Episode 8: Dr. Dunsmoor-Su
The last few episodes of this show have been very socially aware, dealing with big issues and the ordinary people tackling them. This episode veers from that theme slightly, but the topic is something near and dear to my 42 year old heart, and something many of us are dealing with but never ever talk about - drumroll please - menopause! See...did even the word scare you? Did the mere mention of a woman’s menstrual cycle make you uncomfortable? Me too.
The truth is, I didn’t ever learn about my cycle - like, really learn about the mechanics and how it all works, until I wanted a baby. And when I sat with the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and learned about temperature changes, weekly symptoms and why changes happen, my mind blew. I reeled with how ignorant about how I’d been about my own body and how if I had a daughter, our amazing cycle would be a part of our conversation. So armed with my new education, I had two babies, nursed them both, and figured my hormones could be put on the back burner for a bit.
Boy was I wrong.
About a year ago, my hair started falling out. Now, for those of you that have seen pictures of me, I have a LOT of hair so initially when I started shedding, I didn’t think too much of it. But then I started bleeding. And didn’t stop for about 3 months. Then Covid hit. It was pretty easy to ignore the symptoms - especially when you can’t get into a doctor. But I started mentioning it to some of my close girlfriends, and one in particular was like, “congratulations. This is perimenopause.” And I had to look up the term.
Here I was again, a fully college educated woman, completely clueless about my own body and what it was going through.
The last few months have been one of discovery for me regarding the latest and greatest phase of my life - and I’m not apologizing for TMI. This information is not, in fact, too much. It’s information that more women need. We need to empower ourselves with knowledge about our own bodies and what happens once we pass the first half of our life. There is such a sense of shame surrounding the female cycle - I feel it even as I’m sitting here talking about my own body which has served me well. This is a topic we as women need to not be so shy about because it’s confusing, it can last a really long time, and you can absolutely feel like you are losing your mind. We will all go through this - 50% of the population is female. It’s time we talk about our cycles without shame.
This same friend who welcomed me into perimenopause also referred me to an incredible clinic called Gennev. Gennev’s entire mission is to educate women about menopause and give us the tools to succeed through this new phase of life. Gennev’s chief medical officer, and Director of Swedish Hospital’s menopause Clinic Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor Su generously gave me an hour of her time to educate us all and welcome us into this amazing phase of life.
If you take nothing else away from this episode, my hope is that you realize what we all go through is completely normal, and most importantly, there is a way to make it bearable. We should not have to suffer through symptoms because we don’t realize what’s happening. There is help available so please take it. Gennev is available to anyone in the US for medical telehealth visits, and globally for information and education.
This is something happening to us - it’s right in front of our face, so let’s release the stigma!
Gennev: www.gennev.com
Twitter: @MyGennev
IG: @mygennev