Latest / Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News / Why no one is talking about perimenopause (and why it matters)

Transcript

Why no one is talking about perimenopause (and why it matters) · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:06
  Welcome to the unto take a deep breath.
• 0:11
  Take the higher roll.
• 0:13
  That's what they always say.
• 0:14
  Let's see if they know the way.
• 0:16
  They won't take it from me.
• 0:20
  Don't ever dive himself with swiping juice and dream.
• 0:24
  You made your own so kid can scream.
• 0:29
  With a never ending force.
• 0:31
  You never had the chance.
• 0:33
  So watch it with calm my friend because this is whoa.
• 0:44
  It's time.
• 0:54
  Hey guys, and welcome back to the Nurses Report on America Out Loud.
• 0:59
  I'm your host, Ashley Caputo, registered nurse and functional medicine practitioner.
• 1:05
  I am also founder of Rooted Wellness, Functional Health.
• 1:10
  I created that business to help women, specifically 35 and up experiencing symptoms with menopause, perimenopause, and help you just bring some balance and restore balance back into your life.
• 1:25
  I bring that up today because that is the topic we are diving into perimenopause, because it doesn't get talked about the way that it should.
• 1:47
  Women in their 30s and 40s, they walk around exhausted, anxious, overstimulated, gaining weight, not sleeping, feeling completely unlike themselves.
• 2:03
  And then going to the doctor and being told your labs are normal, you're just stressed.
• 2:11
  Maybe you need an antidepressant.
• 2:14
  Here's a little sleeping pill to help.
• 2:16
  And listen, I'm not anti-medication.
• 2:19
  I think there's a time and a place, right?
• 2:21
  But I do think that we over-medicate and we inappropriately medicate.
• 2:44
  You know, and what bothers me is when no one stops and they just think, why?
• 2:51
  Why is this happening?
• 2:52
  Why is she feeling this way?
• 2:54
  And get to the root cause.
• 2:56
  And that's what functional medicine is all about, right?
• 2:59
  Getting to the root cause of what's going on.
• 3:03
  So like, why are there so many women suddenly anxious in their 30s and 40s?
• 3:10
  Maybe they've never had anxiety before, they've never had any of these issues, and then all of a sudden, you deal with anxiety on a daily basis, mood swings, your tolerance level, your patience is just not there.
• 3:25
  Why are women waking up at 3 a.m.
• 3:28
  every single night disrupting your sleep?
• 3:32
  Why are women used to being able?
• 3:35
  Or sorry, why are women able to to lose weight previously, right?
• 3:40
  Like I remember in my 20s and stuff.
• 3:44
  If I had like an event coming up, you just drop 10 pounds, no big deal.
• 3:49
  And then you hit 30 and it becomes a little bit harder.
• 3:52
  Then you hit 40.
• 3:54
  And guys, it it's almost like it's impossible.
• 3:57
  No matter what you do, you can't get rid of the weight.
• 4:02
  And a lot of the time, the answer is perimenopause.
• 4:06
  It has something to do with your hormones.
• 4:08
  Your body's just changing, it's different than it used to be.
• 4:12
  You go to the doctor and they say, well, calories in versus calories out.
• 4:18
  So you know, eat less and move more, and it fixes everything.
• 4:22
  And that's just so far from the truth.
• 4:25
  It's such bad advice, and I it absolutely drives me insane when doctors say that.
• 4:36
  And doctors have told me that.
• 4:38
  You know, after my second baby, I went to the doctor because I thought I was just I was being a good person, right?
• 4:45
  I'm like, I'm I should have a primary care doctor.
• 4:47
  And I just I didn't have one.
• 4:49
  I'd been pregnant, you know.
• 4:51
  Um my oldest is seven.
• 4:54
  I had him two years later.
• 4:55
  I was pregnant again, and then um, you know, so I mostly saw my my midwife and and OBs, and I never had a primary care doctor, so I thought, why not?
• 5:07
  I should have one, right?
• 5:08
  So I went to the doctor and he asked, you know, do you have any concerns?
• 5:12
  And I said, Well, you know, I had a really great pregnancy.
• 5:18
  I lost a lot of weight after I had the baby, but then all of a sudden something switched.
• 5:26
  It it just it was like a light switch, and I went from being able to maintain a healthy weight and have energy and feeling good, to all of a sudden I gained all this weight to where I ended up weighing more after my second pregnancy than I weighed during my pregnancy.
• 5:47
  And so I told him I was like, look, I I didn't really change much.
• 5:51
  I mean, yes, I'm under stress, you have a baby, it was breastfeeding, trying to work, doing all the things.
• 5:58
  So, yeah, stress played a factor, lack of sleep, but nothing that really should have been impacting my weight so much.
• 6:06
  So his solution was two things.
• 6:10
  Eat less and move more.
• 6:12
  You're probably just eating too many calories.
• 6:19
  Well, when you're done breastfeeding, come back in and we'll get you on a weight loss medication.
• 6:25
  That was it.
• 6:26
  That's what he told me.
• 6:28
  You know, no, like let's check your labs, like you know, make sure your thyroids are working, let's see what your hormones are doing.
• 6:35
  Nothing.
• 6:37
  I had to request labs, and he didn't even run everything that I requested.
• 6:43
  I wanted a fasting insulin.
• 6:45
  He he wouldn't run that.
• 6:46
  I wanted a full thyroid panel.
• 6:49
  He wouldn't do that.
• 6:50
  He only checked TSH.
• 6:52
  I asked for a hemoglobin A1C.
• 6:55
  He did throw that on there, although he said he only does that for people that are diabetic.
• 7:00
  People that are diabetic.
• 7:02
  And my labs came back.
• 7:02
  And my labs came back.
• 7:06
  He sent me a message in the portal, and he said, Everything's fine.
• 7:06
  He sent me a message in the portal, and he said, Everything's fine, you're good.
• 7:09
  You're good.
• 7:11
  And I messaged him back, and I said, Okay, but none of this addresses why I'm having trouble losing weight.
• 7:11
  And I messaged him back and I said, okay, but none of this addresses why I'm having trouble losing weight.
• 7:17
  He said, like I said at our appointment, you are probably overeating.
