Latest / I Choose Me with Jennie Garth / I Choose... to Call in The Vagina Whisperer (Dr. Sara Reardon)

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I Choose... to Call in The Vagina Whisperer (Dr. Sara Reardon) · I Choose Me with Jennie Garth

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garth. Hi, everyone,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: welcome back to I Choose Me. This podcast is all
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: about the choices we make, the big ones, the small ones,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the messy ones, the magical ones, and how they lead
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: us to where we are right now. Today's guest is
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: someone who helps people, especially women, but also men, make
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: incredibly powerful choices about their bodies, their health, and ultimately
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: their lives. Doctor Sarah Reardon, also known as the Vagina Whisper,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: is a board certified pelvic floor physical therapist with over
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: eighteen years of experience. She's the founder of The Behive
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: and the author of Florida Complete Guide to Women's Pelvic
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Floor Health at Every Age and stage. You may have
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: seen her in Harper's Bazaar in Style Yahoo. Sarah is
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: here to help us understand what the pelvic floor really is,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: why so many people silently suffer with dysfunction, and most importantly,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: what choices can we make starting today, to feel strong, empowered,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: and pain free in our own bodies. Sarah, Welcome to
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: the podcast. We are so happy to have you here.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: The Vagina Whisper herself thank you for coming on and
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: sharing all of your knowledge with us.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Hey, Jenny, nice to meet you.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Nice to meet you.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Okay, So, doctor Sarah, we have a problem there. It's
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: such a lack of awareness around something one in five
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: of us will have to deal with. And if those
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: numbers don't bump you out, the shame associated with it
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: just might. So let's lay the foundation. What the heck
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: is the pelvic floor and what does it do? And
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: why is it so often ignored?
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sits
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: at the bottom of your pelvis. So we're all used
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: to kind of putting our hands in our hip bones.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: That's our pelvis or seeing that, you know, pelvic model
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: in a doctor's office, And at the very bottom of
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: that is a group of muscles, culture pelvic floor. That's
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: literally the floor of your core. Those muscles support your
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: pelvic organs like your uterus and ovaries and bladder which
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: holds urine, and bowels which holds stool, and in female bodies,
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: that muscle also has three openings, one for theorie throw
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: opening where you're in exits, one for the anal opening
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: where poop exits, and then the vaginal opening for vaginal
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  Speaker 4: intercourse and menstruation and vaginal birth. So you know, everything
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: we do during the day from you know, coughing and
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: sneezing and exercising and peeing and pooping, and then other
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: things like being sexually active or being pregnant and postpartum
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: our pelvic floor is working and changing, and yet we
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: don't ever talk about this part of our body unless
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: we start experiencing problems, and then we often are told
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: it's normal or kind of just deal with it. You
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: had a baby, or you're in menopause.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Hmmmm, yeah, I read that half of women will end
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: up battling this.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Okay, so what are you really did?
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Just jump right in there to all the pea and
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: the poop and everything.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: I love you, yor we're game. Okay, let's do this.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: What are some common or not so common signs that
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: something's wrong for both women and men.
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: You know, it's really great that you bring that up, Jenny,
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: because I think men don't realize they have a pelvic floors,
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: but all genders have a pelvic floor.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: We do see more.
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  Speaker 4: Pelvic floor problems in women because one, they have a vagina,
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  Speaker 4: so that extra opening at the bottom just makes us
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: more susceptible to weakness and then also we go through
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: pregnancy and birth and menopause, which men do not. Oh yes,
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: and so those are also risk factors for pelvic floor
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: issues because our body is just transforming during that time,
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: and often the muscles get weaker or less supportive. Some
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: of the common things that starting with female bodies, you'll
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: see that are really common, but again related to the
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: pelvic floor our urinary leaks, like with coughing and sneezing
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  Speaker 4: those Yeah, so that's your pelvic floor talking. That's your
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: pelvic floor saying like I can't quite support what you're
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: asking me to do and then you leak. Other things
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  Speaker 4: are painful sex, it could be due to muscle tension
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  Speaker 4: where your muscles aren't relaxing well, it feels like your
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: partner's hitting something, or you know you've got deeper pain,
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  Speaker 4: you know, like there's a tenderness or bruisiness with sex
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  Speaker 4: or even afterwards.
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  Speaker 2: And then other kind of more intimate.
