The Hidden Cost Of Menopause

SPEAKER_02 0:00

One in ten women are leaving the workforce at the peak of their career because of unsupported menopause and perimenopause symptoms. So it's hitting us in family life. It's hitting us in our in our whole identity of who I was or who I thought I was going to be, who I am at work. And then often I'm also caring for aging parents. So a shit show is the appropriate term.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Welcome

Meet Lisa Boat And Her Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:23

to this Empty Nest Life, the podcast dedicated to helping you embrace this transformative season with purpose, passion, and joy. In each episode, we explore stories, strategies, and insights to help turn your empty nest into an exciting new chapter. Whether you're redefining your identity, pursuing new passions, or finding peace in the pause, you're in the right place. Here's your host, the Empty Nest coach, Jay Ramsden.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Hey there, my empty nest friends. Today I am delighted to welcome Lisa Boat to the show. She is the founder of Liberated Menopause. It's a trailblazing organization dedicated to transforming the conversation around menopause and empowering women during this significant life transition. Lisa is committed to breaking down the barriers and taboos that often surround menopause and is on a mission to create menopause-friendly workplaces that recognize and address this unique need of women. Ultimately, we want to foster environments where all women can thrive. We're going to get into her story and her journey and more of that right now. Lisa, welcome to this EmptyDest Life.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Thanks for having me. I'm really happy to be here today. And big thank you to Amy from at Grounded in Maine for recommending me for your show. She is such an awesome advocate and avid podcast listener. So I'm really grateful to her today.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah, I'm excited that she recommended you that we get a chance to have a conversation. So, Amy, shout out to you as well for me. Thanks for being a listener. Much appreciated for the recommendation as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

So tell me about I just have so many thoughts, right? Because I'm at this point in my life where my wife is in this time of experiencing menopause as well. And lots of friends and family members are on this kind of same timeline. And I don't think I've ever had anybody on the show who's just empowered to make this something that is a broader conversation. You and I talked a little bit before off mic, where it was like, you know what, this needs to be a conversation that is had more than just women, right? Women and their husbands and people who are in their lives need to know more about that. So just tell me a little bit of like, how did you even get started on this journey?

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Yeah,

From Teaching Burnout To Coaching

SPEAKER_02 2:34

thank you for asking that question. And like most of us who are at this stage in our lives, it's been a bit of a winding road to get here. We've we've had a culmination of things. And where my story started is I was I was an educator for 20 years. And for a long time, I loved what I did. There were a number of things that happened both globally and within my local school board that really changed the education experience. And in my last couple of years, I just found I it took me so much energy just to get out the door every morning that I barely had enough left to make it through the rest of the day. And things like my hair was falling out, I was having panic attacks. There were all these both physical, emotional, mental, all like all of it was crumbling around me. And at the same time, in my life stage, my kids were getting to be in their late teens, where I was starting to experience what the empty nest was going to be like. They were still living with us. But as you and most of your listeners know, as your kids get into those later teen years, they are living their own life. And you're starting to get a preview of what it's going to be like when they have left the nest. And so all of these things came to a head where I realized I need to start making some changes, or I am not going to be able to live the life that I really want to live. My mom also died of colon cancer at 52. So that was a very salient part of making decisions that really valued my health. So that hopefully that won't happen to me. And so as I was on a leave from teaching for a year, I was actually doing some co some coaching in the empty nest space because that's where I was and was having these experiences. And I had been a coach for other educators in the last decade of my career. And while I was doing that, women were bringing forth the physical experiences that they were having as well, as was I. And so I started to think about what is it? What is happening at midlife? Where or what is the root cause of all of these physical manifestations? And that's when perimenopause started to seep into my world, as it does in those synchronous ways. And menopause coaching certifications started coming up in my social media feeds. And so I looked at a few and I found one that I thought looked to be very well researched, really thoughtful. And so I took that course and was completely blown away by all of the things that we do not know about our own body and how we absolutely can have a much better quality of life, but we have to know how to do that. And when that information is held back and not shared with us, it doesn't give us the capacity to make the decisions we need to make to embrace that quality of life.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah. You said a thoughtful program, and my mind need immediately went to what if women had thoughtful men in their lives too. Around that, right? Okay, you went to a thoughtful program. Is there one for like husbands and partners to be able to have that same sort of what this is it's a pretty tough time for women at this age, right? And like it's and and and so I love that you're here to talk more about it and the work that you do because I think there is so much unknown about it.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, absolutely. And that aspect of it, so the course that I took was specifically about like what is happening with the body. And I think that there's so much, you're absolutely right. I've been doing some research trying to gather men's narrative around what their experience is so that I can create something that is supportive, right? That will help people be really good partners through this transition. And that came to the surface when I was working with women. I had a couple who said, I'm now divorced and I don't want to be divorced. I didn't know that perimenopause was playing a huge role in what I was experiencing. And now I know and I understand what was happening to me, and it's too late. And it's really heartbreaking to see people in those spaces of if I have, if I'd only known, right? If I'd only known one, what was happening with me physically, and then two, how to talk about it. Because neither men nor women have easily accessible language to go to to come back to a conversation that can happen in a way that is supportive for both partners. Right. I will I've been getting comments on my YouTube channel recently from men who are like, don't you ever call it women? I'm feeling alienated through this whole process too. And what about me? And that it is a it's it's a valid point and there's a really important way to approach it, right? So one, you have to decide for yourself is this a relationship that I want? And if the answer to that question is yes, this is a relationship relationship that I want, then we have to come at it from a place of loving curiosity rather than blame, anger, and anxiety. And that's really where the shift in communication can happen.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah, the shift in communication or the shit hitting the fan. It can go either way, seriously, it could go either both ways, right? 100%. Yeah. And it's interesting, like the comments that you're getting, I get that, right? Because it is a time that it's just such an interesting intersection when people have been married 25, we'll say 25, 30, maybe even longer if they got married younger, and the kids are ready to go and menopause is hitting women, it literally all it's like a what is it, like a convergence of many, many storms coming together. And so if you're not thoughtful about it, if you don't just hit it with the loving curiosity, that's where people get into trouble, I think.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Yeah, absolutely it is. And it's one of the underlying themes. Like in some of in the research that I was doing, that was one of the clearest themes that emerged. That men were were curious, but were terrified to approach to broach the subject because they didn't want to make things worse. And that's where, and like you said, that's where the shit hits the fan, right? If nobody is able to talk to the other person, then this is where things unravel and fall apart. And you're you are absolutely right. In this stage of life, there are so many factors at play, right? One of the other conversations I'll have with women a lot is for decades now, my marriage partnership has been logistical.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Right?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

