Mind Your Heart
Welcome to "Mind Your Heart," this cozy corner of the internet where Trina Deboree and Emily Reneé —your real-life Lorelei and Rory Gilmore duo—come together each week to chat about everything from mental health to the daily nuances of life. In each episode, we peel back the layers of topics like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and eating disorders with warmth, understanding, and a touch of humor (because otherwise, this just sounds depressing)!
Trina, an educator turned entrepreneur and mental health advocate, joins forces with her daughter Emily, a mental health coach and anorexia survivor, to share their journeys and insights in a way that feels like a heart-to-heart with old friends. The goal? To spark conversations that truly matter and to create a space where laughter meets healing.
Let's navigate the ups and downs of mental health together, making each day brighter and each challenge a little lighter. Grab your emotional support water bottle, put in your headphones, and join us while we mind our hearts for chats that comfort and inspire.
Mind Your Heart
MYH: 35 Why Aren't We Talking About Menopause?
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The medical establishment has a dirty secret: most doctors receive only ONE HOUR of menopause training during their entire education. This staggering knowledge gap explains why millions of women suffer needlessly through perimenopause and menopause without proper care or understanding.
When host Trina shares her personal journey through menopause that began relatively young at age 47, she reveals the physical and emotional hell she endured. From debilitating hot flashes that made her feel like she was "burning from the inside" to extreme mood swings, brain fog, and depression - these symptoms weren't just inconveniences but life-altering challenges that healthcare providers routinely dismissed.
Most shocking is how symptoms many women attribute to aging, autoimmune conditions, or mental health issues might actually stem from hormone imbalances. Vaginal atrophy (which affects urinary health too), unexplained weight gain, osteopenia, skin changes, and even cognitive difficulties can all connect back to plummeting hormone levels. Meanwhile, common ingredients like soy act as hormone disruptors, making symptoms worse while hiding in everything from supplements to medications.
The disparity between how we treat men's and women's health becomes painfully obvious. As Trina points out, "If we were to tell men that their penis was going to shrivel up, it would be a medical emergency," yet women are expected to accept vaginal atrophy as an inevitable part of aging. While medications like Viagra receive fast-track approval, many hormone treatments for women remain understudied or inaccessible.
Finding specialized care often requires deep research, significant financial investment, and persistence against a system that continues to marginalize women's experiences. But the transformation possible with proper hormone management - from improved cognitive function to better sleep, mood stability, and sexual wellness - makes the fight worthwhile.
Have you experienced unexplained symptoms your doctor dismissed? Listen now, then share with the women in your life who deserve better healthcare. Together, we can demand the medical system stop treating women's bodies as mysterious afterthoughts.
Links Mentioned in the Show:
You Are Not Broken, Dr. Kelly Casperson: 318. How (AND WHY) to Prescribe Hormones
The Drive: Women's Sexual Health, Menopause, and Hormone Replacement Therapy (Dr. Rachael Rubin)
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Hey, welcome to Mind your Heart Podcast, your favorite corner of the internet where we chat about all things mental health. I'm Emily.
Speaker 2:And I'm Trina. Together, we're like your real-life Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Each week, we'll bring you real conversations about the world of mental health and we will peel back layers on topics like anxiety, depression and much more.
Speaker 1:We're here to chat with you about the tough stuff, the everyday stuff and everything in between. So grab your emotional support water bottle I know we have ours. Find your comfiest chair or keep your eyes on the road and let's get into it. Are you ready, mom?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Join us as we mind our hearts and hopefully make minding yours a little easier. Welcome back. Welcome back, I think we were off a week. What do you mean? I feel like we were late for two weeks because we somehow I messed it up, I think.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, well, also, we hit 750 downloads that I was gonna?
Speaker 2:did I send you that or did you see that?
Speaker 1:no, I saw I got an email. Okay, yeah, I was like whoa, yeah, that's good, that's exciting. I think so too. I feel like the most we've got is like 50, so 750 like it feels like a boost.
