Latest / The Cyclical Doula Podcast: Fertility Awareness, Charting Cycles, and Reproductive Health Education / Body Trust and Hormones: Navigating Perimenopause with Candice Jones
Transcript
- Candice: I recommend for women, especially during this time, is to start tracking your symptoms. Track your symptoms, track your cycle, and let's see if we notice a pattern going on. are we noticing these symptoms are occurring certain times of the month? And lot of times when we start seeing, okay, you know, the second week of every month, my symptoms, this is where I don't want to be bothered, I'm not acting myself, I'm a little crazy, you know, and then the next week I'm happy and fine again. So a lot of times when we can see this transitional pattern, it's like an aha moment of, this actually makes sense to me. Emmamma: Welcome to the Cyclical Doula podcast. I'm Emma, a certified fertility awareness educator, miscarriage doula and the founder of Emmamma LLC. This space is for women who want to understand their bodies deeply, not just memorize information, but actually feel confident in interpreting their cycles. Here we talk about ovulation, hormones, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and all that's messy in between emotional layers that come with being a woman. We talk about trying to conceive, avoiding pregnancy without hormones. postpartum transitions, pregnancy loss, perimenopause, and everything in between. Because body literacy isn't just about charting. It's about the autonomy. It's about informed consent. It's about not outsourcing your reproductive decisions to guesswork or fear. Each week, you'll hear conversations with women's health professionals, ⁓ birth workers, ⁓ educators, and researchers along with solo episodes where I teach practical skills you can apply to your own cycle right away. if you have ever felt like you should have learned this information sooner, if you have ever felt disconnected from your cycle, If you want to raise the next generation without shame around their bodies, you are in the right place. So grab your tea, open up your notes app, and let's build a cycle confidence together. emmamma: Welcome back to the Cyclical Doula podcast. I'm Emma and I am so excited today to have Candice Jones with me. She is a nurse practitioner who specializes in hormone replacement therapy and has recently launched her own practice dedicating to helping women navigate the complexities of their hormones during perimenopause. I'm so excited to have this conversation. Thanks so much for being here. Candice: Yeah, thanks for having me. emmamma: Absolutely. Well can you tell us a little bit more just about who you are and what you're doing? Candice: So well first and foremost I'm a mother of two and a wife. I am a nurse practitioner as you said and have been working with hormones for the past 10 years. So, you know, as you just said, I have recently started my own hormone practice with weight loss. I have my background is actually in primary care, but you know, my passion is really with hormones, especially female hormones. And so yeah, we just started this company probably ten months ago and and it's really exciting. emmamma: That's awesome. And for those who don't know where are you is your are where are you located? Candice: So we do have a a physical location in Somerville, which mainly that location is for hormone procedures. we do consultations and our visits virtually. So anyone in the state of South Carolina we can see. emmamma: Awesome. That's great. Yeah. So it sounds like with your background of nurse like being a nurse practitioner and primary care, like that how did that come and change into the shift of helping with what you do now? Candice: So actually my first nurse practitioner job I was introduced a hormone replacement and I really wanted to learn more about it. Because sadly enough, this is something that's not discussed at all throughout our nursing education. And a lot of medical professionals would would say the same. so I really wanted to do a deeper dive and kind of learn more about it. There is a there's a a gap between what happens in a reproductive life and then what happens after that, and it's not discussed and not educated on and I've had to do research on my own and find these resources to get more information. Because you know, I can't just go to a colleague next to me for help with questions because nobody knows the answer. So it was really emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: something that I had to go and look for resources on to try and educate myself. emmamma: Yeah. And for those who don't know, I mean I feel like it's talked about a lot more than it has been. But what is hormone replacement therapy? Like what is that and why might it be helpful for somebody? Candice: Well, when we get w when we get into menopause, which is technically a whole year without having a menstrual cycle, you know, it's the end of our reproductive life. But before that is what we call perimenopause and it's that transitional time. And during that time our hormones are going crazy. They are drastically fluctuating, going up and down, up and down. and we can get all these unpleasant symptoms that can occur with it. So replacing our hormones kind of balances us out so that it helps manage these symptoms that can occur. emmamma: Yeah. That's good. And what does that look like for like the practical of it? So are is everybody getting the same type of