Nurse Maureen‘s Health Show
Welcome to Nurse Maureen's Health Show Podcast where we dive deep into all things health, sex, menopause, relationships, parenting, communication and more! Hosted by a passionate nurse with years of frontline experience, we bring you expert interviews, real-life stories, and the latest insights on staying healthy aging. Nothing is off limits as we delve into overall health, sexual health, mental health, and sexual health. Whether we’re breaking down medical myths, discussing cutting-edge treatments, or chatting with top health professionals, this show is your go-to for practical advice and inspiring conversations.
Nurse Maureen‘s Health Show
Menopause 101: 34 Symptoms of Menopause, Hot Flashes and Cold Truths
Ever felt adrift on the tumultuous seas of hormonal change? Anchor yourself here as I, Maureen McGrath, shed light on the menopause maze, offering you weekly beacons of insight to guide you through. This episode is a deep exploration into the myriad symptoms and impacts of menopause from hot flashes to mood swings. But more than that, it's about understanding the nuances of women's health and debunking the myths that shroud our collective wisdom on this life transition.
Journey with us as we unpack the emotional rollercoaster and physical shifts that come knocking during the perimenopausal years. The conversation takes a turn towards the stigma tied to women's sexuality and the changes it undergoes through menopause. Empathy is our guide as we discuss the importance of workplace awareness and the often invisible but significant toll it takes on women's daily lives. With an expert's perspective drawn from clinical practice, I'll guide you through the maze of treatments and lifestyle shifts that can help manage symptoms from vaginal dryness to brain fog.
As we wrap up, the spotlight turns to the Contino urethral insert, an innovation offering men a sigh of relief from stress urinary incontinence. Shedding light on this non-surgical solution, I underline the importance of individualized care and the freedom from reliance on incontinence aids. It's not just about managing symptoms; it's about reclaiming autonomy over one's body and enjoying an improved quality of life. So, whether you're navigating the waters of menopause or seeking solace from incontinence, this episode is a haven for understanding and empowerment.
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Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Life360 Innovations, the creators of the Contino urethral insert, a non-surgical, health Canada licensed medical device for men with stress urinary incontinence. Contino is easy to use and blocks the flow of urine without the need for adult diapers or pads. More than just a medical device, the Contino Care Program connects you with experienced medical professionals and creates a personalized treatment plan that provides ongoing support so you can get back to life. Go to mycontinocom to see if Contino is right for you and book your free continence assessment. Is right for you and book your free continence assessment. Get bladder leakage control with Contino and get back to living. Remember go to mycontinocom. That's M-Y-C-O-N-T-I-N-Ocom, mycontinocom.
Speaker 1:Welcome to another episode of my Health Show podcast. I'm Maureen McGrath, registered nurse, nurse, continence advisor and sexual health educator. Thanks so much for joining me. One thing I'd love to ask you is give me a follow, please. It's really helpful. Anyway, thanks so much for tuning in and for your loyalty and for your questions and comments. I really appreciate it. You can always text the show 604-765-9287. Email me nursetalkathotmailcom. Head on over to my website, maureenmcgrathcom.
Speaker 1:You know they would say that menopause is having a moment. I might say menopause is having a movement. You're seeing so much discussion about it, especially on social media, and you know what. Sometimes that information is correct, sometimes it's inaccurate, sometimes it's all over the place. It can be confusing. I've seen doctors give confusing messages. I've seen social media influencers try and sell services and programs and over-promise and under-deliver.