When you have when it's kids who are at the center and you're just constantly communicating about who's taking who where, when, what's next on the schedule, what are we eating, it just becomes a it just becomes all about logistics. And then suddenly, and I and I'd be interested to hear your experience, but like when kids leave home, it's a really sudden change. Just like when they enter our lives, right? It is uh an immediate your life is turned upside down. And when they when they move out of the house, the change is almost as as almost as dramatic. Like I remember my husband and I looking at each other one day, just so what do you want to go? What do you want to do? That was not a question we had had to ask each other in 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yeah, exactly, exactly. We have you have nine months to get prepared and 18 years to get prepared. Yes. And and and both of them seem like it happens like that, right? And it is it doesn't matter if it's nine months or 18, 18 years to get ready for that transition, but it's true, and so many people get stuck in that period. And again, going back to the concept of there's so many headwaters coming in or storms converging at the same time that I I think this conversation is so important because I don't want to assume anybody knows anything about this. You mentioned oh, getting a handle on what's really going on in a body, and it's so different too, right? There are baselines that happen for women, but they're everybody has their own unique experience, both with menopause, perimenopause, and with empty nesting. So before we even continue the conversation, you said getting understanding of what's going on in the body, just let's give an overview of that. I don't

Perimenopause Basics And Body Changes

SPEAKER_01 11:42

want to assume anybody who's listening, and I also want to make sure that if they're they pass it on to their husbands or people they know in their lives that they understand.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And it is important to say, like you did, that every person's experience is going to be different. It's part of what makes the conversation challenging because there isn't there isn't one way that every person experiences it. And the fundamentals are that during perimenopause, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, who is one of the leading physicians in the US doing this work, describes it as peri chaos, which is a really, really good way of framing for people what's happening. So the other way to think about it is as the mirror of puberty. So if you think back to those years when estrogen, progesterone, testosterone is starting to come on board and your body is changing, and all of the things that you experienced at that time, right? Exhaustion, emotional shifts and changes, your body is physically changing on the outside. What's happening in perimenopause is a mirror of that. But instead of moving toward fertility, we are moving away from fertility, but the same level of chaos internally is happening. So where we have had systems in our body that have functioned really beautifully, right? Like after we come through that puberty time, the time of puberty, everything levels out for the most part. There are people where their hormones don't ever get into a consistent, consistent rhythm. So, generally speaking, hormones come into a specific monthly cycle. And all of our systems speak to each other in the way that they need to, right? So uterus is connected to brain, brain talks through the through the hormone system so that they know when when estrogen needs to be released more, so that we're releasing an egg. When so all of these systems are speaking to each other through hormones. Now, as egg supply dwindles and estrogen levels, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone primarily start to decline because there isn't the same need for egg production every month or egg release every month, systems suddenly start not speaking to each other in the same way. So it's like the uterus has to shout louder to the brain to say, hey, there's still a few dusty eggs rolling around in here, we need to get them out, which increases the amount of estrogen needed to release an egg every month. So that's why we end up having these big spikes. So when people talk about blood tests are useless at this time because your hormones are fluctuating, there's truth in that, and that it's true. Depending on where you are in your cycle, your hormone levels can show very, very differently. Right. I've had women go to see their healthcare practitioners. They come back and say, My estrogen levels are actually really high. I can't possibly be in perimenopause. Actually, that could be a sign that you are in perimenopause because you are requiring more. So it takes a really skilled