Speaker 2:I thought so too. I was like, really, yeah, I thought the same thing. Okay, so today we have a hormone, we have a yeah, one individual hormone yes we have a hormone. We have an episode about hormones because I have recently been doing some massive research and I am on a soapbox.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I would also like to preface this episode that we are not experts in the realm of hormones or medical advice.
Speaker 2:So, however, I have been called a doctor before.
Speaker 1:But that does not mean that you are a doctor. No, I am not a doctor or licensed or qualified to give medical information or advice.
Speaker 2:That is true. I've only taken anatomy physiology one and two. I didn't go to nursing school. I regret it, so take this information with what you will yes, and I was only called a doctor as a sarcastic name, because I often researched medical advice well and because, like you, often diagnose pre-doctor visit but, I say regardless of you not being a doctor nine times out of 10, you're pretty spot on.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am, and the other thing is and this is what I've learned with most things is that you have to advocate for yourself. That is the huge key and that you have to do all the background research, whether you're dealing with your doctor or an attorney, or anyone else for that matter, because it seems as if the legwork is not being done by some people. And some people are very open so I don't mean to generalize Like some doctors and even some attorneys are very open to you know, learning and listening and whatever, but then there are some people that are just like well, that's not it and that is frustrating. All right, so let's jump into the hormone situation. I went through menopause young, pretty young. I mean, I was 47, which is right on the line of menopause, like them calling that too young. But I really think that often women don't realize, and even doctors because I will say this about the medical community they get an hour of menopause training in their residency.
Speaker 1:What yeah?
Speaker 2:an hour.
Speaker 1:That's it, like their whole entire.
Speaker 2:Yes, so they don't know a lot about this and I am not just guessing this. This is information. I listened to several podcasts which I'm going to share in the show notes. One of them is called You're Not Broken, which was an excellent podcast, and she is a urologist who was doing a conference for other medical professionals and um, and she was sharing that with other medical professionals and she's like I know we only had an hour of menopause training and um, it was crazy. So it wasn't like she was just guessing, she was like giving information and then it's crazy.
Speaker 1:But it's not surprising, because the lack of information that goes on around women's health in healthcare in general is disturbing.
Speaker 2:It really is disturbing because and I'm going to use this example, which is a very blatant example but if we were to tell men that their penis was going to shrivel up, it would be a medical emergency. We would have a national emergency on our hands, for sure. But if you tell a woman that your vagina is atrophying, which is basically dry and dying inside, nothing happens Like you're like, well, you can use some Vagisil. Nothing happens Like you're like, well, you can use some Vagisil, you could try estrogen or vaginal estrogen, but so it is really shocking. Okay, so, anyway. So when I was going through, I didn't realize at the time that when I was going through menopause, I realized I had all the things. I had massive hot flashes. I felt like I wanted. I didn't want anyone to touch me. I felt like I was on fire. All the things, I had, massive hot flashes. I felt like I wanted. I didn't want anyone to touch me. I felt like I was on fire from the inside.