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  Speaker 4: Issues like pelvic organ prolapse where your muscles aren't supporting
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  Speaker 4: your organs as well and they start to push into
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  Speaker 4: your vaginal wall.
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  Speaker 2: I know your eyes just got big.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that sounds scary.
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  Speaker 2: And it feels scary.
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  Speaker 4: I know, but you know, so many women experience this
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  Speaker 4: and they don't even realize that it's their pelvic floor,
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  Speaker 4: and they don't realize they can get help for it.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's a part of our body. We don't
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  Speaker 2: talk about a lot.
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  Speaker 4: It's often embarrassing to address, so we kind of secretly
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  Speaker 4: deal with these issues. But yet there's this treatment out
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: there in pelvic floor therapy and what I discuss in
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  Speaker 4: my book Floor that can really help relieve these issues
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  Speaker 4: and help you have a better quality of life overall.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, okay, So does it show up differently in
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: women than men?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, so, because we go through things like pregnancy and
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: birth and menopause, we'll see more weakness issues in females.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: In men, you can have weakness after like a prostate
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: procedure or something like that. But in men we often
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: see pelvic for tension and that can create things like
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: pain with erections or difficulty maintaining erections, premature ejaculation, difficulties
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  Speaker 4: starting your urine stream it feels like you have to
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  Speaker 4: push to get it started, or you're not emptying well,
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  Speaker 4: pain with bomb movements or constipation, and hemorrhoids.
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  Speaker 2: So kind of.
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  Speaker 4: More tension related issues where relaxation and stretching and things
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  Speaker 4: like that need to be addressed versus you know, key
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  Speaker 4: goals and tightening type exercises.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I read a men's health article talking about when men
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: have floor dysfunction that it can do just that lead
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: to erect dial dysfunction. Yeah, and sexual dissatisfaction. So what
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: do you recommend that men specifically can do to increase
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: the strength of their public floor or maybe there's something
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: that partners can do together to write.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think partner support is key. It's
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  Speaker 4: like if I had a broken leg, I would expect
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  Speaker 4: my partner to help me day to day and kind
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  Speaker 4: of encourage me when things get down, to help me
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  Speaker 4: with my exercises. And this is no different. This is
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: maybe it's a more intimate part of our bodies, but
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  Speaker 4: partners can absolutely be supportive. I think the first thing
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  Speaker 4: is we need to have the conversations. Oftentimes partners are
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: experiencing pain or discomfort and they don't even talk to
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: their partners about it, and so they're kind of already
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: carrying this shame and secrecy.
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  Speaker 2: The first thing is talk about it.
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  Speaker 4: We have patients come in all the time, female patients
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  Speaker 4: that will say like, hey, I think my husband might
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: have a pelvic floor issue, and then they kind of
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: start nudging their husband to come. The other thing is
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: that if you start seeing early signs like you are
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: starting to have like a harder time maintaining erections or
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: you know, premature ejaculation, I mean those if you're a
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: young male and you don't have high blood pressure or
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: a nerve injury, it could be your pelvic floor. I mean,
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  Speaker 4: your muscles need to be strong and active to maintain
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  Speaker 4: erections and have orgasms.
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  Speaker 2: I feel ejaculate.
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  Speaker 3: That's crazy.
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  Speaker 1: I mean when I'm thinking of those issues that you mentioned,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I'm not thinking, oh, that's probably his pelvic floor.
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  Speaker 3: I'm thinking, I know, that's what did I do wrong?
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  Speaker 3: Or what's wrong with our marriage?
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  Speaker 4: No? And that's what's interesting is that, I mean these
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: are women often feel the same way too. It's like
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: if you can't if you have vaginal dryness or you
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: have pained with sex, we start to feel like what's
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  Speaker 4: wrong with me? I feel like I'm not good enough
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  Speaker 4: or I'm not aroused enough, where it really could just
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  Speaker 4: be a blood.
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  Speaker 2: Flow issue or a muscle type, you know, tension.
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  Speaker 4: So it's always important to check in with your medical
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  Speaker 4: providers or urologists or a gynecologist to make sure there's
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: nothing major going on, but then also getting a pelvic
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: floor assessment to see is there muscle tension here and
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  Speaker 4: we need to work on relaxation and different things like
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: that and then start strengthening the muscle. A lot of
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  Speaker 4: men have tension that needs to be released before you
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  Speaker 4: start strengthening.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, this is getting weird, but how do you get
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: a pelvic floor assessment?