thing or does it depend upon the individual? Candice: No, so everyone's a little bit different. so some people can go through this transition time and have minimal symptoms or not notice much at all. But someone women really have it hard and it really affects their quality of life. So depending on what symptoms we are having and where we are during you know, during our journey would depend on which hormone that maybe we would recommend adding into our regimen. emmamma: V Candice: we talk about, you know, mainly progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. Progesterone is one is the hormone that's more of the calming hormone. We will start losing that. earlier on during this transition. So we think about are we having problems falling asleep at night? Are we having racing thoughts, anxiousness? So this really just kind of helps with that mood, helps relax, and again helps fall asleep at night. Estrogen is you know it we have estrogen receptors head to toe. So it can affect us everywhere. Normally we will start losing this a little closer to menopause, but this is gonna be with our hot flashes and brain fog and you know, vaginal dryness. Sometimes we can get these crazy symptoms like itching of the skin or dryness, or hair changes, again sleeping issue is big with this as well. And then testosterone's a little bit more of the wild card because it's not FDA approved for women, but it should be and it's in the process. But testosterone, you know, I think of helping with our energy level, helping with our muscle mass, and can also help with that sex stride which a lot of women deal with around this time as well. emmamma: Yeah. I think that's so helpful. And I think being able to like really focus in on the individual about what they need in this time frame is so important to be able to get that support. And you mentioned so many symptoms of things that like just help us function better day to day, like sleeping well and like having good sex drive and like being able to function without having hot flashes. Like those are all really important things to Just have a good quality of life. And I think that having something like hormone replacement therapy is such an awesome ability to get to that phase. Candice: And I think, you know, people need to understand just because we're in perimenopause, it doesn't mean that you have to be on hormone replacement or that you you need to be on it. but if it is something that's affecting our quality of life, you need to be aware that there are options for you. It's not something that you really have to suffer through. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: And that's when, you know, we talk about what are we struggling with? And a lot of times because d during this time we are juggling multiple things. We're moms, we're we're wives, we have a career. So there's so many stresses going on. So it's hard for us to sit back and focus on ourselves and see is it stress going on or is there something else, is it hormonal that's causing us to feel the way that we are emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's so helpful 'cause I think it it's one of those I think perimenopause is one of those times where traditionally it we've just had people be like, It's just a horrible time of hot flashes and all these things and that's it, and that there's not this other option. but there has been and there is continued to be growth in that. And so that's so good. Candice: think social media's been great to be a resource for patients and and build awareness because unfortunately when we go into our doctor's office this isn't something that we talk about. You know, our parents aren't talking about this with us. you know it's it's been neglected for very many, many years. There's a lot of miss and outdated information on it that pa makes providers and patients afraid or you know, unsure if this is something that's right for them. so I think getting to the right person to discuss this with is very important. Social media too has also been a a place where I've found resources because again, you know, even my medical directors or these physicians that are supposed to be, you know, the ones I go to, they're going to me for questions and answers when it comes to hormones. So it's it's allowed me to find you know, more menopause specialists who have been great resources for me to learn so that I can teach others and we can spread the word. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's awesome. And do you think for somebody who's having some of these experiences during perimenopause, is something like hormone replacement therapy gonna be something that they do for a long time, like through menopause and postmenopause, or is it just like for a season of life? Candice: So it really just depends. you know, there are some symptoms, especially in perimenopause because like like I said, our hormones are drastically changing. So sometimes during this stage our symptoms are worse than actually once we're in menopause. When our hormones are, you know, down to nothing, a lot of times these symptoms are better at that point. so symptoms like hot flashes for instance, hot flashes can last maybe one to two years. Some people don't get them. Sometimes women unfortunately they don't go away. But if it's something like hot flashes the only thing I'm struggling with, well maybe it's something that hormones are just going to be something that you just need temporarily. But