OffTheCharts Health

Amy Papermaster

There is so much information out there about our bodies and health. Off The Charts filters it down to what you can use today and share with the people you care about. Amy is a PhD-trained Family Nurse Practitioner who built her career across emergency medicine, complex women's health, academia, and health technology. She's also been the patient. That combination is why she started this. Each episode is an unhurried conversation with the clinicians, researchers, and founders who've earned our trust. Sign up at OffTheCharts.Health

  1. Jul 16

    PCOS (Now PMOS): Insulin Resistance, Irregular Periods, Weight, Hair & Fertility | Dr. Madeline Kaye

    A quick note: This episode was recorded just days before PCOS was officially renamed PMOS, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, in a global consensus published in The Lancet in June. You'll hear us use PCOS throughout the conversation. Same condition, new name, and funny enough, we spend part of the episode talking about how much the old one never quite fit. PCOS, now PMOS, affects 10 to 13 percent of women, roughly 1 in 8. It is the most common endocrine condition in women, and it is still underdiagnosed and often misunderstood. Dr. Madeline Kaye is a board-certified OBGYN whose grandfather trained under Dr. Irving Stein, one of the two physicians PCOS was originally named after (Stein-Leventhal syndrome). Generations later, Dr. Kaye is doing the careful, comprehensive work this condition requires. We cover: The renaming of PCOS to PMOS and what it reflects about the scienceWhat PMOS is and how it is diagnosedWhy insulin resistance sits at the center of so many symptomsThe hormonal dance of a normal menstrual cycle and what goes wrong in PMOSIrregular periods, acne, unwanted hair growth, hair loss, weight, sleep apnea, and mood disordersWhy women with PMOS carry a higher premenopausal risk for endometrial cancer, and how to protect against itBirth control: band-aid or true treatmentLifestyle as the foundation: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stressSupplements: what do we think about inositol (dose, ratio, what to expect), vitamin D, berberine, and spearmint tea?Metformin, GLP-1s, and the new oral options changing the gameFertility considerations and how to optimize before conceptionSpironolactone and the androgen symptom toolkit Sign up for more at OffTheCharts.Health

    PCOS (Now PMOS): Insulin Resistance, Irregular Periods, Weight, Hair & Fertility | Dr. Madeline Kaye
  2. Jun 18

    Lichen Sclerosus, Lichen Planus, Vulvar Itching & Burning | Dr. Melissa Mauskar

    The average woman with vulvar lichen sclerosus waits 5 to 15 years for a correct diagnosis. Most see three or more providers along the way. One in three women lives with a vulvar condition at some point in her life, and uncommonly is told what is really happening to the skin of the most sensitive area of her body. Dr. Melissa Mauskar is a board-certified dermatologist at UT Southwestern, a leading vulvar disease researcher, and the founder of one of the few specialty clinics in the country dedicated to vulvar dermatology. She has built her career around finding the answers women have been told do not exist, and her work is changing what these women can expect from medicine. We cover: Why the vulva is its own organ and behaves differently than skin anywhere else on the bodyLichen sclerosus: who gets it, what it actually is, and the 1 to 3 percent prevalence that doesn't get spoken about enoughThe autoimmune debate and what the research is showing nowLichen planus, eczema, psoriasis, and Crohn's on the vulvaWhy the diagnostic delay is so long, and what is being done to close itTopical steroids: how to use them correctly, and the myth that they thin the skin when there is disease presentCompounded and emerging treatments, including JAK inhibitors and the international clinical trial Dr. Mauskar is leadingThe vulvar microbiome and hormone research that may rewrite how we treat these conditionsSurgical considerations and when to optimize before any procedureVulvar irritants, allergens, and the over-the-counter products doing more harm than goodDiet, irritants and allergens connectionVulvar cancer surveillance and what women need to knowThe new clinical trials and research consortium reshaping the field Sign up for more at OffTheCharts.Health Find Dr. Mauskar's work at melissamauskar.com

    Lichen Sclerosus, Lichen Planus, Vulvar Itching & Burning | Dr. Melissa Mauskar
  3. Jun 4