• 7:17
  He said, like I said at our appointment, you are probably overeating.
• 7:23
  You need to log your food, count your calories, and move more.
• 7:23
  You need to log your food, count your calories, and move more.
• 7:30
  Get to the gym.
• 7:33
  So, you know, I said, let me entertain this because I knew for a fact I was not overeating calories.
• 7:40
  I barely ate because I was so busy.
• 7:42
  I had two kids.
• 7:44
  When do you have time to eat?
• 7:45
  Right?
• 7:45
  You feed everybody else, and then you hope to get some scraps in at some point.
• 7:50
  So I personally felt like I was probably under eating.
• 7:55
  So he said, you know what?
• 7:57
  Let me log my food.
• 7:59
  And I did it for two weeks.
• 8:00
  I logged my food and I sent him the results.
• 8:03
  I said, I want you to take a look at what I'm eating on a daily basis.
• 8:07
  Plus, I'm chasing two kids around, and I do work out at home, and I do have a gym membership.
• 8:17
  So you tell me how I need to eat less and move more.
• 8:22
  And he responded back, and he said, Well, then I guess you should see an endocrinologist.
• 8:29
  End of story.
• 8:30
  That was it.
• 8:32
  I've never felt so dismissed and unheard than I did in those moments, right?
• 8:40
  Because the doctor just completely disregarded anything could be going on with me.
• 8:52
  And not once did he ever talk about like, well, let's talk about your protein intake, or where are you getting your calories?
• 9:00
  I see that your calories are low.
• 9:02
  Where are these calories coming from?
• 9:04
  How much protein are you getting?
• 9:06
  None of that was addressed.
• 9:08
  All he cared about was how many calories I was taking in on a day.
• 9:13
  And that is just so far removed from what we need to be focusing on, especially women that are in their 30s and 40s.
• 9:25
  And I mean, this goes for women in their 50s and 60s too.
• 9:28
  But a lot of the times you depending on when you go into to menopause, right?
• 9:34
  Which menopause definition is when you have not had a period in a year.
• 9:40
  So for a lot of women, perimenopause definition is just the time prior to menopause.
• 9:49
  So for a lot of women, you're actually in perimenopause for a really long time 10, 20 years sometimes.
• 9:57
  And all of this means is it's kind of like this general term that your hormones are changing, right?
• 10:04
  Like, I mean nobody really sits down to focus on what this means for you as a whole person, body, mind, soul, you know, uh they just know that that your hormones are changing, you're going towards menopause, you'll be there soon.
• 10:24
  And it's just it's so frustrating because this is something that really impacts women's everyday lives.
• 10:33
  And a lot of the times women don't even realize what's happening, why it's happening, um, because they think, well, I'm in my 30s, I'm not even close to menopause yet.
• 10:46
  I I've talked to some women and I asked them, I said, what do you think perimenopause is?
• 10:55
  And some of the responses I've gotten were pretty shocking.
• 10:59
  Um, but not really, you know, I mean I I just I thought there was more of an understanding, but when you really think about it, where would people get this information?
• 11:10
  I mean, unless you're getting it, you know, from from Instagram and and TikTok, you know, you have a lot of women talking about it now, which I think it's great to get it out there and and talk about it, but you do have to make sure that you are, you know, getting your information from good sources.
• 11:28
  And I do feel like um, and maybe it's just me and and and how I grew up, but I feel like our mom's generation didn't really talk about this.
• 11:40
  But you always hear about like mom's happy pill, right?
• 11:44
  Like they they talk about like Prozac.
• 11:46
  I think there used to be a trend with like Valium, you know, and moms took it to kind of calm their anxiety, calm them down, and to be able to deal with the kids and life and all the things that life throws at you.
• 11:58
  But I kind of wonder, you know, were women really struggling during perimenopause and just nobody was really addressing it, talking about it, or even knew that it was even happening.
• 12:12
  And when you do talk about things like these, you hear people talk about menopause, right?
• 12:18
  You hear you hear I'm going through the change and you're having hot flashes, maybe mood swings, but nobody really stops and explains perimenopause because it's not just about hot flashes, it's not just about mood swings, there's so much more to it.
• 12:39
  Nobody explained that hormone changes, like I said, these start years before menopause.
• 12:46
  And honestly, I think a lot of women, you know, they assume if you're still having a regular cycle, then it can't be hormones, it's not perimenopause.
• 12:56
  Meanwhile, you're struggling with exhaustion, maybe you're snapping at everybody, you're overstimulated constantly.
• 13:07
  Y'all, I can attest to this.
• 13:09
  This is something that I've never really experienced before, but I constantly feel overstimulated.
• 13:18
  Things that, you know, I have multiple things going on.
• 13:21
  I've always been somebody who multitasks, and uh, like for example, from an early age, I've always had like three jobs.
• 13:31
  I've never just had one job.
• 13:33
  I've always worked multiple jobs.
• 13:35
  Maybe I have a like um some side gig I'm doing, or I have some project I'm doing, or I taught Zumba for a while.
• 13:43
  I did all these things, and it was never overwhelming.
• 13:46
  I mean, I'd have busy days.
• 13:48
  Sometimes I'd be like, man, I'm I'm exhausted, you know, overwhelmed if you have when I was in nursing school and you have um a test coming up or something, but easily manageable.
• 14:00
  I was able to tolerate it just fine.
• 14:00
  I was able to tolerate it just fine, and now just everyday life stuff, you know, like, oh, I have to make breakfast and make coffee and feed the dogs, and then that seems like it's too much.
• 14:03
  And now just everyday life stuff, you know, like, oh, I have to make breakfast and make coffee and feed the dogs.
• 14:12
  And then that seems like it's too much.
• 14:16
  And I've I've never been like that.
• 14:16
  And I've I've never been like that.
• 14:18
  And that's something that I'm really struggling with because I don't like it.
• 14:18
  And that's something that I'm really struggling with because I don't like it.
• 14:23
  I like to be able to do a bunch of things and to handle it and tolerate it and just get through it and be fine.
• 14:23
  I like to be able to do a bunch of things and to handle it and tolerate it and just get through it and be fine.
• 14:30
  Um, but things are changing, right?