for a lot of women, this is something that's going to be something that they want to continue to do throughout their lifespan. Women are living longer. there's also, you know, there's research that shows us that hormone replacement is not simply just for symptom relief either. we think about it helps with our bone strength, which is very important, especially as we lose our hormones and struggle with our bone loss and osteoporosis. there's studies that shows that hormones actually decrease our risk for cardiovascular disease. Now this is very important because cardiovascular disease is the number one killer for for women. So it's important and there's also research that shows it can decrease our risk for dementia. So there are some benefits other than symptom relief that we are getting from hormones. So it really looks at, you know, the individual, what are we struggling with, and do we and how we want to feel. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Absolutely. It's really important. You Candice: Ha ha ha. emmamma: also mentioned that you kinda help with weight loss around this as well. Can you tell me what that looks like? Candice: Yeah, so obviously, you know, when we get especially in perimenopause time, we can notice a lot of weight changes, weight redistribution. We'll notice it a lot in that midsection too. And that's for a few different reasons. You know, one mainly is you know, it can increase our cortisol level, but also the other lifestyle you know, symptoms that occur like we're not getting adequate sleep. We're overly stressed. You know, we're dealing with anxiousness or or depression. And a a lot of this time, if we can get our hormones balanced, this can hopefully calm everything down. but you know, I think it's I think it's important to understand too what we used to get away with isn't things that sometimes we can get away with as we get older, that we do have to change our lifestyle. And sometimes it's hard, especially when we are so busy, to to focus on our nutrition and focus on ourselves and and to getting that exercise in. But I think the biggest thing is to not look at what we used to be and focus on what we want to become. And realizing that a third of our lives that we live after menopause. So we really want to set ourselves up for, you know, the healthiest person we can be. emmamma: Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I think that's so good. And I think like there's all like you mentioned all of those different aspects of it. Like it's not just the hormonal aspect of it, but it's also nutrition and it's also what type of exercise we're doing and the sleep that we're getting and all of those other things kind of combining into how our day to day and our whole health looks like. And I think that that's something that's so important that we continue to talk about, especially as women. about how that's so valuable and how we can just really give ourselves a lot of grace and a lot of opportunity to be able to just like feel the best that we that we can be in this current life stage and want to strive to feeling better but not comparing ourselves to what we were like in the past. Candice: One thing I like you know I'd like to say is think strong not slim. So you know avoid looking at that number on the scale. Let's focus more on strengthening our body and how are we feeling? Where are we mentally? You know, are we having energy? Are we, you know, new you know, getting the proper nutrition to our body to fuel ourselves up and sit and and set ourselves up for success as we get older. What do we want our lives to look like when we are fifty and sixty and and and so on? you know, s I don't think I think looking at it when we're younger is so much easier than having to backtrack. So I think it's important during this time is that we really start focusing on how we want our lives to be. emmamma: Yeah, absolutely. I love that perspective. I heard one time somebody say something like they wanted to be able to like get on the floor and play with their great grandkids when they were like 80 years old. And I was like, that's such a good reason to like be stretching and like making sure that your body is feeling good. Of like that concept of like you want to be able to get on the floor and play with great grandkids someday. And like that feels like such a better motivator than just being like, you wanna like lose some weight off the scale or something like that. Being able to like think about those long term goals and how you want to like live your lifestyle is such a different experience. And I think like for me specifically is much more motivating than some of those other concepts. Candice: I notice that lot with patients for for any reason and it's like when we think about ourselves it doesn't seem to be as important, but then when we start thinking about our children or our grandchildren or you know our family, it it gives us more of a motivation to do better for ourselves. We want to be active role models for these patients or for these people. We want to, you know, set a good example. We want to be there and watch their milestones. stones. So that a lot of times gives us that motivation to do it instead of just looking at it, doing it for ourselves. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. That's so good. I think a lot of people, a lot of women who are coming into these seasons of significant hormonal changes, sometimes just get overwhelmed with like either information that they're receiving or just like the symptoms and things like that. What is your approach to kind of helping people navigate through that part of it? Candice: Yeah. So I I think that's when a you know, a consultation with someone who's knowledgeable about it is important. One thing that I recommend for women, especially during this time, is to start tracking your symptoms. Track your symptoms, track your cycle, and let's see if we notice a pattern going on. You know, are we noticing these symptoms are occurring certain times of the month? And lot of times when we start seeing, okay, you know, the second week of every month, my symptoms, this is where I don't want to be bothered, I'm not acting myself, I'm a little crazy, you know, and then the next week I'm happy and and and fine again. So a lot of times when we can see this transitional pattern, it's like an aha moment of, this actually makes sense to me. but you know I think give yourself grace. There's it's a lot of information but again I think getting to, you know, someone who specializes in it so you can just kind of sit down and discuss it is so much more important than all this information that you're you know, bits and pieces that you're getting everywhere and social media and in and books and whatever else. But I I think one main thing is we have to advocate for ourselves. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: if you're noticing that you're not feeling like yourself anymore or there's changes with your body, you know yourself best. And in if you keep going to the doctor and you're not getting these answers and you still feel like something's wrong, then maybe it's time to go somewhere else. Unfortunately, emmamma: Uh-huh. Candice: because of the the gap in the uneducation of our medical professionals Women sometimes go to six, seven doctors before they find answers to their symptoms. emmamma: Yeah. Candice: That's really unfortunate. So if you know, hopefully if you could find it someone like coastal health and home, you can you don't have to keep searching all over the place to find answers to to what you're struggling with. emmamma: Yeah, that's so I think that's so helpful. And I I'm always an advocate for tracking symptoms with cycles, partially 'cause that's what I teach people to do. But I think that that's like one of those things that is just such a benefit because you can see so clearly when you're tracking your menstrual cycle and seeing when ovulation is taking place. You can see when like progesterone is not being produced as well and all of those things. So it might be a tip off to some of these other symptoms that are taking into play, but is then like being able to then bring that information to someone like you who can then help be like, okay, like here are ways that we can support this, is really, really a benefit in all aspects of that. Candice: And I do think it it just it does start with the consultation, you know. There are patients and I say, you know, maybe we're not you're not quite ready yet. And maybe we hold off. Maybe continue to track your symptoms and see how you do. And if you notice that, you know things are worsening or it's really affecting your quality of life, let's come back and we can discuss and at least give it a try. And there are times that I say, you know what, I don't know if hormones are the answer for you. But we've ruled everything out else out. We've we've looked at your lab work. We've tried this. Let's give it a try. And let's just see how we do. And unfortunately during perimenopause because our hormones are shifting so much, a lot of times we will find a great regimen for you and then months down the road we have to change it again. It's emmamma: Yeah. Candice: just what happens. But I think I think being aware and understanding that, you know, we're more receptive to it. emmamma: Yeah. I think that's really helpful. And I think it's helpful to know like going into it that it might change, right? That like that continual conversation of like, okay, like this was working for a good chunk of time and now it's not, and our hormones might need more support in different ways. You mentioned doing lab work. Is that something that you recommend doing on a regular basis or just something like as things might not be working as well? Candice: No, you know, unfortunately y perimenopause is not something that you can diagnose through your lab work. emmamma: Yeah. Candice: So a lot times it's good just to get a baseline and then again ruling other things out. Are we having thyroid problems? Are we having iron deficiency? Are these other vitamins you know deficiencies that can be causing some of our symptoms? We also need to emmamma: For sure. Candice: look at what's our medical history, what are the medications that you're taking? Are you having side effects or problems from these these medications? but because Our hormones are fluctuating so much. When we get our lab work done, it's just a quick snapshot of what's happening in our life right at that moment. So, you know, you can come in with elevated estrogen level, and that doesn't mean that you're not estrogen deficient. Because again, emmamma: Mm, yeah. Candice: we're getting these spikes and we're getting these lows and up and down. So so we really have to look at it, you know, from a symptom point of view. Where are you at in your menstrual cycles? instead of just looking at it for lab work. And that can