When we talk about menopause, we tend to focus on the symptoms. The things that physically impact us and can alter our day-to-day experience. However, what we don’t tend to discuss is one of the less acknowledged ‘side effect’ of menopause – grief. Like any other loss, we experience grief over the loss of our past selves, our ability to produce both children and collagen! We often give a nod to depression and anxiety that can come with this change in life, but we turn a blind eye to how this all makes us feel inside. We’re talking with Terri Swan, Director of Compassion and Nurturing at Womb Cocoon. Terri Swan is an Advanced Online Grief Recovery Specialist. Terri acts a guide for women, to move them beyond loss and grief to a life of emotional completion and recovery. Terri will be discussing the impacts of grief, on menopause, our health and our relationships by lending insight to why it’s important to acknowledge our grief at this point in our lives so we can heal and thrive. We admit the conversation made us a bit emotional. As women, we really to tend to push that ‘stuff’ down and soldier on. It all catches up with us though and it’s important to acknowledge it. Tune in!

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Good grief!

Is Hormone Replacement Treatment HRT safe? Safe for everyone? Safe for you? It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves and our doctors for years but have you ever felt confident with the answer? Back in 2002 the publication of a landmark study warned of the potential negative side-effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The report scared the hell out of women everywhere with the promise of serious health risks. And 19 years later, we're still on the fence about it. As we always say, knowledge is power and we wanted to learn what the deal is. Is HRT safe? Should we be scared? What are bio-identicals and natural HRT options? There’s a lot to learn and we’re starting with the basics because we know many of you, like ourselves have a lot of questions and concerns around this topic. Our She2.0 ‘doctor on call’ Dr. Andrea Walsh joins us to talk about the 101 of HRT. We feel like she answers most of our questions but if you have questions of your own, reach out to us and we’ll find you the answers! Tune in!

HRT 101

Some topics that are really close to our heart and Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of them. Not just because of the relief it can offer women going through peri/menopause but because of its approach to women and the change in general. It is far more optimistic, embracing, and unapologetic than our North American perspective and we find that hopeful and reassuring. Angela Warburton R.TCMP, R.Ac is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner. Using holistic and natural medicine, she helps restore balance to the body, mind, emotions, and spirit to help women understand the subtle (or not so subtle) signs and symptoms of their body and emotions so they can live their most radiant life through menopause and beyond. We also have chat about ‘the second spring’ being a time for women to look forward to as they step into their greatest power. It came as a surprise to us that different cultures view and experience menopause differently.

What your menopause symptoms are really telling you

Hey Samual Jackson! We have no problem going to sleep. It's staying asleep that we struggle with. In fact, sleep is one of the most common problems women experience with perimenopause. A lack of sleep triggers a series of other issues like stress, anxiety, fatigue amongst other things. How's a gal supposed to function?  We figure helping you sleep is a great way to kick of Season 3 of the podcast. In this episode we’re talking to Kerry Roberts, RPh, BSc. (Hons) Pharm, NCMP (NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner) Brant Arts, IDA Pharmacy. Kerry works with women going through the transition and helps them to understand their bodies and learn more about their options. Because there are options – plenty of them!  Not only do we explore the options, but Kerry also gives us some interesting and scary advice about pharmaceutical sleep aids. Everyone should know this, and we’re shocked that we’ve never heard this before.  So tune in! 

We know you can fall asleep but...

The sun is shining, the patios are open and we’re finally vaccinated! This calls for a celebration! So, we’re going to be wrapping up the podcast for the summer as we swap our sweats for swimsuits and try to disconnect and enjoy some down time. We have learned so much over the past year. Our experts have shared some invaluable information that has not only changed the way we view menopause, it’s helped us conquer a few of the symptoms as well. Our conversations have been a game-changer to our health and our minds. Our minds were blown by the courage and strength of our ‘real women, real stories’ guests who weren’t afraid to tell us about their own journey and struggles. We are in awe by the amazing community we’re building.We even had the world’s bravest man join us! You’ll want to listen to that episode! In this final episode, we reflect on some of the amazing women we’ve met, advice that changed our world and topics we’re excited to explore when our podcast heats up again in September.   Keep following us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because even though we won’t be podcasting, we’re keeping the conversation, advice and tips going over the summer months. Flip flops on and bottoms up, everyone!  

Vacation Alert!

This is our second chat with Dr. Kristy Prouse, MD FRCSC (OB/Gyn); Chief Medical Officer of the Institute for Hormonal Health and we’re really excited about this one. Why? Because we know YOU’RE going to be excited about it too. We’re always talking about the effects of aging on our bits and parts but the one thing we can not talk enough about is… why we don’t have to suffer. For most women we talk to, urinal incontinence is a big one. Guess what? In France they don’t even have a word for ‘kegel’. There’s a reason for that but you’ll have to tune in later for that info. An astounding 5 out of 10 women don’t even seek help because they don’t know help exists. It does and we’re here to chat with Dr. Prouse about the options and we’ve tried a few ourselves so we’ll be reporting on those treatments and why you no longer have to pee when you sneeze. So get ready to enjoy a romp on the trampoline this summer because help is on its way!

Urinal incontinence

When we talk about menopause, estrogen always seems to steal the limelight. We know that our bodies aren't producing as much of it and we know the signs. But is estrogen taking all the credit? In this episode, Dr. Kristy Prouse, MD, OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer of The Institute of Hormonal Health joins us to talk about what's really keeping us up at night! 