Speaker 1:I mean, the bottom line is that many women will experience symptoms of perimenopause or menopause the years leading up to menopause or sometimes after menopause, which is typically one day. You'd be postmenopausal, but you're still experiencing things like hot flashes or vaginal dryness or night sweats, irregular periods, and you might think is this it, or am I going to face another 32 menopausal symptoms that are waiting to wash over you like a big wave, like a tsunami, like a giant storm During perimenopause. That's the stage of menopause when your period patterns change because your estrogen levels decrease or they fluctuate, and menopause is the cessation of your periods, and it's also very normal during this time to feel a little anxious about what lies ahead for you. You may not even be familiar with menopause. Many people were not educated about menopause. Certainly, doctors receive very little education in medical school. I think it's about, on average, eight hours a day for about 20% of doctors. So we really have to change that, because if you're lucky enough to live to the age of 51, likely you will go through menopause. You definitely will go through menopause is actually what I mean to say, but you may experience some symptoms.
Speaker 1:The process of menopause typically begins between 45 and 55 years of age, but the perimenopause can start in the late 30s, like 36, 37. But during this time, menstrual periods become irregular and then they may stop altogether because of the reduced levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones, and so that perimenopause time, the years leading up to menopause, means that your body is getting ready for menopause and that the hormones relating to menstruation and ovulation are decreasing. You can no longer reproduce, you're no longer ovulating and your periods have stopped. That's menopause, once you have not had a period for a year. You are considered post-menopausal and so I just wanted to do some basic education, because I've heard from so many of you that you're confused about menopause. You're confused about the symptoms, you're confused about the treatment, you're confused about the risk of cancer and you're confused about this time of life in general, and also you're wanting to know what are some things besides hormones that you can do to help yourself. And so I'm going to start with the symptoms. I'm going to try and do one menopause episode per week for the next several weeks. It's probably going to be a longer time than that, because this is such a complex subject and you might be wondering why does menopause cause so many symptoms?
Speaker 1:When reproductive hormones like estrogen slow down, it's not just your period and ovulation that are affected. This can affect every single aspect of your body and life, like sleep disturbances, for example. You can get headaches. You can even get dry eyes, dry mouth, because estrogen, the hormone produced by the ovaries, just doesn't regulate your reproductive organs. It affects and regulates every single organ in the body, including your brain, your heart, your bones, your skin, your hair and your breast tissue, to name a few, your bladder, your vaginal health. It affects so many organs in your body, and when your adrenal glands and fat cells produce small amounts of estrogen, the ovaries contribute the most of this hormone to the body. So although the adrenal glands and fat cells do produce some estrogen, most of it comes from your ovaries. And so during menopause, when the ovaries produce less or stop producing estrogen or they fluctuate, the entire body can feel the effects, and for many people, the transition from perimenopause to menopause can last anywhere from two or three years to eight to 10 years. So it's a good idea that you learn about the possible symptoms and also prepare yourself to manage them.
Speaker 1:So who will experience significant symptoms of menopause? So just because you have a few doesn't mean you're going to have everyone. Just because you're going through the transition a natural biological transition doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to experience symptoms either. The experience of menopause is unique to every single woman, in such the same way that puberty is unique. So a lot of women will experience a range of symptoms that affect their lifestyle, and many others will sail through perimenopause and into menopause without so much as a blip. Through perimenopause and into menopause without so much as a blip, they won't even notice it, 20% of women will have absolutely no menopause symptoms, 60% will experience mild to moderate menopause symptoms, and 20% will experience severe menopause symptoms that impact their daily lives, and so that's important to understand. So if you're kind of looking for symptoms or thinking should I go on hormone therapy even though I don't have any symptoms, because these doctors are promoting and prescribing you know they're selling what they're prescribing on social media which gives me pause, little menopause joke there I just think there is such conflict of interest when your doctor is not only prescribing hormone therapy, making it seem like everybody should take it, whether you have symptoms or not, and then they're selling it to you in various forms.
Speaker 1:There's approximately about 34 symptoms of menopause, and you know it's. There may be more than this. You know some people say there's upwards of a hundred. It can affect your body in myriad of ways, and so it's very important we kind of categorize them, and you know certain ones are related to vasomotor. So, for example, the vasomotor symptoms. They relate to the constriction or dilation of your blood vessels, and so they include hot flashes, night sweats, blood pressure changes and heart palpitations.
