlike a similar struggle and a
similar experience.
It really alcohol overall reallyaffects the quality of sleep.
(20:41):
So it um you are not going tohave nearly as many hours of
quality sleep.
You may not get um into thatgood deep REM sleep um as
frequently.
Um, and then on top of that, itreally affects, especially for
my patients who are goingthrough perimenopause and
menopause, um, that temperatureregulation.
(21:01):
Um, it really affects that.
So I see a drastic difference inhot flushes, night sweats um
when I don't have alcohol thenight before.
So um, so it's it really itmakes a huge difference um and
you don't necessarily notice it.
(21:22):
It's not something that just umunless you maybe you're on
hormone therapy and have likenot had a hot flash in a while,
and then you experience that.
Um, a lot of times we sort ofexcuse it into other things.
Um and so it's not necessarilyuh it's very subtle.
It's it doesn't necessarily hityou all at once.
SPEAKER_01 (21:44):
Yeah, well, sleep's tough, but so the next the next
symptom that people oftencomplain about is brain fog and
mood changes, or I talk aboutthem.
Maybe it's me that's talkingabout them.
But um, can you talk aboutwhat's actually happening to
cause that?
And what are some of the waysthat women can protect their
(22:04):
brain at midlife?
Like, is it exercise?
Is it nutrition?
Is it sleep?
Like, what is it?
What's happening and what can Ido about it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:12):
I think it's all of the above.
Like it is a very brain fog, Iwould say, is probably one of
the most complex of the primarysymptoms of menopause.
Um, because there's so muchstill that we don't know about
what is the actual primarycause.
Um, and we really think that itis um it's a mix of all of those
(22:35):
factors.
Um, nutrition plays a huge rolein that.
Um, again, I think I talk aboutthis on every single um, you
know, uh webinar or anythingthat I do, but inflammation is
so such a huge component.
Um, and I think that we don'tum, you know, we don't look as
much at nutrition components ofof causing inflammation as we do
(22:58):
as to like outside stresssources and and um and things
like that.
So nutrition component, youknow, all of the processed foods
that we put in our body, we wemay say, oh, I have a generally
overall good diet, um, but a lotof the components that we're
putting into our body are notthose, you know, whole foods.
They're not, they're they'rethings that have um been
(23:21):
packaged and processed and umand we don't necessarily look at
the packaging or the you knowthe label before we put it in
our bodies.
So that's not to say that youcan't ever have those, but it's
more so again, the consistencyof um of those components and
and adding those.
Um I think uh exercise ingeneral, um, again, sort of a
(23:44):
vicious cycle because if you arenot getting sleep and fatigued
throughout the entire day, thatis not motivation to get any
kind of exercise in, right?
Um, what I oftentimes will talkto my patients about is just
movement.
It's not about exercise.
It's not about getting a new gymmembership.
It is about, you know, I have, Idon't know if you guys have the
(24:06):
um Apple Watch, but they still,I still have the reminders, even
though I sometimes ignore them,um, of like, you haven't stood
in an entire hour.
Like you need to just stand up,stretch, and that is movement.
So I know a lot of patients getdiscouraged because they think,
oh my gosh, I'm so overwhelmed.
I need to like start doingresistance training, but what
(24:27):
does that mean?
Um, I need to start liftingweights, but I don't want to, I
don't have time to join the gym.
Um, and a lot of theconversation that I have in
terms of movement with mypatients is what can you do in a
room that's like a six by sixfoot room?
You can do a full workout, onlybody weight in just that size of
(24:48):
room.
Um, and it's a lot of timesabout getting um really having
those options of creativity andyou can do repetitive movements.
It doesn't have to be this likeamazing workout that you've come
up with or that you saw onYouTube.
It is just about movementitself.
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
Yeah, I love that.
I um I teach yoga because Ilove, I love it, keeps me doing
yoga.
Um, just once a week, but it'sum it's the I call it the Keurig
movement moment.
Yes.
What can I do in these twominutes while my Keurig coffee
is brewing?
Right.
I love that.
Um they add up.
It's your habit stacking, right?
(25:26):
But um, if you think about itthat way, right?
I'm brewing my coffee.
What can I do?
Right?
I can do push-ups on the stump,I can do push-ups off the
counter, I can, right?
It's just those little things.
We can do it, right?
I can stand on one leg, I can dosquats, right?
Exactly.
That's ridiculous, but it'shard.
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
While you're brushing your teeth, like you
can do so much movement-wise.
Um, I I actually just had thisconversation um with a
colleague.
I I said, you know, I do um uhlike counter push-ups while I'm
waiting for my shower to warmup.
Um so it's easy, small thingslike that, that you just kind of
(26:04):
need that sort of boost ortrigger to say, okay, I'm gonna
do this.
I'm gonna make it happen.
Um, and I think that's kind ofthe toughest part is just
getting past the overwhelm of Ineed to do a full workout and do
it in workout clothes.
That's probably my other biggestthing is that I tell patients,
you do not eat have ever have tostep foot out of your pajamas if
(26:26):
you don't want to, and you canstill get a full workout in.
SPEAKER_02 (26:29):
Yeah, I love that.
And it doesn't cost anything,right?
Your body weight doesn't costanything.
Um, exactly.
Yeah.
You know, um, we've we've talkedabout nutrition, or you've
mentioned nutrition often inthis conversation, and I think
that that can be a reallyconfusing topic for um women
that are going through menopauseas well, because there's so much
(26:50):
information out there.
Eat, you know, eat X amount ofprotein, or the Mediterranean
diet is better, or intermittentfasting is good, or it's not
good.
Can you talk in general termswhat good nutrition, and I don't
like to use the word good orbad, but healthy nutrition looks
like at this stage of life?
SPEAKER_00 (27:09):
Yes.
I it is a very um it's a it canbe a very uh touchy topic for a
lot of patients because there'sso much stigma related to it.
Most of my patients have triedone, two, three, or four
different dietary patterns.
Um, what I tend to focus on issort of what the OBC Medicine
(27:31):
Association also focuses on,which is sort of that plant
forward dietary approach.
Um, and again, we've kind oftalked about it in other
aspects.
It's more the consistencyportion.
So what I talk to patients aboutbecause they ask me, well, do
you think intermittent fastingwould be good for me?
And we go through their day andwhat their day looks like.
(27:53):
Um, and I will tell patients,like, based on what you're
telling me and the minimal timesyou have to actually get good
nutrition in and what you'remaybe gonna do consistently, I
don't think that intermittentfasting is a good option for you
or a smart option for you ifwe're trying to really focus on
actually getting in thenutrition.
(28:14):
Um, because a lot of a lot of mypatients are um night shift
workers and maybe they have waydifferent times that they're
eating compared to their family,and they still want to have that
family aspect.
So it's taking all those thingsinto consideration, but I would
say consistency is the biggestum uh emphasis that I place on
(28:34):
it, and then also that plantforward thinking.
Um, not everyone is interestedin eating a Mediterranean diet,
not everybody likes fish or caneat fish, right?
So um, so really trying to takethose components, it's why it's
a very nutrition is a verypersonalized process for each of
my patients.
Um, because what works for youis not gonna work for somebody
(28:57):
else.
Um, and for me, it's more aboutfiguring out, um, you know,
taking into consideration yourlab evaluation too, and saying,
hey, this this type of diet ummay work good, work, work well
for you short term, but probablynot going to be the healthiest
for you long term.
Um, so what do you think aboutthat?
(29:18):
Do you think that you want totry it and we can always
readjust, or do you want tostart on something that is sort
of for the long haul?
Um, and so it's really it, it'ssuch a personalized conversation
for each patient.
And that's why I would never saya blanket statement like um
intermittent fasting is the wayto go, or Mediterranean diet
(29:40):
works for absolutely everyone.
Um, because in reality, it's allabout having that conversation
about what's going on, what whatdo we think is going to work
best for you?
unknown (29:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
Yeah.
Okay, we're gonna switch gears.