be very hard for people to wrap their brains around. We want a definite black and white. This is what's happening. I want something to show up in the red that I know that, wow, finally something is wrong with me and, you know, it makes emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: sense. but we really have to, you know, train our mind to understand it just doesn't work that way. And unfortunately that's where a lot of women are dismissed and you know told your labs look normal or you know you're too young for you know menopausal symptoms or these issues to be going and then you know they they've just left and with no support. so you know if you hear those answers by your physician then it's really try time to find someone else. emmamma: For sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Everybody deserves to be heard and having that support to get to the answers that they feel comfortable with, I think, is really important. Candice: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. emmamma: Yeah. Emmamma: hey, I'm just popping in real quick to say Make sure you're subscribed to the Cyclical Doula podcast on whichever platform you're listening to. ⁓ And don't miss upcoming conversations. If this episode is resonating with you, please share it with a friend, rate it and write a review. This is how this movement grows, not through algorithms, but through women talking to women. All right, let's jump back into it. emmamma: What is a success story for like a client look like for you? Like what is what is a success experience look like for you? Candice: Well, honestly there there's so many of them, but I think the biggest thing is women coming back and saying, I feel like myself again You know, I'm I'm finally sleeping. I'm finally my irritation and my mood is under control. you know, I'm not waking up with these night sweats and I'm having a better relationship with my family, my kids and my partner and everyone else. You know, a lot of times it's we we aren't doing the things that used to be pleasurable for us or or it's just becoming very overwhelming for us. So it's it's very enjoyable when you come back and hear the sus the success that people are getting from this. And especially when they come back and will say, I wish I knew about this sooner Or I or since I've started this I have told every single person that I know. I will at family reunions or the grocery store or people that I work with, it's like I talk about this constantly because I want everyone to know how good this makes me feel. I think emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: that's important. Especially because we aren't getting them from the medical professionals. We have to get it from our peers, get it from other people. But it it's definitely very rewarding seeing the changes that it can make and the quality of life. And there's times emmamma: Absolutely. Candice: that I will say, I know we will get you feeling better. I c I can pretty much guarantee I know you're gonna come back feeling much better. And then there's some times that it that it's You know, I'm not sure. I'm not quite sure if this is going to be your answer, but let's give it a try and see. emmamma: Mm-hmm. I love that. I think that's so valuable. I wonder, do you based on the way you were just describing, I think I know the the way to this answer, but is there ever a time where it's like too late to look into getting support like this, even if you're way past menopause but still experiencing some symptoms? Candice: No, you know, research shows that like we were talking about earlier, the benefits of decreasing like cardiovascular disease and dementia, that we really should be starting hormone therapy within ten years of when we hit menopause. but but even if you're outside that window, it doesn't mean that you can't start on hormone replacement. We just need to talk about, you know, that you know, you may not be getting those extra protective benefits from it as well. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: But any time of our lives we should never have to suffer because of our hormones being long. emmamma: For sure. Candice: You know, and there's a lot of well my I have family history of this or this happened to me and I've been told that I can't use it and a lot of times that's not the case. You know, and sometimes emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: we have to be cautious on what we use or or use certain types of hormones instead of others just for a little bit more caution. But emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: there's never times that people should be w walk away and feel like I got no support and there's just they just throw in the towel and there's nothing that they can do for me. There's always options. And emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Candice: and again Sometimes it's needs to be more patient focused. What I know what everyone else is telling you, but what do you want? You know, how do you want to feel? You know all the risk factors that can come along emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Candice: with this because of maybe your past or family history or whatever. But quality of life is also important too. Are you willing to take emmamma: Totally. Candice: that possible risk or just feel like that the rest of your life. And that's just something emmamma: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Candice: that