SHE2.0

The one common thing we hear from our amazing audience is that they don't know where to turn for information on menopause. There are so many gaps in our healthcare that we feel overlooked and dismissed. 

Well times are changing thanks to the newly launched  Menopause Foundation of Canada! Trish Barbato and Janet Ko, co-founders of the non-profit advocacy organization have had their own struggles with menopause and have decided to make menopause their cause in order to help women everywhere. 

Tune in to hear more about the Foundation and why it's going to be a huge help to all women!

With menopause estimated to be a multi-billion dollar industry, you can be sure that brands are going to come knocking. They want into our pockets and our pants with devices and products to cure every hotflash and night sweat. 

On the one hand, we're really happy to see so many more options finally emerging to help us through menopause, but on the other hand, can we really trust what we're being sold? 

Dr. Nathan Guerette, CEO of the Intimate Wellness Institute of Virginia and CMO of the Intimate Wellness Institute in Virginia joins us to talk about the red flags and warnings we need to look out for in the new menopause market. 

Tune in!

With the stress of COVID, virtual schooling, WFH and everything else the past two years has thrown at us, it’s easy to mistake pandemic related symptoms with a much more serious threat – cardiovascular disease.  Once we hit our 40’s, our bodies produce less estrogen which means less protection for our hearts. It’s a silent disease because high cholesterol doesn’t give any symptoms. We know this because Jacquie found out the hard way by getting bloodwork for an HRT assessment. That’s when we learned that our cholesterol rises with the onset of perimenopause. As we’ve said before, what you don’t know can hurt you. It’s important for us to understand our hearth health, the signs, and symptoms to beware of and how to maintain a stronger heart.

In this episode, Dr. Beth Abramson MD is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto joins us to talk about women and heart health. Dr. Abramson is the Paul Albrechtsen Professor in Cardiac Prevention and Women’s Health in the Division of Cardiology at St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto.  

Tune in!

The added downside of booze is that it adds nothing but grief to our menopause symptoms - Sleep, weight and health! 

So what's the answer? Maybe a healthier relationship with our wine?  Talking openly? Tune in!

When you’re having a hot flash, memory loss or sleepless nights does it ever feel like no one is listening? You’re not alone. And partly because in the past, no one WAS listening.

That might be because treating hormones can feel dangerous to doctors. Many don't have a lot of training in this area.  Lack of menopausal care is a huge disservice to women but let’s shed a little light as to why that might be.

We’re talking to Dr. Susan Goldstein, MD CCFP FCFP NCMP is a Toronto based family physician and GP Psychotherapist with a special interest in women’s health and menopause, Certified menopause practitioner and elected board member of the Canadian Menopause Society.  Not only does she answer our questions and address our frustrations with the gaps in our healthcare, but Dr. Goldstein also has the inside track on studies and changes that are on the horizon and will help all of us to feel more acknowledged and taken care of.

She also shares 6 questions every woman should ask her doctor.Tune in!

In our upcoming season, we’re starting to work towards helping women understand that how to ‘buyer beware’ because we are a highly targeted market by brands and advertisers. We’ll be addressing affordability and we’re going to be challenging some current regulations by asking a lot of deep questions.

Some of the topics you can look forward to:

Buyer beware: Personal devices and other menopause related products. What you need to know, red flags to look for and questions you should be asking before you purchase.

Skin deep: How does our skin change through menopause and what treatments can help? Which ones are safe and which ones should you avoid?

Menopause and ethnicity: Did you know that women in different ethnicities experience menopause differently both physically and culturally? We’re exploring menopause around the world.

6 questions you should be asking your doctor and your doctor should be asking you.

Inside out – getting up close and personal with your vagina (because we haven’t said the word ‘vagina’ enough in the past 2.5 years!)

So tune in!

It’s hard to believe we’re going into another year. We just hope the holidays are full of family time – IRL! No more Zoom! As we recorded our final episode, we had a chance to reminisce about some of our favourite episodes from the past year. What were yours? We’d love to hear from you!

The holidays can be super stressful. Especially when your hormones are all over the place and making your mind feel like someone emptied the kitchen junk drawer on to a trampoline (we stole this from @moodswings_and_otherthings on Insta!). So, we’ve got some suggestions to help you keep your cool during those chaotic but festive moments! Follow us on Instagram @she2dot0 and stay tuned for a very exciting season 4 in 2022!

Happy Holidays!

Menopause can be a challenging time for most women but we’re happy to see more and more options than ever when it comes to managing our health and symptoms. From hormones to herbs, vitamins, and other holistic options, we are finally being given solutions.