I because we could talk aboutnutrition, I could talk about
nutrition for the whole, youknow, days, but yeah, um.
Talk research has shown thattalking about menopause and your
symptoms uh helps to lower thesymptoms.
And um whether that's incommunity or whether that's in
(30:12):
therapy.
And the menopause society saysthat uh cognitive behavioral
therapy is one of the great waysto help with menopause symptoms,
but a lot of doctors are nottalking about that.
Can you have to kind of talkabout the sort of the therapy
aspect of it, the communityaspect of it, how that helps
support a lifestyle that you'retrying to create during this
(30:34):
time?
Because I think that that um itmight be j more scary to figure
out cognitive behavioral therapythan it is to figure out hormone
replacement therapy, you know,because people, there's some
there's a stigma there too, asyou're looking at the mental
health uh issues around thistime.
And I just would love to hearabout that because growing
(30:54):
research says that men menopauseand mental health have a very
close connection.
And how can people find thatsort of emotional well-being
during this time?
SPEAKER_00 (31:05):
I love that you brought that up as a point
because I think that for themost part, a lot of us would a
lot of us as healthcareproviders would probably tell
you that we got very little, ifany, training on what cognitive
behavioral therapy is and how tohow to best implement that, um,
(31:27):
even if it's in small portionsfor your patients.
I think we generally um uhespecially those of us who are
who have sort of taken on the umthe interest in menopause and
menopause giving good menopausecare.
Um, I think we generallyincorporate some of those
aspects into our care plan.
(31:47):
Um, it's really about what is umwhat is motivating a patient to
change, um, and then um helpingthem craft a plan that is going
to um that's going to long termum help to implement that
change, right?
So it it that might involvemedications, that might involve
(32:10):
um uh just like therapy andcounseling.
And um, and I I want to say thatthat's not I wish that it wasn't
such a taboo thing to talk aboutbecause mental health and mood
are such a huge component ofperimenopause and menopause.
I mean, and it's what I try toreiterate to my patients is that
it's biological.
(32:32):
It is, it is hormonal.
It's not just that you're um,you know, being rude or or, you
know, oh, she's just a womankind of thing.
I I I hate that conversationbecause it it really is a
biological fluctuation thatcontributes to a lot of those
um, those symptoms.
I think it's really interestingthat a lot of providers are 100%
(32:56):
willing to hand out anti-anxietymedications and antidepressants
for symptoms that a lot of timesare related to menopause.
But we have this taboodiscussion of, well, I don't
think you're a candidate forhormone therapy and here's why,
even for patients who areexcellent candidates.
Um, so I I think it's justreally having that conversation
(33:19):
is um is so important.
Um, and making it so that it'snot a um, it's not a, I think
this is just your moodconversation, but looking at it
in in terms of whole health.
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
Yeah.
And and I think that's one ofthe reasons why women need to be
informed when they go in ofhere's the things that I know
about menopause, here's what I'mthinking I want to do.
There are some solutions, and Iwant to get your you know, your
thoughts, because this is what Iwant, right?
Own your body and own youragency to go figure out what the
(33:52):
right things are.
So I I think that's a startingpoint, right?
SPEAKER_02 (33:57):
I mean, we don't know what we don't know what we
want or what we need.
Um giving it much thought, um,you know, caring for others and
always putting others first.
So, Kim, all Kim, you're so goodat sliding that in and every
single conversation that we havebecause it is important um to
ask yourself, what do I want andwhat do I need?
(34:18):
And what's what am I gonna go inasking for?
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Yeah.
And I think sometimes the thewhat do I want question, the
answer a lot of times is just Ijust want to feel better.
I just want to feel like myselfagain.
Um, and again, that's um it's atall order to do in one visit,
right?
But um, but I think just comingin um and having that that
(34:42):
curiosity um is so, soimportant.
Um, you know, I never shy awayfrom my patients who come in and
say, well, I Googled, or this iswhat I've seen on social media.
Um, I welcome those because thatis how that's how our society
gets a lot of our healthinformation now.
Um, that's a lot of times whywe're on social media trying to
(35:04):
give good quality education andinformation for patients.
Um but I welcome that because Iam I'm very comfortable in
having those conversations andtrying to sort of bust the myths
versus giving them good, givegiving them validation that,
hey, that was a really greatquestion to ask.
Um, and here is how we canaddress that too.
SPEAKER_02 (35:27):
So good.
Can I ask you as I'm thinkingabout um the care that that you
give?
And and honestly, I I'm sittinghere thinking, gosh, I'd love to
have you as my doctor.
Um but really truly, I I loveyour approach.
And I don't think that all womenhave access to it.
I know they don't have access,and there's definitely um uh
(35:50):
inequity in the healthcarespace, especially the menopause
space.
And I'm wondering if you couldgive your opinion on how we
might close the gaps inmenopausal care for women who
can't afford that specializedtreatment.
Um, or or how do how do women ofyou know that help exists?
SPEAKER_00 (36:09):
I I actually think that uh a lot of um our sort of
big experts in this space aredoing a really great job of just
getting the word out, gettingthat education out.
Um I, you know, I might be a bitof an optimist, but I do think
(36:29):
that um that social media is agreat way to get those little
sound bites of um justinformation that you may not
have thought about that theythat patients can then take to
um, you know, the one visit thatthey get a year or or every six
months kind of thing.
Um I love that we areencouraging um healthcare
(36:51):
providers outside of onlywomen's health to to take an
interest um and to reallyinvolve themselves and invest
themselves into this care.
Um, I tend to be somebody whosays that anybody who is taking
care of women in any capacityshould know this.
They they should feelcomfortable and understand the
(37:14):
process of menopause and what'shappening outside of, oh, your
hormones go down.
You know, like that is not atall.
That is just a scratch on thesurface and not at all the full
picture.
Um, and I think that we'reseeing a lot more, um,
especially um, you know, primarycare endocrinologists, um, I've
(37:35):
seen rheumatologists who havetaken an interest now too.
You know, like it's just, Ithink it affects so many aspects
of women's health that if you'retaking care of women, you you
should really try to at leasteducate yourself on the
baseline.
SPEAKER_02 (37:50):
Yeah, yeah.
And I know um digital healthcare uh plays a part in closing
that gap as well.
I mean, Alan obviously digitalhealth care and um there's a
need for that.
There's a real need for that toreach individuals that don't
have access to a physicallocation.
The convenience alone is makingit more accessible for a lot of
(38:12):
people.
So I just want to as well.
SPEAKER_00 (38:15):
Yes, yes.
Virtual care is um, I'm reallyhoping that um, you know, we're
able to continue as much virtualcare access as we can.
Um, I think, especially in oursociety, we are we are a very
mobile tech savvy society ingeneral.
So um, so being able to get thatcare to people who maybe live
(38:38):
three, four hours away fromtheir nearest provider.
And that provider might not evenbe interested in or um provide
that type of care, right?
Um, and then what happens if youhave a visit scheduled six
months out and then if somethinghappens and that visit has to be
rescheduled?
It's another three to fourmonths usually for getting you
(39:00):
in.
So um, so being able to offerthat care has been, I think,
really a game changer for forwomen.
Um, it also I think is gettingpeople talking about it more
because um and you know, it wassomething that we, you know, my
mom's generation, they theynever talked about it ever.
(39:21):
Um and just having theconversation now that I am a you
know menopause practitioner, I'mlike, oh my gosh, you you
struggled so much.
You um you were in misery and welike nobody knew.
So I think it's um I think it'sdoing a really great service for
patients as far as getting themthe care they need, but then
(39:42):
also getting their convert theconversations out there.
SPEAKER_01 (39:45):
And what would you say?
Because I've talked to manywomen who are like, how can they
ever help me virtually?
Like I need to be in person sothey can see me and understand
what's going on.
How could a virtual care personhelp me during this time?
