Peri & Pause The Podcast

Podcast Cary
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Medicine

The Peri & Pause Podcast is for women in midlife who know something in their body has changed—but haven’t been given real answers, or have been left overwhelmed by conflicting information. Hosted by Jamie Gallagher, DNP, FNP-C, MSCP, a nurse practitioner specializing in perimenopause and menopause care, the show explores hormones, metabolism, mental health, sleep, sex, weight changes, and chronic conditions through an evidence-based, deeply practical lens. We unpack the physiology of midlife alongside the lived experience of women navigating careers, relationships, finances, and identity during this transition. Every woman deserves this conversation—and the clarity, language, and confidence to advocate for better care. Because “Your Labs Are Normal” Is Not the Whole Story.

  1. 6d ago

    Why Menopause Weight Gain Isn't Your Fault

    In this episode of Perimenopause the Podcast, Jamie Gallagher tackles one of the most frustrating and misunderstood challenges women face during perimenopause and menopause: weight gain and inflammation that seem to appear out of nowhere. If you've found yourself eating the same foods, exercising the same way, and still noticing stubborn belly fat, increased inflammation, joint aches, brain fog, or changes in your metabolism, you're not imagining it—and you're not alone. Jamie breaks down the science behind hormonal changes, estrogen decline, FSH spikes, insulin resistance, visceral fat accumulation, muscle loss, and chronic inflammation. Most importantly, she explains why this transition is not a failure of willpower or discipline, but a biological shift happening inside the body. This episode is packed with practical insights and validation for women who have been blaming themselves for changes that are often driven by hormones, metabolism, and immune system changes beyond their control. 00:00 – Introduction to today's Ask Us Anything episode00:45 – The frustration of midlife weight gain and inflammation01:20 – Why this isn't a willpower problem01:45 – The connection between inflammation and weight gain02:00 – Estrogen's role in metabolism and immune health02:30 – The body's "internal thermostat" explained03:00 – Why women feel puffy and inflamed during perimenopause03:15 – Understanding follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)03:45 – How FSH contributes to belly fat accumulation04:15 – Why weight gain often begins before menopause04:30 – The vicious cycle of visceral fat and inflammation05:00 – How belly fat acts like its own endocrine organ05:20 – Insulin resistance and blood sugar changes06:00 – Why normal labs don't always tell the full story06:30 – Muscle loss and metabolic slowdown07:00 – Sleep disruption, cortisol, and cravings07:30 – Why you're not lazy, broken, or failing08:00 – The power of resistance training and muscle building08:20 – Why lifting weights helps fight inflammation08:40 – Changing your strategy, not blaming yourself08:55 – Preview of next episode: practical solutions

    9 min

  2. Jun 16

    Hormone Testing During Menopause: What Every Woman Should Know

    Women often hear conflicting information online about estrogen, progesterone, and hormone testing. Jamie explains why hormone levels fluctuate dramatically during perimenopause, why a single blood test rarely tells the full story, and why symptoms often provide more useful information than lab values alone. This episode also covers stopping birth control pills in midlife, hormone testing after pregnancy, when hormone testing is appropriate, and why some women may still benefit from lab work in specific situations. If you've ever wondered whether hormone testing can confirm perimenopause or menopause, this episode will help you understand what hormone tests can, and can't, tell you. 00:00 – Welcome back to Perimenopause the Podcast00:25 – Listener questions about hormone testing00:55 – Should women routinely check hormone levels?01:15 – Why hormone levels fluctuate so dramatically01:40 – Understanding hormone changes during perimenopause02:00 – Why symptoms matter more than a single lab test02:15 – Stopping birth control in your 40s: what to expect02:40 – How birth control affects hormone testing02:55 – Could birth control be masking menopause?03:10 – Hormone testing after pregnancy and childbirth03:35 – When hormone testing may be appropriate03:50 – Testosterone monitoring and hormone therapy04:10 – New research on estrogen and bone health04:35 – Why hormone testing is trending online04:50 – The better question to ask about your symptoms05:15 – Final thoughts and listener questions