practitioner to know when to do blood work, to look at broad scale what's happening, because there is so much unpredictable fluctuation that's happening. So that impacts, yes, our reproductive system, but also for women, every part of our bodies are covered in estrogen neuroreceptors. So brain covered in estrogen neuroreceptors. Dr. Lisa Muscone was the lead researcher who, and this research is new, right? Her research came out two years ago, looking at the impacts of declining estrogen on the brain. And what actually is happening is the brain recognizes, oh, there's not as much enough estrogen here. We need more. We must need more neuroreceptors. So the brain produces more neuroreceptors, but there's no estrogen to fill it. So, of course, you can see where brain fog, word recall issues, because the brain is spending energy creating receptors that are never filled. Muscul the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause just released very recently, the evidence of that. But things like frozen shoulder, and that's a common one I hear from women all the time. When I say frozen shoulder, I see their like eyes light up.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Like, oh yeah, this, yeah, I'm right there with you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Yeah. The underlying cause of frozen shoulder is declining estrogen and testosterone. So there's not as much flexibility in the muscle and joint and tendon because estrogen is part of what helps to keep all of those things elastic and juicy and moving. Itchy, itchy ears is a really common one that people have no idea is connected to declining estrogen. So, same thing, just like in muscles, bones, and joints, every tissue in our body is becoming thinner, drier, and more susceptible to injury. Changes in eyesight, right? Same thing is happening in the eye. Dental things that are happening in the mouth, it is much more likely to lose a tooth or start getting cavities because the pH in your mouth changes. And then there are all the genital urinary symptoms as well, which includes thinning of the vaginal walls and tissue, which is what creates painful sex and increased UTIs and vaginal prolapse if we haven't taken good care of our uterine muscles. So it literally changes in digestion, changes in your cardiovascular health. It is literally every part of your body that is impacted. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

Wow. Yeah. Okay. So now we've got the level playing field, and now it makes sense. I have a friend who's a coach, Leslie Duffy, she has a podcast called The Hormone Shift Show. And it literally is a play on words. It is a shit show, folks. Right? So much more so than what you have ever imagined. So, guys, ladies, if you're listening and you want to share this concept with your significant in my brain where it went was like, imagine you're driving a car, you press the brakes, and you don't stop, right? The panic that ensues, you don't know what's going on, you don't know how to control it. This sounds like exactly what you're going through. It's like, I don't know where to even begin to diagnose how to make things better for myself.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Yes. That the car analogy is a good one, right? And that, yeah, everything that used to work suddenly just either doesn't or is working in ways that we don't understand and have to figure out. I talk about it being like you're living through a renovation in your body. That is that's what's that is what's happening. And so all of these change, all of these physical changes. One, it's important, it's so important for partners to know that so that they understand like this isn't just a small thing, right? It literally is changing how we experience every aspect of the world and how we operate in it. And two,

Identity Shifts And Feeling Invisible

SPEAKER_02 19:33

it has a huge impact on our identity. Right. So we have identified in a in a way for for decades, and suddenly there's this shift and change happening that we have zero control over that changes how we are seen, or more accurately, not seen. That's one of the most common things people will say to me is like, Lisa, I suddenly am invisible. Nobody sees me anymore. And that's really, really hard. It's hard when you have been in the world in one way, and suddenly in a time and in a way that you have no control over, you suddenly are something totally different.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and by the way, let's just all time that together with the kids leaving, going off to college, it's all hitting at the same time. And for the uninformed or the un or lack of empathy, empathetic husband who's like, oh, they're my wife is just extra emotional because the kids have gone. No.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