SPEAKER_00 (40:00):
Well, I think that it's so much your care is so
much more than um than likecoming in, taking a full day off
of work a lot of times, andwaiting for an hour just to be
seen for 10 minutes, right?
Like I think it's um there's somuch, so many aspects of um of
menopause care and that andreally overall health care that
(40:23):
can be done digitally.
Like I that's what I love aboutum that aspect of care.
Now, obviously, a public exam isa very different story, but um,
but really for the most part, somuch of that care can be done
virtually.
Um, that I think that, and Ithink that practitioners are
seeing that as well, you know.
Like I think that they'rerealizing that you don't have to
(40:46):
have your schedule full ofpeople who are waiting in the
waiting room and can stilldeliver excellent high quality
care.
SPEAKER_02 (40:55):
Yeah, yeah.
My doctor is 10 minutes up theroad, and I would much rather
sit and have a visit like thisversus two hours, right?
Even 10 minutes up the road, itcould be a two hours out of my
day.
So exactly lost productivityfrom work or whatever else I
might be doing to take the timeto go in when it could be taken
care of virtually like this.
(41:17):
So definitely a benefit.
SPEAKER_00 (41:20):
I also see a lot of patients who um have had poor
experiences with the healthcaresystem.
And so they're a little um alittle more shy to really engage
in the healthcare system.
So I actually think doingvirtual care and for them to be
in their own environment that'sreally so much more comfortable
for them can be very umencouraging and very disarming
(41:44):
towards the healthcare system.
So I think it really just getspatients more engaged with their
care as well.
SPEAKER_02 (41:50):
Yeah, that's great.
That's a great point.
I'm I'm wondering if we can umask you a question because we
have an answer, but we alwayslike to ask others what their
opinions are.
When you think about amenopause-friendly workplace or
a menopause smart workplace,whatever we want to call it,
what do you think that lookslike in the next year, two
(42:13):
years, five years?
What does that mean to you?
SPEAKER_00 (42:17):
Um, I think that the education component is one of
the most important things.
So having your um, you know,so-called people at the top, um,
understanding that if you haveany female in your workplace,
that it's uh it's a reality andit's not a um it's not a taboo
(42:38):
topic, but it is a guaranteethat that someone in on your
team uh is going to have anexperience of some kind, um
whether that is to the extremeor pretty minimal.
Um, but having that educationfor them in place is so
important.
Um, and then really being ableto um to incorporate that into
(43:03):
how the the workplace functions.
So um, you know, if you're in ameeting and you get just
drenched in hot flushes, nightsweats, not feeling like not
making it um a an environmentwhere you feel like you have to
just sit there and sweat throughyour clothes.
Um, I think just being able tosay, you know what, I need to
(43:26):
take a second um and you know,uh and address this.
And again, that kind of goesback to the education component
and being able to be proactiveabout that and say, oh my gosh,
like let's get you the help youneed.
Like, do you need to take abreak?
Like um, an understanding thatit's going to be much more
(43:46):
productive of a day if we canactually address it than if
somebody is taking like a fullfull day or half day off work
because they are embarrassed oror need to go home.
So yeah, normal culture culturechange.
Right.
Yes, yes.
The culture change is huge.
SPEAKER_01 (44:06):
Well, as we wrap things up, and we've talked
about brain health and a littlebit on heart health and um, you
know, bone health and all thosethings that are really important
for lifestyle changes with allthe things that we've been
talking about.
What's one sort of mind shiftthat helps women w move from
(44:26):
sort of surviving and copingduring this time to thriving at
this stage in their life?
SPEAKER_00 (44:33):
Oh, a mind shift.
I mean, I think just generallythat um that we should be
looking at this as a time ofempowerment for um prevention.
So because it's not, I I wantit, I really am hoping that
(44:54):
menopause care sort of shiftsfrom um having to treat things
um six months down the road, ayear down the road, multiple
years down the road, to a okay,let's have the conversation
early so that you are able tohave the tools at your
fingertips to say, okay, Idefinitely think this is
perimenopause.
(45:15):
I don't think I'm crazy.
Um, I need to get help now, um,instead of sitting at that
baseline, like low level ofmisery for however long that you
do.
So um, so I think just themindset of this is a time to
really be empowered to preventrather than to play catch up
(45:35):
later.
SPEAKER_01 (45:36):
I love that empowered prevention.
And we often talk about likewhile you're just starting to
get into this, go find yourteam.
Yeah, go find your doctor, gofind your physical therapist,
go, you know, go find your yourcognitive behavioral therapist
so that when you get theinformation and you start
working with your doctor onthis, that you've got a full
(45:56):
team ready to help you with allthose lifestyle changes that
help you feel good rather thanhave you feel bad.
Because you don't have tosuffer.
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
You don't have to suffer.
Exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
And I have I hear that still regularly where
patients will say, Well, I justdon't know if my symptoms are
bad enough.
SPEAKER_02 (46:13):
Yeah, and I'm like bad enough.
Yeah, you're having a symptom,like it's bad enough.
You don't, yeah.
What level of suffering is isokay, right?
It's okay or not okay.
Where's the bar?
Who set the bar?
We don't have to suffer.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (46:27):
And I think those in generations below Gen Gen X are
gonna even bust this out, eventhough it'll be like, yes, this
is BS.
I mean, yes, my grandmother andmy mother suffered through this.
We don't need to do this to livea full and happy and healthy and
you know, active life if if youwant to, right?
(46:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (46:51):
I think I hear it regularly.
Yes, I hear it regularly.
Patients say, I can't believe Iwaited so long.
I know.
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (46:59):
I'm one of the I think sometimes we don't even
realize how po how bad we feeluntil we don't.
And then, you know, it'shindsight, we're like, oh my
goodness, I really did feelmiserable for that long.
Um, and I could have, right?
I could have felt better all ofthis time.
My daughter has a list.
She's uh 22.
She has a list of all of herblood work that she needs at
(47:20):
certain ages and when you haveactual estrogen and when you
don't have to suffer.
Um, but that's why we get up anddo what we do every day.
Yes.
So um and thank you for doingthe same.
Um, we asked our guests one thesame question uh before we end,
and we didn't prep you for this,so take a minute if you need to,
(47:41):
but I'm wondering what the bestpiece of advice you've ever
received has been.
SPEAKER_00 (47:48):
Oh, best piece of advice I've ever received.
Um I think it would probably beum take take others' advice into
consideration, but still followyour gut, even if that goes
(48:08):
against the advice of whateveryone is giving you.
Because you're going to get somuch advice from and sometimes
unsolicited um from so manypeople.
Um, but you know you, you knowyour body, you know it's in your
heart.
Um, and so I think that'sprobably been that's really been
(48:28):
the way that I've functioned fora lot of my life and and my a
lot of my professional choicesas well.
Um, it can be very scary to makechanges.
Um, and especially if you havepeople telling you that, telling
you advice that it's the wrongdecision.
Um but but I've followed my gutand and and you know stuck to my
(48:48):
integrity and um and that has Ithink really served me well.
SPEAKER_01 (48:53):
It's great advice.
Because when you don't followyour gut, your gut is gonna keep
bugging you until you do followit.
So you may as well just followit right away.
SPEAKER_02 (49:02):
Yes, yes.
We know our bodies best, right?
We do.
Yes, we do exactly.
We know our bodies best, andit's such a powerful note to end
on.
So thank you for that advice andfor passing that along, for
being with us today, for yourknowledge, for your expertise.
And listeners, until we meetagain, go find joy in the
(49:23):
journey.
SPEAKER_01 (49:23):
Thank you, Dr.
Han.
SPEAKER_00 (49:24):
Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (49:26):
Bye.
Welcome everyone to our special four-part webinar
series in recognition ofMenopause Awareness Month.
We're so proud to bring thisimportant conversation to life
through a partnership with AlloyHealth, a leader in
evidence-based menopause careand telehealth solutions, and
Medovia, the U.S.
workplace leader in menopauseand midlife health.
