Perimenopause symptoms can feel confusing—mood swings, brain fog, weight gain, sleep issues, and even cholesterol changes. In this episode, Lesa Koski talks with women’s health journalist and author Meghan Rabbitt about perimenopause vs. menopause, the most common perimenopause symptoms, what’s “normal,” and what deserves a doctor visit. You’ll learn how to track symptoms, ask better questions, and advocate for yourself during the menopause transition. If you’re navigating perimenopause symptoms in midlife, this conversation will help you feel informed, empowered, and supported.

(Primary keyword used 3–5x: perimenopause symptoms)

Timestamps (in parentheses):

(00:00) Welcome + why women’s health needs new rules

(02:10) Meghan’s story: writing on women’s health and Maria Shriver’s invitation LinkedIn

(06:15) “We are not small men” and what that means for care

(10:05) Perimenopause vs. menopause: definitions and the 12-month rule

(14:40) Tracking cycles + when bleeding after a year matters

(18:30) Perimenopause symptoms you might not connect to hormones

(25:10) Mood changes, anxiety, rage, and brain fog

(30:55) Vaginal/urinary symptoms and why women should talk about them

(36:45) Cholesterol, heart health, and menopause-related risk shifts

(42:25) Hormone therapy: what we know now vs. what we feared

(49:10) Lifestyle tools that truly help (sleep, stress, strength training)

(56:00) The “doctor visit” strategy: list symptoms and prioritize

(59:30) Book recap + closing encouragement

Key Takeaways:

Perimenopause symptoms can include mood changes, brain fog, joint pain, skin changes, and cholesterol shifts—not just hot flashes.

You’re not in menopause until you’ve gone 12 full months without a period.

Track symptoms and cycles so you can advocate clearly at appointments.

Prioritize your top 2–3 concerns for each doctor visit to get better care.

Hormone therapy is more nuanced than many women were led to believe; ask informed questions.

Guest Bio:

Meghan Rabbitt is an award-winning journalist and editor covering women’s health, nutrition, and psychology. She’s an editor and writer at Shriver Media and the author of The New Rules of Women’s Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age (foreword by Maria Shriver). PenguinRandomhouse.com+1

Resource Links:

Sign up for Lesa’s newsletter: https://enchanting-basil-714.myflodesk.com/qwzridafyj

JJ Flizanes (core wounds resource): https://jjflizanes.com/lesa

Lesa’s eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4B2ZY1W?ref=yb_qv_ov_kndl_dp_rw

Meghan Rabbitt’s book page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734289/the-new-rules-of-womens-health-by-meghan-rabbitt-foreword-by-maria-shriver/ PenguinRandomhouse.com

Tags/Keywords:

perimenopause symptoms, menopause symptoms, perimenopause vs menopause, hormone therapy, menopause mood swings, menopause brain fog, women’s health after 40, cholesterol and menopause, heart health women, women’s health book, Meghan Rabbitt, Maria Shriver women’s health

Welcome listeners.

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I am so blessed to have you here

today, and I want you to know I have.

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The most amazing guest, uh, I can't

even believe the people that I get to

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have on this lady, was commissioned

by Maria Shriver to write a book

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that's coming out today called

The New Rules of Women's Health.

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Her name is.

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Megan Rabbit, she's been a

journalist for over 20 years.

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She's written in women's health

and Oprah Daily, and we are going

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to talk today about perimenopause.

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We're gonna talk about the difference

between perimenopause and menopause

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and what are the actual symptoms

of menopause, and then, um.

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We're gonna talk a little bit

about what health conditions

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become more common after menopause.

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We're gonna get into that

controversial hormone therapy,

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but I've just, I feel so blessed.

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To have Megan with me today, you're gonna

love this conversation and go get her

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book, the New Rules of Women's Health.

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Like I said, it's just coming out today

hot off the press, so just stay tuned.

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I'm, I'm so thrilled to be talking

about menopause with Megan.

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I.

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Speaker 2: Here we are with

the One and only Megan Rabbit.

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Megan, I am so thankful

to have you here today.

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I kind of feel like you're a big deal.

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You've done some big things

and I already introduced you.

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You've been writing for a long time.

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You've been writing for some kind

of a amazing people, and you've

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got that book coming out today.

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I mean, that's exciting, the new rules

of women's health and I don't even know

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what could be more worthwhile on this

podcast than to talk about this subject.

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And you know, today we're gonna get

into talking about menopause and

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perimenopause and all those good things.

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But Megan, before we get started,

my listeners always love to get

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to know the guests a little bit.

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Better.

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And, you know, what led

you to do this work?

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What led you to be a writer and what

led you to write on women's health?