Speaker 2:I wanted to scream, I wanted to murder people. I've never been so angry or sad or disturbed in my life. I mean I was past divorce, but I remember thinking if we hadn't just gotten divorced, we would have gotten a divorce because I couldn't handle anything. And I mean I don't remember that. Like I don't remember when I was at Daughtry is when I was teaching at it, which I shouldn't have said out loud, but anyway, it was teaching at a school in my district and it was. I felt like I was in hell, like actual hell, Not only like it was. I was already leading up with perimenopause. I had very bad periods, if you remember that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do remember that, yeah, and that I mean, they were so bad that it was like I had to use two super plus at one time and it would only last for 45 minutes. Yeah, I recall that was still when I was in the classroom. Yeah, and I classroom, and that was when I was getting divorced.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because that was at the other school yeah, that was at their school and I had to take a medication that actually reduced the amount of bleeding because it was just so out of control. I mean, I had to have extra clothes at school, I had to have a procedure with my students so I could go to the bathroom. Sometimes I'd have to call through the door to my student teacher and have him go get a colleague, because it was like out of control in the bathroom and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm bleeding out Like it was. Just it was intense, so bad that when I was looking for a car I went car shopping. Do you remember? Oh, I remember this, yes I do. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I had my two friends with me and we went to this car place and the guy was insane. He ended up taking us on a. He did the test drive he didn't let me test drive, he test drove and then he wanted to show us how fast the car would go in circles. So we were doing like donuts in a parking lot and then he was slamming on the brakes. I've never been so scared in my life. What an idiot. It was insane. But in the meantime I was bleeding like crazy and I went to go to the bathroom and I had like bled through my pants and I was like what am I going to do? I'm in the bathroom. I don't know if I maybe I was texting, but my friends were like out there with the sales guy just chatting away and I was in the bathroom for a very long time.
Speaker 1:It was. I will say, though, like the people that you were with were two very patient people, so like it was like the perfect people for you to spend with.
Speaker 2:But they were like what's going on? And so I had to take my pants off and wash them in the sink and put them back on. And then, finally, someone came to check on me. I'm like, for gosh sakes, I don't think I had my phone, I think that was the problem and I'm like what do I do? And I had this shirt over the top of, like this flesh colored tank top, and I had to take the top shirt off and wrap it around my waist like an apron, because the blood was in the front too, for some reason. And so I had to walk through the dealership with a flesh colored tank top. I looked naked with my apron shirt and it was so bad.
Speaker 1:Well, and then, like you did, end up getting a car and there was blood on the seat, on the driver's seat, you're right at home.
Speaker 2:That was when my, that was when I did end up getting that kia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah because, one of the people called me and was like okay, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna get some warm water and put some salt in it and then a little bit of like peroxide and like put it in a spray bottle. And when we get home, right away you got to come out and spray this stuff and like get a towel, and so like it came right out yeah it literally came right out with that. But, um, it was like you were like upset and I was like I'm ready.
Speaker 2:Like you came home and I was like I got the spray bottle in my rag, like I don't even remember that I just know that perimenopause was hell, and that's really when it starts, because what happens is and this is the part that I listen to on these podcasts the scientific part was that your hormone level, let's say your estrogen level, is like out of 50. And then during perimenopause, it's out of 50 one day, and then the next day it might be zero, and the next day it might be 1,000. One day, and then the next day it might be zero, and the next day it might be a thousand, and the peaks of it are so extreme for your body that you, you like, feel like you're going crazy, and which is a really frustrating thing. And also, I didn't realize, when I was officially like going, like my period had stopped, that your hormones like like start to totally shut off and you are no longer. And we need our hormones for our skin, our skin tone, our skin elasticity, the moisture in your skin, moisture in all of your body, especially in your vagina, and I'm going to be really descriptive in this episode and you also need it for your bone strength, you need it for everything and you just don't realize how crucial it is.
Speaker 2:And at that point I was, like you know, divorced and not having sex. So I was like whatever, oh well, my vagina is dying. Oh well, I was already told I was cold and dead inside. So I guess I am, and you know. So it was like you know it was. It was a part of you know something that someone had already said about me. So I kind of like, well, I guess this is medical evidence, that that's true, and so it's terrible, and so I just didn't care, I didn't think of it. And then I got osteopenia, which is the beginning of osteoporosis, and I was like, oh crap, and like all these other things happened that I thought were part of my like autoimmune stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also Can you explain what osteopenia is? Because I have no idea.
Speaker 2:Okay, so osteopenia is like the breakdown of, like your bones, and it will impact your spine, your hips, your knees. Like yeah, so it's like can be worse Is that genetic?