No sleep. No sex. No fun!

One of the most common symptoms of menopause is memory loss. We can't find our keys, remember what we were just going to say, forget the word to describe that thingamajiggy we need. It starts off slowly but as we start to lose our nouns, we start to really worry that we might be headed for disaster. Recently in the news we'd read that there has been talk about a connection between menopause and Alzheimer's Disease. Naturally we FREAKED OUT! We thought this was a phase, not a predictor for a pretty scary future. So we did what anyone would, we sought out Dr. Gillian Einstein, faculty member in the Department of Psychology and the Founder of the Collaborative Specialization in Women's Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Einstein studies women's brain health and aging. So while the media has been a little fear-mongering on this topic, it's not to be entirely dismissed. However, after listening to this podcast, you'll probably sleep better.    

Is our memory loss worse than we thought?

If you’ve ever wondered what Reiki is, you’re not alone. If you’ve ever wondered how Reiki can help with peri/menopause symptoms – you are DEFINITELY not alone! Sandra Zager is a Reiki Master & Instructor for both people and animals (admit it, doesn’t hormone rage make you feel just a little bit like a wild animal?). She is also certified in long distance healing which is ideal in this Covid climate.   Reiki emerged from Japan in the late 1800’s and is a form of alternative therapy commonly referred to as energy healing. It works with the energy fields around the body and transfers the universal energy from the practitioner’s palms to the patient. Using Reiki, Sandra has been able to help her clients heal by clearing blockages within. Her goal is to empower women to put their crowns back on.  Have a listen!

The healing power of Reiki

Ladies, have we got a treat for you. We are going to introduce you to the ‘bravest man alive’! Our special guest on this week’s podcast is Rodger Donaldson who is going to give us a glimpse of what menopause looks like from the other side. Rodger met his wife, Mary Jo about 15 years ago. Today they own and operate Elk Lake Wilderness Resort which offers fishing and family vacations. They have their hands pretty full and to add to that, Mary Jo started to go through menopause and that was a whole other ride! Rodger is honest and really insightful and gives us a really valuable perspective from the partner of someone going through this major life transition. We tend to think of our own experience, but this is a good opportunity to hear from someone who is truly supporting their partner through thick and thin. No pressure to all the other partners out there! We’re pretty impressed by Rodger and hope you’ll have a listen because he shares some really wonderful advice with the rest of us. Tune in!

Let's hear it for the boy!

You may have heard that ‘shrooms’ (psilocybin) are making a comeback. The use of psychedelics is being touted as helpful for depression, anxiety, smoking cessation, PTSD and many other conditions.  They’re also a great support for some of our menopause symptoms. We’ve tried a daily dose and can attest to its calming properties and its ability to help us focus! In this episode we talk to Irie Selkirk, Co-Founder of GoodCap Wellness and co-founder of the MAPS Canada Toronto Support Chapter who gives us the lowdown on microdosing, macrodosing and why taking a microdose daily can give us all a ‘really good day’.  Don’t we deserve at least one? Tune in!

Ready for a really good day?

A Really Good Day!

Monica Graves is a talented and wickedly creative jewelry designer. As owner and designer of glamjulz, Monica has to balance designing, purchasing, running a business and a marriage all at once. And she's doing it all while suffering through hot flashes! Tune in to hear how she is riding through the wave of menopause and the things she's tried to help alleviate the symptoms so she can continue to keep all the balls in the air!

How this entrepreneur juggles menopause and a career

Navigating menopause is tough with no one at the helm. There are so many gaps in our healthcare and the information we need to really thrive during this time. It can be so frustrating and lonely made worse by not feeling like we have someone who has our back. When we found out that there was such a thing as a 'Menopause Practitioner' we almost fell over! What? Someone to finally help guide us through this challenging phase full of questions, symptoms and sleepless nights? Carolyn Whiskin, RPh, BScPhm, NCMP is a ‘Certified Menopause Practitioner’, and we feel like we’ve just met a real-life unicorn! Carolyn is with Brant Arts IDA Pharmacy and is one of a few practitioners across Canada. We are so excited to have her join us in this episode. We know you’re going to be relieved and excited to know these practitioners actually do exist! So tune in!

Unicorns DO exist

Navigating menopause is tough with no one at the helm. There are so many gaps in our healthcare and the information we need to really thrive during this time. It can be so frustrating and lonely made worse by not feeling like we have someone who has our back.  When we found out that there was such a thing as a 'Menopause Practitioner' we almost fell over! What? Someone to finally help guide us through this challenging phase full of questions, symptoms and sleepless nights?  Carolyn Whiskin, RPh, BScPhm, NCMP is a ‘Certified Menopause Practitioner’, and we feel like we’ve just met a real-life unicorn! Carolyn is with Brant Arts IDA Pharmacy and is one of a few practitioners across Canada. We are so excited to have her join us in this episode. We know you’re going to be relieved and excited to know these practitioners actually do exist! So tune in!   What’s possibly more exciting is that Carolyn and her partner are on a quest towards providing us with a healthier menopausal life. They are offering a free online education session called “Menopause Symptoms – Do I REALLY Have To Live With Them?”  

Unicorns DO exist!

Wine, Women & Weed explores cannabis from all angles through informed conversations with leaders and experts in the industry. From recreational and medicinal benefits to marketing and careers in the world of weed, I’ll be giving a 360 on the cannabis industry and what you need to know. Join me weekly to get the dope on dope!

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Wine, Women & Weed Podcast

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