What No One Tells You About Menopause And Midlife Healthcare (Until It’s Too Late) w/ Stephanie Lynn Shaw

[SPEAKER_01]: Appflash is not sweat's rapid heartbeat. [SPEAKER_01]: If you're having that, you might have an increased amount of. [SPEAKER_01]: The assumption that carbohydrates are bad for you is a wrong assumption. [SPEAKER_01]: We need carbohydrates. [SPEAKER_01]: We need fat to our body. [SPEAKER_00]: Stephanie Shaw is a health and wellness speaker, menopause advocate, and the host of Hello. [SPEAKER_00]: Appflash podcast where she teaches midlife women how to manage their weight, sleep better, have more energy, and slow the aging process. [SPEAKER_01]: All choices that you make, whether HRT or the whole group route, there's a formula that should be designed specifically for you. [SPEAKER_00]: After eighteen doctors did take control and eventually help others do the same. [SPEAKER_01]:

I can't really fault the doctors because what was going on was different every day. [SPEAKER_01]: What I did was [SPEAKER_01]: That's one of the start to see the transformation. [SPEAKER_01]: What's your approach to nutrition? [SPEAKER_01]: What we're doing is having conversation about what the food is actually going to eat, and then helping you make some really positive choices with what you're eating. [SPEAKER_00]: Expert care for menopause and sexual health now just to click away. [SPEAKER_00]: Virtual care by her MD offers longer visits, personalized treatment plans, and trusted providers all from the comfort of home. [SPEAKER_00]: Learn more at her MD.com. [SPEAKER_00]: This episode was sponsored by her MD. [SPEAKER_00]: So after eighteen doctors, I saw

that did a double take because usually when patients get to me, they say five to seven. [SPEAKER_00]: I said you've got Oprah beat because I think she was around that number two. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the most I've heard up until now is about nine doctors, which is still ridiculous and just tells you about our healthcare system for particularly for female patients. [SPEAKER_00]: Two world renowned clinics, twenty thousand dollars. [SPEAKER_00]: out of pocket which just makes me so angry first thing in the morning because my whole life I have fought for accessible equitable care especially because I nearly lost my mother when she was only forty five years old. [SPEAKER_00]: But today's guests took her own

health into her own hands and sparked a movement [SPEAKER_00]: from midlife women everywhere, and I have nothing but deep respect for that. [SPEAKER_00]: We can choose to either live with the status quo or smash it. [SPEAKER_00]: When traditional medicine offered no answers, she created her own, and now she's guiding women through menopause with knowledge, community, and empowerment. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm introducing to you all Stephanie Lynchah, who [SPEAKER_00]: has had this journey of a debilitating healthcare crisis, and has now become a certified nutrition coach and the founder of Hello Hotflash. [SPEAKER_00]: And her mission is to educate and empower mid-life women through holistic approaches. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for being here today with me. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm

so excited. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: So much. [SPEAKER_00]: So much. [SPEAKER_00]: So much. [SPEAKER_00]: So your health care journey was both challenging but transformative and talking to women over two decades. [SPEAKER_00]: That's what you learn that health care experiences are so much more than just what happens in that room or that minute or five minutes if we're lucky. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's truly transformative. [SPEAKER_00]: Can you share how navigating through numerous doctors and doors and treatments led you to take control and eventually help others do the same? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and again, thanks for so much for having me here this morning. [SPEAKER_01]: This is awesome. [SPEAKER_01]: You just told part of the story. [SPEAKER_01]: And sometimes

when I repeat that story out loud, I'm like, oh my gosh, eight different doctors. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'll be honest, I stopped counting and I stopped counting at twenty thousand. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, okay, that's the number I can live with. [SPEAKER_01]: But it was actually, it was very traumatic. [SPEAKER_01]: Trying to understand what was going on in my body. [SPEAKER_01]: And I can't really fault the doctors because [SPEAKER_01]: I'm a lot of what was going on was different every day. [SPEAKER_01]: So I wasn't just having a clap last year. [SPEAKER_01]: So I was having floaters in my eye. [SPEAKER_01]: So let's see, an ophthalmologist or a tingling in my hands and feet or wrap it heart

deep, your cardiologist. [SPEAKER_01]: So I was also changing the doctors that I was seeing each day as well. [SPEAKER_01]: part of what I did was I started to, I had to step back from what was really going on and I will say this over and over. [SPEAKER_01]: I have to get to the root cause, what's going on and that's when I started to see the transformation. [SPEAKER_01]: So there was a lot of stress in my life. [SPEAKER_01]: There were problems with the way that I was dealing. [SPEAKER_01]: I was at moving my body appropriately. [SPEAKER_01]: So I started to educate myself. [SPEAKER_01]: That's how I ended up with the nutrition coaching. [SPEAKER_01]: I started to

lean in on what the [SPEAKER_01]: What my doctors were saying also I went to a holistic path like what orders and other methods that I could use and then I started to lean on the word of God like once I started to realize that there was actually a bigger plan out here. [SPEAKER_01]: I just I started running with it. [SPEAKER_01]: I always wanted to do something in the food space where there was a vegan shop or nutrition coaching or whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: So when I kind of make that switch on my mind okay, [SPEAKER_01]: I haven't done what I plan to do. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to use this as an opportunity to launch something else. [SPEAKER_01]:

That's how I was able to change its directory of how I thought about going through this mental puzzle time in my life. [SPEAKER_00]: And I love what you said and I agree with you so much because even as a menopause, educated physician and an advocate, I continue to learn so much and we're learning so much collectively because there's such a data gap, there's such a gender gap, but we know now that estrogen affects us basically in every cell of our body. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I couldn't agree with you more, you were going to other subspecialists [SPEAKER_00]: because menopause symptoms can present so differently, you know, insomnia for some sexual side effects for some, um, a

difference in headaches for some hot flashes. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, everyone is different. [SPEAKER_00]: For me, it was verbal oras and problems with my speech. [SPEAKER_00]: And my neurologist is the one who actually started me on hormone therapy. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's why, you know, [SPEAKER_00]: Menopause and women's health care is so much more. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you've heard the term bikini medicine. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's not just the parts of our body that are covered by a bikini. [SPEAKER_00]: Our doctors need to be trained, not only head to toe, but in all of our life phases, not just adolescents or fertility, but, you know, perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. [SPEAKER_00]: So you've spoken a lot

about feeling dismiss. [SPEAKER_00]: And I hear this all the time. [SPEAKER_00]: I actually dubbed a term the invisible patients because I feel like that's what our healthcare system has done to women, leaving them without choice, education, dismissal, and you felt confused during this healthcare crisis. [SPEAKER_00]: Looking back, what would you tell that version of yourself today with this woman today who's sitting with me? [SPEAKER_00]: What would you tell that woman? [SPEAKER_01]: If that mean I was not confused, all of the things that I'm feeling in my body that, you know, smelling with maple syrup sometimes, smelling of gas, the aura, all of that thing, all of those things are really going on in my body.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it wasn't me, was what I had to decide to do with all of those things that were going on. [SPEAKER_01]: I'd also tell my, I was angry with a lot of medical practitioners at that time as well, being honest. [SPEAKER_01]: But I have to also tell myself not to be. [SPEAKER_01]: Now I understand more than ever how the medical system works. [SPEAKER_01]: And I was getting past the long, not because someone didn't care or wasn't concerned, but perhaps that was just not their specialty. [SPEAKER_01]: And so if I present it differently every time I went to a doctor, of course, they would try to get me to a specialist. [SPEAKER_01]: So it's not

your doctor. [SPEAKER_01]: Also, and to listen to yourself, I also, initially, I knew something was going on, but I kind of dismissed what was going on. [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't pull all of the symptoms together, so I could get a clear understanding of my body. [SPEAKER_01]: So I would also tell myself that what you are feeling is true. [SPEAKER_01]: You need to honor what you are feeling and then help yourself get to the root cause because no one else can really do that for you. [SPEAKER_00]: And I love that because that's what I tell women all the time. [SPEAKER_00]: No one knows your body better than you do. [SPEAKER_00]: Your doctors may know the anatomy and

the names of the vessels and all of that, but when you feel like something is wrong, [SPEAKER_00]: You need to listen. [SPEAKER_00]: It's your body's way of telling you something is not right. [SPEAKER_00]: And you need to listen to that voice and really advocate for yourselves or yourself. [SPEAKER_00]: What was the moment that you realized that your own story wasn't just yours? [SPEAKER_00]: And then it was happening to a lot of other individuals as well. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so sad to say that that took quite a while. [SPEAKER_01]: And so I got [SPEAKER_01]: The symptoms really present and started March, twenty third of twenty seventeen. [SPEAKER_01]: I was walking down the street in New Orleans by

the end of the night. [SPEAKER_01]: I ended up in two different ERs. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of when it started, but it took a while for me to understand. [SPEAKER_01]: This wasn't just about me. [SPEAKER_01]: So after the, you know, nutrition coaching and I started talking the more women I'm like, wait, that happened to me too. [SPEAKER_01]: That happened to me too. [SPEAKER_01]: So when I launched my very first podcast and started, once again, having those conversations interviewing women, I found there was so many similarities. [SPEAKER_01]: And one of the gaps I think of me not recognizing those similarities was this was not a conversation. [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't a conversation in my home, in my