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh shit, like, um, yeah, so it's like can be genetic. Yeah, oh shit. It can be worse in um, certain parts of your body. And the worst part is is if you have osteopenia that develops into osteoporosis, like you can't have like a hip replacement they won't replace yeah, so you are like screwed. So the ways to stop that or to actually reverse it, you can reverse it. That's what my hormone person told me, which I'll get to in a second.
Speaker 2:But you want to do weight bearing, exercise. You want to make sure you're getting enough vitamin D, you want to make sure you're getting enough calcium, you want to make sure iron. All those things are really important and the weight bearing is one of the most important things to do and I do all of that. I do all the things they say that you're supposed to do. Yeah, and so because I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm 40, what was I like? Maybe 50, when they told me I got osteopenia and I'm like, well, and they were like we have to watch it and see how fast it progresses. Which I was like, oh, because the most bone loss happens in the very beginning, after you've not had your period for a year, and so they have to determine, like, how fast it's going and they're like well, there are things we can do, but they don't do it when you're an osteopenia, which makes no sense and and so, and you don't, you know, osteoporosis makes it more more likely that you're going to fracture or break something.
Speaker 2:So when you hear about people like breaking a hip and dying and you know, and in, like all these things, this is like a common thing that can happen. But when you are things, this is like a common thing that can happen. But when you are like, you can maybe accept that when you're 70. But I would still wouldn't accept that. But when you're, you know, 47 or 50, like that you just got a long way to go.
Speaker 2:And honestly, that is something that has been really shocking to me is that I I kind of have come to terms with like okay, my kids are, I was going to say, launched, but now my son is back Halfway. They can function mostly Without me. I guess this is like the beginning of the end. That's terrible.
Speaker 2:Well, because it feels like if I'm going to age at this rate, there's no way I can carry this body around for another 30 years, like it feels impossible to me, and you know, because the moment I turned 40, it was like arthritis. The moment I turned 50, it's like osteopenia, menopause, depression, weight gain, like the list goes on and on and on, and the depression had gotten, had got worse, like just you know, even in the last couple of years. And I already know I have a low serotonin level, so that's like a given. But when you're not making estrogen and progesterone it's worse, and so they up your antidepressant and so then you start having. Another thing that happens is people don't know this, because a lot of people don't even know how your vagina is made up.
Speaker 2:But your urethra is part of your vagina and it's part of the muscle and tissue of your vagina and so when that starts to atrophy or be dry because of lack of hormone, then you start. It's like the whole of your urethra starts like getting smaller. So then you start getting frequent urinary tract infections because you're not letting your pee go all the way out and actually people die of UTIs, which I did not know. Yes, I learned that on these podcasts and they actually said that they would be able to wipe out the deficit if they could just give women over 65 on Medicare vaginal estrogen. If they could just give women vaginal estrogen, it would eliminate all the UTIs.
Speaker 2:It would not just vaginal estrogen, that If they could just give women vaginal estrogen it would eliminate all the UTIs. It would not just vaginal estrogen that you put up there. You also have to have like a cream on the urethra, because the up there does everything else for everything else, but it doesn't touch the urethra. So you have to do it on the urethra as well and it can eliminate like frequent getting up and going to the bathroom and it actually makes you completely pee when you need to pee, not hold up a little bit more inside which is what causes bacteria and infection.
Speaker 2:So I also take cranberry pills.
Speaker 2:Like I was doing all these things because I did start getting UTIs and I was like, oh my gosh. So I started taking cranberry pills and I'm like, okay, so I'm trying to be proactive and really the thing that like I'm like I'll just deal with all these symptoms and the hot flashes are not what they used to be. And when I met with the hormone lady, actually I will be honest, the thing that has pushed me to the brink is the weight gain, because in the last like six months, I'm like what is happening? It's like I feel I'm like just packing on weight and I'm like I don't understand what is happening here. And I'm like I can't understand what is happening here and I'm like I can't get a hold of this.