• 14:33
  So I'm I'm having to accept that and address it in different ways rather than just get frustrated with myself.
• 14:41
  Another thing women go through is you gain a lot of belly weight.
• 14:47
  Um everybody throughout life, right?
• 14:50
  Like you you gain weight, you lose weight.
• 14:52
  Some people have been skinny their whole lives, some people have struggled with having extra weight on, but it seems like when you start once you hit that 30 marker, when you do gain weight, even if your weight's just kind of fluctuating, it's all around your belly, which is really dangerous.
• 15:08
  It's not a good place for you to be gaining weight.
• 15:12
  And then the sleep struggles come in.
• 15:15
  So you've you've probably, if you're like me, I started having kids later in life.
• 15:20
  So I still have little kids, but they finally sleep through the night.
• 15:25
  Nobody's waking me up in the middle of the night, but now I wake up in the middle of the night.
• 15:30
  So I remember those early years, you know, with the kids.
• 15:35
  And you just kind of push through the newborn phase, and you're like, one day it's not gonna be like this.
• 15:40
  One day I will get to sleep, right?
• 15:43
  You know, one day I'm gonna be able to sleep through the night, no one's gonna be waking me up.
• 15:49
  And then that finally happens, and now here comes perimenopause, like waking you up in the middle of the night.
• 15:55
  And it can be hormone like cortisol fluctuation.
• 15:59
  It can also be due to blood sugar.
• 16:01
  So those are some of the two like main causes.
• 16:04
  But a lot of women in perimenopause just struggle with insomnia altogether.
• 16:08
  Like maybe you can't fall asleep or you can't stay asleep, you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't go back to sleep.
• 16:15
  It's it can be a real struggle, and then that just adds on to you feeling stressed, to you feeling overwhelmed, to you having that anxiety, the brain fog, which is another one, you know, you experience brain fog, um, a loss of motivation, too.
• 16:35
  And this one um gets women in trouble because they finally open up and they talk to their doctor about it and they tell them, you know, hey, I um I I've been struggling with motivation.
• 16:50
  I I I just don't have a lot of motivation anymore.
• 16:53
  I'm not sleeping well, I'm exhausted all the time, I just don't feel like doing anything.
• 16:59
  And the first thing the doctor does is say, well, let's get you on an antidepressant.
• 17:05
  And I see this all the time.
• 17:07
  Women come to me for help, and when we're going over their meds, you know, they tell me that their doctor put them on an antidepressant because they've never in their life had depression and just all of a sudden really started um feeling this this depression and have no idea where it came from.
• 17:30
  So they put them on an antidepressant and they give them something to help them sleep, you know, and it it's crazy to me because nobody's really addressing like maybe you do need an antidepressant, although I I'm not a big fan, but you know, I'm not here to tell people what they they need or or or don't need.
• 17:51
  Um, I think these drugs are overprescribed, and I think they can be very dangerous um if not used properly and if not dosed properly, and and there's a lot of side effects that come with them.
• 18:04
  So that's that's a show for another time.
• 18:06
  We could talk about that.
• 18:08
  But you know, these these drugs are just thrown at women, like here, this is gonna fix all your problems.
• 18:14
  And I've never understood prescribing an antidepressant and never requiring the person to attend therapy.
• 18:24
  You know, an antidepressant is not meant to just fix all of your problems.
• 18:29
  You have to do work along with it.
• 18:32
  So, you know, these these primary care providers are prescribing these drugs that they really just shouldn't be prescribing, and there's no follow-up or follow-through with these medications.
• 18:44
  And I I just think that it's a recipe for disaster, but that's that's kind of my opinion.
• 18:50
  Another symptom um women experience is anxious, anxiety.
• 18:55
  And not really a reason.
• 18:57
  Maybe you've never struggled with anxiety, and now all of a sudden you are.
• 19:01
  You know, and I think as women, what do we do?
• 19:04
  We blame ourselves, we feel guilty about it.
• 19:07
  I'm not a good enough mom, I'm not a good enough wife, you know, I can't handle why can't I handle everything?
• 19:14
  Why can't I keep the house clean?
• 19:17
  You know, you're trying to do everything, and you just feel like you're failing.
• 19:21
  And and women tell me that.
• 19:23
  I felt that, you know, you feel like you're just you're a failure.
• 19:28
  You are fail failing at mom life, you're failing at being a wife, you're failing at just life in general.
• 19:35
  You don't feel like yourself, you know.
• 19:39
  It it's it's uh it's an odd feeling to feel like a completely different person, and then to just not know what's wrong with you, right?
• 19:49
  Like that's that's hard to walk around with to have all these feelings and just not know what's wrong.
• 19:55
  And a lot of the times, um women won't tell anybody.
• 20:00
  I mean, men for that matter, you know, when you when you have these feelings, uh depression, anxiety and and and just feeling overstimulated, you know, whoever's experiencing these are embarrassing feelings and kind of taboo at times, and so people keep it to themselves and and don't tell anybody, and so then you're not getting help.
• 20:23
  It it should be more of a conversation for women.
• 20:29
  I think when you go to your OB doctor, right?
• 20:32
  Like you go get your your pap smear or whatever, and you're there, like there should be an assessment.
• 20:40
  The last time I saw a gynecologist, she asked, she said, Well, how are your cycles?
• 20:47
  I said, Well, they're pretty regular, 27 days, give or give or take one or two days.
• 20:53
  And she said, Are they really heavy?
• 20:55
  I said, No, just the the first day.
• 20:58
  That's it.
• 20:59
  And then she said, Oh, okay, you're good.
• 21:00
  And she said, Oh, okay, you're good.
• 21:02
  I said, Well, you know, I'm in my 40s now.
• 21:02
  I said, Well, you know, I'm in my 40s now.
• 21:06
  I'm pretty sure I'm going through perimenopause.
• 21:06
  I'm pretty sure I'm going through perimenopause.
• 21:10
  She said, Well, no, your cycles are regular.
• 21:10
  She said, Well, no, your cycles are regular.
• 21:12
  You're fine.
• 21:12
  You're fine.
• 21:14
  And that was it.
• 21:14
  And that was it.
• 21:15
  End of conversation.