Speaker 1:There's also the dryness syndrome or symptoms, and they can be. You know, vaginal dryness can lead to painful sex Because estrogen helps maintain vaginal lubrication and elasticity. The reduction of estrogen during menopause can lead to painful sex, because estrogen helps maintain vaginal lubrication and elasticity. The reduction of estrogen during menopause can lead to that dry vaginal feeling or like it feels like sandpaper Some women describe it and then that can lead to painful sex and that can lead to low sexual desire. You can also experience irritation and also you can experience bladder issues as well. You can have urgency frequency during this time as well.
Speaker 1:Um, dryness during menopause does not just affect the vagina, however. It can also cause dryness in your skin, your mouth and even your eyes because of a decrease in androgen hormones. And, once again, changing estrogen levels are thought to be at the center of these kinds of symptoms. Bearing estrogen levels may affect the sleep-wake cycle and bring about vasomotor symptoms like night sweats and psychological symptoms like anxiety that can prevent us from getting a good sleep. So what are the 34 symptoms of menopause? These are considered the most common. Irregular periods are a hallmark of oncoming menopause. That's because the natural decline in estrogen means that your ovaries may not release an egg every month, or may not release an egg at around the same time each month. That makes them irregular. You may have heavier or lighter bleeding skipped periods, or you might get periods at irregular intervals, even if your period used to arrive every 28 days, like clockwork.
Speaker 1:The Sunday Night Health Show podcast is brought to you by Couples Co, because you know what they say life's too short for bad sex. Couples Co is committed to everyone having better relationships and sex through intimacy, play and pleasure. So head on over to the website couplescocom. That's couplescocom, because you know what they say life's too short for bad sex. You may also experience hot flashes. More than 80% of women will experience hot flashes brought on by menopause. Hot flashes are sudden sensations of warmth, heating, sweating, flushing, anxiety and chills that last around one to five minutes. It can really impact your life, and especially your work life, and oftentimes women are at the peak of their careers. So it's important, if you're working with other women, that you recognize that menopause can impact their productivity, their mood and so much more, and we really need support in the workplace and at home for women who are experiencing these types of menopausal symptoms. Night sweats are hot flashes that happen at night. They're also called sleep hyperhidrosis and they're generally benign, but can affect the quality of your sleep, making you tired the next day. Insomnia is another symptom of menopause.
Speaker 1:I mentioned vaginal dryness. That can be very common. I see it so much in my clinical practice. Women suffer for years before learning about this and that a personal moisturizer can help. But if you're experiencing urinary tract infections, an urgency low-dose localized estrogen therapy is the treatment for you. We don't talk about this because it's an embarrassing one. There's still such stigma associated with vaginas and sex for women, of course, but affects about 70% of women, and there was a study completed by Swan which included data from over 2,400 women over 17 years. It demonstrated that around one in five women age 42 to 53 years old and over and one in three women age 57 to 69 experience vaginal dryness. There is treatment the personal moisturizer Femme. It's like a rain shower for your vagina and I recommend it often and my patients love it, and that's how I've learned to recommend it is because I find out what works in my clinical practice. You see, I actually see patients. There's a lot of people on social media that don't see patients, but they make these claims that they've helped 5,000 women. Their program has helped 5,000 women. There's no way because you actually have to see a patient, assess a patient and follow up with patients as well. And people if they buy something, they think you know the placebo effect on steroids because I paid for it, it's going to work for me.
Speaker 1:Mood swings, just like you may have experienced with premenstrual syndrome, sudden changes in emotions, also known as mood swings, can also be common during menopause. Weight gain I mean between the ages of 45 and 55, women typically gain a little over a pound a year and the hormone fluctuations can contribute to weight changes. But hormones alone are not to blame. The muscle mass decreases as we age and that can also slow your metabolism and in fact muscle mass is said to decline by three to 8% every decade after our thirties. Very important that you lift weights, do some weight training. Very important to build up muscles and also eat a diet that is wealthy in protein.
