Circling the Drain

A podcast about the period BEFORE you stop getting your period. The concept of a woman "circling the drain" conjures up negative imagery for some, but the origin of this as the name of the podcast has a story. A friend, in her 30's at the time, was listing her ailments to a male physician who clearly had a terrible bedside manner, because he responded to her complaints by shrugging his shoulders in a dismissive fashion and saying something like, "I don't know what to tell you. From now on, you're basically just circling the drain!" Co-hosts Ellie and Julia have been laughing at the audacity of this tone-deaf interaction ever since, and when they decided to start this podcast about the plight of the aging woman, they chose to reclaim and repurpose the phrase in the spirit of humor. Every human on the planet is circling the drain from the moment we are born. The question is, how slowly and gracefully can we spiral? And can we minimize the discomfort while we whirl? Perimenopausal co-hosts Ellie and Julia take a deep dive into the sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, and always bewildering issues of the hormonal changes that take place in midlife. Through honest accounts, thoughtful interviews, and group panel discussions, their mission is to make you chuckle, make you nod your head in recognition, and hopefully make some scientific progress.

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Circling the Drain

Sad Vagina with Abigail Paul

November 08, 2023 • Ellie Dvorkin Dunn & Julia Granacki with Abigail Paul • Season 3 • Episode 62

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Germany-based comedian Abigail Paul says that co-host Ellie is her oldest friend. Not her most elderly friend, but the friend she has known the longest. She met co-host Julia a few years later, making all three of them VERY ELDERLY/OLD FRIENDS. That should entice you to listen to this episode, because richness of history makes for juicy conversation. Abigail moved to Germany as a young adult because she was "on the lam", trying to escape her abusive and narcissist mother, whose life and death inspired Abigail's award-winning solo show Involuntary Momslaughter. There are many wonderful stories in this episode, including the one about Abigail ignoring her fibroid tumors until she collapsed in a pharmacy and ended up in emergency surgery, the one where her gynecologist proclaimed her vagina her weakest organ, and the one where 18-year-old Abigail and Ellie sat together to take a pregnancy test after a condom broke. Also, all three people in this episode had birthdays in the last week, so listen and laugh and feel seen and celebrate with us!

Topics and timestamps
11:45 The story of 18-year-old Abigail and Ellie and a pregnancy test
13:30 The story of Abigail's gynecological adventures in Germany
22:20 The story of Dr. Dr. Mueller
31:05 The story of how health insurance is better in Europe
36:00 The story of Abigail's horrible relationship with her mother
39:30 The story of how a mother with Narcissistic Personality Disorder is great fodder for a solo show

Handles and sites
Abigail's website
Abigail's Insta
Abigail's facebook

List of Resources Mentioned
Rosacea and Menopause
Exposed Podcast
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
Dr. Ramani Durvasula

Other Links
Erin's Faces Affiliate Link
Julia G Wellness

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People on this episode

Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Co-host

Julia Granacki

Co-host