109. Breaking Free from Birth Control and Online Quick Fixes in Menopause

show. Today, I want to talk about something that so many of women in midlife are facing and few of us are really having honest conversations about I want to talk about the experience of perimenopause and menopause in a healthcare system that's still stuck in the past, and I know we're seeing the conversation around menopause shift. Women are sharing stories. There's more awareness in media, and the stigma is

slowly breaking down. But unfortunately, the care women actually get, it's in this weird kind of place where the care that women get in person is it just hasn't caught up with all of the new conversations in a lot of ways. And then the care is also kind of sped up even further, and there's just a really big disconnect, because some women are just going online and essentially shopping for

medications. And I just find it to be so strange, because we have spent years as women starting this conversation, navigating through this conversation about wanting more time with our doctors, wanting to look at the subtle nuances of this time of life, wanting real answers. We complain that there's not enough time, and yet we are jumping online to these Stop and Shop medication places and ordering up hormones like they're candy. So I'm challenging everyone out there,

what do we want? Do we want convenience, or do we really want true, holistic medical care at this time in our lives? Because I'm pretty sure that that's what we've been asking for. So I am still seeing women walking into clinic desperate for answers, only to be handed birth control pills like it's a one size fit all Band Aid, and there's no education, no real understandings of their bodies.

Nobody has warned them about the different changes that are going to happen, and there's no guidance on lifestyle, hormones, holistic health and just basically how to manage this time of life from a healthcare perspective. And for many, if they don't get that in person, I get it. We get really frustrated. We leave doctor's appointments, and we feel just kind of let down by the medical system, and what happens is a lot of women turn to online telehealth shops for quick

fixes. And a lot of times, frankly, this is not real medical care. I have had patients walk in that it took them about five minutes to get a prescription for hormone therapy. And hormone therapy is big. Hormones are really important, and therefore when we introduce hormones into our body, it can't be taken lightly, and you need doctor's visits, and you need to have

conversations. So everything that we've been asking for, we get so frustrated that we're not getting it, so we just turn to the quick and easy amazon prime of medicine, and I just think that is not what we're looking for. I think it's not acceptable, and I think women in midlife really deserve better. These online services often promise fast access to hormones and meds with little to no

comprehensive exam. I had a patient walk in the other day that was just not feeling like herself, and so many of the things she said to me resonated so deeply with most of the other women that I see in midlife, she actually went online and was prescribed three different medications, an antidepressant, she was prescribed Metformin for blood sugar issues and low dose

Naltrexone. And that's a hefty combination, if any of you out there know what each of those medications does, and especially the fact that she was already on an antidepressant and by being online and just shopping through without a comprehensive she actually had no medical exam. It's just super dangerous. She didn't have any labs to report issues with her blood sugars. And Metformin controls your blood sugars, and if you don't need the help, you probably

shouldn't be taking it. So anyway, she basically shopped for these medications. Questions, filled out a form, and was good to go. And frankly, she's not feeling so good months into it, and I just worry again, because this is not what we were looking for when we started this conversation. But unfortunately we get frustrated, and with frustration comes desperation, and that's a huge problem. You can't type into chatgpt. This is

what I think I need. These are my symptoms, and boom, the correct diagnostic information will come up, because there's so much more to us than just what we happen to be thinking top of mind about our medical history. So managing midlife and our health really requires nuance. It requires education and an individualized approach. I think that's what we've been asking for, and I think we need to start looking at where we can

actually get that. So these hormone prescriptions without adequate testing, no screening for for contraindications, no Lifestyle coaching or integrative support, little to no ongoing monitoring. All of this can be dangerous to long term health. So I want to put that out there. There are some

real dangers out there. We got really concerned years ago with the dangers of estrogen replacement therapy, and now those studies have been debunked, so women are more comfortable with it, but now we're handing out hormones like candy. The pendulum is swinging from one end to the next, and you need clinicians that have your best interests at heart to really sort through both the data and their clinical knowledge what they've seen

clinically. We really need to take the full picture into account, because, again, it can be really dangerous to take medications and hormones that either you don't need or you have a contraindication too. Not only can it be dangerous, but it might lead to sub optimal results, like as a functional medicine practitioner, I'm looking to optimize your health. I don't want you just like getting by. I want you to feel

your best. So I don't want you dealing with side effects from a medication that you may or may not need. I don't want you getting confused because the medications and the hormones may have let you down, because they worked for your best friend, but they didn't work for you. Menopause is complex, and your

care needs to be too. And here's what else is missing from the online shopping approach, even if you end up on the same hormone cocktail that you may have ended up on in office with a provider that is really getting to know you get your full medical history and all of that. What's missed there is that lifestyle medicine is your