Speaker 1:There are some common psychological symptoms of menopause memory lapses, for example. Everybody can't remember where they put their keys or they can't remember somebody's name but it's stuck on the tip of their tongue. But memory lapses are common even in life. It might be stress, but they're also a common symptom of menopause and pregnancy, for that matter. But hormones can be at the heart of this symptom, because reduced levels of estrogen can affect brain functioning and cause lapses in memory.
Speaker 1:Anxiety, depression, can also increase during perimenopause and menopause, as well as clinical depressive disorders, and it's not uncommon to feel depressed at this stage of life and a lot of women ask is this it, especially when you're juggling a busy life along with, you know, managing vasomotor symptoms and you know, kind of in between that sandwich generation, raising kids and helping your parents. So it can be a very difficult time of year and you know people can get panic disorder. Women can get panic disorder during the menopause as well, and you can experience chest pain, dizziness, heart palpitations and shortness of breath. I had a patient in my clinical practice just recently who, in the middle of her appointment, started to have a panic attack and she was feeling out of control and she felt like she was losing her mind. But of course, in a healthcare practice people are very understanding. But panic attacks can be triggered by hot flashes, and so you know, managing stress, counseling, certain medications can also help.
Speaker 1:Irritability is also something very common during perimenopause and menopause as well, and fatigue I cannot overstate this Fatigue during menopause is related to the changing hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone, and it can also be related to changes in thyroid and adrenal hormones as well. And there was a 2007 study over 85% of postmenopausal women and 46% of perimenopausal women reported feeling physical and mental exhaustion, compared with just under 20% of premenopausal women. So this is highly associated with the menopause. That's why it's important you get your sleep, have a good nutrition, exercise, cut out your alcohol, eliminate alcohol. There's a huge association between alcohol and the risk of breast cancer, especially if you have a family history.
Speaker 1:Brain fog around 60% of women report experiencing brain fog or these brain fades once they reach menopause. Brain fog is much more than the memory lapse. It's feeling spaced out, feeling disconnected from your body. You can't concentrate properly or you cannot maintain your train of thought. Another one is decreased libido, because you have many sexual health changes during the perimenopause. Low libido, low sexual desire, can happen during perimenopause and menopause and again related to lower levels of estrogens and androgens, and that can decrease sexual arousal. But decreased libido can be also a side effect of other menopausal symptoms like, as I mentioned, reduced vaginal lubrication or low mood. And you know, depression can also make the idea of sex much less appealing.
Speaker 1:You know many women report tingling or pins and needles during perimenopause. They're less common than hot flashes, but it's known as paresthesia and it's an unusual tingling or prickling sensation and it can be very disturbing, as can the burning mouth which is such a bizarre and frustrating symptom of menopause for women. And of course it's a burning sensation within your mouth and it's similar to drinking a scalding hot cup of tea. Other women report electric shock sensations hot cup of tea. Other women report electric shock sensations and these can also be very disturbing and they feel like these electric jolts, again related to the decreased hormones. Itchiness or pruritus is a common symptom of menopause and again, it's thought that the lower levels of estrogen may be the cause of this very irritating menopause issue.
Speaker 1:And you know joint pain is also associated with menopause and you know it's typically women feel it in the hands or the knees or the elbows or neck, and it can all. It also can cause old injuries to begin aching again. You can also get muscle tension and aches as well. You know it's normal to feel a little bit of muscle soreness, but it can be particularly bothersome at menopause and about one in six women report daily aches and pains. And also women report painful soles of their feet, especially when they get out of bed in the morning and then. But as they get moving it starts to get better. So that's another symptom of menopause Breast tenderness, headaches, which can be tremendously annoying. I've experienced those Food sensitivities, digestive changes.