church, in my community, with my friends. [SPEAKER_01]: No one was talking about menopause and the way that this can impact her body. [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I'll be honest, that I don't [SPEAKER_01]: The more I study and research, I don't think one hundred percent of what was going on with the U.S. [SPEAKER_01]: period mental puzzle. [SPEAKER_01]: But I think the changes in my estrogen and so forth caused the stress, and then there was all the outside stressers that made it a lot worse. [SPEAKER_01]: So it actually took a while for me to understand it. [SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't alone in all of this, and I think what's so powerful now. [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I'll get on the bandwagon of,

you know, the celebrity thing, and also the, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: throwing all these different products and so forth. [SPEAKER_01]: But I try to step back and say at least we're talking about it now when, you know, even in the teens, the teens, the teens, the teens, we weren't having these conversations. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think it's really important to understand that the conversations are super impactful in as moms, as women, as aunts, and grandmothers. [SPEAKER_01]: We don't need to have these conversations with our forty-five-year-old daughter. [SPEAKER_01]: We need to have these conversations with our, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: daughter that's eleven twelve thirteen so they cut the more they they're keeping for themselves earlier the better it

will be when they get to this part of life. [SPEAKER_00]: You've said so many things in that. [SPEAKER_00]: So I couldn't agree with you more. [SPEAKER_00]: I think some of these scariest stuff that is going on with us or the symptoms isn't the actual symptoms, but it's not knowing. [SPEAKER_00]: So the educational piece that's lacking, like when my speech started going and then I went garbled and lost my voice in my head, I was like am I having a stroke? [SPEAKER_00]: Do I have a tumor? [SPEAKER_00]: Because I didn't know that you can have verbal oras with hairy menopause. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you heard me correctly. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a menopause expert and I did not know

that because I was not taught and did not learn and apparently the neurologists weren't sharing their data. [SPEAKER_00]: I say that jokingly, they're more than willing to but most neurologists and gynecologists unless something's really wrong are aren't speaking to each other. [SPEAKER_00]: But they should be, and that's why we have all this data coming out now about the menopausal brain and the changes that are happening. [SPEAKER_00]: So I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a huge advocate about, you know, advocating earlier for your health. [SPEAKER_00]: And then the second thing I really locked on to is storytelling. [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a lot of noise in the space. [SPEAKER_00]: I think people falsely think that there are

too many solutions out there. [SPEAKER_00]: There's actually not. [SPEAKER_00]: And I love the fact that there are so many storytellers, some from so many different walks of life, whether there are politicians or researchers or investors or founders or patients, because I was a former patient too. [SPEAKER_00]: who are sharing their stories so that we find solutions that work for everybody because some women are going to want to find, you know, food is medicine. [SPEAKER_00]: Some women are going to want hormones. [SPEAKER_00]: Some women are going to want a direct to consumer product. [SPEAKER_00]: My calling is that they have true authentic stories that they can lock on to and find community and that they can

find evidence based here and through this while they're navigating this journey that they don't feel alone. [SPEAKER_00]: So in talking about community and locking on to that, you know, you've built this incredible supportive community for women navigating menopause. [SPEAKER_00]: What gaps, we've talked about some, but what are the gaps that in the healthcare that you saw, that you were really aiming to fill with this incredulous community that you've felt? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so I think the gap was community and enough itself. [SPEAKER_01]: So when you go to the doctors, they give you a diagnosis and you go home and you're like, wait, what do I do now? [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm here even a positive and they're

telling me to take HRT, like, [SPEAKER_01]: I did a friend. [SPEAKER_01]: I need someone who's already been there going through that or it's currently going through it as well. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think one of those key gaps is around the diagnosis, but then no support. [SPEAKER_01]: Another gap can be, sometimes doctors will provide support, but it may not be the support that you need. [SPEAKER_01]: So for example, you just mentioned someone then they want to go the HRT route, some women they want to go the whole food route. [SPEAKER_01]: I chose whole food for myself. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just because I can't even take like a kiss, clearly. [SPEAKER_01]: I like automatically knew it was not

an option that they didn't benefit. [SPEAKER_01]: So that was the route I chose. [SPEAKER_01]: How do you get with like my folks or how do you have that option? [SPEAKER_01]: to understand what that route actually looks like. [SPEAKER_01]: So whole food isn't just about eating whole food. [SPEAKER_01]: You need to understand your macros and your microbes and nutrients. [SPEAKER_01]: And you need to understand what not only what's going on for good because of banana and any good for one person, but it may not be good for you. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of the community that I've built where those conversations are actually happening where [SPEAKER_01]: All choices that you make, whether it is HRT or