Speaker 2:I had at one point hit a weight that I was when I was pregnant and I'm like this is upsetting to me because I don't feel and also all I wanted to eat was pudding. I just wanted sugar all the time. It felt like an addiction. It felt like people when they need to have a glass of wine every night to unwind. That's what I felt like. I was like if I could just get to that nightly pudding, everything will be fine. It was like taking Xanax. It was like, ah, and I'm like this is not a healthy situation. But the thing is, is that to gain the amount of weight that I've gained in the short amount of time that I've gained it, I would have to be eating pudding nonstop. And I wasn't. And I also work out six days a week and I eat healthy all the rest of the meals.
Speaker 2:So I'm like this is not making sense and people weren't listening, and that's the problem is that they're like, oh, it's fine. I'm like it's not fine, you don't. You know, you eat one thing and you gain 10 pounds. That's not supposed to happen, yeah. And and then I found out the culprit of that and this is what I get on my soy soapbox is soy. And so what happened is I had to change cranberry pills and I got some that accidentally had soy. And I had to change vitamins because my favorite company, goop, stopped producing them, which those have made me feel so much better for so long that I just I'm like I have begged them to please make them again. And I found this company that said that they were soy free. They were more expensive than Goop. They're supposed to be a personal vitamin brand. They gave you a personal plan and then they have soy. They actually they use a high quality soy called lechon or whatever, and they're like it shouldn't affect most people. Well, it does, it's still soy.
Speaker 1:People who are also allergic to soy should know that. Like what company was this that said this Persona, persona, yeah, and so I'm like and see most people don't even realize the disruptor.
Speaker 2:And so I'm like and see most people don't even realize the disruptor, the hormone disruptor that soy is. And soy is so many foods and if I get like a certain amount of soy, I can have, like every once in a while a cookie or whatever, and not it's not the end of the world. But if it like keeps building on itself, then all of a sudden it's like I eat one thing and I gain 10 pounds on itself. Then all of a sudden it's like I eat one thing and I gain 10 pounds. It is like and it's that bloated, like holding water kind of look that I actually got when I was on birth control.
Speaker 2:So I was like, oh my gosh, and so, and it's soy, and so soy. And the other part is is that some hormones are even made with soy. And I'm like what, how are you making a hormone for a female using soy, when soy is a hormone disruptor? It mimics estrogen, except for not the kind of estrogen in your body, but like what. So it just makes me so mad.
Speaker 2:There's so many things that make me so frustrated with what we're doing to women and how we just don't know, you know, or or that we just don't care and we're just it's the cheaper alternative, so we're going to use soy. I had to specifically ask the pharmacy for peanut, for the peanut oil one rather than the one with soy, and and so it's. It's crazy, and I feel like I've lost track of what I was saying. So, anyway. So I did this research, I listened to these podcasts. They were talking about how all these doctors should know about it, how your rheumatologist should know about it, your general practitioner, your psychiatrist, your gynecologist All of these people should know, because a lot of these symptoms joint issues, dry skin, dry eyes, dry mouth, dry all that all of these things can be hormone related, and so all of these things that we think are one thing could actually be that your hormones aren't regulated.
Speaker 2:If you gain weight in a short amount of time, and it's a significant amount, can be hormone related, if you all these things, and so it's like which lead to other.
Speaker 1:Yeah, other issues.
Speaker 2:And so I, I, I researched and I was like, Okay, I need, because they're like I said, barely any training. So I found people that were certified in menopause, like their menopause certified.