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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You know, looking back, it all kind of

makes sense now that I have a, a bird's

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eye view of, of, you know, life really.

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I was, I always wanted to be a doctor.

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When I was a little kid, oh, I

thought I was gonna be a doctor

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and I, I was a little feminist.

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I'm 46 now and was like, this

is what I, girls can do anything

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boys can do and better, you know?

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Oh, and, and so, um, and then I hit

biology and chemistry and was like,

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Speaker 4: Hmm,

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Speaker 3: I don't know

that med school is my path.

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Um, and I always loved writing

and, um, yeah, and, and writing

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was always a way that I processed.

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Things, you know?

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Mm-hmm.

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As, as a little kiddo, I would go

to my journal and, and that's how I

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really tried to make sense of my world.

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And so it's not so surprising that

I ended up in a journalism class

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and fell in love with journalism, in

particular nonfiction writing, and then

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gravitated towards writing about health.

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Um, so I started my career in

magazines in New York City and always

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found my way onto the health Beat.

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I started at Parenting Magazine.

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Mm-hmm.

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Back when I was a.

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20 nothing year old baby writing about,

uh, babies and, and, and health topics.

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New moms needed to know and new parents.

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Mm-hmm.

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And yeah.

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And then I, I ended up freelancing for

a number of different magazines and

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one of the articles I wrote a few years

ago is on Women in Alzheimer's Disease.

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And it was really taking a look at the

differences between women's brains and

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men's brains and what we know and don't

know about why women disproportionately

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suffer from Alzheimer's.

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And, uh, in addition to interviewing

neuroscientists and many experts in

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the space, I also had the privilege

of interviewing Maria Shriver,

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who is the founder of the Women's

Alzheimer's Movement, which is

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now part of the Cleveland Clinic.

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And I did a profile on her, really

found out why she's so passionate

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about this topic and, and.

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What, what we need to know, and

after the piece came out, Maria.

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Called me and I know that.

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So my heart, that's so cool.

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My heart stopped and I, I, I sort

of went to the dark place first.

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I said, oh, no, did I mess something up?

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Did fact checking, not catch something.

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And she called and said she loved the

piece and thought I did a really great

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job and, and would I come work for her?

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So Maria has an amazing media company

that produces an a weekly digital

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news magazine called The Sunny News.

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Sunday paper, the Sunday paper, uh, and

I'm an editor and a writer for that.

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And about a year into working on that,

uh, newsletter, Maria said, I want you

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to write a women's health manifesto.

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We haven't had a really comprehensive

book on women's health for a long

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time, and I want you to write it.

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And so here I am.

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I spent three years, I interviewed

132 of the country's leading doctors,

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researchers, experts, other clinicians

about women's health and what we most need

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to know to take care of ourselves and our

families, and to advocate for ourselves.

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Speaker 2: Well, God bless you.

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I mean, I love that story.

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That's a good one.

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Because I mean, Maria Schreiber

has to be an idol for most of us.

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Yes.

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I can't even imagine.

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But I mean, I love that she is

looking into women's health because I

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think I read something that you, you

alluded to the fact that they kind

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of treat us like we're little men.

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Speaker 4: You

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Speaker 2: know, like, and I'll

look at it too and I'll be like,

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okay, why is my husband who's

like twice my size taking the same

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dosage as I am in this medication?

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And there are so many questions

I, I feel like I wanna have you

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back on to talk about Alzheimer's.

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'cause I could start digging there too.

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But I, I'm just so thankful that we're

finally starting to look at women

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because I'm a breast cancer survivor,

you know, there are women issues

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and let's start talking about 'em.

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Let's start looking at us as a, you

know, we're a little bit different.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely.

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And, and really this was a driving force

for me with this book, A Guiding Light,

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in that for a long time Women's health was

what we now refer to as Bikini Medicine.

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It was our breast health, our gynecologic

health, our sexual health maybe.

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And, and we now realize

that that's not good enough.

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Mm-hmm.

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Our hearts are different, our brains are

different, and we have a lot more research

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to do, a lot more ground to cover when

it comes to really understanding the

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intricacies of the differences to help

us really take care of women with a sex.

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Focused lens.

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Yeah.

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But we have made some progress and

so what I tried to do in this book

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is encapsulate what we do know

about what's different about us.

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We are not small men.

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We do, we do have some understanding

and at least with that baseline

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understanding, when we know it as women,

we can have better conversations with

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our doctors to, to try to get the care.

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Mm-hmm.

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We really.

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Deserve.

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Speaker 2: Amen.

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And I, I think as we move along in

our conversation, I am gonna want to

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talk a little bit about heart and, you

know, cholesterol, and I think we're

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gonna get there when we talk about the

health conditions that are more common.