it is the whole fruit route, you need to actually make the choices right for you and for your specific body. [SPEAKER_01]: There's a formula, but that formula should be designed specifically for you. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's part of how we come together in a community. [SPEAKER_01]: Again, just make sure that women get the exact support that they need and helping women get to the root cause of what is going on. [SPEAKER_00]: So is that how you approach nutrition? [SPEAKER_00]: Because I feel like in medical school and residency, you know, everything that I learned has now been debunked, right? [SPEAKER_00]: We never learned about intermittent fasting. [SPEAKER_00]: We never learned about macros and microbes. [SPEAKER_00]: We never,

in fact, most of the things that we learned to recommend were finding maybe not applicable or best for everyone. [SPEAKER_00]: And truly it needs to be a curated individualized approach. [SPEAKER_00]: to food and I truly believe that food is medicine because I've seen the opposite that unhealthy food. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to say bad food because I'm a foodie and I love to eat. [SPEAKER_00]: But healthy foods or foods that aren't nutrient dense can actually accelerate disease. [SPEAKER_00]: We know this. [SPEAKER_00]: And we know that we metabolize food very differently in parimenopause and menopause and our whole gut microbiome changes and even our ability to process alcohol, you know, people are always asking me this.

[SPEAKER_00]: But how do you take, you know, all the things that we've learned, particularly in this country about food, and really kind of turn that around and teach members of your community about food, like what's your approach to nutrition with them? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so I, I usually start with what do you like and love and where, where are you at? [SPEAKER_01]: What's your mental space right now? [SPEAKER_01]: How much can you handle to get to that next step? [SPEAKER_01]: And with questions like why are you where you are? [SPEAKER_01]: Why, you know, if you're a community great, I'm a community as well. [SPEAKER_01]: But if you sit there and eat two bags of candy every

single night, like what, where is your mental space? [SPEAKER_01]: How are we going to get you to that next step of finding [SPEAKER_01]: out or telling your stuff or encouraging yourself that you need to eat in a different manner. [SPEAKER_01]: And then I open it up. [SPEAKER_01]: I think everyone should eat the way that they want to eat. [SPEAKER_01]: Just so good. [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: If I came to you and said my food groups are chocolate, cheese and wine, you'd be happy. [SPEAKER_01]: What's some caveat? [SPEAKER_01]: So, I mean, I love to, you know, really rich good food. [SPEAKER_01]: But there's different ways to do that. [SPEAKER_01]: So instead of using

our cream sauce, maybe using more plant-based, you're not saying what I'm making those types of adjustments. [SPEAKER_01]: The assumption that carbohydrates that are bad for you is a wrong assumption. [SPEAKER_01]: We need carbohydrates. [SPEAKER_01]: We need that to our body. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm in for a brain health for our heart health and so forth. [SPEAKER_01]: So getting people to understand what is healthy, how you can make that adjustment from that. [SPEAKER_01]: I have that really rich food to still eating stuff that's really, really good. [SPEAKER_01]: Kind of taste like that, too, because your taste, but it's will change. [SPEAKER_01]: Also get talking to, so there's a lot of research around, or I don't even know if

it's legitimate research. [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of talk around how much protein you should get. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I also think everyone is an individual. [SPEAKER_01]: So part of the work that I do is having that individual conversation with people. [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of adding and subtracting. [SPEAKER_01]: There's no one died or one way. [SPEAKER_01]: You have to understand what is going on in your body, what is going to work for your body and what is going on in your digestive system as well. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just like, [SPEAKER_01]: And sometimes things we don't think about, I mean, I think about. [SPEAKER_01]: So sugar, for example, we talk a lot about that. [SPEAKER_01]: So I flashes

nights with rapid heartbeat. [SPEAKER_01]: If you're having that, you might have an increased amount of sugar in your body, or you're eating a lot of things like that. [SPEAKER_01]: That seed oil's processed foods. [SPEAKER_01]: All of this is causing chronic inflammation in the body. [SPEAKER_01]: So what we're doing is having conversation about what the food is actually doing to you, getting your mind in place, understanding what you like, [SPEAKER_01]: And then helping you make some really positive choices so that you're not getting rid of all the fun to it stuff, but you're making better choices with what you're eating. [SPEAKER_00]: Information, not good. [SPEAKER_00]: Most people think, oh, it's just swelling, but actually we know

that chronic inflammation increases our risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. [SPEAKER_00]: So we not only as women don't like the look and feel of being inflamed, but it actually can accelerate aging [SPEAKER_00]: and disease processes like cardiovascular disease or heart disease and also cancers. [SPEAKER_00]: So nobody wants that. [SPEAKER_00]: You deal with a lot of individuals and they're coming to you and obviously talking to you about personal things because I think you know your food intake and your choices and your [SPEAKER_00]: frankly, vices like I told you, she's chocolate and wine. [SPEAKER_00]: And no, I don't eat that all the time. [SPEAKER_00]: I eat usually very healthy, but I would like a world where