Speaker 2:So they actually have more training in menopause, or menopause, yes, and or they're another, another type of doctor that also can can qualify is a sex doctor, who specializes in sex and whatever. Because, yeah, that's another thing, like, when your hormones aren't regulated, you really don't care about having sex, which is right now I'm like, well, that's fine, but do you want to never care about having sex? And also, that is something that, you know, I probably felt, even in my marriage. And it's like, when you don't have any testosterone, which women are supposed to have, then it's your libido can be like completely shot, and that's even true for men, like men's testosterone level also fluctuates, and when theirs is low, the same thing can happen to them. And so you know, and we've done things for men, like Viagra, but we've done nothing for women. And also, testosterone isn't even FDA approved for women. So it have it's, it's like, oh, it makes me so mad.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, so I found, I found. So then I was like searching, I went to chat GPT and I went to the deep research of chat GPT, not just your regular free version, but you're. You know, this is the one that people pay $200 a month for. I pay 20, but you get a certain number of deep research, yeah, yeah. So I did my deep research on hormones and I was like this is the kind of doctor that I want. I want them to be specialized in this or this. I want them to have maybe even heard of these people Rachel Rubin, which is a huge advocate for hormone replacement therapy, and she is also a neurologist, and I've heard her speak on many podcasts. She's excellent, so that's a person I would recommend for sure and I'm like, and so I've listed all this stuff.
Speaker 2:And then they came back with these experts that are most of them were in Tampa and they were like these people, like these people will do this, these people. And then one of the things they said about the person that I picked, which was Dr Reyes, was that she also gave testosterone. Like she wasn't opposed to testosterone, which some people are, and I'm like, well, that doesn't make sense, that doesn't seem like it's well balanced, because the three hormones that women, you know progesterone, estrogen and testosterone all need to be leveled out. And so the first initial consultation with her is expensive, it's very expensive and your insurance doesn't cover it, and thankfully my mom stepped in, which I really appreciate, because that's the thing Like most people can't afford to. I mean it's $450 for the initial visit and then 250 every followup, and then the medication was another like 250.
Speaker 2:So it is a very expensive yeah, it's not feasible for like just your average person and like your insurance, like mine it was, like your co-pay is, you know, 90 and 80, and I'm like I can't do this I thought it was monthly, but it was for three months. So I was like, okay, next time I'll just have them give it to me in a month at a time, because then it will be but there's also a prescription website called cost plus drugs, um, by mark cuban, where they're?
Speaker 1:you basically are like just paying for the actual cost of the drug instead of the like up, upsell or whatever that they charge you from like pharmacies. So, and that that this applies to any prescription. So if anyone out there is like, oh I'm, I have a prescription and it's so expensive I can't afford it, look up cost plus drugs um, goodrx didn't work for this, so I'm going to try cost plus drugs.
Speaker 1:Cost plus drugs is better because GoodRx gives you a discount, but cost plus drugs is literally just the cost of the original drug.
Speaker 2:They did have another discount card and my doctor also gave me a discount card, but that didn't reduce it. It was actually less with my insurance, but they did get one of the things down. But I'm like I made them run everything under a discount because I'm like I'm not paying 90. I'm not paying my. What it would have been was $450. Yeah, so I got it down to 250, which I thought was still a lot. But that's for three months, that's a three, that's still a lot.
Speaker 2:It's still a lot. So I'm going to, now that I know exactly what they are, I'm going to, you know, look into cost plus drugs. But I was, I felt I was, I was really calm, but I was like getting frustrated at the pharmacy. The other thing is the pharmacy is like why is she prescribing all of this? And so the point is is, after talking, dr Reyes gave me an hour, like we sat there for an hour and I told her about all of my symptoms and all of my medical history and she had copies of my blood work that I had sent in advance and I need to give her my bone density.
Speaker 2:I keep forgetting. And then, and I filled out this extensive questionnaire and all these different things, and she's like we can't just start you. You probably have zero hormones. She's like we can't start you at a beginning level, we need to start you at a moderate level. And so what she's like, no matter what the vaginal estrogen and the cream or whatever will like, at least bring that back to life and you won't have like excessive dryness, which is, you know, kind of a game changer, because that dryness can be very uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:I was going to say and if you're having sex and you're having painful sex because I can't I can't imagine having sex with completely dry no.