superpower. There is so much solid science out there showing how nutrition, sleep, stress management, movement and even mind body practices reduce risk factors for things like heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and mood disorders in midlife. So if you're just taking the meds and ignoring the rest of it, you're missing a hefty dose of risk prevention and lifestyle education is just so often skipped, both in house with your doctors and also

online. So instead, we can be handed prescriptions without learning how food and exercise or simple daily habits can shift our biology for the better. I just I just think it's such a shame and we don't have to wait until our symptoms spiral. We don't have to wait until we're frustrated and have been to doctors who we feel are ignoring

us. We can start making meaningful changes today, and they'll ripple across your whole life, because it's not just about mitigating risk, it's about enjoying the time we have here on earth. You know, we can spend, like 40% of our lives post menopausal, and they should be really good years. It's not just about, you know, keeping ourselves alive longer. It's about keeping ourselves alive and well and enjoying the years

that we have. And you know, if we're not moving our bodies eventually, you know, maybe, maybe you're in good shape in other areas, but you're not gonna be able to move the way that you want to. You're not gonna be able to go on vacation the way you want to, or care for your grandbabies. So what does true midlife care look like to me? I spent, I spent a bit of time thinking about this, and I broke it down into a few

different aspects. I think one thing that we're really missing, that I'm working on providing, and that I hope other docs out there are working on providing, is taking the time to listen and educate our patients. You know, there's not always just one right answer in your care, and I think sometimes it means having an in depth conversation about the pros and cons of each choice that we make. So taking that time to listen and educate is super important. Lab testing. Sometimes testing your hormones

is appropriate. Sometimes it won't matter quite as much. But like. Looking at labs and really getting some hard data as to what's going on in your body is always a good idea. And I remember when I first started practicing, like 20 years ago in Annapolis, it was so hard to even get a doctor to test a patient's vitamin D. And things are flipping, things are changing, but there's still a lot of docs out there that although they know vitamin D is important, they don't place

emphasis on it. And we have to give you know each practitioner grace, because they're only going to order labs for you that they are going to be willing to act upon. So if they do not think a marker is important, they're not going to order it, nor should they, because they

can't act upon it anyway. So finding a doctor that's really willing to look at hard data and order specialized tests if needed, another thing that I think is really important in true holistic midlife care is supporting your nervous system, your digestive system, making sure you're sleeping right, and taking look at movement, offering bio identical hormones when appropriate, alongside of lifestyle support and not not doing one without the other, if

both are indicated. And I think lastly, although this might be a little esoteric and less clinical, but viewing menopause as a time that's powerful and creative and not just a problem to solve, I think you need partners in care that can really understand that life is not downhill. We are trying to optimize and make you feel your best and make sure that you're safe with the medications we're giving you. So there's just a

lot out there. There's, there's so many components to care that I think really need to be looked at. And going back to lifestyle, you know, so many women don't know where to start. And I actually have created a resource that you can jump on my website, rising woman project.com to grab a hold of, and it's called exhausted to empowered. And I think it's a great outline of the first steps that you can really take to start getting

your lifestyle in check. So in the ideal world, you'll set yourself up with an amazing practitioner, and while you're getting ready to see that amazing practitioner, you can jump online if you're not in Maryland, and that amazing practitioner is not me, you can jump online and get the exhausted to empowered resource that I am offering. It's totally

free. There's nothing to lose, just some lifestyle building blocks that I think are super important and have data behind them to show that they are super important tools to get your health in check and start mitigating some of the risk factors that come with aging. As a woman, so if you are tired, if you are feeling dismissed or rushed, and if you want a clearer understanding of what's going on in your body, I want to counsel you that online medicine may not be your best next step.

There are a lot of practitioners out there starting to delve more into the functional medicine space, more into specializing like myself in midlife care, and if you want tools that can support your health naturally and sustainably. Not only are these online hormone marketplaces not a great place to start, but social media can

be really, really confusing. So I caution you there, there is so much power in the things that you can do for yourself, and I really would love to see you, you know, step into that power at this time of life. There is so much more coming behind the scenes. I've got a couple of announcements that are going to come out in the next couple weeks, but for now, you know, go online, grab my resource and start looking for care that meets your needs. Where you are start looking for someone again.

I'm going to rehash a couple of the things that you should look for in a provider, someone that's willing to take the time and listen and educate, someone that's supporting your nervous system, digestive system, sleep and movement, and someone that views this time of life as a powerful, creative transition and not just a problem to solve. We are not putting band aids on to all the different issues that we have. We want more. We've been asking for more for a long,

long time. And I just think that, you know, heading online might not be the best. So I want to welcome you. To send me an email. Hello at rising woman project.com send me an email if you have a topic that you want to cover, if you have a question about today's episode, I absolutely love to hear from listeners, and I can't wait to hear from you, and I will see you next week. You.