(00:23):
Throughout the series, we'vebeen breaking down myths,
sharing the latest science, andhighlighting real experiences of
women navigating perimenopause,menopause, and beyond.
And our goal is simple (00:33):
to replace silence with knowledge,
empower women to advocate forthemselves, and give
organizations the tools theyneed to build supportive
cultures.
Together, Alloy and Medovia areworking to change the way
menopause and frankly, thisstage of life is understood in
healthcare, in the workplace,and in society.
(00:55):
So thank you everyone forjoining us as we open the door
to honest, informed, and hopefulconversations.
Today we're addressing lifestylelongevity and the future of
menopause support, and we'rejoined today by Dr.
Taylor Hahn.
Dr.
Hahn is a board-certified OBGYNand certified menopause
practitioner through theMenopause Society.
(01:16):
She's an active member ofITWICH, the International
Society for Study of Women'sSexual Health, and the
International Society for SexualMedicine, and has also received
additional training through theObesity Medicine Association.
As a subscribing physician forAlloy Health, Dr.
Han is passionate about theeducation of both patients and
(01:37):
clinicians in regards to women'shealth and midlife care, and
strongly believes that fosteringa strong, supportive community
is vital to empowering women inall aspects of life.
We've been talking all monthabout awareness, but today we're
going beyond that.
This session is really about howwomen can thrive in midlife and
(01:57):
beyond, in health, in work, andin life.
Dr.
Han, welcome.
We're so thrilled to have youhere.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's really an honor.
SPEAKER_02 (02:09):
Absolutely.
You know, um, I was thinkingabout this session before we
hopped on and just about my ownpersonal experience.
You know, it's hard to not putyourself in the shoes of
patients or employees.
And thinking about the fact thatwomen, you know, we can
experience 34 plus symptoms ofmenopause and oftentimes at the
(02:32):
same time.
Okay, um, they're not inisolation, and it can be really,
really hard.
And that um that brought up thefirst question that I'd like to
ask you to kick it off.
When someone comes to you andsays, you know, what can I do to
feel better?
I'm miserable.
What can I do?
Where do you start with thatpatient?
(02:54):
Do you um do you start withnutrition?
Do you start with sleep,exercise, or something entirely
different?
Where's the conversation start?
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
I I like to get a sense um overall of just how my
patients have um adapted intheir everyday life.
So I actually just like to get asense of like, what's your
daily, what's your like normalday like?
Um, are you working?
Um, are you also kind of theprimary caretaker for your
(03:26):
children?
Are you primary caretaker forother family members?
Um, what's what's that stresslevel like?
Um what have you triedpreviously?
I think all those questions,rather than like first diving in
and saying, oh, I need todiagnose you with something, I
need to um, I need to get allthese labs and you know, labs
(03:46):
and evaluation, all of thatcomes down the road, but I think
getting a sense for a patient asto what they have tried, what
um, what is sort of affectingtheir daily life?
Um, you can learn so much moreabout a patient just by asking
those questions first.
unknown (04:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
Yeah, and and I appreciate that.
And most doctors only have 15minutes.
You know, women get frustratedbecause they don't get answers
when then when they go in totalk to their talk to their
doctor.
How should they prepare to beable to talk to their doctor so
that you can begin looking atways in which you can help them?
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
I think that's a really excellent point.
Um, and one that in my ownpractice we've tried to sort of
tackle so that we can make themost out of the patients' time
with us, um, even though we dohave a little bit of extended
time to spend with our patients.
Um, I think first is really umwriting out a list um of what is
(04:49):
kind of your primary um issuesthat you think are sort of top
of your list of what you want toaddress.
Um, and then, but still kind ofa list out what you've been
experiencing overall.
Um, and then I know that there'skind of some lists out there
floating around of questionsthat you can ask of your
provider.
Um, I think one of the topquestions that I would encourage
(05:13):
you to ask is do you feelcomfortable managing menopause,
perimenopause, um, some of thesymptoms that I'm going through?
Um, I don't think that that is aquestion that should be ever off
the table because if thatprovider is comfortable, they're
going to be confident in thecare that they're they're giving
you.
Um, I think that it shouldn't betaboo for providers to be able
(05:36):
to say, you know what, I am notthe best person for you to have
that conversation, but I knowwho is.
And to be able to sort of buildthat community network, we as
physicians and as justhealthcare providers in general,
we can't be everything toeverybody, right?
Um, and I think it's okay for usto say, I'm not the expert, but
(05:56):
I want to get you the help thatyou need.
Um, and so one that I think thatis one of the most important
questions to ask because youdon't want to go through this
whole conversation only to haveyour concerns not be addressed
or sort of be dismissed.
Um, and then you are are leftthinking, okay, are they are
they not important enough?
(06:17):
Or, you know, am I am I reallykind of making this up in my
mind?
Um so you want those to beaddressed.
SPEAKER_02 (06:25):
Yeah, it's interesting um that you say that
because we we often um recommendto employers and employees uh as
part of the prep for theappointment, when you call the
receptionist, you call thescheduler to ask who in your
office specializes in menopauseor hormone health.
But um I don't think we've takenthat one step further to say,
(06:47):
hey, include this in yourquestions for your healthcare
practitioner as well.
Ask, right?
And that might feel a little bitbold for some people.
I think um, you know, if I thinkabout myself and I'm 57 years
old, um, I was brought up, youknow, never to question
healthcare providers.
Um you take it at face value,you don't you don't question um
(07:10):
their authority, I guess, if ifwe want to call it that for lack
of a better way of saying that.
So I think here we're justgiving permission, right?
You have permission to ask yourhealthcare provider if they're
comfortable managing yourmenopause, everyone, right?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (07:28):
And I and I think vice versa, where you're um
you're encouraging them toreally um avoid having sort of a
very poor experience with thehealthcare system, right?
Like we want to, it itoftentimes takes four to six
months to get in to see someone.
(07:48):
So why would you want to towaste that entire waiting time
only to get to an appointmentwhere they say, you know what, I
actually can't help you?
Um so as far as I love that youhave um that encouragement to to
ask that up front, like, hey, doyou have someone who um who's
interested in this or who reallyfeels comfortable managing this?
(08:09):
Um, but I don't think that itshould ever um I think we're
entering a time of healthcarewhere we're more we're
partnering with patients a lotmore than just telling them what
to do.
Um, and that taking at facevalue, um, I think can sometimes
be detrimental to patient caretoo.
unknown (08:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:27):
And some of my favorite doctors have referred
me to people that they that knewmore about the situation than
what they knew.
And it saves so much time.
And I and I just, you know, Ireally, really appreciate that
someone that wants to help melike that.
But you know, you know thestatistic, like women see
between seven to nine doctors totry and find the right person,
(08:48):
you know, something around that,but a lot of doctors trying to
find the right person that canhelp them.
And they're already stretchedtoo thin on everything else.
So it's just one more task toadd on to that list.
Like, you know, they're dealingwith all of their symptoms and
probably their children andprobably their parents.
And how do you help them makesustainable changes when they're
(09:12):
already stretched too thin byeverything else going on?
You've spent the time to get toknow what's going on with them.
How do you help them think aboutactionable steps that they can
take given everything elsethat's going on in their life?
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
I think that the the establishing a good, strong
relationship with your provideris so important.
You know, I think we we think ofhealthcare almost in small
boxes, to where it's like, okay,I have to get everything done in
this one visit and everythingcovered in this one visit.
I oftentimes will set the stagefor patients that, hey, I'm not
(09:48):
going to be able to cureeverything in this one visit.
We really need good qualityfollow-up.
And that oftentimes is in theform of visits, but oftentimes
that's in the form of justcheck-ins, you know, like I want
you to be able to check in withme and say, hey, I just want to
update you.
This is what I'm feeling.
(10:10):
Um, you know, I've had a coupleof weird things happen.
Is this normal?
You know, like you, it shouldn'tbe isolated in a box to where
it's like, well, I'm not gonnatalk to you about that.
Talk to me about it at yourvisit.