No. That adds to it, right? That's just like on top of what already is happening.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Yeah.

unknown 20:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

Absolutely. And then many are also caring for elderly parents. Right. So there's there is pressure coming in from all sides of all of the different shifting and changing expectations. And women also are often at this stage at the most at the highest point of the career that they have been in, also. Which also is why one in 10 women are leaving the workforce at the peak of their career because of unsupported menopause and perimenopause symptoms. So there's that whole level as well. So it's hitting us in the par in family life, it's hitting us in our in our whole identity of who I was or who I thought I was going to be, who I am at work. And then often I'm also caring for aging parents. So a shit show is the appropriate term.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Yeah. Okay.

How Partners Can Show Up Better

SPEAKER_01 21:44

So let's I want to look at it from two different kinds of approaches. One is what can partners, spouses help with, or let Becca left help with, understand more to be more supportive. Okay. We're not asking you to have. Help your wife with this, right? Or your partners. Like, how can you be more supportive and understanding? Yeah. That's one. And then other, then after that's done, let's talk about how organizations. I know that's something that's important to you. Like, how organizations of the workplace can also be more understanding and empathetic and maybe create policies or environments that are more open to understanding this for people who are at the height of their career.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Yeah. So yeah, thank you for both of those. So, in terms of partnerships, the key thing is allowing making space where both partners feel vulnerable enough to be really honest. So, for women, this is why we need to understand what's happening in our bodies so that we can communicate that clearly to our partner. Of I am not, I can't sleep at night. I'm having night sweats. So I'm waking up hot, cold, hot, cold. That not being able to sleep at night means that everything else in my day is harder. I have low energy. It's not, it is not you. And for our counterparts, for our husbands or partners, whoever they may be, is to sit in a place of just listening and not fixing. And that can be one of the most challenging things because, and again, speaking in generalizations, I know like in my partnership, if I say I'm child struggling with something, my husband wants to come in and fix it, which is coming, it's coming from a place of love and care. And most of the time, I just need you to listen. Yeah. Right? So listen and be vulnerable enough to say, I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me. That helps me understand why you're reacting to this in that way. One of the key sentences I use a lot is that this transition is energy expensive, which means that I just don't have the energy to respond to things maybe in this with the same patience that I used to. So if you have a partner who suddenly is quick to quick to anger or has way less patience than you are used to, it's because this is energy expensive and we literally just don't have the energy to do that mediating that we used to do. So sit together and really make some recommit to each other, right? If that is your goal, is we want to stay together in this partnership as we move through this stage, understand what's what's happening in my body, and for me to listen and understand how it makes you feel when I respond in certain ways. And then we create language together that we can use that feels supportive for both of us. So you can come up with a with a phrase or a sentence that says, This is a tough time for me. Let's bait, let's take a break and we'll circle back again later. We're putting some preventative things in place so that we don't always end up in this kind of conflict.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Yeah. I'm hearing too, like there's a couple other things that could happen in this scenario is like using language around like men tend to be logical, right? So if we put it into the the the framework of if this, then that. Yes, right. Yeah. If if this I'm experiencing this, then that. This is like the response I need from you. That's one strategy. But then also, folks, again, share this with your partner if this helps. But one of the things that works in my relationship is like when my wife comes home from work or she's struggling with anything else, it's like you want to be helped, heard, or hugged. Like those three things, right? Just tell me what hat I need to be looking at instead of just jumping into fixing as well. So I think those two strategies, like if the women on the one side said if this then that, so the the men in their life, the partner in their life can understand better, and then the men in the life going, okay, let's how am I gonna approach it?

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Yeah, yes, absolutely. I really like that strategy. The helped, hugged, or held or or heard.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Helped, helped, huh? Yeah, helped heard or hugged. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Yeah, that that is a good one. And most days everything falls into one of those categories.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Exactly. Yeah, it's very rare that it's not something just hug me. That's it. Yes, don't no no words need to be spoken by either one of us. Just go on your way. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Yeah, that is that's a great one.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So

Getting Ready For Doctor Appointments

SPEAKER_01 26:39

for the women who are listening and are feeling extremely overwhelmed by menopause symptoms, they might not even recognize that they're having menopause systems given how everybody's body operates separately. And they're not quite sure even how to approach the conversation with their healthcare providers. We talked about the partners in their lives, but the conversation with their healthcare providers, what can they do?