I could have more of those things. [SPEAKER_00]: But what is something that comes up over and over again that actually still surprises you today? [SPEAKER_00]: Or does nothing surprise you? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, I didn't know. [SPEAKER_01]: I guess it doesn't surprise me as much as it did before, but just the term, I did not know. [SPEAKER_01]: I am leading a small group and there's probably there's men and women in the small group and I asked one of the women, I'm like, okay, just tell me when you eat and we're going to break that down and make some changes for you. [SPEAKER_01]: And the amount of [SPEAKER_01]: They can fat and but what she's putting the

baking fat and vegetable so she's eating vegetables or she ate a ton of vegetables for every day obviously, but there was right they can fat lots of oil and so forth and and I've looked at her she honestly did not know if these things were were hurting her. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what surprises me. [SPEAKER_01]: Women don't know that just like you said, the different types of aura, they don't understand the connection of the vaginal after being. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not about you and lack of desire. [SPEAKER_01]: It's not about you. [SPEAKER_01]: It's what's actually going on in your body. [SPEAKER_01]: We were taught these things in school, a lot of times when we were taught these

things in our home, either because our parent didn't know or because it was just something you didn't talk about. [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm still surprised that [SPEAKER_01]: what women don't know, but what I'm excited about is women my daughter-in-law's age, I don't just say anything. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, hold up. [SPEAKER_01]: But it's all good because they're having the conversations now and there are twenties and early thirties that's going to help them have the right conversations with my grandchildren and their needs of the nephews and help them navigate in a positive way. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I get questions about nutrition and vaginal health all the time, and it shocks me. [SPEAKER_00]: And in a

good way, you know, other generations of women I had to, like, kind of tease and test the waters and kind of get them to talk to me about their sexual health, about their gynecologic health, the newer generation, they are empowered, and they'll ask me things like, [SPEAKER_00]: Is it true that if you eat pineapple, you know your vaginas smells better? [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, well, I think most of that data is kind of overhyped, but yeah, they're not afraid and good for them because fear is another barrier to accessing education and getting answers from your providers. [SPEAKER_00]: So we talked about storytelling in the beginning and, you know, putting yourself out there and giving other women,

you know, the power and the bravery and the confidence to come forward. [SPEAKER_00]: But how did you overcome that and have the confidence to show up so authentically and so transparently? [SPEAKER_01]: So some days, I don't know if I have that company to show up with you. [SPEAKER_01]: Just being transparent in all of this. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a bit of imposter syndrome though, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Some days I kind of think that's good. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_01]: But I mean, I mean, some choices about how I showed up. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I wanted to show up how your girlfriend would show up if you popped over her house. [SPEAKER_01]: She probably doesn't have on

a pair of five inch heels. [SPEAKER_01]: Her makeup done, you know what I mean? [SPEAKER_01]: And her glamour is, I can see out fit. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: She's probably sitting there with a bun on her head, like I have a bun on my head. [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe needs to have a hair done or color business. [SPEAKER_01]: And so forth. [SPEAKER_01]: So I tried to make, again, a conscious decision to show up that way because I wanted to be a real woman, a granny, you know, almost fifty six grandma or two. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have a cool granny name. [SPEAKER_01]: My granny is my name. [SPEAKER_01]: I so I'm starting to learn how to cross stitch. [SPEAKER_01]:

So I want to be a real woman. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not saying those other things aren't real. [SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to show up the way that the women around me have shown up. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think when people can see that barrier broken down, oh, I don't need to always look this way, be this way, act this way to park this way. [SPEAKER_01]: They can then feel more seen, more heard, and more loved. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what I want to show for the women that come into my community. [SPEAKER_01]: I really want to build true [SPEAKER_01]: lasting relationships with people, not just a transaction relationship, but a relationship to help them understand that they're not

alone. [SPEAKER_01]: Because that's the way I felt during my entire... I mean, my family loved me. [SPEAKER_01]: They took great care of me and so forth. [SPEAKER_01]: But from that woman to woman's friendship thing, I still felt isolated in all of this. [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't want other women to feel that way. [SPEAKER_01]: That's why I've built the community around a community of like-minded women. [SPEAKER_00]: And I love that because one of the things that my medical education tried to train out of me was how relaxed I was, how approachable I was with my patients. [SPEAKER_00]: Like when they were going to sleep for surgery, I would hold their foot. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, obviously with

their permission, because I wanted them to go to sleep like food, not stressed and like with all the equipment around them. [SPEAKER_00]: And I remember one of my mentors taking me back saying, you know, you're the doctor, you have to have this air of arrogance. [SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, no, we're, you know, gonna, we're partners in this healthcare journey. [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to do this with them, right? [SPEAKER_00]: For them to have bodily autonomy, for them to have choice. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's so funny to me. [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine if I would have listened to them and became this like distant, cold, just authoritative figure, like, [SPEAKER_00]: You can have the information. [SPEAKER_00]: You can

know the data and you can break it down for people so it's digestible and understandable. [SPEAKER_00]: So I love that approach because that's the approach I took every day in rooms with patients or if I was treating them via telehealth because you're asking people to share very personal [SPEAKER_00]: health care information, intimacy information, anatomical information, mental health information, and generally just overall how they're feeling and where they feel like they're missing the mark, whether it's at work or in the relationship. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I think if you don't show up authentically, [SPEAKER_00]: Then you're not going to get what you need out of that encounter. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what I was told patients. [SPEAKER_00]: If