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But let's talk a little bit first

about the differences between

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perimenopause and menopause, and

how do you know which one you're in?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we

are collectively starting to

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talk about menopause a lot

more now, which is fantastic.

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Right?

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It's like my mother's generation,

they weren't really talking about

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menopause and now I am at age 46.

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I can't go anywhere where women are

gathered without talking about menopause,

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and I think this is a great thing, but

I also think there are still some, some.

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Things were not understanding about it.

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I, you know, the first being

perimenopause is that time

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leading up to your last period.

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And in fact, you're not technically

in menopause until you've

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gone a year without a period.

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Right.

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And I think that still

surprises a lot of women.

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We.

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We say, oh, another big thing that I

heard from multiple doctors I interviewed

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for my book is that, you know, you might

think you're in menopause because you've

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gone a few months with no period, but you

could go 10 months with no period and be

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two months away from that menopause date.

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And then if you, if you

bleed, the clock starts again.

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Speaker 2: Well, and it's crazy

because we're all like little

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different beings as well.

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And I remember at my son's wedding,

um, my daughter-in-law's mom.

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I was like, oh my gosh, I got my period.

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I haven't had it in over a year.

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So, you know, you just

kind of never really know.

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Speaker 3: For certain.

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No, and I think, you know, you're

bringing up a beautiful point, which

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is that we're all really different.

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Just like we got our

periods at different ages.

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Yeah.

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We're gonna go through menopause at

different ages, and it's really important

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to stay clued into our symptoms and

to write down when our last cycle was

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so that we can answer that question.

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If a doctor says, when was

your last menstrual cycle?

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And you know exactly, it was 10 months

ago, or for example if it was two years

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ago and then you start bleeding again.

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That's noteworthy and something you

should call your doctor about immediately.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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And you know, I think that I am

seeing my daughters do that more

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where they're tracking things better.

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Yeah.

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Um, I, I didn't, we didn't track it.

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I mean, I remember going to the

doctor, when was your last period?

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I don't know.

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Totally.

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Speaker 3: And now we have all

these apps that make it quite easy.

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And I think even for the, the woman

who's in that transition, um, and even

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post-menopausal, like why not keep a

diary of your symptoms and what's going

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on so that when you do have that annual

appointment, you can say, actually.

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I notice I'm feeling a little more

blue at these times of the month.

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Mm-hmm.

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Or whatever it is, you know, I think,

um, yeah, I, I think what I'm also

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hoping is that women, when they read

this book or can turn to this book,

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they walk away feeling like they can be

a health journalist in their own life.

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Uhhuh, you know, because as a

journalist, what I do is I, I did not

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go to medical school, but what I do

know is who to call to ask, and what

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questions to ask so that I can help.

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Gather information and, and translate

it into, you know, from what can sound

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a little medical jargony into language

we can all understand, but this is

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something we can all do, you know?

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Yes.

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Is understand a little bit more

about the landscape of a big hormonal

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transition, like menopause and then

say, okay, here's what I know and

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now let me bring what I know to my

doctor so that we can have just a.

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Better conversation about care.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Well, and what I wanna add too, I

think your book, we're talking, we're

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focusing on more menopause today.

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Your book focuses on more than that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: You know, and you just

think about like puberty and all the

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things that we have gone through.

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It is going to be so helpful for mothers.

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To read it for their daughters.

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You, you know, I mean, it's

just for my granddaughters.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be so

helpful because I feel like, and I wanna

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start getting into this a little bit more.

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I feel like I don't know a lot,

like I went through perimenopause.

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I had horrible, heavy periods like.

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Devastatingly.

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Like it was hard to even, you know, at

sometimes nobody did anything about it.

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I mean, I don't rem I just remember.

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Yeah.

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That's kind of how it is.

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Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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We, you know, I think we as women

tend to take care of everyone else.

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Mm-hmm.

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We, you know, I interviewed one doctor, a

breast specialist who said oftentimes the.

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The dog gets more vet appointments Yeah.

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Than a midlife woman.

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Yeah.

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And we tend to just chug along.

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We just think, ah, you know, I

can speak personally about this.

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I had very heavy periods, um,

when right around the time I

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was turning 40 and, and after.

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And because I think we're talking

about perimenopause and menopause

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so much, and I knew that heavy

periods could be a, a sign that I was

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entering, you know, the transition.

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Um, I ignored it.

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I was borderline anemic.

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Mm-hmm.

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I, um, was really not doing great

with, um, with heavy periods.

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And finally, because I was

reporting this book and I, I, I

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just kept saying uhoh, like, I

don't think something's right here.

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I brought it up with my doctor, turned

out I had a uterus full of fibroids.