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Yeah. So the first thing I would say, so I offer a session called Dr. Ready. So what but what that means is look for a knowledgeable person who you can start working it through with. So, yes, I am a coach and consultant. There are others out there, but one of the services I offer is called Dr. Ready, where you have an hour of time with me where we go through your whole story, all of your symptoms, everything that you've experienced. And then I give you the language that you need to talk to your healthcare provider so that they can hear you. I give you some options to think about, as well as the research that backs up everything that you are asking for, so that when you go to talk to your healthcare practitioner, because we know they just don't have time, right? Like their schedules are very limited, 10, 15-minute appointments. And when there's so much going on in your head and in your body, the best thing you can do is talk it all out first, get really clear about what it is that you are looking for out of that appointment and know what to ask for. Because the issue currently that we are dealing with is that not only are we experiencing this, we also have to advocate for our health care. Because the majority of healthcare practitioners have not been educated in perimenopause and menopause education, and they are swimming in a sea of misinformation from studies that happened decades ago. So being really, really clear about what your experiences are, what you want to make better, and what you want to get out of the appointment are key so that you can be really specific when you have that 10, 15 minute appointment.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

Yeah. I would imagine too. I don't know about you, but for me, like when I go into our my wife and I and our healthcare provider, like when you make an appointment, you can say what the appointment's about and any additional information. Probably just throw those questions in there so they know in advance, not in like when you're sitting in the room, what are you here for?

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And if you are having symptoms like brain fog and word recall issues, and you go into a situation that is a little bit more stressful, which often doc talking to our healthcare practitioner is, then that word recall and brain fog is also often activated, and you end up leaving the appointment having not said what you really wanted to say and not asked for what you really wanted. And now you just have more questions than you had before you went in. So yeah, absolutely. Taking the time to write down. The other thing I talk about is keeping a journal of your symptoms. And it doesn't have to be elaborate, it can literally be a piece of paper where you write down what you experienced that day so that you have some data to take with you to talk when you talk to them. So you can say, my shoulder, elbow, like multiple joints are really inflamed and painful. I'm experienced digestion issues, sleeping issues. I've had this hot flesh and this night sweat, so that they can see all of the things that are happening and if there are any patterns that are starting to emerge as well, which is really helpful.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Well, yeah, obviously, if you're having brain fog too, that helps. You get an appointment, but I don't know, one time, five times, ten times. Yeah, to be able to quantify it. Excellent. Okay.

unknown 30:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Hey, looking

Building Menopause Friendly Workplaces

SPEAKER_01 30:30

forward, you're on a mission here, and looking forward, what changes do you hope to see through your work in both relationships and in workplace attitudes and policies around this? Uh, this this women's health and menopause.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Yeah, in many ways they're combined, right? We really I just want to see more empathetic spaces where we see each other as humans and be able to support the per. So, in this case, women in perimenopause, be able to support them so that they can make decisions for themselves that are that are what they really want for the future, right? A lot of women at this stage actually do make it make the decision to make major changes in their lives. And if they are surrounded by people who see them and support them for that, sometimes it's because it's now I have the space to actually make decisions for myself for the first time ever. So looking at this from an asset perspective rather than just from deficit, which is so much of the story that our society tells about this time, right? That it it's it's really tarred and there's all these changes. And while that's true, it's also a time of incredible reconnection to self. And it can be a time of real freedom as well, where you get to get to know yourself better and what you really want, get to know your partner again and what you really want in a relationship. Think about work and what how is it that I really want to work now? Do I want to keep doing what I've always been doing? Or do I want to shift into a space that's a little softer and gentler? And when organizations and partners have the language that is informed, empathetic, and curious, we can make those spaces that, yes, are better for women in perimenopause, but in in general, those communication strategies are just better for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Yeah. And in in my microcosm of the world, this is a topic that women tend to rally around as opposed to tear down and fight each other about. Again, my microcosm is just a hiking group that I belong to, and we're all older, and so that the women do talk about it, and they're always like, oh Jay, sorry about that. I'm like, no, the more I know, the better, right? Not only for the work that I do, but in my own personal life. But it seems like women rally around this topic because it is it happens at a certain time and everybody is going through it, and it is so overwhelming.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Yes, and it has been shadowed for a long time, right? When I was doing my training, it's like I said, my mom passed away at 52, so I didn't get a chance to ask her. When I was doing my coaching training, I had a conversation with my grandmother, who was 92 at the time, and she said, You are the first person who has ever asked me anything about this stage of life. And so we have been through generations of women who have just gone through it, had no idea, are suffering the long-term health impacts of having it not treated in a way that allows them to have a good quality health span. So, yeah, having this conversation with everybody is the way that we start to remove the mis, the mystery and the stigma and the shame. So it just becomes part of our of our conversation.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Yeah. Okay. So for people who are listening who aren't at this stage yet, like oftentimes as humans, we just manage our now. And so when the symptoms start, we manage our now. But for women who are or under their partners who are not there yet, how can they prepare?