• 21:15
  End of conversation.
• 21:18
  No other questions about depression, anxiety, um, gaining weight, difficulty sleeping.
• 21:18
  No other questions about depression, anxiety, um, gaining weight, difficulty sleeping.
• 21:24
  None of these.
• 21:24
  None of these.
• 21:25
  None of that was assessed.
• 21:25
  None of that was assessed.
• 21:27
  And I think that's um.
• 21:27
  And I think that's um, I think that's just an important part of any assessment.
• 21:34
  Any assessment, whether you're a gynecologist, primary care doctor, psychiatrist, whatever you are, like those are basic things that you would you would talk about.
• 21:46
  So this is uh the point where women, I think they usually start thinking, maybe I am I am depressed, maybe I'm just lazy.
• 21:56
  You know, I'm just getting older.
• 21:58
  And then you start internalizing that.
• 22:01
  You start blaming yourselves.
• 22:02
  Meanwhile, your body, your body is screaming for support, and you are ignoring all the signals.
• 22:13
  You know, your body's sending out SOS signals, and you're just kind of writing it off, maybe taking a pill to try to suppress it.
• 22:22
  And honestly, a lot of women are just carrying around so much, you know, and there's so much expected of us, and not that there's not expectations for men, don't get me wrong.
• 22:35
  Dads and husbands, they have high expectations on themselves as well.
• 22:40
  And you know, for women, we're the the caregivers, we um we carry babies for goodness sakes, you know.
• 22:50
  We we create and grow an entire human and raise them for women that don't have children.
• 22:58
  Maybe you're career driven and and you've been you know putting so much pressure on yourself to be successful, and that's not easy either, or you're doing both, you're raising children and going after a career.
• 23:12
  Then you have the house to take care of, a husband to take care of, and you know, you have all of these things, and we put a lot on ourselves and you carry it around because you know that that's what's expected of you, and that's what you expect from yourself, and so you never ask for help, and you just feel like you're drowning, right?
• 23:35
  I've been there, guys.
• 23:37
  I I felt that I've I felt like I am drowning in life, and there is just no life preserver being thrown out, and you just can't figure out why.
• 23:51
  You know, I mean, it it and then you see all these um these wellness uh influencers out there, eat more protein, do this, do that, and you're trying to do all the things, and you get the red light, and you put the stuff on your face, and you you know, you do all the things and you still just feel like you're failing.
• 24:13
  On that note, we are actually gonna jump to a break.
• 24:17
  I didn't even see the time.
• 24:19
  Um, hopefully when we come back, uh Amy is gonna be joining me.
• 24:23
  She is wrapped up right now.
• 24:24
  Y'all, that's a whole nother podcast, too.
• 24:27
  Um, we are in battle right now for her son getting his IVIG.
• 24:32
  So um, we kind of needed a break from talking about that today, but we will get you guys updated on that.
• 24:40
  So we're gonna hop into a break, and hopefully, when we come back, Amy might be on with me.
• 24:45
  Um, otherwise she's still on hold and she won't be able to jump on.
• 24:49
  But hang in there with me, guys.
• 24:51
  When we get back, we'll dive more into perimenopause.
• 24:54
  Oral hygiene hasn't changed in 50 years, but our diet and the way we eat has creating an environment in your mouth for bacteria to wreck havoc on your teeth and gums for better oral health, get spray dental defense, an oral care line designed to combat acid-creating bacteria.
• 25:12
  The toothpaste, mouthwash, mints, and gum all contain xylitol, and natural ingredients shown to dramatically improve oral health.
• 25:20
  Sprite can be found online and at all fine natural retailers.
• 25:24
  Successful weight loss is about changing the gut-brain relationship with food.
• 25:29
  I'm Dr.
• 25:29
  Kelly Victory with the wellness company.
• 25:31
  If you don't like needles, you'll love oral dissolving terzepitide RX.
• 25:36
  Works by targeting the GLP1 and GIP receptors that influence appetite and metabolism.
• 25:42
  And unlike injections, these are fast absorbing, sublingual tablets placed under the tongue, paired with an energy boost of B6 and B12.
• 25:50
  Visit TWC.
• 26:01
  Using cellular absorption technology, we put vitamins A, C, D, zinc, and Quircetin together with a multi-mineral complex for complete protection.
• 26:12
  The Daily V Stack is basically an oral IV of six products all in one at an affordable price.
• 26:18
  Go to chemicalfree body.com forward slash out loud, get the daily V stack, protect yourself, boost your immune system, and save 20% on your first order.
• 26:30
  And I quote, you and I have a rendezvous with destiny.
• 26:35
  We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth.
• 26:40
  Or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.
• 26:46
  Those are the words of number 40.
• 26:47
  Ronald Reagan shine bright as America approaches 250 years.
• 26:56
  America Out Loud Doc News is that place to awaken your heart, soul, and mind to the all-about truth.
• 27:09
  Okay, guys, welcome back to the Nurses Report on America Out Loud.
• 27:14
  I'm so glad you're here with me today.
• 27:16
  Again, I'm your host, Ashley Caputo.
• 27:19
  And at some point, Amy might pop in um as a guest.
• 27:23
  So she was she was scheduled to be with us today to kind of dive into this and bring a different perspective of dealing with with perimenopause.
• 27:33
  But um, again, she is she is in battle right now for her son to get the medications he needs and deserves.
• 27:42
  Um, I'm right there with her, helping, and it's y'all, it's an uphill battle, and we just keep getting stonewalled.
• 27:50
  So it's it's um it's been quite the adventure, and we will we'll have to do an episode updating um all of our listeners on what's going on, but I kind of needed a break, talking from it and dealing with it because it's something that that we've been dealing with um morning tonight, every single day.
• 28:00
  On what's going on, but I kind of needed a break talking from it and dealing with it because it's something that we've been dealing with morning to night, every single day.
• 28:14
  So I was like, let me shift gears and just talk about something I'm really passionate about.
• 28:15
  So I was like, let me shift gears and just talk about something I'm really passionate about.
• 28:19
  So I was like, let's let's talk about perimenopause because it's something that I work with clients one-on-one together with them.
• 28:19
  So I was like, let's let's talk about perimenopause because it's something that I work with clients one on one together with them.