Prior to a few years ago, the treatment of menopause was very medical based. Our doctors were happy to write us a script for hormones, antidepressants, and sedatives. Only in the past 10 years or so have lifestyle measures and natural therapies become embraced, accepted, and utilized giving us more options based on our needs and our comfort level.

Our guest today is Sherry Torkos, a holistically oriented pharmacist, health writer and a woman in menopause. Sherry takes us through the benefits of Red Clover and how Promensil uses it to help alleviate some of the worst of our menopause symptoms.

Promensil is a safe and effective way to treat menopause symptoms. Not only does it help reduce vaginal dryness, hot flashes, night sweats, sleeplessness, lack of concentration, but it also helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis so commonly seen in menopausal women.

Tune in!

Julie Cole, a recovered lawyer, mom of six and co-founder of Mabel’s Labels, is a passionate entrepreneur, author, regular television contributor, keynote speaker and engaged community member. She joins us to talk about the struggle against the stigma of women’s reproductive health. Being a mom, she’s got the inside track on how to raise boys and girls to be more accepting and open about this very natural phase of a woman’s life.

Julie shares some great tips on how to squash the stigma at the source- youth. We must raise a generation to be accepting and ‘mature’ on this topic. We want to teach them to swap shame for support.

How many times have we walked into our doctor’s appointment only to forget what we wanted to ask? Heck, if you’re in menopause, how many times have you walked into your own damn kitchen and forgotten what you were there for? Memory aside, women must take their health into their own hands when it comes to coping and dealing with peri/menopause. Why? Because we know first-hand that what you don’t know can have a very negative impact on your health.

We’re talking to Sandra Love who has first-hand experience with a serious situation that resulted from lack of information from her own doctor. We’ll let Sandra share her story, but it certainly reinforced the importance of advocating for our own health.

Tune in!

As we hit the big 4-0, we start to notice subtle changes to our bodies, our skin, and our faces. Our lines and skin tone don’t lie – even if we do!  Whether we’re raging against aging or choosing to ‘age gracefully’ we must admit, age is more than just a number to us.

We’ve tried treatments, facials and lotions & potions but it really comes down to facial structure to really support our aging skin. Andrea Fairborn – R.H.N, has been in the wellness industry for over 20 years. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Holistic Facialist, Reiki practitioner and a Face Yoga and Pilates instructor. She’s joining us to talk about the subtle and not so subtle changes we can experience by doing a little face yoga and an ancient practice called Gua Sha. It does take time and practice but for those who want a natural approach to tighter skin, you’ll want to tune in.

Our lines tell us something about our past and about what’s happening in our body. It’s important to understand that because they are a map to our health. But we don’t want to erase our lines completely. We want to look healthy, not impossible.

Have a listen and if you’re interested in learning more and experiencing how facial yoga and Gua Sha can work for you.

When we talk about menopause, we tend to focus on the symptoms. The things that physically impact us and can alter our day-to-day experience. However, what we don’t tend to discuss is one of the less acknowledged ‘side effect’ of menopause – grief. Like any other loss, we experience grief over the loss of our past selves, our ability to produce both children and collagen! We often give a nod to depression and anxiety that can come with this change in life, but we turn a blind eye to how this all makes us feel inside.

We’re talking with Terri Swan, Director of Compassion and Nurturing at Womb Cocoon. Terri Swan is an Advanced Online Grief Recovery Specialist. Terri acts a guide for women, to move them beyond loss and grief to a life of emotional completion and recovery.

Terri will be discussing the impacts of grief, on menopause, our health and our relationships by lending insight to why it’s important to acknowledge our grief at this point in our lives so we can heal and thrive.

We admit the conversation made us a bit emotional. As women, we really to tend to push that ‘stuff’ down and soldier on. It all catches up with us though and it’s important to acknowledge it.

Tune in!

Is Hormone Replacement Treatment HRT safe? Safe for everyone? Safe for you? It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves and our doctors for years but have you ever felt confident with the answer? Back in 2002 the publication of a landmark study warned of the potential negative side-effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The report scared the hell out of women everywhere with the promise of serious health risks. And 19 years later, we're still on the fence about it.

As we always say, knowledge is power and we wanted to learn what the deal is. Is HRT safe? Should we be scared? What are bio-identicals and natural HRT options? There’s a lot to learn and we’re starting with the basics because we know many of you, like ourselves have a lot of questions and concerns around this topic.