Um and so I think justencouraging patients to know
that this is um, it's very mucha journey and it's not
everything's not going to getfixed in one visit.
(10:32):
So just building thatrelationship with a provider
that you trust is so, soimportant.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
I also love that you're setting an expectation
too.
Cause I would go in and be like,okay, you understand this.
So tell me, what should I do?
And I'm in and out, and I'll seeyou in a year, right?
Yeah.
I've found that the best doctorsand the best treatments, it
takes time, which is also hardwhen you don't have any, but
also important for that personto get to know you.
(10:58):
So I appreciate that you set theexpectation.
Like, we can kind of deal with afew things today and not all of
it.
So let's just make sure we're intouch.
And that's the kind of doctoryou want to find, right?
That's the one that wants tohear from me later and cares.
Oh, oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00 (11:15):
You know, yes.
I have really found um that it'sbeen such a profound um change
in the dynamic with patientswith my patients and me.
Um, just by saying, I want tohear from you.
I want you to check in.
I want you, I want to make surethat what we're doing for you is
(11:36):
the right plan and not waste sixmonths.
And then you come back and yousay, actually, I didn't do any
of that.
Because, you know, the thenumber one thing is that I hear
is um uh I went to go pick upthe medication and they didn't
have it.
And then I didn't call, I didn'tfollow up.
Um, because the the healthcaresystem has sort of set up um,
(12:00):
again, that that feeling ofisolation and that, oh, I should
be able to figure this out on myown and I don't want to bother
them.
Um, but that's not how goodquality preventative health care
should function.
And that's not how you shouldfunction with your relationship
with someone who is who istaking care of one of the most
important aspects of you, right?
(12:21):
Your health.
SPEAKER_02 (12:22):
It's so funny that you that you mentioned that
because I did just that and I'min the menopause space.
So I mean, I know better, right?
Yeah, and I feel like I am ahuge advocate for my own health
and I'm educated andknowledgeable.
And I still questioned sendingan email to my doctor.
(12:43):
I had a question about a newmedication, and I was like, oh,
I don't wanna, I don't want tobother her, right?
Um, so that that really goes wayback.
Um we're really changing thatmindset when we give permission,
again, giving permission tocommunicate with your healthcare
provider.
It's okay.
SPEAKER_00 (13:01):
Yep.
And it's deeply ingrainedbecause um, you know, the way
that my current practice is setup and the way that Alloy is set
up as well, um, is that we havethat open line of communication,
um, that messaging, the easyphone calls.
Like it's so easy for me now tobe able to message securely with
my patients, um, just to say,hey, I went ahead and updated
(13:25):
that or I sent in that newprescription that you needed,
rather than waiting three tofive days down the road because
your inbox is full and you'rejust so overwhelmed as a
provider to do that.
Like it's more of a, it's justmuch more of a um comfortable
and trusting relationship ratherthan a I'm in this like this
(13:49):
building that is like secure andyou cannot reach me, you cannot
talk to me.
Um obviously you can't do thatwhen you're seeing a lot of
patients throughout the day, butI think it's so much nicer to be
able to build that relationshipwhere where patients feel
comfortable um bringing theirconcerns to you.
SPEAKER_01 (14:08):
Yeah, it's great.
SPEAKER_02 (14:10):
You know, I want to dive into conversation um about
lifestyle medicine.
And um, we haven't really had anopportunity to talk to other
providers with alloy aboutlifestyle medicine.
Um, we talked a lot abouthormone therapy, um, you know,
the the myths, and we debunkedsome of those myths and
misunderstandings.
(14:30):
And we know that hormone therapyis important, we know that it's
the first line of recommendationfrom the menopause society, but
there are people that eitherdon't want to take it, can't
take it, or um they are takingit.
And as we mentioned earlier,lifestyle medicine is so
critically important as well.
So I'm wondering if you could ifyou could just share with
(14:53):
listeners one lifestyle changethat delivers the biggest
impact, what would it be?
Sleep.
SPEAKER_00 (15:03):
Number one, um, especially, you know, sleep gets
completely disrupted inmenopause for so many patients.
Um, and it's the smalldisruptions.
It's not the like, oh my gosh, Ihave full-on insomnia.
I can't, I haven't had a goodnight's sleep in, you know,
weeks to months.
(15:24):
It's the, oh, well, that I thinkthat that was just related to
this, but you know, I got fourhours of sleep here and I got
six hours of sleep there.
Um, all of those things add up.
Um, and the sleep component, um,it really encourages
inflammation, it encourages umfatigue overall, which then is
(15:47):
sort of a vicious cycle for umnot only your movement
throughout the day, but alsoyour nutrition.
Um, and it affects mood.
Uh, it absolutely can affect um,you know, how well you're
functioning just uh at abaseline level.
So it's probably one of the topthings that I sort of start the
(16:08):
conversation with patients on,um, especially if they're
looking more to um, you know,non-hormonal ways to to look at
their symptoms.
unknown (16:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:17):
Is there is there a recommended um number of hours
of sleep that we should begetting in midlife?
SPEAKER_00 (16:23):
Typically, um the the general recommendation is
seven to eight hours atbaseline.
Um now I can't even tell you thelast time that I got like a full
eight to ten hours of sleep, butum, even more than eight hours
is actually very is much morereasonable as far as um really
seeing that difference.
Um what I talk to patients abouta lot is overall sleep hygiene.
(16:47):
I mean, we live in the the umthe the era of screens, right?
Um, and so um that's probablyone of the number one things
that I talk to patients about isjust um what's your nighttime
hygiene routine?
Um are you watching TV in thebedroom as you're trying to fall
asleep?
Do you have a lot of screens onand a lot of lights on?
(17:10):
Do you have, do you scrollthrough your phone or an iPad or
or something like that?
Um, you know, within the thelast couple of hours before
you're going to bed.
Um, I can tell you that, youknow, I give that
recommendation.
And then a lot of times I'mdoing that anyways because I
have small kids and um that alot of times is the only time I
(17:31):
can get a little bit of likenon-work, but you know, things
accomplished um whenever they'rethey're put to bed.
So I totally get it.
Um, it's again more aboutconsistency and change making
those changes rather than oh mygosh, I didn't do it for three
days in a row, so I'm just gonnasort of stop and give up.
(17:53):
Um, it's more so about long-termum in terms of the longevity of
that habit.
SPEAKER_01 (18:00):
And I don't think people really understand how
sleep's important, but why?
I mean, it is it fixes so manythings and helps prepare your
body for the next day in so manyways.
I don't think we've paidattention to why it's important
and what it does for you.
Yes.
Can we talk about that realbriefly?
SPEAKER_00 (18:19):
It's our primary repair time.
I mean, we if you think aboutit, we do so much damage to all
of our body cells throughout theday, whether that is um because
of actual physical elements andyou know, being outside and um
and experiencing actual likeweather elements, or whether
(18:40):
that is stress to the body withum, you know, new deadlines and
um and new assignments and uhand all of that, we do so much
damage and encourage so muchinflammation um as far as you
know the types of nutrition thatwe have throughout the day, um
you know, the the aspects ofjust daily life in our city now,
(19:05):
as far as driving um and socialmedia and you know, just there's
so many other outside elementsthat affect us now.
Um, that sleep is our time toactually like calm the body,
help repair.
And if you are only doing thatrepair process for two, three
(19:26):
hours of like actual goodquality sleep a night, that
repair process is not happening.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (19:33):
It's it's so um, it's so important.
And I'm I'm thinking about umjust recent conversations with
some women that we're talkingabout wine.
You know, I just like to drinksome wine at night to relax.
I'm stressed out.
Um, you know, we are in thismidlife stage where we might
still be caring for kids, wemight be caring for adults, we
(19:56):
might have um, you know, a highimpact stress job as well.
We might not be sleeping becauseof our hormone fluctuations or
decline.
So there's a lot in that, inthat recipe.
So a glass of wine sounds greatto relax.