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Um, and so it's remarkable what, even

with a baseline knowledge that I had after

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being a health journalist for 20 years.

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Still, I ignored my symptoms or

just chalked it up to like, ugh.

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It's just a bummer.

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I hemorrhage once a month, you know?

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Speaker 2: Well, you know,

and Megan, I find that too.

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Like, you go to the doctor

and you're, I was just always

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like, oh, I mean, I'm fine.

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It's kind So you never like

make it like it's a big deal.

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Yes, yes.

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And there's so many things that you,

and even I had my breast surgeon on

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and I had like a teeny tiny, you know,

it was stage one, but I could feel it.

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Like, not feel it, but I felt something

inside that was painful and I, and luckily

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I got my mammogram because I, I don't

think that I would have put it together.

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Yeah.

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You know, so take, listen to that

body and like you're saying, write it

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down and bring it into your doctor.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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And believe yourself, you know,

don't try to talk yourself

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out of, oh, I'm probably fine.

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Or I think for other

people it can be like.

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An ostrich app approach where you

just stick your head in the sand

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and you're like, if I don't think

about it, maybe it's not there.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: But I, I think, you

know, these are our bodies.

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It's the, the one body we're, we're

gifted and the this, our stories about

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our bodies are, are really important.

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And it's important for us to

believe ourselves that if something

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we don't have to suffer through.

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You know, I interviewed Dr.

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Vonda Wright for this book, and she

said she's an orthopedic surgeon,

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tremendous physician who said,

I can't tell you the number of.

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Patients I have, and they're all women

who brag about their pain tolerance.

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Mm-hmm.

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They wear it like a badge of honor.

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But why you bragging about a high pain

tolerance means you're probably not

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getting the help and the treatment

that will make you feel better,

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that will keep you out of pain.

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Yeah.

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You know, and so, yeah, I think we.

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Again, with this book, what I tried to

do and hope I've done is, is help women

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understand sort of what's normal, what's

not, what's what questions they need to

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be asking so that they're not overlooking

some of these symptoms that they might

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be having or things they feel they really

wanna talk about with their doctors.

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Speaker 2: So tell me, what

are I, I can't believe I don't,

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I've been through menopause.

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I don't even, what are the symptoms?

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I know hot flashes.

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I know.

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Not sleeping great, but what else?

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Like what?

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Speaker 3: I don't even know.

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That's the thing.

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There are some biggies that

we talk about a lot, right?

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You, you're naming them hot flashes,

night sweats, which is actually

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just a hot flash that happens in

the middle of the night, right?

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Right.

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Um, we've got menstrual cycle changes.

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So it, it can be common when your hormones

start going wonky in that perimenopause

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period for cycles to get longer or

heavier and then lighter, or, you know,

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they get a little wonky, so to speak.

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Um, the genital urinary syndrome

of menopause, uh, formerly known as

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vaginal atrophy, which thankfully

got a little bit of a, um.

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Upgrade on the marketing term there,

but this is really, really common.

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And, and as women, we need to talk

about our vulvas, you know, and, and

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what's happening there because the,

the symptoms, the, the changes that can

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happen can lead to symptoms that are

really not fun and really treatable.

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Um, and so mood disorders

is another big one.

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I know my mom, who seemed, when I've asked

her about her menopause experience, she

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seems to have sailed through fairly well.

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But she said to me every so

often, I'd feel a little blue.

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And I think that was her way of saying I

felt a little depressed every so often.

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You know, uhhuh, this is really common

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Speaker 2: Uhhuh.

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Um, I did, Megan, I don't mean

to interrupt you, but I did not

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realize that that was something

that happened during menopause.

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Speaker 4: Yeah,

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Speaker 2: like I know that I

dealt with that, you know, through

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my cycles and I think I too kind

of had it easy through menopause.

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I really did do well through it, which

was wonderful, but I didn't know that

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mood swings were a part of menopause.

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I thought it was.

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That was like, you got to let go of that.

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Totally.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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And not so much, right, because as

hormones are going up and down mm-hmm.

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It's kind of like mimics PMS

in a different sort of way.

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Um, and yeah, and I think, you know,

I am in the transition at age 46

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and I'm not experiencing anything

sort of really big, no major hot

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flashes yet or things like that.

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But I, I just had my general.

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Um, wellness checkup and I said

to my doctor, every so often,

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I feel a little ragey and, and

for no good reason, you know?

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And then the next morning I might be like

crying for no good reason and like, oh,

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there's those mood things that are totally

workable, but like, let's talk about

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them rather than, you know, it's, rather

than me saying like, I am doing great,

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you know, like be honest about right.