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  Speaker 3: Like what's involved with that?
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  Speaker 2: I love this so much, so we're just going right there.
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  Speaker 4: The way that we examine the pelvic floor is through
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  Speaker 4: the vaginal opening or the anal opening, because these muscles
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  Speaker 4: are deep in the pelvis. So when you come in
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  Speaker 4: to see me, I see all genders. We do kind
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  Speaker 4: of an external assessment looking at your hips and your
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  Speaker 4: belly and your thighs and all those things, and then
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  Speaker 4: to do the internal assessment. And females, we have them
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  Speaker 4: undressed from the waist down like you're at a gynecologist,
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  Speaker 4: but it's much more comfortable.
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  Speaker 2: You're covered with a sheet.
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  Speaker 4: There's no like peate crinkly paper and like yucky gowns
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  Speaker 4: and scooting to the edge of the table so you're
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  Speaker 4: undressed from the waist down. And then we kind of
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  Speaker 4: look externally at the volva and females and say, okay,
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  Speaker 4: I want you to do a kegel contraction and see
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  Speaker 4: how you contract and relax, and then I want you
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  Speaker 4: to push your bear down like you're pooping or having
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  Speaker 4: a bomb movement. And then I insert my gloved lubricated
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  Speaker 4: finger in the vagina and say, okay.
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  Speaker 2: Do the same thing.
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  Speaker 4: Squeeze, relax, push, and then I press on the muscles
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  Speaker 4: to see if there's tenderness or tightness, and that lets
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: me know is their weakness, is their tension? Is there
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: incordination in male bodies. We do this through the anal opening,
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: so we go have them in sideline and do it
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: through the anal opening. And it's honestly, it's like it's
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: so quick, it's no. It's actually more comfortable than going
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: to see a doctor. And I think if people know
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: what to expect, they're like, Okay.
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  Speaker 2: I kind of know what to expect, because you know.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: When they go to get a prostate a check up
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: or whatever check their prostate, they know they're going to
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: get the finger up the right and so that is
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: it's hard enough to get a guide to go to
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: that appointment. Now I'm going to add on, oh wait,
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: we need to do that again for a different assessment, right.
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: And the good news is is that by the time
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: men come to see us, they're like, I'll do anything,
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: you know, Like they're often maybe experiencing urinary issues or
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: ball issues, but it often takes a man experiencing sexual
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: dysfunction for them to be like, now I need to
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: get help. And then it's actually quite relieving to them
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: because they think like they have cancer or like a disease,
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: or that you know, their penis is never going to
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: work again. And when we say like, oh, this is
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: just muscles, we can work on this, it's almost relieving
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: for them to be like, this is addressable.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: Yes, yes.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: I think what stands out to me is just how
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: many of us, myself included.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Just assume that these.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Certain things are inevitable, like like you said, well, I've
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: had kids, or I'm over forty, or I had surgery,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: and we don't realize that we still have agency over
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: these things. And that's where this really gets exciting, because
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: you help people reclaim that agency.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think It's one of the biggest reasons
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: I started my Vagina Whisper Instagram account. I had been
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: a pelvic floor therapist for ten years. I've been practicing
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: for eighteen now. And I started my Instagram account when
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: I was pregnant and I had a lot of friends
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: asking me questions about like pregnancy and perineal massage and
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: postpartum recovery. And I was like, why am I the
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: only one that has this info? Or you know, why
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: did I just happen to pick this field where I
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: knew how to care for my vagina and pelvic floor.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: Every woman needs this info, and so.
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: I just started putting it on social media, and you know,
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: the growth of my account and you know, just pelvic
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: for therapy in general, I think is a real testament
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: that women want this information and we're not getting it
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: from elsewhere, and we're like why not, you know, And
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: so it really can give you agency over your body
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: and often help you live the life you want to
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: live with exercise and travel and sex and comfort versus pain,
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: and you know, leaking.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: That's yeah, we don't want that.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, So say I'm listening and I'm like, wait, this
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: is what I'm experiencing what do?
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: What do I do? What do you say to them?
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: So there's a couple of options.
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  Speaker 4: And this is the great thing about medicine now is
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: that we have so many different ways for people to
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: access care. You can always go to an in person
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: therapy appointment. So I would, you know, look at Google
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: pelvic fo therapy near me as your gynecologists, ask your girlfriends.