    Autoimmunity & The "Good Girls": How Self-Compromise Compromises Immunity with Sara Hirsh Bordo

    Autoimmune diseases affect roughly 5 to 10 percent of the U.S. population, and women carry about 80 percent of the burden. The science is clear that chronic stress and adverse childhood experiences raise the risk in a dose-dependent way, with each additional ACE increasing autoimmune disease prevalence by about 10 percent. A large Swedish cohort found a 36 percent higher risk of autoimmune disease in adults with stress-related disorders, rising to 46 percent for those with PTSD. That's what the science says. Sara Hirsh Bordo went further. Filmmaker, founder of Women Rising, and author of Autoimmunity & The Good Girls, she funded the first survey at the intersection of female empowerment and autoimmunity in 1,000 American women and found a striking pattern: more than 6 in 10 with autoimmune disease were the eldest or only daughter, and more than half were raised as the family caretaker. Her thesis: a self compromised creates immunity compromised. We cover: The eldest daughter, only daughter, lifelong caretaker patternHow chronic self-betrayal correlated with Sara's own diagnoses and relapsesReframing self-prioritization as foreign, not wrongThe little-T trauma of being raised to fear disappointing othersPracticing safe disappointment as a muscle to rebuildThe body speaks story, not just scienceRaising daughters who can fall, get dirty, and get back upImperfection as the path forwardReadiness, healing, and what it takes to live differently Autoimmunity & The Good Girls is available now wherever books are sold. A portion of Sara's proceeds benefit the Society for Women's Health Research. Sign up for more at OffTheCharts.Health

    Autoimmunity & The "Good Girls": How Self-Compromise Compromises Immunity with Sara Hirsh Bordo
  4. May 7

    Women's Heart Health with Dr. Caitlin Giesler

    Dr. Caitlin Giesler is a board-certified cardiologist, fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and founder of The Heart Center for Women in Austin. She left the traditional system to build a practice where women get an hour, get answers, and get someone who picks up the phone. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, more than all cancers combined. Women have been under-researched, over-dismissed, and misunderstood. Dr. Giesler does not stand for it. We cover: Why heart disease is the leading cause of death in women but the message isn't landingHow women's hearts are biologically different and why microvascular disease is missedSex-specific troponin thresholds and the heart attacks women are sent home withPregnancy as a cardiovascular stress test (preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes)Perimenopause, menopause, and what estrogen loss does to the heartHRT and the heart in 2026: timing hypothesis, transdermal vs oral, the FDA black box removalPalpitations, chest pressure, anxiety in menopause and when to push for a workupAdvanced labs: hs-CRP, ApoB, lipoprotein(a) Coronary artery calcium scoring, the mammogram of your heartStatins for women: muscle aches, brain fog, and the real conversationPCSK9 inhibitors and other options when statins aren't toleratedThe statin-Alzheimer's connection and vascular health as brain healthCalcium, vitamin D, K, omega-3s, CoQ10 and the supplement landscapeGLP-1s and cardiovascular benefitVO2 max, weighted vests, strength training, and the Life's Essential EightOral microbiome, periodontal health and the heartAutoimmune disease, inflammation, and HSCRPTakotsubo (broken heart syndrome), MINOCA, ANOCA, SCAD: the female-predominant conditions you've probably never heard ofMental health, depression, PTSD and cardiovascular riskWarning signs of a heart attack in womenWhat concierge cardiology offers women who want more than 15 minutes Find Dr. Giesler at HeartCenterForWomen.com Sign up for more at OffTheCharts.Health

    Women's Heart Health with Dr. Caitlin Giesler

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

There is so much information out there about our bodies and health. Off The Charts filters it down to what you can use today and share with the people you care about. Amy is a PhD-trained Family Nurse Practitioner who built her career across emergency medicine, complex women's health, academia, and health technology. She's also been the patient. That combination is why she started this. Each episode is an unhurried conversation with the clinicians, researchers, and founders who've earned our trust. Sign up at OffTheCharts.Health

You Might Also Like