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About some of those things, even

if they're subtle and not really.

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Debilitating.

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You know, they don't really

stop life as I know it.

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Um, some of the other sort of ones

that we don't, I don't think talk

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enough about is an inability to

concentrate a little bit of brain fog.

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Okay.

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Um.

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Itchy skin.

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Dry, itchy skin everywhere.

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'cause when you think about it,

the same reason your vulva might

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feel a little drier than usual.

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Mm-hmm.

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There are estrogen receptors

everywhere, including on our skin.

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And so skin changes can happen.

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Um, hair thinning wrinkles, uh,

weight gain, breast pain, joint pain.

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Constipation, some dizziness.

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Um, high cholesterol, we'll talk

about this with heart disease.

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I really wanna, yeah, I

really wanna talk about that.

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Cholesterol can go up.

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Our, uh, sensitivity to insulin can

change, which can create conditions that

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can lead to more likelihood of diabetes.

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So there, there are a lot of symptoms

and, you know, like over a hundred.

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Wow.

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And rather than knowing what they

all can be, because like, that

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feels a little, uh, you know, uh.

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Not realistic.

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Again, it points to keep a journal

or open up a note on your phone where

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you're just, you know, typing in or

writing down what you're experiencing

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so that you can talk to your doctor

at your next checkup and say, is this

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part of the menopause transition?

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Right?

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What's going on?

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And you can really have a better

dialogue about what you're experiencing.

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Speaker 2: You know, and Megan, it's so

interesting to talk to you because we,

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I do know like the weight gain thing is

a big deal for a lot of women and it's

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hard because they feel like I've been

through my whole life, but they're.

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You know, you, you talk about

there are things you can do

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to get metabolically fit.

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Mm-hmm.

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You know that.

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And it's so interesting how back in

the day I could do things differently.

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You know, like a glass of

red wine wouldn't bother me.

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I can't drink it now.

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It just makes me feel like junk.

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Bummer.

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Right.

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But not good to know.

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And so I think there are some things.

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That, just knowing it and knowing

that we can do something about it.

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And it doesn't have to be that hard.

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I don't have to do like a 48 hour

fast to become me metabolically fit.

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I can maybe hold off that first meal.

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I mean, there's, there's things like that.

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Um, I wanna know though, I was

just talking to one of my best

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friends who's my, exactly my age.

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We've been friends since grade

school and she was saying, why is it.

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So many women have issues with

their cholesterol when they are in

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menopause and you know, what is that?

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What is that about?

408

Speaker 3: Yeah, again, I think we are,

we are trying to learn exact answers,

409

but what we do know is that, and our

learning is that the female heart

410

is different than the male heart and

estrogen and progesterone and these.

411

Sex hormones that we talk about

when we talk about menopause also

412

impact how our heart functions.

413

And so, yeah, it's, it speaks to how

much more clued in we need to be.

414

Mm-hmm.

415

When it comes to, like uhoh, I, I was

recently diagnosed with borderline

416

high cholesterol and I was really

resistant to taking a statin.

417

'cause I was like, I can do

it with exercise and diet.

418

But I interviewed a cardiologist

who said, look, women in particular

419

tend to be the most resist.

420

To statins because we think, as I did, I

can do it myself without recognizing that

421

there are just some changes happening

that we can't control, which is the

422

decline of estrogen when we hit a certain.

423

Age, which is impacting how our

heart is working and how we lay

424

down plaque in our arteries.

425

And yeah, I, so I think, um,

it's, it's something to be aware

426

of and I think particularly

when it comes to heart disease.

427

One of the biggest ahas was I interviewed

a preventive cardiologist who said,

428

unfortunately, women's awareness of

the fact that heart disease is our

429

number one killer is going down.

430

Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that's

interesting that you say that.

431

And it's, I've been so bloody

focused on breast cancer because

432

that was my thing, right?

433

Yeah.

434

Understandably so.

435

But yeah.

436

And then so, and here's the thing.

437

It's just so important to be

aware because you can do so much.

438

For it.

439

You're in such great shape if you go in

and get your mammogram and find it, or

440

if you pay attention to your cholesterol.

441

And I've done some deeper dives where

I've, I've looked at some other things

442

in my blood to see, looked at my, um,

genetics to see, you know what I mean,

443

and really looked at it, and I too.

444

I have to take a statin.

445

Yeah.

446

I'm one of the lucky ones who

gets to be on an estrogen blocker

447

for a few more years, so yay me.

448

So I can't, I can't do, uh, I

did do some hormone therapy.

449

I had a functional assessment doctor

that helped me with that back in the day.

450

But let's talk a little bit about

that, because I think that is.

451

Maybe affecting a lot of this.