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: They're going to kind of be your best resources to
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: how do I find a pelvic fo therapist? You can
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: do telehealth sessions, you can do online programs like I
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: have an entire online workout program with pelvic floor exercises
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: from everything from painful sex to menopause to pregnancy. Because
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: we should be proactively caring for our bodies in this area,
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: but we're just not told how.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Wait wait, wait, where do we go for that exercise routine?
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: So it's it's the vagina Whisper dot com, which is
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: my Instagram handle. And then I have my new book
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: coming out, Floored, which is really I think giving people
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: just a comfortable way to start learning about their bodies.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be with someone else.
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: It can really just have them, you know, give them
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: an opportunity to start investigating, like, hmm, what is normal
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: for bladder health or sex or menopause, and what can
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: I do proactively to you know, prevent issues or if
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: I'm experiencing them, what can I start doing right now
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: to help?
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Right right? Okay, So I've had both of my hips replaced.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: It did a cool episode on that, So if you
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: didn't listen to that episode, go back. But I talked
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: all about it, and I change it and it really
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: changed how I.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: Move and feel in my body. Do you think that.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: Joint issues or surgeries or even even as simple as
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: our posture, those kind of things impact the pelvic health.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: One hundred percent? And I talk about this in almost
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: every chapter of the book of When You're pregnant, when
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: you are going through menopause, if you have bladder problems,
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: like how are we sitting and standing and moving? That
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: affects our pelvic floor. You have thirty six muscles that
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: attach to the pelvis, and so these pelvic floor muscles
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: aren't working in isolation. Many of them are actually hip muscles.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: So when you have hip pain or get a hip replacement,
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: or have impingement syndrome, I mean a lot of these
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: other muscles around the pelvic floor will start making the
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: pelvic floor get tight or tense or weak. So some
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: I always think of therapy like peeling layers of an onion,
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: Like I want to look at your hips and your
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: back and your posture and your breathing and then kind
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: of work on are those influencing the pelvic floor? So absolutely,
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: and I think that a lot of us, if we
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: have pain or dysfunction, we're not moving, or if you
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: have pain, you're tight and tense and uncomfortable, and that
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: causes your pelvic floor to get tense or tight and uncomfortable,
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: and that can lead to other issues like painful sex.
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: There are a hard time emptying your bladder.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: You talk a lot about listening to your body, but
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: for people who kind of feel disconnected or like their
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: body has let them down, Yeah, how do they even
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: begin to listen to their bodies?
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: You know, this is a great question, and I think
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: that it's really hard to listen to your body when
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: it's speaking a different language. When you're experiencing a pelvic
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: floor issue, you don't know what's going on, and so
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: how can you tune in and listen when it's like
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: I don't even know what my body's saying, because we've
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: never been taught this information.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: Like when we're.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: Young women, we don't get pelvic floor education. We maybe
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: get a little bit of period education. We barely get
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: sex at and that all depends on where you live,
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: but we're not taught about our pelvic floor, which is
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: again how we pee, how we poop, how we have sex,
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: how we birth, how we exercise. So it's not that
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: there's anything wrong with you or that you're failing, it's
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: that really the system is failing us. You know, I
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: think that a lot of my goal in educating women
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: is because we're not getting that education, and we do
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: need to advocate for ourselves. You know, we do need
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: to get the referrals or seek out therapy or read
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: the book and just start owning this part of our
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: body because it does transform over life. And you know,
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: I think that it's not on you, and I think
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: the place to start is just getting education and then
• 16:55
  Speaker 4: kind of implementing really small, accessible tips in your day.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: You have a background in helping people prevent and overcome
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: painful sex. Explain that to our audience. Are women having
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: painful sex from menopause and vaginal dryness? Or can dysfunction
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: in your pelvic floor muscle lead to all the other
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: kinds of sex discomforts.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah, A and B all of the above now unfortunately, So,
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: you know, the opening to the vagina, which is where
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: if we're talking about vaginal intercourse, is muscles. And so
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: if those muscles are tight and tense, if you have
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: had a vaginal birth and head tearing at the opening,
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: those muscles may be restricted. They may be kind of
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: in spasm. That tissue may be tight and it won't
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: allow something to enter. It can literally feel like your
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: partner's hitting a wall. This can also happen with tampon
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: insertion or pelvic exams and so. And the other thing
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: is there is kind of a cultural aspect to this.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: Like if we've been told like something's bad, don't touch it,
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: don't do and then all of a sudden we say
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: get married and we're like, okay, sex is fine now,
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: and you're like, wait, hold on, I was told that,
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: like never talk about this or touch it. It's not
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: so easy to kind of flip that switch. So the
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: outside muscles can be tighter tents the inside, deeper canal
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: muscles of the vagina, which are also part of the
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: pelvic floor can be tight in tents, which can give
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: that sensation of like bruising or tenderness or like your
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: partner's hitting something. And then also when our hormonal change,
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: when we have hormonal changes like low estrogen, we have
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: vaginal dryness and that can happen definitely during perimenopause one
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: hundred percent after menopause, but it can also happen if
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: you're breastfeeding relactating after giving birth when you have low
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: estrogen levels. And again we're just like left in the
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: dark about this part of our body and thinking, Okay,
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: I'm either going to have to like stop having sex
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: or just endure the pain if I want to have sex.