How To Prepare Before Symptoms Hit

SPEAKER_02 34:09

Yeah, this is an important question. And it's part of the reason why having this conversation throughout the whole spectrum is so important because most of the things that need to be in place are easier to put in place before perimenopause hits. So the key factors of wellness in moving through it are sleep, stress management, movement, nutrition. And I would add communication strategies, right? So if we have developed really good strength-bearing practices before perimenopause hits, then I have a deeper bank to draw from when I when I get there, right? Because in mid-30s is when bone density and muscle loss starts happening. So the more proactive and preventative we can be, as like you said, as humans, we're way more reactive than we are proactive. But if you are younger and knowing about what's happening, and knowing that a good resistance training practice, eating good amounts of protein and fiber, knowing what works for you to manage your own stress and having good sleep practices and then really good communication strategies with your partner and the people around you, it makes the perimenopause-menopause transition. I'm not going to say it doesn't happen. I've had people say to me, I had all those things in place. I am not going to experience perimenopause. I'm like, friend, that may not be the case. You may, you will still likely experience perimenopause symptoms, but you have the routines in place to know how to manage it better.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah. It's it's it's the equivalent of learning how to swim before you hop in the pool.

SPEAKER_02 36:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

Otherwise you'll end up drowning, which is what happens to a lot of women at this stage in life is they end up drowning.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Okay.

Where To Find Lisa And Next Steps

SPEAKER_01 36:16

So, folks, I think what I heard Lisa say is share this episode with everybody you know. Right. Plus, also go go check out Lisa. What what's your remind me what your podcast is again so people know where to find it.

SPEAKER_02 36:27

Yeah, my show is called Transforming 45. I am no longer 45, but I was when I started. And it was a and it tends to be a transformative time. I can't tell you how many guests I've had who have said to me, at 45 I. And so that's why that's the title. And we have conversation, yes, lots about menopause, perimenopause, but about the midlife transition in general.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

Yeah. Okay. Yes. Love that. Also, did you see the the research is like at 40, like 44, 45 is when the big change of health issues start, and then again at 60.

unknown 37:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

Like that's the research that's out now. So it makes sense that the 45 is like boom because it's a decline.

SPEAKER_02 37:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

And then again at 60. Okay. Love that. So people know they're aware. Great resource in your show. Yeah. Where else can they find you? If they're like, they want to know more about like how they can do the things that I think you also have like a wheelhouse assessment that folks can do in addition to Dr. Ready. Where can they find you, Lisa?

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Yeah, you can pretty much find me everywhere. And my Instagram handle is at Lboat. That's a great place. At L B O H E E. That's a great place to start because everything else is linked from there. And my website is liberatedmenopause.ca. So those two places you can find all of the other information.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Perfect. Not to keep going down another path, but my brain just went, okay. People are like, oh, Lisa's in Canada, and she's talking about healthcare. And healthcare in Canada is different. In the US, the questions that she shared are those going to be the same. Is that going to work for me? Or is it just two different systems and what she's saying is going to work in Canada, but not in the US or elsewhere for that matter?

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Yeah, no, it's a great question. But the so the language and the reason and the research that you need when you talk to your healthcare practitioner is the same. And I also I've developed a pretty good network of folks. So if you are in the US and you are looking for a healthcare provider and you can't find one, I also can direct you to people because I've got a pretty good network of folks who are really skilled perimenopause and menopause practitioners. So I can direct you to those people after we've had the conversation about what it is that you're looking to get out of an appointment. So that part, that part's universal. And then your access, the access points are what's different.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

Okay. So we'll put all that in the show notes, like where they can find you, make it a little bit easier for folks. But if they're dying in this moment to have a resource, the podcast is a good place to start. Absolutely. Awesome. Lisa, thank you so much for coming on this emptiness life. I really appreciate it. I appreciate it not only for myself and what I've learned, but for my listeners as well. And hopefully they'll share it with their partners and other people in life, just to spread word of this is something that we need to rally around.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for making the space for this conversation. It's really important. So thank you for doing that.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

My absolute pleasure. Thanks so much for being here.