452

I think that women can feel a

lot better with this hormone

453

therapy, but I don't know a lot

about it Megan, so, so teach me.

454

Speaker 3: Yeah, so we are talking about

hormone therapy in in more detailed ways

455

because we have a better understanding

of it now, and I think a lot of

456

doctors and researchers have thankfully

really come online on social media to.

457

To help educate us

about what we got wrong.

458

You know, I think even just let's say

10 years ago, certainly, maybe even five

459

years ago, anybody in their forties, if

you mentioned hormone therapy, um, for

460

menopause, women would be like uhuh.

461

I don't want it, it's gonna cause cancer.

462

That was the understanding, you know?

463

And what we know now is that

actually that's not necessarily true.

464

It's not to say that everybody is a

candidate for menopause hormone therapy

465

or, or AKA hormone replacement therapy.

466

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

467

Speaker 3: But.

468

But it, you know, I think what we

thankfully know now is that we don't

469

have to be as scared of it as we were.

470

What we do need to know is

what it's indicated for.

471

And then let's have a conversation

with our doctors to understand

472

if we are a candidate.

473

You know, so there can be a lot of

overblown information about hormone

474

therapy being a panacea for everything,

whereas the research shows us.

475

Not necessarily.

476

What we really do know is that it

helps protect our bone health, which

477

is crucial as we get older, right?

478

It helps with the vasomotor

symptoms of menopause, which are

479

those hot flashes and night sweats.

480

Mm-hmm.

481

And a few other indications.

482

And so, um, and I'm also grateful

that it's, we are really starting

483

to talk about vaginal estrogen,

local vaginal estrogen, which, um.

484

Doesn't go systemically through your body.

485

No.

486

And

487

Speaker 2: that is something

that I am able to use.

488

Fabulous.

489

Even though I'm doing an estrogen

blocker, I am able to use that.

490

Yeah.

491

And

492

Speaker 3: that's amazing that

you have been able to have those

493

conversations with your doctors to

be able to say, look, there's, you

494

know, you are still a candidate even

though you are breast cancer survivor.

495

Right.

496

So it's, these conversations

are great, but I, I would say,

497

you know, I, I resisted, um.

498

An IUD for years because I was just like,

I don't want any hormones in my body.

499

Right.

500

You know?

501

Right.

502

And now I'm like, huh.

503

I actually wonder, who knows if having

an IUD inserted might have prevented

504

my uterus full of fibroids, which I

was diagnosed with a few years ago.

505

Oh, who knows?

506

But I think, I think.

507

Thankfully we are starting to realize

that hormones are in our body and

508

really important, and when women in

particular go through the drastic

509

drop of those hormones, once we hit

menopause, there are some supplements

510

we can take AKA hormone therapy.

511

Yeah.

512

So really help us ease

some of those symptoms.

513

Speaker 2: Well, and I think too, you

know, like I said, that's not a route that

514

I can take, but there are, I mean, I have.

515

Figured out some other

things that work too.

516

You know what I mean?

517

Like for bone density.

518

I've been doing some osteogenic loading

through something called osteostrong.

519

I actually reversed.

520

My, I mean, my bones have gotten

stronger, which is amazing.

521

So I, and is this through jump therapy?

522

Like are you jumping?

523

So what, this, this is something

different, which is a whole nother

524

topic that I've had the, um,

I've had the owners of this on.

525

It's more about weightlifting

is really important.

526

I do a lot of weightlifting, I do a lot

of walking, tiny little bit of jogging.

527

But this osteogenic loading is, um.

528

Putting heavy loads on your bones through

these four machines for a really short,

529

it doesn't feel like you got a workout

really, but it helps, um, your bones.

530

Rejuvenate and I haven't taken

any medication, which I do love

531

if I can't, that's amazing.

532

Speaker 4: Now

533

Speaker 2: I know I am my, I have a

daughter that's a doctor, so I like

534

believe in medicine and I love to

get the natural stuff when I can too.

535

So Totally.

536

I kind of try to marry them together

a little bit, but I mean, and

537

sometimes, like I said, I can't take

estrogen, so I have to find other ways.

538

And here's the thing, if I don't

have wine, I don't get a hot flash.

539

There are certain lotions.

540

When I put 'em on, and

it's just being aware.

541

I put it on and I go, why am

I getting a hot flash today?

542

Oh, it's that junky lotion that I got,

543

Speaker 3: you know?

544

Well, I so hear this, and don't you

think what's so beautiful about women as

545

we get older and as we go through this.

546

Menopause transition, we start to be

like, oh, I'm gonna listen to that.

547

Right?

548

Yeah.

549

I'm so with you on the alcohol.