I show up that way, you're not going to feel comfortable being honest with me. [SPEAKER_00]: And then I won't have the data I need to truly take care of you. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't mean to interrupt you, but I just interviewed another physician on the podcast. [SPEAKER_01]: And she's at the same exact thing, but she made that decision to show up differently, even though her mentor was like in her ear. [SPEAKER_01]: stressing her out about how stoic she needed to be and I feel that you know as a patient I've so appreciate that because those are the doctors that help me get through because when they came and stoic I'm like I'm really sick I don't

have time for you and what I felt like with an attitude or they were being judgmental so I just wanted to say that I really appreciate that you take that [SPEAKER_01]: It's effective with your patients. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think patients need to understand that there are doctors out there like you. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's where you need to look for when your, your, you need to support. [SPEAKER_00]: What I've done, you know, you created community and you took it one step further. [SPEAKER_00]: What I did was, oh no, started her MD University and in it, not only did I teach them about the symptoms in the disease state and, you know, treatment options, no matter where

the patient is in their journey, like meeting them where they are, not saying this is the only right answer, but also clinical pearls on [SPEAKER_00]: And sensitivity and how you approach these conversations, like, don't be typing at your laptop. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't have your hand on the door. [SPEAKER_00]: That's door knob medicine. [SPEAKER_00]: No one's going to share anything personal with you if you're doing that. [SPEAKER_00]: And so, yeah, I think we both did that. [SPEAKER_00]: We learned from things that didn't feel good and the pursuit of different paths. [SPEAKER_00]: So thank you for saying that. [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to take, like, you know, the seventh inning stretch. [SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to do some rapid

fire questions, okay? [SPEAKER_00]: I love to travel. [SPEAKER_00]: So my nickname is Wanderlust. [SPEAKER_00]: Dream travel destination. [SPEAKER_00]: Where are you going and why? [SPEAKER_01]: Um, um, destined Florida because I haven't seen family in a long time and it's one of the, one of the places that I love to get. [SPEAKER_00]: I love the beaches down there. [SPEAKER_00]: But I go about an hour away from there. [SPEAKER_00]: The beaches of thirty a. Yeah, that's like my favorite little. [SPEAKER_00]: You need to go. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I mean, it's the same blue water, the white sand. [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like it's like one of the best hidden treasures, but it's a little bit quieter than than Dustin,

but that same gorgeous landscape. [SPEAKER_00]: You should check it out next time. [SPEAKER_00]: Though the beaches of thirty a but I would go right there with you, friend. [SPEAKER_00]: What's so I love to laugh? [SPEAKER_00]: I think laughter is one of the best. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I truly believe it's medicine. [SPEAKER_00]: And I laugh every single day. [SPEAKER_00]: My husband is like, I love it. [SPEAKER_00]: Like when I hear it, he and he's a cancer doctor. [SPEAKER_00]: So he deals with a lot of heavy stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: And he's like, I love your laugh just makes me laugh. [SPEAKER_00]: What's the last thing that made you laugh? [SPEAKER_00]: Like belly laugh. [SPEAKER_00]: Like you were crying

laughing. [SPEAKER_01]: So I can't tell you what it was. [SPEAKER_00]: Now I really want to know. [SPEAKER_01]: But it came for, so the person that can make me belly left, right here is my youngest son, my twenty-four-year-old son, actually called him, that a day, because I was like, ah, you know, I just need a conversation, and I'm like, hey, entertain me. [SPEAKER_01]: He said, what? [SPEAKER_01]: And the response he gave me was, [SPEAKER_01]: I'll just say, beyond hilarious, but I can call him and say, entertain me. [SPEAKER_01]: And then our later on, Ryan must, oh, my first. [SPEAKER_01]: So it's the conversation I would have with table. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'll tell you what that's like

a lucky two. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but I love that because I have a twenty four year old son as well and he's my oldest and he just turned twenty four last week yet a birthday, but I I love that and he makes me laugh like that too. [SPEAKER_00]: So I can only imagine where that conversation went because his game when I used to go visit him in college was what can I say to my mother as a gynecologist and and sexual health care expert. [SPEAKER_00]: that will make her blush and his and all of his frat brothers tried. [SPEAKER_00]: But they never got this girl to turn red. [SPEAKER_00]: They didn't know. [SPEAKER_00]: They tried. [SPEAKER_00]:

I'm like two decades. [SPEAKER_00]: I've heard it all. [SPEAKER_00]: It's not gonna make me blush. [SPEAKER_00]: But I prefer. [SPEAKER_00]: A for effort. [SPEAKER_00]: That's what I said. [SPEAKER_00]: That's your A. Describe, hello, hot flesh. [SPEAKER_00]: To me in three words. [SPEAKER_01]: from passionate, educational and informative. [SPEAKER_01]: It can't be the same, but I still want to educate you, and I'm just still keeps popping to my mind. [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to just use that. [SPEAKER_00]: So you said, educational and informative and compassionate, compassionate. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: All right, since we're talked about food, if you, as it could have anyone for a dinner companion who is a wellness expert, and that could

be, you know, all walks of life, who would it be? [SPEAKER_00]: And why? [SPEAKER_01]: I think Dr. Aiman, amen, because I actually [SPEAKER_01]: No someone cared for and I know where she was at and I know where she is now. [SPEAKER_01]: She was only eight years old. [SPEAKER_01]: It was a younger child. [SPEAKER_01]: So it would be him because I would, what did you do? [SPEAKER_01]: How did you get this type of knowledge? [SPEAKER_01]: Where does all of this come from? [SPEAKER_01]: And give me some wisdom. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to intervene him on my client case. [SPEAKER_00]: Throw it out there. [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. [SPEAKER_00]: Because that's when things happen when you throw

things out there. [SPEAKER_00]: So you've emphasized community and advocacy, particularly in medical settings. [SPEAKER_00]: But what action items have you given them to make sure that their voices are heard and their concerns are addressed? [SPEAKER_00]: What actionable piece of advice have you given them? [SPEAKER_01]: to the folks that work with me. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, yes. [SPEAKER_01]: When you're going in a doctor's office, I think, forcing the doctor to listen is, you know, for us can be a hard work, but I think that's really important. [SPEAKER_01]: Quick example yesterday, I was in the office, my mom was a cardiologist. [SPEAKER_01]: He fixed up the phone and has a two-minute conversation with not another patient. [SPEAKER_01]: It was

a personal call. [SPEAKER_01]: So I had to [SPEAKER_01]: Anna interrupt him. [SPEAKER_01]: I was nice. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, hey, let's get back to the beta block or like that. [SPEAKER_01]: He looked at me and I looked at him. [SPEAKER_01]: So being willing to respect the doctor, being willing to take control of the conversation because this two minutes is about you. [SPEAKER_01]: Correct any errors. [SPEAKER_01]: So don't be afraid. [SPEAKER_01]: Like he also may have common in a voice recording. [SPEAKER_01]: There really wasn't what we just said. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm getting everything completely polite, but look at your records. [SPEAKER_01]: If you hear something and it's not exactly what you said, correct that error because that

tiny thing could make a difference yesterday. [SPEAKER_01]: It made a difference for my mom. [SPEAKER_01]: He actually ended up changing her medication because I was able to correct that. [SPEAKER_01]: Ask about who causes, take notes prior to call, and then if the medical systems don't talk, they don't, it is part of a high, you know, quick and clinic, and locally normally talk, take the reports with you. [SPEAKER_01]: So those are things that, in order for our patients to advocate for themselves, those are kind of the steps that I tell them to take, listen, and then bring someone with you who can advocate for you if you don't feel comfortable doing that. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Midlife has long been treated like a quiet, invisible phase, which is crazy to me because with increasing life-expectancies, women are going to spend about forty percent of their lives in menopause. [SPEAKER_00]: Think about that. [SPEAKER_00]: And there's a billion individuals in menopause of twenty twenty five. [SPEAKER_00]: What is one way? [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just going to be for one way that you can think that we can rewrite the narrative for the next generation of women following us. [SPEAKER_01]: Give them the right to have a conversation. [SPEAKER_01]: So let them know it's okay to talk about what is actually going on in their bodies. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: What does empowerment look like for a

woman in her fifth decade? [SPEAKER_01]: I think they a woman needs to answer that for themselves and ask themselves how I feel [SPEAKER_01]: What is making me feel empowered for me this morning? [SPEAKER_01]: I woke up first thing I did was like clear my calendar for next weekend and decided I'm going to go get my grandkids. [SPEAKER_01]: I've been working for thirty years. [SPEAKER_01]: That was empowering not to have that corporate job that was kind of telling me what I needed to do. [SPEAKER_01]: But for someone else that might be a move changing careers, learning to ski, swim, play a piano. [SPEAKER_01]: I think sit with yourself. [SPEAKER_01]: and ask yourself, what really would make