Speaker 2:Oh, exactly, yeah, so, um, I mean it's like yeah, so, anyway, it is. So that's our, that's. I've been taking that for what has it been only a week and that that already feels better, and that's something that you have to continue doing. Like if you stop, it's going to go right back to being dry and atrophy, but now it's come back to life, woohoo, yeah. So I'm like, yes, let's have a birthday party, so anyway.
Speaker 2:So then the next step is I had to have blood work and I just had that done yesterday, so I have to wait for the results and then I'll start taking a. They give you, there's like options you can do, like an estrogen patch. They don't want to do subdermal like on your skin, because there was a study that came out in like the 2000s that scared everyone to death about hormones, saying it was linked to breast cancer, and that has been found to be significantly inaccurate or not significantly, what's the word? Statistically significant? And so it is, but they still have that wording on the packaging. They won't take the wording off the packaging.
Speaker 1:People are like they still have to read this may cause cancer yeah and you know, which is very alarming and yeah no kidding, yeah, but also the thing about that is too, is that every freaking thing in the world or at least, if you're in america, everything should have that on it may cause cancer, because everything's produced with heavy amounts of plastic and um, a whole bunch of other shit that we and also if they think estrogen taking oral estrogen can cause cancer.
Speaker 2:That would mean that soy could cause cancer. So that's that's my question is why aren't you writing that on your on all the food that are in the grocery store, because everything has soy in it.
Speaker 2:So anyway, but she's like you don't just take. When you take estrogen by itself, especially orally, then it can be linked to breast cancer. But if you are taking it subdermally, which means on your skin, either through a patch or through a cream or through a gel and I didn't want to do the patch because I'm like I like to go to hot yoga sometimes and I don't want to I just I hate sticky, and so I'm going to do a gel on your leg and then you take an oral progesterone. But you take those together.
Speaker 2:You're not taking progesterone without estrogen, you're not taking estrogen without progesterone, and then we'll see, like, where my levels are and then if we need to add the testosterone, then we'll go from there. So it just. I just felt like she was like this is what we're going to do, and she was, and she was like not opposed to, she didn't like have a certain regimen that she has to do for everyone. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like it was customized to the person.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I just it was like I'm excited to see, and also now that I figured out that the soy was in my vitamins and I've stopped taking that for the last couple of weeks, weight has gone off.
Speaker 1:I'm so mad about that, like when you told me that and the fact that they're like from a legal standpoint, I'm like, how are you allowed to put no soy when there is a soy based product in your product? Like, yeah, that doesn't make sense because isn't there? Like like there's food and drug regulations where, like, if something is gluten, soy or dairy free, like but they, I think they think because you don't.
Speaker 2:Even the doctor at first was like well, the progesterone can be made with soy. And she's like do you have? Like do you get, can you breathe? And I was like what? And at first I got mad about that for a second. I'm like so my severity has to be that I can't breathe, that I'm dying. Yeah, yeah, I'm like. Actually, it's like I'm talking about like 10 pounds gained in a day. And she's like, oh, no, no, no, she's like we got to get the peanut one. And so I'm like I'm not taking my chances here with soy. So, anyway, so weight has, like that's gotten better, thank goodness. Just eliminating the soy? Yeah, so, but it's so I'm excited.
Speaker 1:I just don't understand how they can put that on the podcast. No, I can't either.
Speaker 2:I don't either. The other thing is that that can happen is that you can't sleep, like when your hormones are messed up you can't sleep. So then you can't sleep. That leads to a bunch of other issues and then the whole like even possibly the ADD thing she's like a lot of people are being diagnosed with ADD as an adult. But thing she's like a lot of people are being diagnosed with ADD as an adult. But it may not be actually ADD. It can be hormone based, because the brain fog is unbelievable, and so it's like you're taking medicine to go to sleep. You're taking medicine to be awake, you're taking medicine to concentrate. So my hope is to level my hormone.