550

I used to have a glass or two of wine

the end of the night with friends.

551

It's super social, right?

552

Yes.

553

Even one glass these days,

I know I'm gonna pay for it.

554

I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the

night with like my heart racing, thinking

555

like, why do I have heart palpitations

at two o'clock in the morning?

556

And it's like, oh, and now

I'm really not drinking.

557

It's a, it's a very rare

occasion that I have like.

558

One max.

559

Same.

560

And now that we know, all

we know about the mm-hmm.

561

Cancer risk that's associated with

drinking, like, man, if I could write a

562

love letter to my younger self, it would

be like, don't drink so much, you know?

563

Oh, no

564

Speaker 2: kidding.

565

Yeah, I have talked about that.

566

I, I wish I would have known

that Megan, because I think back.

567

Back when I was raising my kids.

568

I mean, it was like, ha, a glass

of wine's good for your heart.

569

And I, it never made me feel good.

570

Speaker 4: I know.

571

Speaker 2: I mean, I'm, but you

were, it was easier to get over it.

572

Now I'm like, okay, I wanna get up and

work out and that's not gonna happen.

573

So even if I just have a glass.

574

Speaker 3: Yeah.

575

Bingo.

576

I'm so with you and I love

that you're bringing up.

577

Weightbearing exercise as well, right?

578

Yeah.

579

That's another thing.

580

Like women in my generation and older

and even a little younger, like we

581

were sweating it out on the elliptical

machine while all the, all the boys

582

were in the weight room doing great

things for their bone health, right?

583

And so, yeah, I think, you know, now

that we know better, we do better, right?

584

Yes.

585

And, and knowledge is power.

586

And once we have this information,

I think it really can inspire us to

587

say, okay, I know that I'm gonna be at

increased risk for certain diseases.

588

After this menopause transition.

589

So now that I know it, what can I do?

590

You know, because even a lot of these

doctors I talk to really do say, you know,

591

those lifestyle habits you hear about all

the time, like eating well, exercising,

592

not drinking, they sleeping well.

593

They really, I was just gonna say that.

594

Yeah, they

595

Speaker 2: really do work.

596

They work.

597

And Megan, that was another thing

that I always missed out on, was

598

taking care of my stress and my sleep.

599

And it's the one thing that

I still have to work on.

600

Same, I mean, just like white knuckle it.

601

I don't know why like.

602

High achiever, people, pleaser, you know,

I just always felt like I had to do that.

603

I was eating well, I was working

out hard, but maybe too hard.

604

I did this course and I started

doing these really long, fast.

605

Everyone was losing weight

and I gained like two pounds.

606

I was like on a 48 hour fast.

607

I'm like, okay, something is not right.

608

It might have been

stressing your body out.

609

No, it was probably the cortisol

raising, and so when I finally let go.

610

Hmm.

611

Then it dropped off.

612

Which is interesting,

613

Speaker 3: isn't it?

614

It really is and, and it speaks to

how we have to listen to our bodies.

615

You know what works for you, may not work

for me, may not work for my best friend.

616

Even sleep specialists who will

tell you, you know, that whole like

617

eight hours a night ish, right?

618

You know, my bestie functions

great on six hours, whereas I.

619

Frankly, I feel like I'm my

best when I'm at more like nine.

620

Yes.

621

And so, you know, when it comes to these

things, we have to understand that, you

622

know, this advice is a good benchmark.

623

And then listen to yourself and trust.

624

Amen.

625

Trust yourself too.

626

You know, I, I read something

recently where it's like doctors know.

627

Bodies, but we know as

patients, we know our bodies.

628

Mm-hmm.

629

And so it's that blend between,

of course, I wanna work with a, a

630

doctor or a healthcare provider who

has been through years of schooling

631

who can help me put my symptoms into

context for my age and my health.

632

Mm-hmm.

633

My family and personal health history.

634

But I also have to believe myself.

635

I have to say, huh, this doesn't

feel right to me and I want you

636

to know about this so that we

can talk about this, you know,

637

Speaker 2: well, and, you

know, care for yourself.

638

As you would care for your

best friend or your child.

639

Yeah, because I think we miss that and

we can team up with our physicians.

640

You know, we can take notes,

know what's going on and care for

641

ourselves because like we have

been saying, we are all different.

642

We all are gonna pop up with

different things and then be aware.

643

Yeah.

644

Know what your cholesterol

is, know what's going on.

645

And I know I have been afraid, I have been

afraid to do things, um, but we don't need

646

to be because the more knowledge you have.

647

The more you're able to

heal and our bodies are able

648

Speaker 3: to heal.

649

Yeah.

650

Yeah.

651

I, I love that.