• 28:28
  Um, and and I work.
• 28:28
  Um and I work with clients that uh that are needing all sorts of different things, right?
• 28:34
  But like my specialty is I want to be a place that women can come to feel safe, feel heard, not get dismissed, and be able to really get to the root cause because perimenopause is something that we are going to go through, but you don't have to struggle through it.
• 28:55
  You don't have to wear the symptoms as a badge of honor because it's you're going through the change, and all women do it.
• 29:05
  Unfortunately, what happens is you know, we're so heavily exposed to stress, to toxins, to poor diet.
• 29:16
  You know, we have all these ultra-processed foods, and a lot of the stuff causes inflammation in our body.
• 29:24
  And so you have years of this, right?
• 29:26
  Like years building up, and then your body is all of a sudden like, you know what, I can't do it anymore.
• 29:35
  So not only are you experiencing hormone changes, which all women go through.
• 29:40
  Oh, and there's Amy.
• 29:41
  I was just talking about you.
• 29:43
  Were your ears burning?
• 29:47
  Okay, I think I'm unmuted now.
• 29:49
  Yes, I hear you.
• 29:50
  I hear you.
• 29:50
  I was telling our our listeners that you were probably gonna hop on we've been talking about perimenopause, and I was just going off on a tangent about um, you know, just kind of feeling dismissed and feeling you know, not heard when you talk about a lot of these symptoms that women experience.
• 30:14
  So um, so I'm glad you're here.
• 30:16
  Welcome.
• 30:17
  And I kind of I did give our listeners just a little bit of update on, you know, we're at war right now at battle with your getting your son's IVIG, and that's what you were dealing with.
• 30:29
  So um I did promise an update on a podcast we can do um in the near future.
• 30:37
  Hopefully, we'll have good news.
• 30:39
  Hoping, hoping so, hoping it's good news.
• 30:41
  We have a battle plan.
• 30:42
  We'll see what happens.
• 30:43
  Okay, good.
• 30:45
  With that said, um, if the benefits department calls, I will have to abruptly hop off.
• 30:51
  Yeah.
• 30:52
  No worries, no worries at all.
• 30:54
  Um I was kind of talking about how you know I'm 44 now, and I created this space with rooted wellness because I felt like women are so dismissed and feeling um a lot of the changes that they're going through, and that doctors a lot of the times are kind of throwing antidepressants, sleeping pills, you know, and eat less and move more, you know, all these things to treat it.
• 31:25
  Nobody really understands what perimenopause is, what women are going through.
• 31:29
  And I don't think eating less is the solution, it's what we're eating.
• 31:33
  So what we're eating is that needs to be completely changed.
• 31:38
  Um, and you may have already covered this, but um, you know, for me and myself and I I try to stay with a high protein, high fiber, the healthy fats, because it's so important in our age to keep these things, especially the healthy fats in our diet to promote brain health.
• 31:58
  We don't want to lose our memory early.
• 32:01
  Um, and our mineral supports.
• 32:03
  I I think at this age, we are I think it's fair to say that we are pretty depleted with our minerals because we've you know we're women, we have been through so many phases of life, and um holistically speaking, there's a lot of things that you can look at, like non-invasive ways to know if you have a mineral deficiency, um, like your fingernails.
• 32:26
  Um, our nails can be a symptom of what our body is lacking.
• 32:30
  Um, if your half moon, if it's not there, it's a sign of mineral deficiencies.
• 32:36
  Um if you have check my nails, yes.
• 32:40
  If you have ridges on your nails, depending if they're horizontal or if they're um, you know, depending on which way they're going on the nail, like all of these are signs that's pointing to something.
• 32:53
  Um, our body is very smart and it gives us I don't want to say symptoms because it's smart enough to give us the the kind of early warning signs before we even feel like quote unquote medical symptom holistically speaking.
• 33:08
  Yeah.
• 33:08
  Yeah, and I was I was talking about that earlier, how uh our bodies kind of sending out an SOS and we're just not hearing it because you you don't know, you know, and I think a lot of the times women blame themselves.
• 33:23
  You know, you're you feel like you're failing as a mom, failing as a wife, failing in your career because you don't have the energy, you don't have the is that them.
• 33:36
  No, that's okay.
• 33:37
  Go ahead, take the call, take the call.
• 33:38
  Okay, we'll be here if if you can hop back on.
• 33:41
  Okay, thanks, girl.
• 33:42
  Yeah.
• 33:43
  Um so yeah, I think that um, you know, dismissing a lot of these symptoms kind of gets us in a world of trouble, right?
• 33:55
  Because we're sending out these signals and we continue to ignore them, and then it just it kind of uh bottles up into this storm waiting to erupt.
• 34:07
  And I think women need to ask for help, right?
• 34:12
  But there's no safe, there's not a lot of safe spaces to do that.
• 34:16
  And I mean that, and you know, you go to your doctor, you get dismissed, you tell your gynecologist, she said, uh, you're fine.
• 34:23
  Um, you talk to your friends, maybe they're not experiencing the same symptoms you are, you know.
• 34:29
  So it's it's really hard to navigate.
• 34:31
  Um, so that's uh again, that's why I created rooted wellness functional health, because I wanted to be that space for women to be able to come to and work one-on-one with somebody who really understands what they're going through.
• 34:45
  Um, and and sometimes some of these things like let's break it down a little bit.
• 34:51
  If you're experiencing anxiety, sometimes that's low progesterone.
• 34:58
  Sometimes insomnia is blood sugar crashes, or like we said earlier, cortisol dysregulation.
• 35:00
  Is blood sugar crashes or like we said earlier cortisol dysregulation.
• 35:06
  Sometimes the brain fog is in inflammation and stress overload, and just nobody's connecting these dots.
• 35:06
  Sometimes the brain fog is in inflammation and stress overload, and just nobody's connecting these dots.
• 35:16
  So let's back it up just a little bit and let's talk about the sleep thing for a minute because I think this is something that um is really frustrating to people.
• 35:16
  So let's back it up just a little bit and let's talk about the sleep thing for a minute, because I think this is something that um is really frustrating to people.
• 35:27
  Anyone who has disrupted sleep, like you feel.