Speaker 2:Another thing that happens is your body tries to make estrogen. That's part of the reason why you gain weight, cause it it. It like gets it from fat, like when you store fat. It tries to get like bad estrogen. It's trying to do anything to get. I mean, so it's so it's really interesting the. But I'm so it's really interesting. But she's like I just can't wait to see, like how much better I feel. And I'm like I can't wait for that either, like I think it's going to be exciting.
Speaker 1:Hope in, in aging, as opposed to like just shriveling up and being like, oh well, this is it, yeah, that's. It's sad that that is. Like that would be your expectation. Like there shouldn't be. Like that shouldn't be the case. Like there should be advocacy for women's health from doctors period. Not just like that you have to search on the deep web to find and then, like, pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars to see.
Speaker 2:Like that is just again, because if this were men, this would be a totally different story. Yeah for sure. Because it is a totally different story, yeah for sure. That's what's so frustrating. Because it is a totally different story. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2:Because most of medical research is done based on the male anatomy, and now they've just cut more female, more research on women's health with this administration. So then we have that on top of everything else. So it's just, oh, it makes me crazy. Everything else. So it's just, oh, it makes me crazy. But I just, I think it's really important for women to know their bodies and to know, like, how things work and to understand that some symptoms are not necessarily like some kind of disease or illness. That can actually be a, you know, sign of your hormones being out of whack.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it's also important to and even when you're young.
Speaker 2:This doesn't have to be like perimenopause menopause. It can be. I mean, like I even think of that for you sometimes about like having hot flashes at 25. Like that can be hormone related.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't necessarily have hot flashes, but you get really hot, yeah, but that's not like I don't, that's not like as much anymore, like that's not something that really happens anymore. Um, but yeah, it's. Also is we live in florida, so like I'm just sweaty? Um, but I don't remember what I was gonna say.
Speaker 1:You cut me off so it's all right just knowing your body, knowing your um well, I think that it's important for women specifically, but really anyone, to know that, like, it's okay to question your doctors Because, like, while they are quote-unquote an expert in their field, they are also still human and they don't have all the information sometimes and ultimately, you know your body better than anyone. So, if somebody's saying something that doesn't sit right with you or you don't agree with or doesn't feel like it's solving the problem, then keep questioning them, keep asking them things and if that pisses them off, go find a different doctor.
Speaker 2:I agree I totally agree. I I think that makes so much sense and I have a friend who I'm like. You're not getting the right answer. It's hard to do because we're taught to like listen to the authority, Just listen, and then that's it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like there's that like I don't know what societal like pressure of like, as women too, like we're, like we listen to authority and like that's what we do, but like that's it doesn't have to be like that because, like, because they're there to help you, their literal whole, entire job is to help you, not to tell you and to fuel their ego. So if something doesn't match up with what's going on with you, then you're allowed to speak up. And again, if that makes a doctor upset or frustrated, then that's just not a person that you should be seeing and it's okay to break up with a healthcare provider.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah, you deserve to have answers, and sometimes you do not. Sometimes you always have to advocate for yourself. Yeah, you just do.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for letting me share mine.
Speaker 1:Get on your soy soapbox.
Speaker 2:Yes get on my soy soapbox All right.
Speaker 1:Well, if you have questions or if you've experienced stuff like this, please comment on this episode.
Speaker 2:Please comment on this episode. Share it with people, with your other female friends, because there's such a lack of knowledge around this topic and find those podcasts that I was talking about. Dr Rachel Rubin if you search her on any podcast platform, you will find all the podcasts she's been. She doesn't have a podcast herself I wish she did but she's been a guest on a lot because she's really trying to spread the word and then you are not broken. I think it's called um I can't think of her name, but she's really pushing this information as well.
Speaker 1:So those are good places to start we'll put them in the description below, so you can find those easily.
Speaker 2:Yeah. All right Till next time. Bye.