    6 min

  3. Jun 9

    Surgical Menopause: The Missing Piece Many Women Never Hear About

    In this Ask Us Anything episode of Perimenopause the Podcast, Jamie Gallagher answers a heartfelt question from Tammy, a woman struggling to feel like herself after a total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes). One and a half years after surgery, Tammy describes feeling like her hormones and body are "a wreck." Jamie explains the difference between natural menopause and surgical menopause, the health impacts of ovary removal, and why many women continue to struggle when the right hormone therapy has not been explored. This conversation covers estrogen therapy, long-term health risks, surgical menopause recovery, and practical ways women in rural communities can access menopause specialists through telehealth and professional networks. If you've experienced ovary removal, hysterectomy, surgical menopause, or persistent hormone symptoms, this episode offers education, validation, and hope. 00:00 – Welcome to Ask Us Anything00:30 – Tammy's question: "My hormones are a wreck"01:15 – What is a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy?01:50 – Why the reason for ovary removal matters02:30 – Understanding surgical menopause03:00 – Long-term health effects of ovary removal03:45 – Heart health, bone health, brain health, and libido04:15 – Why estrogen therapy matters04:45 – The hormone Tammy didn't mention05:00 – Why you don't have to accept feeling miserable05:20 – Finding menopause specialists through telehealth05:40 – How to use Menopause.org to find care05:55 – Why it's not too late to feel better06:15 – Final encouragement and closing thoughts

    6 min

  4. Jun 2

    From Military to Menopause: A Partner's Perspective

    In Part 2 of the Meet the Founder series on Peri & Pause, Jamie is joined by her husband and co-founder, Stu, to discuss his background in international business and a 26-year military career, his transition into civilian life, and how mission, purpose, and service shape his leadership. They explore what Stu saw in Peri & Pause early on, the parallels between military mission-focus and building a menopause care company, and the persistent midlife women’s health care gap he witnessed through his mother’s experience and Jamie’s own perimenopause. Stu describes how perimenopause can strain relationships when symptoms are misunderstood, emphasizes addressing root causes rather than just symptoms, and encourages partners to show patience, seek help, and support women through care that can improve families, work, and overall quality of life. 00:00 Meet Stu Intro 01:33 Military Roots 03:17 Leaving Service 04:47 Vision For Peri Pause 06:10 Mission Parallels 07:47 Care Gap Reality 09:32 Partner Perspective 13:40 Mom And Family Impact 17:39 Advice For Partners 18:31 Thick Skin and Support 18:55 Men Asking for Help 20:39 Building Together Talk 22:51 Napkin to Launch 23:58 Balancing Risk and Caution 26:17 Mission Bigger Than Us 28:06 Scaling the Impact 30:11 Gratitude and Outro ------This podcast exists to normalize, explain, and elevate the midlife healthcare conversation—so women feel informed, believed, and empowered to demand better care for their bodies and lives. Visit https://periandpause.com for more info

    31 min

  5. May 19

    Empowering Midlife Health: The Origin of Peri and Pause

    Kristen wraps the nurse practitioner series and launches the founder series with Peri & Pause founder Jamie Gallagher, who shares what drew her into nursing, her critical care background, and why she became a nurse practitioner and later earned her DNP. Jamie explains how time limits, metrics, and fragmented, symptom-by-symptom care pushed her to rethink how midlife women are treated, especially after her own perimenopause experience revealed a major healthcare gap. She describes Peri & Pause’s model as relationship-driven, evidence-based whole-woman care through the perimenopause/menopause lens, including proactive prevention, collaboration with other clinicians, and referrals when needed. Jamie discusses misinformation and clinician shaming around hormones, the need for better clinician education, core values like integrity and humility, and her vision for continued growth to meet ongoing demand. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 01:09 Jamie Nursing Origins 02:47 Becoming Nurse Practitioner 04:46 Healthcare System Friction 08:27 Perimenopause Wake Up Call 11:13 Seeing the Bigger Pattern 13:11 Biggest Care Gap 14:20 Founding Peri and Pause 18:25 Building Patient First Practice 19:21 Whole Woman Care Approach 20:20 Coordinated Care Promise 20:46 Preventive Deep Dives 21:56 Proactive Treatment Mindset 22:19 Patient Wins That Matter 23:12 Word of Mouth Growth 24:12 Building a Mission Business 25:41 Imposter Syndrome and Connection 26:57 Misinformation and Clinician Shame 30:00 Why Education Still Lags 31:13 Values Purpose and The Future 36:45 Closing Thoughts and Wrap Up

    35 min

  6. May 5

    Breaking the Silence: Women's Healthcare Insights with Jaime Davis

    In this Meet the Nurse Practitioner episode of Per and Pause, nurse practitioner Jaime Davis shares how her background in primary care and labor and delivery shaped her patient-centered approach and her focus on midlife women’s care. She discusses how perimenopause is often missed because symptoms can look like stress or anxiety, and highlights early signs such as brain fog, insomnia, word-finding difficulty, and menstrual changes influenced by hormone fluctuations like declining progesterone. Jaime recounts her own experience of years of severe pain after a traumatic C-section that was initially dismissed, later diagnosed as subcutaneous endometriosis and resolved with a short surgery, underscoring the importance of trusting your body and finding providers who listen. She explains her commitment to connecting symptoms, tailoring plans to patient goals, and helping women feel heard, supported, and empowered. 00:00 Meet Jaime Davis 00:54 Labor and Delivery Lessons 02:24 Path to Midlife Care 03:50 Why Perimenopause Gets Missed 06:47 Dismissed Pain Story 11:08 Finding the Real Cause 13:29 What Listening Really Means 15:27 Beyond Rigid Guidelines 16:56 Early Perimenopause Clues 17:06 Brain Fog Sleep Anxiety 19:46 Symptoms Are Connected 21:29 Menopause Education Gaps 23:45 Care After Dismissal 25:10 The Peri Pause Experience 26:15 Closing Thanks Farewell ------This podcast exists to normalize, explain, and elevate the midlife healthcare conversation—so women feel informed, believed, and empowered to demand better care for their bodies and lives. Visit https://periandpause.com for more info