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: And that's just going to be my next forty years.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: Oh that doesn't sound enjoyable.
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: No, but so many women go through it, and you know,
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: I just I had just had a conversation with doctor
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: Mary Claire Havern. She said one of the most common
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: questions she gets is like people telling that telling her
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: about like painful sex and dryness and discomfort, and you know,
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: I think the older generation just thought that this was
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: their destiny, like there's nothing you can do, You're own menopause.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: But in fact, there is so much you can.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Do right, yes, because during menopause, that's what happens. We
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: are estrogen drops yep, and that lack of estrogen then
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: weakens the pelvic floor muscle, and then, you know, then
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: all the other issues come into play, right.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: Pelvic floor weakness, pelvic for dryness, vaginal dryness. There was
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: a real that went viral recently about your labia disappearing
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: during menopause, and people were like, wait.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: What you know? But it's all estrogen changes.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: And you know, even in the book, I tell people like,
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: take a mirror and look at your parts, like you
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: have likely never seen this part of your body. More
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: doctors and partners have seen this part of your body.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: Than you have.
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: And if we don't start connecting and identifying it and
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: knowing what our normal is, then we can't know when
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: something is abnormal or changing. And so it feels like
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: a big ask, but it's actually quite simple and not
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: that scary once you do it, and then you can
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: kind of monitor like how is my body feeling, what's changing,
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: and then you can proactively get help if something does change.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Right. Okay, So for someone who has gone through menopause
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: or you know, is it right there? Can you reverse
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: this in your body after menopause once you see the signs,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: or are we just doomed to have p giggles for
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: the rest of our lives.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: No, it's totally treatable and you can absolutely get help
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: no matter what age you are. I mean, I've worked
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: with women in their seventies and eighties with prolapse and
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: leakage and bladder problems, and they've gotten so much better.
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: Like the time to start is now. It's never too late.
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: And you know, we see women now, like in their
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: seventies starting to strength train and they are bulky and
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: have muscles and are so strong with just a year
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: or two of weightlifting. And it's the same thing for
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: your public floor, Like you can rebuild these muscles like
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: any other muscles in your body. You do have to
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: be consistent, though. I think one of the hard parts
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: with kind of healthcare now is we just want to
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: quick fix, like put me on the kegel chair, insert
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: the device, or rejuvenate my vagina. But you know, these things,
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: we have to be consistent with them. They're muscles and
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: if we don't use them, we will lose them. So
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: you do have to be proactive.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: I don't want to lose my wootle. Okay, So.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Okay, what do you think about those tactics like vagina rejuvenation.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: You go to the thing and they do the thing.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: I had somebody send to my house a at home
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: vagina rejuvenator. I didn't ask for this. I think a
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: brand just thought, you know, because I speak a lot
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: about women's health and I've spoken a lot about my
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: menopause journey, that I needed it.
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: But I got it, and I was like, what the
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: hell do I do with this thing?
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: I know, it's a little intimidating. It's like a lightsaber.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: So they're massive.
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: There's some new therapies that are coming out and some
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: of them are totally bogus, and some of them can
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: actually be helpful. So some of the kind of internal
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: products that are available are like internal Keegel trainers. They're
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: like little devices you can insert in the vagina that
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: look like tampons and you can squeeze around them.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: So that can be helpful for.