But we know that alcohol affectsour sleep.
Can you just touch on that for amoment as well?
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
Yes.
Um, I will first off say I'mI've been guilty of it
previously.
So yep, yep.
So it's this is not like a, ohmy gosh, you absolutely
shouldn't be doing this.
And if you are, you're terriblekind of thing.
That's not at all.
Um, we all kind of have that umlike a similar struggle and a
similar experience.
It really alcohol overall reallyaffects the quality of sleep.
(20:41):
So it um you are not going tohave nearly as many hours of
quality sleep.
You may not get um into thatgood deep REM sleep um as
frequently.
Um, and then on top of that, itreally affects, especially for
my patients who are goingthrough perimenopause and
menopause, um, that temperatureregulation.
(21:01):
Um, it really affects that.
So I see a drastic difference inhot flushes, night sweats um
when I don't have alcohol thenight before.
So um, so it's it really itmakes a huge difference um and
you don't necessarily notice it.
(21:22):
It's not something that just umunless you maybe you're on
hormone therapy and have likenot had a hot flash in a while,
and then you experience that.
Um, a lot of times we sort ofexcuse it into other things.
Um and so it's not necessarilyuh it's very subtle.
It's it doesn't necessarily hityou all at once.
SPEAKER_01 (21:44):
Yeah, well, sleep's tough, but so the next the next
symptom that people oftencomplain about is brain fog and
mood changes, or I talk aboutthem.
Maybe it's me that's talkingabout them.
But um, can you talk aboutwhat's actually happening to
cause that?
And what are some of the waysthat women can protect their
(22:04):
brain at midlife?
Like, is it exercise?
Is it nutrition?
Is it sleep?
Like, what is it?
What's happening and what can Ido about it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:12):
I think it's all of the above.
Like it is a very brain fog, Iwould say, is probably one of
the most complex of the primarysymptoms of menopause.
Um, because there's so muchstill that we don't know about
what is the actual primarycause.
Um, and we really think that itis um it's a mix of all of those
(22:35):
factors.
Um, nutrition plays a huge rolein that.
Um, again, I think I talk aboutthis on every single um, you
know, uh webinar or anythingthat I do, but inflammation is
so such a huge component.
Um, and I think that we don'tum, you know, we don't look as
much at nutrition components ofof causing inflammation as we do
(22:58):
as to like outside stresssources and and um and things
like that.
So nutrition component, youknow, all of the processed foods
that we put in our body, we wemay say, oh, I have a generally
overall good diet, um, but a lotof the components that we're
putting into our body are notthose, you know, whole foods.
They're not, they're they'rethings that have um been
(23:21):
packaged and processed and umand we don't necessarily look at
the packaging or the you knowthe label before we put it in
our bodies.
So that's not to say that youcan't ever have those, but it's
more so again, the consistencyof um of those components and
and adding those.
Um I think uh exercise ingeneral, um, again, sort of a
(23:44):
vicious cycle because if you arenot getting sleep and fatigued
throughout the entire day, thatis not motivation to get any
kind of exercise in, right?
Um, what I oftentimes will talkto my patients about is just
movement.
It's not about exercise.
It's not about getting a new gymmembership.
It is about, you know, I have, Idon't know if you guys have the
(24:06):
um Apple Watch, but they still,I still have the reminders, even
though I sometimes ignore them,um, of like, you haven't stood
in an entire hour.
Like you need to just stand up,stretch, and that is movement.
So I know a lot of patients getdiscouraged because they think,
oh my gosh, I'm so overwhelmed.
I need to like start doingresistance training, but what
(24:27):
does that mean?
Um, I need to start liftingweights, but I don't want to, I
don't have time to join the gym.
Um, and a lot of theconversation that I have in
terms of movement with mypatients is what can you do in a
room that's like a six by sixfoot room?
You can do a full workout, onlybody weight in just that size of
(24:48):
room.
Um, and it's a lot of timesabout getting um really having
those options of creativity andyou can do repetitive movements.
It doesn't have to be this likeamazing workout that you've come
up with or that you saw onYouTube.
It is just about movementitself.
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
Yeah, I love that.
I um I teach yoga because Ilove, I love it, keeps me doing
yoga.
Um, just once a week, but it'sum it's the I call it the Keurig
movement moment.
Yes.
What can I do in these twominutes while my Keurig coffee
is brewing?
Right.
I love that.
Um they add up.
It's your habit stacking, right?
(25:26):
But um, if you think about itthat way, right?
I'm brewing my coffee.
What can I do?
Right?
I can do push-ups on the stump,I can do push-ups off the
counter, I can, right?
It's just those little things.
We can do it, right?
I can stand on one leg, I can dosquats, right?
Exactly.
That's ridiculous, but it'shard.
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
While you're brushing your teeth, like you
can do so much movement-wise.
Um, I I actually just had thisconversation um with a
colleague.
I I said, you know, I do um uhlike counter push-ups while I'm
waiting for my shower to warmup.
Um so it's easy, small thingslike that, that you just kind of
(26:04):
need that sort of boost ortrigger to say, okay, I'm gonna
do this.
I'm gonna make it happen.
Um, and I think that's kind ofthe toughest part is just
getting past the overwhelm of Ineed to do a full workout and do
it in workout clothes.
That's probably my other biggestthing is that I tell patients,
you do not eat have ever have tostep foot out of your pajamas if
(26:26):
you don't want to, and you canstill get a full workout in.
SPEAKER_02 (26:29):
Yeah, I love that.
And it doesn't cost anything,right?
Your body weight doesn't costanything.
Um, exactly.
Yeah.
You know, um, we've we've talkedabout nutrition, or you've
mentioned nutrition often inthis conversation, and I think
that that can be a reallyconfusing topic for um women
that are going through menopauseas well, because there's so much
(26:50):
information out there.
Eat, you know, eat X amount ofprotein, or the Mediterranean
diet is better, or intermittentfasting is good, or it's not
good.
Can you talk in general termswhat good nutrition, and I don't
like to use the word good orbad, but healthy nutrition looks
like at this stage of life?
SPEAKER_00 (27:09):
Yes.
I it is a very um it's a it canbe a very uh touchy topic for a
lot of patients because there'sso much stigma related to it.
Most of my patients have triedone, two, three, or four
different dietary patterns.
Um, what I tend to focus on issort of what the OBC Medicine
(27:31):
Association also focuses on,which is sort of that plant
forward dietary approach.
Um, and again, we've kind oftalked about it in other
aspects.
It's more the consistencyportion.
So what I talk to patients aboutbecause they ask me, well, do
you think intermittent fastingwould be good for me?
And we go through their day andwhat their day looks like.
(27:53):
Um, and I will tell patients,like, based on what you're
telling me and the minimal timesyou have to actually get good
nutrition in and what you'remaybe gonna do consistently, I
don't think that intermittentfasting is a good option for you
or a smart option for you ifwe're trying to really focus on
actually getting in thenutrition.
(28:14):
Um, because a lot of a lot of mypatients are um night shift
workers and maybe they have waydifferent times that they're
eating compared to their family,and they still want to have that
family aspect.
So it's taking all those thingsinto consideration, but I would
say consistency is the biggestum uh emphasis that I place on
(28:34):
it, and then also that plantforward thinking.
Um, not everyone is interestedin eating a Mediterranean diet,
not everybody likes fish or caneat fish, right?
So um, so really trying to takethose components, it's why it's
a very nutrition is a verypersonalized process for each of
my patients.
Um, because what works for youis not gonna work for somebody
(28:57):
else.
Um, and for me, it's more aboutfiguring out, um, you know,
taking into consideration yourlab evaluation too, and saying,
hey, this this type of diet ummay work good, work, work well
for you short term, but probablynot going to be the healthiest
for you long term.
Um, so what do you think aboutthat?
(29:18):
Do you think that you want totry it and we can always
readjust, or do you want tostart on something that is sort
of for the long haul?