you feel empowered? [SPEAKER_01]: And just maybe having that conversation with that doctor? [SPEAKER_00]: How do you think women were told their fifties should look like with the way you and I grew up? [SPEAKER_00]: What did you picture? [SPEAKER_00]: Like, how would it, you know, because I always talk about the golden girls and then I, I'm like, look at Michelle Obama, you know, look at Jennifer Lopez, look at all of these strong, you know, Naomi Watts women in their fifties are her navigating menopause, but what do you think, you know, empowerment or that our fifties were told we're going to be as we were growing up? [SPEAKER_01]: And my mind, you just got quiet. [SPEAKER_01]: You

kind of moved to the side and it just may have been [SPEAKER_01]: My culture it may have been, so people that I was around, but it felt like you became more invisible. [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, in our reality, you became more important as you, again, at age, because that's, your wisdom is what kind of guided the entire family. [SPEAKER_01]: But to me, it just felt like as they age, the women became more invisible. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you have this grandmother effect. [SPEAKER_00]: We, you know, you have so much wisdom to impart. [SPEAKER_00]: You're usually not raising your babies. [SPEAKER_00]: You've reached the, you know, pinnacle of your career. [SPEAKER_00]: You're usually not worrying about pregnancy anymore. [SPEAKER_00]:

You have a little bit more financial freedom. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, why are we disappearing? [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I am just, I'm gonna be fifty in July. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I'm just getting started. [SPEAKER_00]: That, that's crazy to me. [SPEAKER_01]: These sections are like, so yeah, I'm just getting started to my husband. [SPEAKER_01]: So what do you plan to return? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, what? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, no, it's just, like, now I know what to do, fine. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I'm just figuring it out. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: All right. [SPEAKER_00]: So imagine a world and I actually can see this revolution happening, because I've been in rooms with investors and politicians and [SPEAKER_00]: women and celebrities

and doctors and researchers like all of us collectively from different walks of life, I think are finally raising our voices collectively together. [SPEAKER_00]: But imagine a future where mid-life care and health is actually prioritized and understood to you, what does that world look like? [SPEAKER_01]: They find testing would include more than just men, more than just middle-aged [SPEAKER_01]: Caucasian men as well. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you know what? [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, like, based on the question of the arm. [SPEAKER_01]: Everybody. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Research. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Medical doctors would be required to have a minimum of a year worth of training and herbs, food, natural medicine, like, and a better understanding of holistic medicine,

lobbying or not to have nutrition would be gone. [SPEAKER_01]: They would do that. [SPEAKER_01]: Gynecologists would be trying to menopause, and as sure as companies, [SPEAKER_01]: would, you know, let you take supplements and it would cost you two hundred dollars out of pocket every month. [SPEAKER_01]: Like all of that would honestly I can sit or come and sit. [SPEAKER_01]: Because things would happen and I think that would change the trajectory of health care. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because in this country, unfortunately, we chase disease, we treat disease. [SPEAKER_00]: People are incentivized. [SPEAKER_00]: I think almost to keep people sick. [SPEAKER_00]: And so, you know, teaching people about longevity and choice and preventing disease, I think is really

where we need to move in all phases of life. [SPEAKER_00]: And so, I think today we've talked about advocating for yourself, particularly in medical spaces. [SPEAKER_00]: that food is medicine and nutritional choices are important, but can be curated and individualized. [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to be awful. [SPEAKER_00]: And that the power of community is immense and incredulous and can really help create the change that we so desperately need for mid-life care. [SPEAKER_00]: And so how can people keep up with you? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they can go to my website, helloopflash.com. [SPEAKER_01]: There you can learn more about our community and our joint community as well. [SPEAKER_01]: And you can also listen to the podcast episodes where

I've interviewed amazing doctors like yourself who educate women on what they need to know to help navigate the past. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to tell you one of my favorite quotes because that's what I'm feeling this morning. [SPEAKER_00]: It's been a little crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, behave women never are rarely make history be a disruptor because the status quo has never served anyone. [SPEAKER_00]: You can keep up with me on Instagram at Summary Javed MD. [SPEAKER_00]: I have a [SPEAKER_00]: podcast. [SPEAKER_00]: This one, the disruptor coming out that matches my newsletter also caused the call the disruptor. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you everyone for tuning in and thank you so much Stephanie for your time this morning. [SPEAKER_01]:

Thank you for having me. [SPEAKER_00]: This is more than a conversation. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a call, a call to build something better. [SPEAKER_00]: Subscribe, share, and bring more disruptors into this room. [SPEAKER_00]: For unfiltered insights and bold ideas, go to drsome.com to sign up for the monthly disruptor newsletter and follow us on social at drsome. [SPEAKER_00]: We're not waiting for a seat at the table. [SPEAKER_00]: We're building our own table.