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: Someone who needs strengthening and they can see kind of
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: their performance on their phone screen.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Eventually, you want to.
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: Do exercises on your own, but it's a great place
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: to start. Another device that's come out as an infrared wand,
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: and this is like a wand that you insert into
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: the vagina and it rejuvenates the tissue internally kind.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Of thing, that's what it is because it lights up.
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like those red lights mass we do for
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: rejuvenating our face. You can do the same thing for
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: your pelvic floor. So it's actually really it can be
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: totally beneficial. But the challenge is you have to keep
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: using it, Like if their studies have only been done
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: to three or six months, and then there's no long
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: term effectiveness to show, Like, Okay, if you stop after
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: three months, will this continue working?
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: We don't know, and the case is likely know.
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: So these are kind of adjunctive to exercise, not in
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: place of I do think it can help kind of
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: turn over more tissue and help, you know, plump up
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: the vagina and give you more attention down there, But
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: you still have to do exercises and all your other
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: kind of pelvic floor care.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: This is all so fascinating. You're really making me think
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: about all the times, not just in this area, but
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: all the times when I choose to just suck it
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: up and deal with it instead of choosing to find
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: a better way.
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, well, you don't always know there's a better way
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: until you do, right, And so I think a lot
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: of women don't know that there's a better way until
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: we start having these conversations, which is why this is
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: so amazing that we can talk openly about it and
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: that you're sharing this with your community because you are
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: not alone.
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: Nope.
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: And I think that we have as women as a gender,
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: kind of been like, Okay, we'll just we'll either deal
• 24:17
  Speaker 4: with it later or we're super strong and we'll suck
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: it up. But if we continue to do that, once
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: we get to perimenopause and menopause, like we don't have
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: our hormonal systems to prop us up anymore, and then
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: you're swimming upstream. So you almost have to like fill
• 24:32
  Speaker 4: your cop and get strong and healthy in your pelvic
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: floor and have the right habits or at any point
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: start doing this because as you age, you're kind of
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: you're fighting gravity, you're fighting hormones, so you've got to
• 24:44
  Speaker 4: kind of really be proactive about this. It's never too late,
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: but I encourage you to like start now because you
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: I'm like I don't want diapers to be my destiny.
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: You know, I want to work out for all of
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: my days. I want to have great sex for all
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: of my days. So I deserve that right, and so
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: this is what I have to do to kind of
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: ensure that.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Yes, definitely, I think this is this is so good
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: that we're hearing all this, even if it makes some
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: people uncomfy, it's really important. Like me, it's really important
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: to talk. It makes me uncomfy, and it's my podcast,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: so I'm really conquering things within and also trying to
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: share this info.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: You know, and you're I think it makes a lot
• 25:24
  Speaker 4: of people uncomfortable. I mean, I do this all day
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: and I've done it for eighteen years, so I can
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: talk about this part of the body like it's you know,
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: like it's a TV show or like what did I
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: have for lunch? You know, so it's it's not a
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: big deal to me. And this is a part of
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: our body that I think we've been told is icky
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: or embarrassing or yucky or we should hide it. And
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: I think that that's part of what prevents us from
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: getting help, is that we we don't talk about it.
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: And so when I think about the next generation of
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: women behind us or kids even like my kids. I
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: have two boys, and they probably know more about like
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: the pelvic floor and vagina than like most adult women
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: because they hear me talk about it and it's so normal.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Right, That's so good though, that they know well.
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: And then I think my hope is like, okay, if
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: they are ever you know, with women, whatever happens, that
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: they will hopefully help them feel comfortable with their bodies
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: and know like what changes are and what a tampon is,
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: and you know what a period is and all these things.
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: So I just think that, you know, even just having
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: this conversation, even if it makes us uncomfortable, that's okay
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: because these symptoms also make us uncomfortable. So we kind
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: of have a choice like which discomfort do we want
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: to deal with? And we all get there in our
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: own time. And when people come in, I'm like, there's
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: no such thing as TMI, Like everything we talk about
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: I've probably heard before, or if they don't, like this
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: is totally confidential and I'll help you navigate it. And
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: but if we don't talk about these things, and how
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: do we get solutions? And it's it's just so rewarding
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: to be able to help women better understand their bodies
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: and feel good about them.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Right, No more it's yucky or icky talk like no,
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: as a parent, just erase that from your vocabulary, because yeah,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: that's going to send some really long lasting incorrect messages.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 27:21
  Speaker 4: I mean, I think it's also like, this is just
• 27:23
  Speaker 4: a body part, like an ankle or a knee.