Um, and so it's really it, it'ssuch a personalized conversation
for each patient.
And that's why I would never saya blanket statement like um
intermittent fasting is the wayto go, or Mediterranean diet
(29:40):
works for absolutely everyone.
Um, because in reality, it's allabout having that conversation
about what's going on, what whatdo we think is going to work
best for you?
unknown (29:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
Yeah.
Okay, we're gonna switch gears.
I because we could talk aboutnutrition, I could talk about
nutrition for the whole, youknow, days, but yeah, um.
Talk research has shown thattalking about menopause and your
symptoms uh helps to lower thesymptoms.
And um whether that's incommunity or whether that's in
(30:12):
therapy.
And the menopause society saysthat uh cognitive behavioral
therapy is one of the great waysto help with menopause symptoms,
but a lot of doctors are nottalking about that.
Can you have to kind of talkabout the sort of the therapy
aspect of it, the communityaspect of it, how that helps
support a lifestyle that you'retrying to create during this
(30:34):
time?
Because I think that that um itmight be j more scary to figure
out cognitive behavioral therapythan it is to figure out hormone
replacement therapy, you know,because people, there's some
there's a stigma there too, asyou're looking at the mental
health uh issues around thistime.
And I just would love to hearabout that because growing
(30:54):
research says that men menopauseand mental health have a very
close connection.
And how can people find thatsort of emotional well-being
during this time?
SPEAKER_00 (31:05):
I love that you brought that up as a point
because I think that for themost part, a lot of us would a
lot of us as healthcareproviders would probably tell
you that we got very little, ifany, training on what cognitive
behavioral therapy is and how tohow to best implement that, um,
(31:27):
even if it's in small portionsfor your patients.
I think we generally um uhespecially those of us who are
who have sort of taken on the umthe interest in menopause and
menopause giving good menopausecare.
Um, I think we generallyincorporate some of those
aspects into our care plan.
(31:47):
Um, it's really about what is umwhat is motivating a patient to
change, um, and then um helpingthem craft a plan that is going
to um that's going to long termum help to implement that
change, right?
So it it that might involvemedications, that might involve
(32:10):
um uh just like therapy andcounseling.
And um, and I I want to say thatthat's not I wish that it wasn't
such a taboo thing to talk aboutbecause mental health and mood
are such a huge component ofperimenopause and menopause.
I mean, and it's what I try toreiterate to my patients is that
it's biological.
(32:32):
It is, it is hormonal.
It's not just that you're um,you know, being rude or or, you
know, oh, she's just a womankind of thing.
I I I hate that conversationbecause it it really is a
biological fluctuation thatcontributes to a lot of those
um, those symptoms.
I think it's really interestingthat a lot of providers are 100%
(32:56):
willing to hand out anti-anxietymedications and antidepressants
for symptoms that a lot of timesare related to menopause.
But we have this taboodiscussion of, well, I don't
think you're a candidate forhormone therapy and here's why,
even for patients who areexcellent candidates.
Um, so I I think it's justreally having that conversation
(33:19):
is um is so important.
Um, and making it so that it'snot a um, it's not a, I think
this is just your moodconversation, but looking at it
in in terms of whole health.
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
Yeah.
And and I think that's one ofthe reasons why women need to be
informed when they go in ofhere's the things that I know
about menopause, here's what I'mthinking I want to do.
There are some solutions, and Iwant to get your you know, your
thoughts, because this is what Iwant, right?
Own your body and own youragency to go figure out what the
(33:52):
right things are.
So I I think that's a startingpoint, right?
SPEAKER_02 (33:57):
I mean, we don't know what we don't know what we
want or what we need.
Um giving it much thought, um,you know, caring for others and
always putting others first.
So, Kim, all Kim, you're so goodat sliding that in and every
single conversation that we havebecause it is important um to
ask yourself, what do I want andwhat do I need?
(34:18):
And what's what am I gonna go inasking for?
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Yeah.
And I think sometimes the thewhat do I want question, the
answer a lot of times is just Ijust want to feel better.
I just want to feel like myselfagain.
Um, and again, that's um it's atall order to do in one visit,
right?
But um, but I think just comingin um and having that that
(34:42):
curiosity um is so, soimportant.
Um, you know, I never shy awayfrom my patients who come in and
say, well, I Googled, or this iswhat I've seen on social media.
Um, I welcome those because thatis how that's how our society
gets a lot of our healthinformation now.
Um, that's a lot of times whywe're on social media trying to
(35:04):
give good quality education andinformation for patients.
Um but I welcome that because Iam I'm very comfortable in
having those conversations andtrying to sort of bust the myths
versus giving them good, givegiving them validation that,
hey, that was a really greatquestion to ask.
Um, and here is how we canaddress that too.
SPEAKER_02 (35:27):
So good.
Can I ask you as I'm thinkingabout um the care that that you
give?
And and honestly, I I'm sittinghere thinking, gosh, I'd love to
have you as my doctor.
Um but really truly, I I loveyour approach.
And I don't think that all womenhave access to it.
I know they don't have access,and there's definitely um uh
(35:50):
inequity in the healthcarespace, especially the menopause
space.
And I'm wondering if you couldgive your opinion on how we
might close the gaps inmenopausal care for women who
can't afford that specializedtreatment.
Um, or or how do how do women ofyou know that help exists?
SPEAKER_00 (36:09):
I I actually think that uh a lot of um our sort of
big experts in this space aredoing a really great job of just
getting the word out, gettingthat education out.
Um I, you know, I might be a bitof an optimist, but I do think
(36:29):
that um that social media is agreat way to get those little
sound bites of um justinformation that you may not
have thought about that theythat patients can then take to
um, you know, the one visit thatthey get a year or or every six
months kind of thing.
Um I love that we areencouraging um healthcare
(36:51):
providers outside of onlywomen's health to to take an
interest um and to reallyinvolve themselves and invest
themselves into this care.
Um, I tend to be somebody whosays that anybody who is taking
care of women in any capacityshould know this.
They they should feelcomfortable and understand the
(37:14):
process of menopause and what'shappening outside of, oh, your
hormones go down.
You know, like that is not atall.
That is just a scratch on thesurface and not at all the full
picture.
Um, and I think that we'reseeing a lot more, um,
especially um, you know, primarycare endocrinologists, um, I've
(37:35):
seen rheumatologists who havetaken an interest now too.
You know, like it's just, Ithink it affects so many aspects
of women's health that if you'retaking care of women, you you
should really try to at leasteducate yourself on the
baseline.
SPEAKER_02 (37:50):
Yeah, yeah.
And I know um digital healthcare uh plays a part in closing
that gap as well.
I mean, Alan obviously digitalhealth care and um there's a
need for that.
There's a real need for that toreach individuals that don't
have access to a physicallocation.
The convenience alone is makingit more accessible for a lot of
(38:12):
people.
So I just want to as well.
SPEAKER_00 (38:15):
Yes, yes.
Virtual care is um, I'm reallyhoping that um, you know, we're
able to continue as much virtualcare access as we can.
Um, I think, especially in oursociety, we are we are a very
mobile tech savvy society ingeneral.
So um, so being able to get thatcare to people who maybe live
(38:38):
three, four hours away fromtheir nearest provider.
And that provider might not evenbe interested in or um provide
that type of care, right?
Um, and then what happens if youhave a visit scheduled six
months out and then if somethinghappens and that visit has to be
rescheduled?
It's another three to fourmonths usually for getting you
(39:00):
in.
So um, so being able to offerthat care has been, I think,
really a game changer for forwomen.
Um, it also I think is gettingpeople talking about it more
because um and you know, it wassomething that we, you know, my
mom's generation, they theynever talked about it ever.
(39:21):
Um and just having theconversation now that I am a you
know menopause practitioner, I'mlike, oh my gosh, you you
struggled so much.
You um you were in misery and welike nobody knew.
So I think it's um I think it'sdoing a really great service for
patients as far as getting themthe care they need, but then
(39:42):
also getting their convert theconversations out there.