Our She2.0 ‘doctor on call’ Dr. Andrea Walsh joins us to talk about the 101 of HRT. We feel like she answers most of our questions but if you have questions of your own, reach out to us and we’ll find you the answers!

Tune in!

Some topics that are really close to our heart and Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of them. Not just because of the relief it can offer women going through peri/menopause but because of its approach to women and the change in general. It is far more optimistic, embracing, and unapologetic than our North American perspective and we find that hopeful and reassuring.

Angela Warburton R.TCMP, R.Ac is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner. Using holistic and natural medicine, she helps restore balance to the body, mind, emotions, and spirit to help women understand the subtle (or not so subtle) signs and symptoms of their body and emotions so they can live their most radiant life through menopause and beyond.

We also have chat about ‘the second spring’ being a time for women to look forward to as they step into their greatest power. It came as a surprise to us that different cultures view and experience menopause differently.

Hey Samual Jackson! We have no problem going to sleep. It's staying asleep that we struggle with. In fact, sleep is one of the most common problems women experience with perimenopause. A lack of sleep triggers a series of other issues like stress, anxiety, fatigue amongst other things. How's a gal supposed to function? 

We figure helping you sleep is a great way to kick of Season 3 of the podcast.

In this episode we’re talking to Kerry Roberts, RPh, BSc. (Hons) Pharm, NCMP (NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner) Brant Arts, IDA Pharmacy. Kerry works with women going through the transition and helps them to understand their bodies and learn more about their options. Because there are options – plenty of them!  Not only do we explore the options, but Kerry also gives us some interesting and scary advice about pharmaceutical sleep aids. Everyone should know this, and we’re shocked that we’ve never heard this before. 

So tune in! 

The sun is shining, the patios are open and we’re finally vaccinated! This calls for a celebration! So, we’re going to be wrapping up the podcast for the summer as we swap our sweats for swimsuits and try to disconnect and enjoy some down time.

We have learned so much over the past year. Our experts have shared some invaluable information that has not only changed the way we view menopause, it’s helped us conquer a few of the symptoms as well. Our conversations have been a game-changer to our health and our minds. Our minds were blown by the courage and strength of our ‘real women, real stories’ guests who weren’t afraid to tell us about their own journey and struggles. We are in awe by the amazing community we’re building.We even had the world’s bravest man join us! You’ll want to listen to that episode!

In this final episode, we reflect on some of the amazing women we’ve met, advice that changed our world and topics we’re excited to explore when our podcast heats up again in September.  

Keep following us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because even though we won’t be podcasting, we’re keeping the conversation, advice and tips going over the summer months. Flip flops on and bottoms up, everyone!

This is our second chat with Dr. Kristy Prouse, MD FRCSC (OB/Gyn); Chief Medical Officer of the Institute for Hormonal Health and we’re really excited about this one. Why? Because we know YOU’RE going to be excited about it too.

We’re always talking about the effects of aging on our bits and parts but the one thing we can not talk enough about is… why we don’t have to suffer. For most women we talk to, urinal incontinence is a big one. Guess what? In France they don’t even have a word for ‘kegel’. There’s a reason for that but you’ll have to tune in later for that info. An astounding 5 out of 10 women don’t even seek help because they don’t know help exists.

It does and we’re here to chat with Dr. Prouse about the options and we’ve tried a few ourselves so we’ll be reporting on those treatments and why you no longer have to pee when you sneeze. So get ready to enjoy a romp on the trampoline this summer because help is on its way!

When we talk about menopause, estrogen always seems to steal the limelight. We know that our bodies aren't producing as much of it and we know the signs. But is estrogen taking all the credit? In this episode, Dr. Kristy Prouse, MD, OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer of The Institute of Hormonal Health joins us to talk about what's really keeping us up at night! 

One of the most common symptoms of menopause is memory loss. We can't find our keys, remember what we were just going to say, forget the word to describe that thingamajiggy we need. It starts off slowly but as we start to lose our nouns, we start to really worry that we might be headed for disaster.

Recently in the news we'd read that there has been talk about a connection between menopause and Alzheimer's Disease. Naturally we FREAKED OUT! We thought this was a phase, not a predictor for a pretty scary future.

So we did what anyone would, we sought out Dr. Gillian Einstein, faculty member in the Department of Psychology and the Founder of the Collaborative Specialization in Women's Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Einstein studies women's brain health and aging.

So while the media has been a little fear-mongering on this topic, it's not to be entirely dismissed. However, after listening to this podcast, you'll probably sleep better.