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: I'm never like, oh that knee is so gross. You know,
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: it's like it's just a body part.
• 27:30
  Speaker 4: And so but you know, we're walking through cultural layers
• 27:33
  Speaker 4: and societal norms, and you know that takes time and work,
• 27:37
  Speaker 4: and so you know.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: We're getting there. We are, we are.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: I hope people will get there quicker because we're just
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: doing everything we can to destigmatize all the parts of
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: women's health.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: No, and you're doing a great job.
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: And you know, I get kind of I think a
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: lot of people get like, oh my gosh, you know,
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: kind of get embarrassed.
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: You just came out with your first book, Floored. Tell
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: me about it.
• 28:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so juicy grapefruit on the front. So it's embolic Lord,
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: A Woman's.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: Guide to Pelvic Floor Health.
• 28:08
  Speaker 4: At every agent stage, you can see the little hammock here.
• 28:11
  Speaker 4: That's kind of like the pelvic floor muscles and you know,
• 28:14
  Speaker 4: the juicy grapefruit. So it's really a guide for women
• 28:18
  Speaker 4: at every stage of life because our pelvic floor requires
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: something different, whether it's menstruation, becoming sexually active, going through
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: birth and postpartum obviously, but then also into perimenopause. And
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: I think it's a myth that we think only pregnant
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: people are menopausal people have pelvic floor issues.
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: It's really at every stage of.
• 28:36
  Speaker 4: Life and there's something different that's required for our pelvic floor,
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: a different type of care at all of those stages.
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: So I just really hope it helps women, you know,
• 28:44
  Speaker 4: again better understand their bodies, but kind of start taking
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: proactive steps to address these issues, to prevent them and
• 28:51
  Speaker 4: then also overcome them if they're already experiencing them.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: That's what it's about. Knowledge is power. Yeah, I'm absolutely
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: going to have my daughters listen to this episode. They
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: probably will be squarey, but I'm going to make them
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: do it. And I'm definitely going to pick up a
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: copy of your book.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: It's great.
• 29:05
  Speaker 4: And then I also hope that medical providers can you know,
• 29:08
  Speaker 4: read it and learn something because I think that that's
• 29:11
  Speaker 4: those are our first points of contact, you know, and healthcare,
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: and so I think the more we're able to screen
• 29:15
  Speaker 4: for issues and ask the questions, we're going to be
• 29:17
  Speaker 4: better able to refer patients and give them a sense
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: of what to expect from therapy as well.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, Before I let you go, doctor Sarah, I'd
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: love to ask you the question that we always close
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: the show with.
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: What was your most.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Recent I choose me moment? It can be big or small,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: something where you made a clear choice to put yourself first.
• 29:43
  Speaker 4: You know, I would honestly say this past year of
• 29:48
  Speaker 4: writing the book and launching the book, it's I had
• 29:51
  Speaker 4: to take a big step away from time with my family,
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: from socializing and traveling. I mean, I really had to
• 29:58
  Speaker 4: carve out a lot of time to write this and
• 30:00
  Speaker 4: it's something that I'm really passionate about, and so I
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: think that it kind of felt selfish sometimes, like oh,
• 30:06
  Speaker 4: I'm not there for my partner, or I'm missing my
• 30:08
  Speaker 4: kid's stuff, or I didn't get to go on this
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: girl's trip. But it was so important to me, and
• 30:13
  Speaker 4: I was like if I don't, if not now, then when,
• 30:15
  Speaker 4: Like when is there ever a good time to take
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: on something that you're really passionate about. It takes time,
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: so I would say like the daily choices of doing
• 30:24
  Speaker 4: that and you know, really kind of starting from scratch
• 30:28
  Speaker 4: and coming up with this kind of whole now book is.
• 30:32
  Speaker 4: It's just been amazing and kind of pushed myself in
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: a way I didn't even know I could be pushed,
• 30:37
  Speaker 4: and it's just been it's gonna it's really exciting to
• 30:39
  Speaker 4: kind of have this out in the world.
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: That's so great. You did the thing.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: I did the thing.
• 30:43
  Speaker 3: You did it. That's such a.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Great message to anybody out there who's listening.
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: Do the thing. Don't wait