SPEAKER_01 (39:45):
And what would you say?
Because I've talked to manywomen who are like, how can they
ever help me virtually?
Like I need to be in person sothey can see me and understand
what's going on.
How could a virtual care personhelp me during this time?
SPEAKER_00 (40:00):
Well, I think that it's so much your care is so
much more than um than likecoming in, taking a full day off
of work a lot of times, andwaiting for an hour just to be
seen for 10 minutes, right?
Like I think it's um there's somuch, so many aspects of um of
menopause care and that andreally overall health care that
(40:23):
can be done digitally.
Like I that's what I love aboutum that aspect of care.
Now, obviously, a public exam isa very different story, but um,
but really for the most part, somuch of that care can be done
virtually.
Um, that I think that, and Ithink that practitioners are
seeing that as well, you know.
Like I think that they'rerealizing that you don't have to
(40:46):
have your schedule full ofpeople who are waiting in the
waiting room and can stilldeliver excellent high quality
care.
SPEAKER_02 (40:55):
Yeah, yeah.
My doctor is 10 minutes up theroad, and I would much rather
sit and have a visit like thisversus two hours, right?
Even 10 minutes up the road, itcould be a two hours out of my
day.
So exactly lost productivityfrom work or whatever else I
might be doing to take the timeto go in when it could be taken
care of virtually like this.
(41:17):
So definitely a benefit.
SPEAKER_00 (41:20):
I also see a lot of patients who um have had poor
experiences with the healthcaresystem.
And so they're a little um alittle more shy to really engage
in the healthcare system.
So I actually think doingvirtual care and for them to be
in their own environment that'sreally so much more comfortable
for them can be very umencouraging and very disarming
(41:44):
towards the healthcare system.
So I think it really just getspatients more engaged with their
care as well.
SPEAKER_02 (41:50):
Yeah, that's great.
That's a great point.
I'm I'm wondering if we can umask you a question because we
have an answer, but we alwayslike to ask others what their
opinions are.
When you think about amenopause-friendly workplace or
a menopause smart workplace,whatever we want to call it,
what do you think that lookslike in the next year, two
(42:13):
years, five years?
What does that mean to you?
SPEAKER_00 (42:17):
Um, I think that the education component is one of
the most important things.
So having your um, you know,so-called people at the top, um,
understanding that if you haveany female in your workplace,
that it's uh it's a reality andit's not a um it's not a taboo
(42:38):
topic, but it is a guaranteethat that someone in on your
team uh is going to have anexperience of some kind, um
whether that is to the extremeor pretty minimal.
Um, but having that educationfor them in place is so
important.
Um, and then really being ableto um to incorporate that into
(43:03):
how the the workplace functions.
So um, you know, if you're in ameeting and you get just
drenched in hot flushes, nightsweats, not feeling like not
making it um a an environmentwhere you feel like you have to
just sit there and sweat throughyour clothes.
Um, I think just being able tosay, you know what, I need to
(43:26):
take a second um and you know,uh and address this.
And again, that kind of goesback to the education component
and being able to be proactiveabout that and say, oh my gosh,
like let's get you the help youneed.
Like, do you need to take abreak?
Like um, an understanding thatit's going to be much more
(43:46):
productive of a day if we canactually address it than if
somebody is taking like a fullfull day or half day off work
because they are embarrassed oror need to go home.
So yeah, normal culture culturechange.
Right.
Yes, yes.
The culture change is huge.
SPEAKER_01 (44:06):
Well, as we wrap things up, and we've talked
about brain health and a littlebit on heart health and um, you
know, bone health and all thosethings that are really important
for lifestyle changes with allthe things that we've been
talking about.
What's one sort of mind shiftthat helps women w move from
(44:26):
sort of surviving and copingduring this time to thriving at
this stage in their life?
SPEAKER_00 (44:33):
Oh, a mind shift.
I mean, I think just generallythat um that we should be
looking at this as a time ofempowerment for um prevention.
So because it's not, I I wantit, I really am hoping that
(44:54):
menopause care sort of shiftsfrom um having to treat things
um six months down the road, ayear down the road, multiple
years down the road, to a okay,let's have the conversation
early so that you are able tohave the tools at your
fingertips to say, okay, Idefinitely think this is
perimenopause.
(45:15):
I don't think I'm crazy.
Um, I need to get help now, um,instead of sitting at that
baseline, like low level ofmisery for however long that you
do.
So um, so I think just themindset of this is a time to
really be empowered to preventrather than to play catch up
(45:35):
later.
SPEAKER_01 (45:36):
I love that empowered prevention.
And we often talk about likewhile you're just starting to
get into this, go find yourteam.
Yeah, go find your doctor, gofind your physical therapist,
go, you know, go find your yourcognitive behavioral therapist
so that when you get theinformation and you start
working with your doctor onthis, that you've got a full
(45:56):
team ready to help you with allthose lifestyle changes that
help you feel good rather thanhave you feel bad.
Because you don't have tosuffer.
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
You don't have to suffer.
Exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
And I have I hear that still regularly where
patients will say, Well, I justdon't know if my symptoms are
bad enough.
SPEAKER_02 (46:13):
Yeah, and I'm like bad enough.
Yeah, you're having a symptom,like it's bad enough.
You don't, yeah.
What level of suffering is isokay, right?
It's okay or not okay.
Where's the bar?
Who set the bar?
We don't have to suffer.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (46:27):
And I think those in generations below Gen Gen X are
gonna even bust this out, eventhough it'll be like, yes, this
is BS.
I mean, yes, my grandmother andmy mother suffered through this.
We don't need to do this to livea full and happy and healthy and
you know, active life if if youwant to, right?
(46:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (46:51):
I think I hear it regularly.
Yes, I hear it regularly.
Patients say, I can't believe Iwaited so long.
I know.
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (46:59):
I'm one of the I think sometimes we don't even
realize how po how bad we feeluntil we don't.
And then, you know, it'shindsight, we're like, oh my
goodness, I really did feelmiserable for that long.
Um, and I could have, right?
I could have felt better all ofthis time.
My daughter has a list.
She's uh 22.
She has a list of all of herblood work that she needs at
(47:20):
certain ages and when you haveactual estrogen and when you
don't have to suffer.
Um, but that's why we get up anddo what we do every day.
Yes.
So um and thank you for doingthe same.
Um, we asked our guests one thesame question uh before we end,
and we didn't prep you for this,so take a minute if you need to,
(47:41):
but I'm wondering what the bestpiece of advice you've ever
received has been.
SPEAKER_00 (47:48):
Oh, best piece of advice I've ever received.
Um I think it would probably beum take take others' advice into
consideration, but still followyour gut, even if that goes
(48:08):
against the advice of whateveryone is giving you.
Because you're going to get somuch advice from and sometimes
unsolicited um from so manypeople.
Um, but you know you, you knowyour body, you know it's in your
heart.
Um, and so I think that'sprobably been that's really been
(48:28):
the way that I've functioned fora lot of my life and and my a
lot of my professional choicesas well.
Um, it can be very scary to makechanges.
Um, and especially if you havepeople telling you that, telling
you advice that it's the wrongdecision.
Um but but I've followed my gutand and and you know stuck to my
(48:48):
integrity and um and that has Ithink really served me well.
SPEAKER_01 (48:53):
It's great advice.
Because when you don't followyour gut, your gut is gonna keep
bugging you until you do followit.
So you may as well just followit right away.
SPEAKER_02 (49:02):
Yes, yes.
We know our bodies best, right?
We do.
Yes, we do exactly.
We know our bodies best, andit's such a powerful note to end
on.
So thank you for that advice andfor passing that along, for
being with us today, for yourknowledge, for your expertise.
And listeners, until we meetagain, go find joy in the
(49:23):
journey.
SPEAKER_01 (49:23):
Thank you, Dr.
Han.
SPEAKER_00 (49:24):
Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (49:26):
Bye.
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