The Change Dr. Caitlin

This may be my favorite HOT FLASH to date!  I review the normalcy of weight gain during perimenopause and why this change in body composition is generally NOT related to health. I explain the Health at Every Size (HAES) approach to health care and some tips and tricks for overcoming body shame/discomfort.  

NOTE:  Lindo Bacon (formerly Linda Bacon) uses They/Them pronouns.  I was not aware of the name change at the time of recording and apologize for not using the correct name/pronouns during recording.  Also, Lindo Bacon is no longer associated with ASDAH as of this writing (7/2022).  

Links:

ASDAH | Committed to Size Diversity in Health and HAES®

Lindo Bacon, PhD, formerly Linda Bacon

Impact of fat stigma on health care:  Fat Is Not the Problem--Fat Stigma Is - Scientific American Blog Network

Aubrey Gordon:About — Your Fat Friend and her amazing resource list Fat Reading List — Your Fat Friend

Home – Radical Self-Love for Everybody and Every Body (thebodyisnotanapology.com)

Bonus link:  ASDAH and the HAES movement are growing in an exciting direction - check out this great presentation by their current vision and strategy leader Veronica Garnett  Intersectional Liberation in Health at Every Size(tm) (no song) - YouTube

Check out this mini-episode on how the hormonal shifts of perimenopause may impact facial hair, skin and nails.  We discuss the why, the how and the what to do about it (if you want to do anything at all…) 

Important note:  dear listener, in this episode I say I am 45, I’m not sure why… podcasting is hard.  I am 43.  And I was 42 when my chin hairs really started popping.  

Spironolactone for acne:  https://dermcollective.com/spironolactone-acne/

Products I chat about:

Shop Unique Subscription Boxes, Luxury Green Beauty, Classic Books, Gourmet Food,Gift Boxes, & More at Boxwalla (theboxwalla.com)

Beauty Store | Natural Skincare - Beauty Heroes (beauty-heroes.com)

https://theordinary.com/

Resource for evaluating ingredients in skin care:  https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

I mention at the end of this episode that a Hot Flash covering hair loss is in the works … it is on to-do list and will be released during Season 2 (which is definitely maybe happening … )

Join me as I review one of the most underappreciated body changes of perimenopause - pain!  Yay!  In this episode we talk about how the shifting hormones of perimenopause can alter our pain perception, cause new pain syndromes to start and/or worsen existing pain patterns.  Most folks don’t realize this is totally a thing.  Take a listen to learn more and dig into some possible strategies for addressing these changes.  

Frozen Shoulder: Frozen Shoulder Syndrome and Menopause: Our Secret Pain No One Talks About | National Menopause Association

Hormones and pain:  https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/2014/12000/Ovarian_hormones_and_chronic_pain__A_comprehensive.5.aspx

Inequities in Women’s Health research:  Addressing inequalities in women's health research (contemporaryobgyn.net)

Fibromyalgia and melatonin:  Melatonin in the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms: A systematic review - PubMed (nih.gov)

Insomnia and pain:  https://researchoutreach.org/articles/bidirectional-relationship-between-chronic-pain-insomnia/

MHT for pain:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20537472/

Tai Chi for pain management in perimenopause:  Tai Chi Exercise for the Quality of Life in a Perimenopausal Women Organization: A Systematic Review - PubMed (nih.gov)

Physical fitness and pain:  Association of objectively measured physical activity and physical fitness with menopause symptoms. The Flamenco Project - PubMed (nih.gov)

Exercise and pain:  Effects of physical exercise on health-related quality of life and blood lipids in perimenopausal women: a randomized placebo-controlled trial - PubMed (nih.gov)

Acupuncture and pain: https://www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org/pain/

Sauna for pain:The effects of repeated thermal therapy for patients with chronic pain - PubMed (nih.gov)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7713799/

Epsom Salt:  https://health.clevelandclinic.org/7-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-epsom-salt/

In this Hot Flash, we do a quick and dirty overview of one of the most serious perimenopausal symptoms - heavy menstrual flow.  We define what constitutes too much bleeding, when to be concerned and what to do about it.  ****IMPORTANT NOTE at about 8min and 10 seconds in  I mention not taking iron at higher     dose than 8 mg per day without monitoring - it sounds like I say 80mg but it’s 8(eight)!  Truly, any iron supplementation outside of food sources should be monitored with lab testing to ensure proper dosing and prevent complication

https://www.kindara.com/

https://helloclue.com/

Testing ferritin to evaluate iron stores:  https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/ferritin-blood-test/