    28 min

  7. Apr 21

    Empowering Women Through Midlife Transitions: A Conversation with Amanda Maingi

    On Peri and Pause the podcast, host interviews women’s health nurse practitioner Amanda Maingi, who shares why she chose women’s health, her education at Georgetown, and how menopause and perimenopause received limited focus in training despite women spending a third of life in this stage. Amanda describes noticing gaps while working in a fast-paced traditional GYN clinic, where time constraints and protocol-driven care could miss the “whole woman” experience. She contrasts younger patients’ typically more straightforward visits with the complexity of midlife, highlighting under-research, life stressors, and chronic conditions. Common perimenopause symptoms often mislabeled as anxiety or depression include sleep disruption, heart palpitations, brain fog, irritability, overwhelm, and feeling out of control. The episode emphasizes validation, individualized high-touch care beyond algorithms, and addresses misconceptions that hormone therapy is inherently dangerous, stressing risk-benefit tailoring and comprehensive evaluation. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:53 Why Womens Health 02:17 Academic Journey Highlights 04:09 Menopause Education Gap 05:24 Clinic Reality and Missing Care 08:57 Midlife vs Younger Patients 13:14 Symptoms Mistaken for Anxiety 17:43 Beyond Protocols Individual Care 19:34 Patch And Pill Problem 21:21 Telehealth Versus High Touch 22:56 Layered Whole Woman Care 26:03 Validation First Visit 28:42 Hormone Therapy Myths 30:07 New Patient Expectations 31:53 Outro And Sign Off 32:23 Recording The Closing Script 34:16 Final Takeaway Message ------This podcast exists to normalize, explain, and elevate the midlife healthcare conversation—so women feel informed, believed, and empowered to demand better care for their bodies and lives. Visit https://periandpause.com for more info

    27 min

  8. Apr 7

    Meet Nurse Practitioner Nancy Chen: From Exercise Physiology to Midlife Women’s Hormone Care

    In this episode of Peri & Pause - The Podcast, the second in the “Meet the Nurse Practitioner” series, the host interviews nurse practitioner Nancy Chen about her path from studying exercise physiology at Meredith College to working as a personal trainer, then becoming a nurse and moving into critical care, urgent care during the pandemic, and traditional primary care. Nancy explains how limited appointment times and “moral injury” pushed her toward specializing in perimenopause and midlife women’s health, after seeing patients struggle with symptoms, chronic disease changes, and feeling dismissed due to gaps in training. She emphasizes the importance of education, validation, realistic expectations, individualized treatment, and helping women feel heard and hopeful, including reviewing complex medication and supplement “cocktails” and supporting women through the fluctuating “moving target” of perimenopause. 00:00 Meet Nancy Chen 00:53 Exercise Physiology Roots 01:24 From Trainer to Nurse 01:52 Critical Care Wake Up 03:11 NP Path and Pandemic 04:22 Primary Care Time Crunch 05:58 Midlife Symptoms Puzzle 07:32 Personal Perimenopause Realization 09:42 Hormones and the Care Gap 15:23 What Patients Need First 16:22 Follow-Up Wins 16:59 Building the Foundation 20:59 Grace in Perimenopause 24:08 Finding Your Care Team 24:33 Medication Cocktail Reset 25:35 Message to Midlife Women 27:17 Thanks and Disclaimer

    28 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The Peri & Pause Podcast is for women in midlife who know something in their body has changed—but haven’t been given real answers, or have been left overwhelmed by conflicting information. Hosted by Jamie Gallagher, DNP, FNP-C, MSCP, a nurse practitioner specializing in perimenopause and menopause care, the show explores hormones, metabolism, mental health, sleep, sex, weight changes, and chronic conditions through an evidence-based, deeply practical lens. We unpack the physiology of midlife alongside the lived experience of women navigating careers, relationships, finances, and identity during this transition. Every woman deserves this conversation—and the clarity, language, and confidence to advocate for better care. Because “Your Labs Are Normal” Is Not the Whole Story.

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