Speaker 1:Many women will get irritable bowel syndrome-like symptoms during perimenopause and menopause and also food cravings, and that doesn't help with the weight management that can occur during this midlife time for women, because they can't stop thinking about carbs or they're craving carbs or craving sweets, and once again you can have changes in taste so certain foods might taste quite differently. This and any of the other symptoms are not in your head. Let me just say that Bloating that can be caused by diet and lifestyle choices, and sometimes women become more sedentary or they start drinking they start drinking more, to be honest, at this time of life or they start drinking carbonated drinks. But bloating has also been associated with menopause. But really look at your lifestyle, not to say not to dismiss you in any way, but you know, are you leading the healthiest lifestyle possible? This is a you know. Your hair is your crowning glory, and thinning hair can really be one of the most upsetting symptoms of menopause, especially because you lose it on your head and you gain it on your chin, and that is just awful and it's something you have to daily look at. You know, do I have any hairs on my chinny chin? Chin Brittle nails?
Speaker 1:Can also be a symptom during menopause and, as I mentioned earlier, urinary incontinence, urgency, frequency, leakage of urine, especially when you cough, sneeze or laugh. Once again, low-dose, localized estrogen therapy is an excellent treatment for urinary incontinence. To be honest with you, a lot of people promote Kegels. I really haven't seen them work for women at this stage of life. But the estrogen, yes, where it's like a hot dam, it takes uh, it's low dose and it takes two to three months to optimize and, um, it's. It does not cross over into the blood system and it's, uh, extremely effective. And you know what it makes you feel young again. It can also help the vaginal dryness as well. Some women report dizzy spells, others get new allergies.
Speaker 1:Osteoporosis is a condition commonly linked with menopause and your bones reduce in density and can fracture more easily. And during menopause women lose about 10% of their bone mass. And again, lower estrogen can fracture more easily and during menopause women lose about 10% of their bone mass. And, again, lower estrogen can be the culprit. So it's important to exercise and to lift weights. That's weight training very, very important.
Speaker 1:And an irregular heartbeat is something else heart palpitations and not because you're in love at this stage, but that can be a fluttering sensation or the feeling that your heart is pounding faster than normal. So these and you know what. I'm sure there are many other symptoms that you're experiencing as well. Never dismiss any of them and I, you know, don't want to dismiss any of them either. I think that you know your body the best and it's important that you report these symptoms to your doctor, especially if they're impacting your quality of life. But the things you can do as you wait to see your doctor improve your nutrition, low glycemic index, increase your protein, reduce the carbs, cut out sugar, cut out alcohol, start exercising, ensure that you're getting enough sleep and enough water as well Very, very important and also some weight training. Anyway, that's sort of the beginning, because that's where it all begins. Women are shocked that they have these symptoms, but that's the beginning of my menopause education, which will be continuing throughout the upcoming weeks.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much for tuning in and if you haven't yet, please give me a follow. I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much for tuning in, and if you haven't yet, please give me a follow. I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'm Maureen McGrath and you have been listening to the Sunday Night Health Show podcast. If you want to hear this podcast or any other segment again, feel free to go to iTunes, spotify or Google Play or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. You can always email me nursetalkathotmailcom, or text the show. Can always email me nursetalk at hotmailcom or text the show 604-765-9287. That's 604-765-9287. Or head on over to my website for more information. Maureenmcgrathcom, it's been my pleasure to spend this time with you.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Life360 Innovations, the creators of the Contino urethral insert, a non-surgical, health Canada licensed medical device for men with stress urinary incontinence. Contino is easy to use and blocks the flow of urine without the need for adult diapers or pads. More than just a medical device, the Contino care program connects you with experienced medical professionals and creates a personalized treatment plan that provides ongoing support so you can get back to life. Go to MyContinocom to see if Contino is right for you and book your free continence assessment, get bladder leakage control with Contino and get back to living. Remember, go to Mycontinocom. That's M-Y-C-O-N-T-I-N-Ocom, mycontinocom.