652

And I think, you know, when you're

writing down the symptoms that you're

653

experiencing, one of the tips that

a doctor I talked to gave me, which

654

I really have taken on board, and

it's changed the way I, I act at

655

every doctor's visit, she said, you

know, we don't unfortunately have.

656

Two hours to sit with you, right?

657

And that's what we as doctors,

as good doctors, we wish we

658

had more time, but we don't.

659

And so write down a list of all your

symptoms and what's happening, and then

660

organize that in order of priority.

661

Speaker 2: Oh, I love it.

662

Speaker 3: And understand, you might

only be able to get through three of

663

your top concerns, you know, but at

least you're talking to your doctor

664

about what feels most important to you

or what's impacting your life the most.

665

So that then if there's other things

on that list, you can say, okay.

666

What's the best way to follow

up on the rest of this?

667

Should I, can I do a telehealth

visit, which you can get

668

faster than an in-person visit.

669

Um, can I schedule another appointment?

670

You know, and so I think, yeah,

we, we have to listen to ourselves.

671

We have to prioritize ourselves.

672

We have to not be racing through

life so fast and taking care of

673

everybody else that we ignore our

own bodies and our own wellbeing.

674

Speaker 2: Amen.

675

I know.

676

Take that time and that stillness

and listen to your body and take

677

the time to write it down before you

go into the doctor what's going on,

678

and really sit and think about it.

679

Speaker 3: Yeah,

680

Speaker 2: because I think we just

blow, we, I have the Rushing Women

681

woman syndrome once in a while.

682

I think there's a book about it.

683

Speaker 3: Yeah.

684

I can relate to that.

685

And, and honestly, Lisa, I, you know.

686

Another reason I laid my book

out the way I did is that it's a

687

pretty, it's a pretty big book.

688

Like I'll, I'll, um, I'll

hold this up for you.

689

It's 700 pages.

690

Speaker 2: Whew.

691

I like it.

692

I can't wait to get it.

693

It's, yeah, it's, I'm

gonna pre-order it today.

694

Yay.

695

Speaker 3: Thank you.

696

Yeah.

697

Yeah.

698

It's what?

699

It's a book that I really, it's broken

out into chapters that focus on.

700

Various aspects of our health so that,

you know, it's not a book that you're

701

gonna cozy up with and read in one sitting

with a cup of tea on your favorite couch.

702

Right.

703

You know what I'm hoping?

704

It's, it's a, it's a book you

put on your coffee table that

705

you know you can turn to.

706

If you have your mammogram coming up,

you might flip to the breast health.

707

Section.

708

Yeah.

709

You know, the breast health chapter

and say, okay, I, you know, or

710

for me, I have dense breast tissue

and so after every mammogram I

711

usually have a follow-up sonogram.

712

Yeah.

713

Or more diagnostic just to make sure

the lumps that the mammogram turns

714

up are just lumps and not cancer.

715

And, and so not only did I learn a

lot while reporting that chapter,

716

I gave it to my husband and I said.

717

Bryan, like, you need to read this

chapter so that when I'm freaking out

718

after I have to go for this follow

up, like you can better support me.

719

You know?

720

Mm-hmm.

721

And I, I love a friend who was like,

this is totally a coffee table book.

722

And the goal is that not only will you

turn to it or give it to your daughter,

723

or your niece or your granddaughter,

but also the men in your life, you

724

know, don't we want our sons and our

husbands supporting us at every stage?

725

Speaker 2: Of course we do.

726

I just think, yes, it's so time

for this book and I'm so grateful.

727

I'm so grateful that you've

given your life to this.

728

I'm so grateful that Maria had you write

the book, and I'm just in awe of it,

729

and I feel blessed to have had you here.

730

Today, the day that the book comes out.

731

And Megan, I feel like I wanna have

you back on to talk about Alzheimer's.

732

If you don't mind.

733

Let's

734

Speaker 3: talk about it and I

can, you know, recommend doctors

735

who I interviewed for this book

who are dedicating their life oh.

736

To understanding why we,

as women particularly, um,

737

suffered disproportionately.

738

Two thirds of cases of

Alzheimer's disease are women.

739

Isn't that crazy?

740

Two thirds.

741

Yeah.

742

Nobody wants.

743

Speaker 2: No.

744

Speaker 3: No one likes that.

745

No.

746

And, and finally we're

starting to uncover why.

747

Some of the reasons why, you know.

748

Well,

749

Speaker 2: we're gonna, that's a teaser.

750

Let's do it

751

Speaker 3: for the next one.

752

I will, I will see you

back here all Megan.

753

Thank you so much.

754

Thank you for having me.

755

I absolutely love talking to you.

756

You take good care.

757

You too.