you know, that sometimes is a decision for them to make. But at least they emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: have that option if if they want it. emmamma: Yeah, which is so important and so valuable. Candice: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. emmamma: Yeah. I okay. I have one more like logistical question. So I feel Candice: Mm-hmm. emmamma: like there's so many different types of hormone replacement out there. Is is it completely dependent upon like the practitioner and like what works best for people about like if they're getting like a patch or like a vaginal suppository or a pill or I don't know a shot of some sort? Like is that all dependent on the individual or is that something that like Practice to practice is recommends something. Candice: Well, I think I think it depends on one, the physician's knowledge. Maybe they only know one option. There's also practices that are looking at making money. What's best for them? And that's probably gonna be something that they're going to encourage you to do. But there are so many different options and that's what I I really take pride in is is I'm gonna tell you every option that there is available for you. And I might direct you in things that I feel like maybe are better options for you, but I want you aware emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: of everything. you know, and also works on what's your lifestyle? You know, emmamma: Yeah. Candice: compliance. are you gonna be someone who's gonna remember to put a cream on every single day? emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: because if you're not doing th the way you should, then you're not gonna get the results. You know emmamma: Yeah. Yeah. Candice: patches are great, but maybe they irritate our skin or maybe we are swimmers or s sweat a lot or something that, you know, maybe the patch isn't the best option for us. so a lot of times we have to look around look at, you know, what's gonna work for our lifestyle and what we're gonna be compliant with. Insurance can make a big difference too. And that's where emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: a a lot of misinformation comes out as well, is that you have to be you have to spend, you know, all the money out of pocket, you have to go to certain compounding pharmacies and you have to s you know, you can't get your insurance to cover it. And that's not true either. you can get safe quote bioidentical medications right at your regular pharmacy and get your insurance to pay for it. Now sometimes they want to dictate what they want to pay for and sometimes we have to, you know, work around that a little bit. But there emmamma: Well. Candice: are definitely this should be cheap options for you. There are more expensive options, but there's definitely ways to do this that that is affordable. And if someone is telling you one option It's time to walk away from that too. emmamma: Yeah. Candice: And and unfortunately that's that's the hardest thing too, especially with some hormone clinics, is the cost and the direction that they send their patients to. you know, pellets especially, you know, I I do offer pellets, but if if you go to a place and that's all that they offer, it's a red flag too. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: So you know, really just doing your research and hopefully finding someone that's that's trusting and gives you multiple different options. a lot of times what I recommend for patients too is what we call hormone stacking. So, you know, sometimes you may just need one hormone or two or sometimes you do need all three. But a lot of times, you know, let let's try this or this first and see how we do. Do we like it? Do we not? Is it working or not? Are we having side effects? And then when we reevaluate, then we look at okay, do we need to add in more? Or are we good with just doing you know, one or two. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: but again, it is a lot of just trial and error. And emmamma: Yeah. Candice: and just sometimes just playing around with it a little bit to see. And you know, just because you you choose one option the first time doesn't mean that you're forced to just stick with that. You know, we we try something else and if we don't like it we maybe go back or or you know just keep trying until we figure out what works well for you. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: But even, you know, creams or patches which are which are great to use, but sometimes our skin doesn't want to absorb them very well. emmamma: Yeah. Candice: And you know, unfortunately, especially if we go to like our OBGYN, we go for a yearly visit, they finally will put us on a little bit of hormone. So they give you a hormone and then and what do they say? I'll see you in a year. Well, wha what's happening then? You know, the the success of that patient continuing to stay on it for that year until they see you again is probably very slim. You know. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: 'Cause is it working? Is it working well enough. You know, if emmamma: Yeah. Candice: if we're put on a patch and it's irritating our skin, then what are we gonna do? We're just gonna stop it and most likely we're not gonna reach back out. We're just gonna give up on it. so that's why it's important to be with someone who is making routine follow ups with you to ensure, you know, that we're compliant and that it's working well for us. emmamma: Yeah. That's so valuable. How long do you typically recommend for somebody to try out a specific combination of hormones before they say like, yeah, this isn't the the one for me or the combination for me? Candice: Normally normally like two or three months. you know, there are some symptoms that you will notice improvement pretty quickly, but there are also some symptoms that do take, you know, months to start noticing improvement. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: and then sometimes, you know, we can get little bits of side effects that if we just give it some time, they'll resolve. If we stop it right away, then We didn't give it a chance. And I think that's what's also important when starting treatment is to discuss side effects that can occur. and things that, you know, this could happen. If it does, give it a little bit of time and it should resolve. And obviously if it's more severe or it seems to be like it's not going away, let me know. And a lot of times it's not something that you need to freak out about. It's just something emmamma: Yeah. Candice: that we need to adjust your dosing. or change up the route to make it work for you. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: But yeah, I think that's that's really important to when you get a prescription is not just this is what you need, we'll see you later, is really educating on what's going on with our body. So you you you understand that part and then what your expectations are and you know, obviously again side effects to look for. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Candice: And also to be involved. You know, you need to be involved in your decision making. and comfortable with that too. Or it's not going to be successful. emmamma: Absolutely. Yeah. That's also important. I think that that's those follow ups of with medical professionals is something I think that like as a general in the general field is not something that happens well unless you're in a more specific practice like yours where like it's it's consistently scheduled. 'Cause I think that that's When when things arise, like that's the thing that we need to know, right? Like how how to ask those questions, how to be asked the questions of how what we're looking for and what what's working and what's not, and being able to evaluate that's super, super important. Candice: Women in perimenopause, like I said, because of our hormones you know drastically changing, those follow-ups emmamma: Yeah. Candice: normally need to happen a little bit more frequently than if you are in menopause, then we probably emmamma: Totally. Candice: don't need to make too much adjustments in and see each other as much. but initially you definitely want to see you more frequently than than later on. emmamma: Yeah, absolutely. That's so good. Well, as we wrap up, what are you hoping that listeners take away or what else do you want to share with them? Candice: I think just knowing that, you know, you're never too young to start worrying about your hormone health. And you know your body more than anyone else does. So y if if you feel like something's off and you're not feeling like yourself, you know, definitely reach out and get help for it. And if you don't feel like you're getting answers from someone, obviously find someone else. but again Don't be too hard on yourself and you know, just know we have a whole half of life still ahead of us. So, you know, we need to start focusing on our future so we can, you know, be healthy not just for ourselves, but the people around us. emmamma: Absolutely. It's so good. Thanks so much for sharing all of your wisdom and having this conversation with me. Where can people connect with you and find you if they want to reach out? Candice: So they can always check our website which is just Coastal Health and Hormone dot com. Again, we offer virtual visits so it's easy, convenient and you're and you're on the comfortability of your own home. You don't have to worry about your schedule and kids and naps and vlogging things here and there. and you don't have to worry about makeup or anything else and emmamma: Mm. Candice: worrying about even, you know, transportation issues and things like that. emmamma: Awesome. Well thanks so much. I appreciate you being here. Awesome. Candice: Yes, you're very welcome. Emmamma: Thanks so much for being here today on the cyclical doula podcast. If this episode resonated with you, the most powerful thing that you can do is to share it, send it to a friend, text it to your sister, forward it to that group chat. This is how conversations about our bodies start changing, quietly, organically, woman to woman. If you are listening and thinking, okay, I want help applying this to my cycle, I offer free cycle clarity calls. It's a relaxed conversation over Zoom where we talk through your goals, your charting practices, and what kind of support that would actually make sense for you. You can book one at emmamma.com / free. And if you haven't already, make sure you're following or subscribe to the Cyclical Doula - podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. And if you feel called to leave a rating or review, it genuinely helps more women find this work. So thank you. You deserve to understand your body. You deserve to feel confident in your reproductive choices. And you don't have to figure it out alone. I'll see you next week. Thanks for being here.