Evidence for dosing iron every other day:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31413088/

Iron IVs for treating iron deficiency:  What to Know About Iron Infusions for Anemia Treatment - GoodRx

Dairy and heavy menses:  What Dairy Does to Periods • Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary

Slow Flow:  https://vitanica.com/online-store/slow-flow-60-capsules/ (no affiliation)

Acupuncture case study:  Acupuncture treatment for dysfunctional uterine bleeding in an adolescent - PMC (nih.gov)

Ibuprofen for heavy menses:  Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for heavy menstrual bleeding - PubMed (nih.gov)

Tranexemic acid for heavy menses:Tranexemic Acid (Lysteda) for Cyclic Heavy Menstrual Bleeding - STEPS - American Family Physician (aafp.org)

Guidelines for progesterone therapy and a review oftreatment options for heavy mense from CeCor:  Very Heavy Menstrual Flow | The Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (ubc.ca)

Hormonal IUD for treatment of heavy menses:  Reproductive Health Access Project | Contraceptive Pearl: Progestin IUD as Treatment for Menorrhagia - Reproductive Health Access Project (reproductiveaccess.org)

Oral Birth Control - new brands with bioidentical estrogens for management of perimenopasual heavy menses: Natazia: Official patient website or About NEXTSTELLIS | NEXTSTELLIS®(drospirenone and estetrol tablets) 

Uterine ablation:  Uterine Ablation as a Treatment for Severe Menorrhagia – Naturopathic Doctor News and Review (ndnr.com)

Myomectomy for fibroids:  Myomectomy – Fibroid Treatment Collaborative

Sex after hysterectomy:  Post Hysterectomy Sex: Your Guide To Sex After Hysterectomy (dofeve.org)

Health impact of hysterectomy and age of menopause: What We Know about the Long-Term Risks of Hysterectomy for Benign Indication—A Systematic Review - PMC (nih.gov)

In this episode we review the many modalities of Traditional Chinese Medicine - acupuncture, herbs, nutrition and lifestyle with my good friend Jessica Goodman - https://www.jessicagoodman.com/about. This conversation should be helpful for everyone from the acu-curious to the TCM expert. I love Jessica’s approach to medicine - blending intuition with multiple modalities to create effective patient-centered care. We have been working together for over 10 years - as officemates, collaborators and co-founders of the Vitality Project. While we have retired actively promoting this project and no longer run the seasonal groups - we do offer access to the archives which has 4 seasonal outlines leading folks through a nutritional and lifestyle program for each season.  While the program is weight neutral, it does include some temporary diet modification so be mindful if that isn’t a healthy choice for you. Sign Up for The Vitality Project: 4 Seasons (ruzuku.com)

In this episode I chat with Dr. Jody Shevins a naturopathic doctor who has been in practice since 1984.  What I love about Dr. Shevins is her pragmatic approach to health care.  She also specializes in … homeopathy!  If there is one touchpoint in the holistic world that seems to polarize folks the most - homeopathy is it.  And while we don’t talk a ton about homeopathy in this episode - it is on the list.  And I encourage folks with strong feelings about this modality to take a listen and keep an open mind.  We even chat about taking a pro-vaccine stance in the naturopathic world - yes, this is a thing!  https://ndsforvaccines.com/  We review what naturopathic tools are most effective for perimenopause, how to build the best approach for individual patients and how to focus on preventative medicine to extend the healthspan. 

*** Quick note - I say HRT (hormone replacement therapy) a lot in tis episode when the better terminology is MHT (menopause hormone therapy).  Working on updating my vocabulary!

A supplement Dr. Jody recommends for hot flashes:  https://hellobonafide.com/products/relizen(not sponsored).If you want to learn more about using homeopathy and other naturopactic tools for peri/menopausal symtpoms, check out Dr. Shevins online class here: Menopause class - JODY K. SHEVINS, NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR (jodykshevins.com)

Understanding relative versus absolute risk Relative vs absolute risk and odds: Understanding the difference - PMC (nih.gov)

French E3 Cohort study OP-IJEJ140185 801..809 (secureservercdn.net)

WHI review https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2653735/

KEEPS trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31453973/

Pros/Cons of compounding pharmacy Pros and Cons of Pharmacy Compounding (uspharmacist.com)