• 35:27
  Anyone who has disrupted sleep, like you feel these effects the next day and maybe even days after.
• 35:34
  Um and a lot of women will come to me and they'll say, you know, I'm exhausted all day, but then at night my brain won't shut off.
• 35:41
  I can't go to sleep, so then I just lay there and I want to go to sleep.
• 35:45
  I'm tired, and I can't.
• 35:47
  When I finally do fall asleep, I wake up at 3 a.m.
• 35:52
  And then I'm wide awake again.
• 35:55
  This is so common in perimenopause.
• 35:58
  Poster child for perimenopause, right here, you know.
• 36:02
  It's and then the next day, what do you do?
• 36:06
  You didn't get any sleep.
• 36:07
  So you're you're taking in the caffeine, then you feel more stressed than usual because it's hard to tolerate stress when you're tired.
• 36:16
  Your blood sugar probably crashes, and you feel more anxiety.
• 36:21
  It's a cycle, it's it's this cycle that it can be really hard to get out of.
• 36:26
  And then let's talk about weight gain.
• 36:29
  Right?
• 36:30
  Your sleep's already being disrupted, which puts you more at risk for gaining weight, it disrupts your blood sugar, your more insulin sensed your your you have um lack of insulin sensitivity.
• 36:46
  Sorry, my my brain lit, see brain fog right there.
• 36:50
  Um of the the things that can happen with all of this is you know, you start gaining weight.
• 36:56
  We talked about that belly fat, and this one's emotional for women because you're trying all the things and you feel like you're failing, you're doing what the doctor says, eating less, and like Amy said, we shouldn't be eating less, we probably should be eating more, and you need to focus more on protein, healthy fats to get a well-balanced diet, and to support hormone metabolism to support hormone production, right?
• 37:27
  And then you're like, Well, I gotta go to the gym.
• 37:31
  So you go to the gym and you become uh you know, a workout a holic, which is actually putting a lot of stress on your body.
• 37:38
  Now, I am not saying don't go work out, ladies.
• 37:41
  I wish it, I wish you could get a free pass to not have to work out.
• 37:44
  I would be super excited.
• 37:46
  I absolutely hate working out, but I do it, but I hate it, I don't like it, I don't enjoy it.
• 37:52
  That sounds awful, but it's really like I I would if I could leave it out, I totally would, but I get how important it is, so I really have to kind of trick myself into liking it.
• 38:04
  Um, I do try to find things that I like, like I do like yoga, right?
• 38:09
  And I love doing yoga under the red light, when the house is quiet, maybe the kids are still sleeping.
• 38:17
  Um, I love doing that.
• 38:18
  I love going to the park and walking, so I'll do that.
• 38:22
  Maybe wear a weighted vest.
• 38:24
  Be careful though, that can be hard on your back.
• 38:26
  But I I do love my weighted vest.
• 38:28
  Um, you know, those are things I enjoy.
• 38:30
  I have a Peloton, it's okay.
• 38:33
  I mean, I like it once I've done it, but getting getting to the bike and getting on it is always a struggle for me, right?
• 38:43
  So there's just there, there's there's something about working out.
• 38:47
  I just you know, I I know it's hard for a lot of people, but sometimes you get in a cycle where you're working out really hard because you you want to lose weight, and it's actually adding stress onto your body, and you might need to lay off the cardio and just do some strength training.
• 39:08
  If if someone comes to me and they have a high stress load, and they're really struggling, I do not tell them to stop working out, but I do tell them they need to slow down.
• 39:22
  Switch out some of their workout days with stretching and yoga, maybe Pilates, and add more strength training than cardio.
• 39:32
  I'm cool with cardio, I think it's great for cardiovascular health, right?
• 39:36
  Getting that heart rate up, super good for you.
• 39:38
  But if you're going to do that, I usually recommend HIT high-intensity interval training, and you do short periods of that and you get your heart rate up.
• 39:50
  So I prefer that than going to the gym and going hardcore for like an hour.
• 39:55
  It really does put a lot of stress on your body, and sometimes you have to slow it down, and it might not be long term, but in that time of high stress, you need to take it down a notch and not just add more stress.
• 40:10
  And a lot of the times women will notice a difference when they stop pushing themselves so hard, and they just slow down, and instead of you know, running to the gym, doing a hardcore workout for 30 minutes to an hour, then going home, cooking dinner, bathing the kids, getting them to bed, you know, researching or doing whatever they do, and then trying to go to bed and get up and go to work again.
• 40:35
  If they just take 30 minutes to meditate, to relax, to stretch, and to do some yoga, gentle yoga, um, they actually will start to notice a difference in their weight loss and health journey, you know, that that they were they were stuck with your stuck at before, you know, now they maybe start to make progress because you're reducing some of that stress.
• 41:02
  I know I kind of went off on a tangent about that, but I think it's really important for women, especially in your 30s and 40s to focus more on switch it up and focus more on on strength training than it is cardio, and from then on, 40s, 50, 60s, 70s, strength training is where it's at.
• 41:24
  You cannot treat your 40-year-old body the way you treated your 25-year-old body.
• 41:29
  It's just you just can't do it.
• 41:33
  So I feel like women are left with, okay, now what?
• 41:41
  You you're telling me nobody can help me, and that all of this is hormones.
• 41:46
  So what do I do?
• 41:48
  You know, so I think first stop a hard stop.
• 41:52
  Like you you gotta to evaluate exactly what's going on in your life, you know.
• 41:58
  Um stop blaming yourself.
• 42:00
  Blaming yourself.
• 42:02
  Your body is not broken, right?
• 42:02
  Your body is not broken, right?
• 42:06
  You are just changing.
• 42:06
  You are just changing.
• 42:08
  So you need to support, get back to the basics, support the foundations.
• 42:08
  So you need to support, get back to the basics, support the foundations.
• 42:15
  So you want to focus on protein.
• 42:15
  So you want to focus on protein.
• 42:18
  And I know there's a big hype about protein now.
• 42:18
  And I know there's a big hype about protein now, and and people are like, no, you don't want to eat too much protein and all listen, we do not, most people do not eat too much protein.
• 42:21
  And people are like, no, you don't want to eat too much protein and all.
• 42:25
  Listen, we do not, most people do not eat too much protein.
• 42:29
  Usually you
• 42:29
  Usually you're under eating protein.
• 42:31
  I try to get 30 grams of protein at each of my meals, and it's a struggle sometimes.
• 42:38
  And so I have to add like a protein shake to get that extra protein because I really struggle with getting enough.
• 42:49
  I would I would start like if if you've never really focused on protein before, start with like trying to get 25 to 30 grams of protein at each meal, and then you can have a protein snack too if you need that to kind of help you get to your goal.
• 43:05
  We need to focus on blood sugar.
• 43:07
  This is huge.
• 43:10
  Glucose, insulin, insulin's a hormone, right?
• 43:14
  Like this goes along with perimenopause hand in hand.
• 43:19
  So you have to focus on blood sugar.
• 43:22
  Get rid of the sweeteners, get rid of the sugar, all the the processed foods, the cookies, the cakes, the ice cream, all that stuff.
• 43:31
  You really need to eliminate that from your diet.
• 43:35
  It's just so detrimental.
• 43:37
  And I'm not saying you can't have a piece of cake on your birthday, go for it.
• 43:41
  But a lot of people have these things, have access to them in your home daily, and it's so easy when you're stressed and you're hungry to just grab something out of the pantry.
• 43:53
  And you want to make sure whatever you're grabbing is not some ultra processed food with high amounts of sugar in it.
• 44:02
  We are destroying our blood sugar regulation.
• 44:06
  Um, you also need to focus on sleep.
• 44:10
  Sleep is so important, and that is way easier said than done, right?
• 44:14
  Um, but we need to focus on our nervous system, stress management, and then here's one that gets overlooked so much.
• 44:23
  Your gut, you have to focus on your gut.
• 44:28
  Now I am not saying go to extremes with any of these.
• 44:31
  None of this is punishment, right?
• 44:33
  These are changes that we need to do in our life to promote health, well-being, longevity, hormone balance, and sometimes we just need that permission to kind of slow down, just slow down, slow down and focus on the basics.
• 44:54
  So with as far as sleep, right?
• 44:58
  Um how do you go to sleep if you can't sleep?
• 45:04
  Right?
• 45:05
  You know, you're struggling with insomnia.
• 45:07
  Well, the the first thing you have to do um is figure out where you're missing the mark.
• 45:16
  Okay, so at night, are you feeling wired, like you're exhausted, but you just can't fall asleep.
• 45:23
  So there's that component.
• 45:25
  Then there's also um are you falling asleep okay, but you're waking up at three in the morning and then you can't go back to sleep.
• 45:35
  Or are you going to sleep and you you feel like you slept all night, but then you wake up and you feel exhausted.
• 45:43
  You know, so all of these um can have different components on what's actually happening in your body.
• 45:53
  Okay.
• 45:54
  So let's talk about the not being able to sleep.
• 45:57
  What happens if you can't fall asleep in the evenings, you can't get your eyes to close, your brain's just running a hundred miles a minute, and you feel like maybe if you're like me, you know, the the kids finally fall asleep, and you're like, oh, I should clean the house and let me make sourdough, and oh, I was gonna, you know, make lunch for tomorrow or meal prep, or I start thinking about all these things that I haven't gotten done throughout the day, and now it's finally quiet, and so then I want I want to get up and go do all these things, even though I'm exhausted.
• 46:35
  Um, and so I'll I'll I'll do it.
• 46:38
  But what that's doing is it's it's telling your body you still got things to do and you need to stay awake.
• 46:44
  So you're you're providing like you know, um almost like you're giving your body a stimulant, you know.
• 46:53
  It's like, okay, I need a boost of energy, I got lots to do.
• 46:57
  So what happens is our our cortisol curve, like in the morning when you wake up, your cortisol is lower, and within the first one to two hours of you waking up, you get a boost of cortisol, or you're supposed to, and then that cortisol level starts to fall throughout the day.
• 47:15
  Well, what can happen is in the evenings, your cortisol level might not fall low enough to to make you want to go to bed, but what's happened is your cortisol might have been flat throughout the day.
• 47:30
  So earlier in the day, when you were needing a boost, your cortisol level was too low, not low enough for you to go to bed, but not high enough for you to actually like feel energy.
• 47:42
  So then when you're finally able to sit down, your cortisol is still staying steady when it should be dropping in the evenings, which stimulates you know, your your body to say, okay, it's time to go to bed, you release melatonin, you get tired, you go to sleep.
• 48:01
  So we have to take a step back and focus on our cortisol, not just going to sleep because I can sit here and tell you all day, just go to bed, you know, just go to bed, close your eyes, don't worry about anything, but it's just not that easy.
• 48:20
  Um, cortisol being dysregulated contributes to so many things as far as like weight gain, fatigue, and uh brain fog and all of these things.
• 48:34
  So focusing on cortisol can actually probably help and regulate a lot of things that that you're struggling with.
• 48:43
  Um sometimes that cortisol is low when it should be high, sometimes it spikes at the wrong time.
• 48:50
  Um, so it it's it's a real problem, and you have to kind of identify where the problem lies to know how to support it.
• 49:00
  Support it.
• 49:01
  Um, you can do a Dutch test.
• 49:02
  You can do a Dutch test.
• 49:04
  That is one that I use a lot with my clients.
• 49:04
  That is one that I use a lot with my clients.
• 49:08
  You know, I can go based off of their symptoms and probably assume what's going on inside of your body.
• 49:08
  You know, I can go based off of their symptoms and probably assume what's going on inside of your body, but I like to test, not guess.
• 49:15
  But I like to test, not guess.
• 49:18
  But you know, it if you're not, I don't think we always have to test.
• 49:18
  But um, you know, it if you're not, I don't think we always have to test, but I think when you're in perimenopause, or you're at least like in your 30s and are probably.
• 49:24
  But I think when you're in perimenopause, or you're at least like in your 30s and are probably approaching perimenopause, uh, doing a Dutch test can be a great indicator on what's going on internally.
• 49:40
  So it will show your cortisol levels and what your your curve is doing throughout the day so we know how to support it.
• 49:48
  So there's a lot of um a lot of things that you can do, and strength training is is one of them.
• 50:00
  So strength training can actually help with your cortisol levels, and so that's one that I always recommend to everybody.
• 50:10
  Um you want to kind of you do have to think about your stress levels.
• 50:19
  Now, this one's tricky because it's easy to say, well, reduce your stress, right?
• 50:25
  Like, I mean, that's easy to tell anybody, but we're all gonna have stress in our lives.
• 50:30
  So I think it is good to learn how to handle and manage stress in a in a healthy way, and then that way you're able to take on more and not feel super overwhelmed.
• 50:50
  But one thing people forget is we have to look at past stressors because if you've been constantly stressed and busy and overwhelmed for years, all of that has affected your adrenal glands, and you can get adrenal gland insufficiency, and so you do have to support those adrenals to be able to balance out your cortisol levels.
• 51:15
  Um, but a simple thing that you can do at home is you know, lay off the caffeine a little bit.
• 51:21
  Uh, don't drink caffeine in the mornings before you've had some food in you.
• 51:25
  Sometimes that can help.
• 51:28
  Resting when you feel like you need to rest.
• 51:30
  Um, but one of the best things you can do is, you know, in the morning, um, your cortisol should be higher and at and then gradually lower at night, right?
• 51:43
  So um getting outside in the morning within the first 30 to 60 minutes of waking up, can help just kind of anchor your circadian rhythm, even five to ten minutes if you can.
• 51:59
  Your body needs those light signals, okay?
• 52:02
  So that helps just kind of regulate your overall system, and that can help boost your cortisol levels in the morning.
• 52:11
  Um, and then like I said, coffee on an empty stomach.
• 52:16
  Guys, I I do it every day, right?
• 52:19
  Even though I know I probably shouldn't, I do.
• 52:22
  Um, but if you're if you're really sensitive, you might want to try holding off on the coffee.
• 52:30
  Wait till you have some food in you, preferably protein, and then have your coffee and see if that makes a difference for you.
• 52:37
  That can be huge sometimes.
• 52:39
  Um it can also the the protein in the morning can help kind of stabilize your blood sugar too.
• 52:46
  So you're getting a bonus, you know.
• 52:48
  And then here's another one that we talked about earlier.
• 52:52
  You want to stop under eating, stop skipping meals, stop over fasting.
• 52:58
  That's we could do probably a whole show on intermittent fasting.
• 53:02
  You want to do gentle intermittent fasting during perimenopause and not, you know, I wouldn't go over 14 hours.
• 53:10
  I usually don't even usually recommend like a 12-hour fast for intermittent fasting when you're in your 30s and up.
• 53:19
  And you know, just do like a gentle fast and break your fast first thing in the morning with protein.
• 53:26
  Um, you don't want to over-exercise.
• 53:28
  We talked about that.
• 53:30
  You will see that's that's what I'm telling you.
• 53:32
  I I have women slow it down and take away the the extreme exercising and they start to have more energy and feel better.
• 53:41
  Why?
• 53:42
  Because their cortisol is starting to regulate.
• 53:46
  Um, and then if you're doing these chronic like yo-yo dieting, that can be really detrimental to your adrenal glands and your cortisol levels.
• 53:53
  Your body takes it on as stress, so don't do that to yourselves.
• 53:58
  There are some really great adrenal supplements that can help, but I do recommend working with a provider because there's different supplements that have different combinations and they help do different things.
• 54:13
  So working with somebody and finding out what your cortisol levels are can really give you some insight.
• 54:19
  Um, the Dutch test also looks at your estrogen, your progesterone, how you're metabolizing your estrogen.
• 54:28
  Um, for instance, I would have bet money.
• 54:33
  But I hands down, I would have bet that I had estrogen dominance, that my estrogen levels were super high, right?
• 54:41
  Like that's just how I felt based on my symptoms.
• 54:44
  Well, when I did a Dutch test, I realized my estrogen levels totally fine, completely where they should be.
• 54:52
  They were optimal levels, they went down the right pathways, everything was great.
• 54:57
  What was wrong was my progesterone was in the toilet, and if you don't have balance between those two, you're gonna feel the estrogen dominant symptoms.
• 55:09
  So I had to work on my progesterone.
• 55:11
  If I hadn't tested, I might have focused on the wrong things.
• 55:16
  But to wrap this up, because listen, y'all, I could keep going.
• 55:19
  Um, like I said, this is a topic that I just really love.
• 55:23
  So if you're struggling with perimenopause, please reach out to me.
• 55:28
  We can work one-on-one together.
• 55:30
  Um, I offer all different kinds of things, you know, like you could work with me for four months.
• 55:36
  I have concierge, uh, you can connect with me through Remnet Healthcare.
• 55:41
  You know, however, please reach out for help.
• 55:44
  Find someone that can walk with you through this.
• 55:47
  You don't have to do this alone.
• 55:50
  But last thoughts, y'all don't over exercise.
• 55:56
  Self-care, super important.
• 55:59
  Don't skip meals, don't under eat, focus on protein, and you will start to feel some balance.
• 56:00
  Meals, don't undereat, focus on protein, and you will start to feel some balance.
• 56:06
  So I hope this helped.
• 56:06
  So I hope this helped.
• 56:07
  I know I I was kind of um all over the place.
• 56:07
  I know I I was kind of um all over the place.
• 56:11
  We had Amy in and out, which was awesome.
• 56:11
  We had Amy in and out, which was awesome.
• 56:14
  I wish she could have hung out with us more, but I'm so glad that you guys were here with us.
• 56:14
  I wish she could have hung out with us more, but I'm so glad that you guys were here with us.
• 56:19
  I hope this resonated with someone, and like I said, if you need help, please find me uh rooted wellness functional health.com.
• 56:19
  I hope this resonated with someone.
• 56:21
  And like I said, if you need help, please find me at rootedwellness functional health.com.
• 56:28
  You can schedule a free
• 56:28
  You can schedule a free discovery call with me.
• 56:31
  I would love to work with you and walk with you through all of this and help you restore balance in your life.
• 56:39
  Until next time, guys, God bless you.
• 56:42
  Take care, and I will see you next week.