59. Menopause Chats with Team Eltham! Client & Coach Chats

Rachel Introduces Guests and the Menopause Journey Well, hello, I'm Rachel, head coach at Eltham, and yes, I'm a virgin podcaster, so please be kind. I figured during our booster challenges, we're always asking our clients to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. So it was probably time I took my own advice. And yes, so here we are. And hey, it's five points for our team. So joining me today, I have four lovely ladies that train with me, Erica, Caroline, Roxy and Penny. And today we're talking all things perimenopause, menopause, and how we can just keep moving through it. I mean, some days it's gracefully and other days we're just surviving with a coffee in our hand and perhaps a fan in the other. So when I took over head coach at Eltham four years ago, I was 48 years old, not even thinking about menopause, let alone perimenopause. Because in my head that was something that happened when you're in your 50s, like the time that you need reading glasses and perhaps start losing control of your bladder. So it was definitely like a later problem, not even in my vision at all. But what I was hearing was a pattern from the women that were either inquiring about fitness exercise classes or within the group, the members when we did our check insurance. So I'd hear common things like I've put on so much weight, like 10 kilos and I just can't shift it. My knees are aching, I'm just not sleeping. I've got a shoulder problem, I'm dealing with anxiety, and the list went on and I'm thinking, you know what, these women are really doing it tough or they're just blaming everything on menopause. Of course, my 48 year old self was thinking these people just need to exercise regularly, do some strength training, be consistent, go to bed early, eat better, drink less alcohol. Problem solved, right? Not right. Well, I was a bit naive. It just isn't as simple as that as we know, or now I know, when your hormones decide to throw a party and just not invite you. What we do know is that exercising has some amazing benefits, particularly during those fluctuating hormones, and I think it's a must for our survival. It will help with reducing common symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings. So let's start with the classic hot flushes and night sweats. Penny, can you tell me how your hot flushes presented to you? Overcoming Hot Flushes and HRT Misconceptions with Penny So I think I was the same as you and that I was pretty naive about menopause, perimenopause, Like I didn't even really know the difference between perimenopause and menopause. And I had a friend talking to me about her, like, you know, a friend of hers was getting hot flushes and I was like, oh, that doesn't sound great. And then I started to get hot flushes, like during the day, like I was getting hot. And then my arms were just, I could just wipe the sweat off my arms And I was like, and then I was starting to have to think about what I was wearing when I went to work. Like I was like, oh, I don't want to have sweat stains. I was really paranoid about it. Not so much at night. They were keeping me awake at night, but I wasn't waking up drenched. I wasn't having like getting up and changing and my sheets weren't drenched, but it was just mainly the daytime and I was having them. I'd have 3 or 4 in an hour and it was just like, I just felt really self-conscious about it. So that led me to going to the doctor. I'd heard about, you know, HRT could cause breast cancer and but I was like, no, I'm not putting up with this. I'm not doing this. I went to my GP and he was really, really helpful. He didn't Pooh, Pooh the idea. He was really open. He was like, let's try this, let's try that. So that's probably a whole nother discussion HRT, but that's what led me to going on HRT was. Speaker 3 And I think it's probably just important to say that it doesn't cause cancer. Speaker 2 No, it does the record. Speaker 3 Doesn't I know that that's what kind of the rumour and at some point the media was saying but but obviously yes, that's not true is. Speaker 2 It and I think like my mum's generation, they that was a really big deal for. Speaker 3 Me. Speaker 2 And so one, I didn't really talk about menopause with my mum because I don't think she did anything for it. And two, yeah, it's just something they just didn't do because of that fear. Speaker 3 Because that was a scare, yeah. Speaker 2 It was a scare. Speaker 1 So was that the hot flushes was the only symptom you had? Speaker 2 Well, and a brain fog, I think. Yeah. But then like, looking at my little list of things that you can get, like the joint aches, like you said, frozen shoulder, heart palpitations. I didn't realise that was like a symptom. Thinning hair, drying itchy skin, dry eyes. So yeah, I probably have had more symptoms, but that was the major like, well, I'm here like perimenopausal. Yeah. And also too, I had a hysterectomy when I was 42 so I didn't have the periods stopping or like I had no idea when my like because I didn't get them anymore. Speaker 4 So. Speaker 2 That was another thing and and and we were saying the other day, there's no blood test to tell you that you're on perimenopause. So there's one to tell you that when you're like post, but there's nothing to actually say, yes, you're on perimenopause. Yeah. Speaker 1 So does that mean you're just on the estrogen only? Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, yeah. From Night Sweats to Life Changer: Erica's HRT Story Correct. And Erica, you have had a lot of symptoms, yes. And night sweats was one of your big things as well. And, and I know sleep as well. So tell us about your lovely night. Speaker 4 Sweats. Yeah. So I think my perimenopause started with that, not being able to sleep. I would go to sleep and maybe last two hours, and then I would just wake up drenched, like, you know, under boob sweat, your entire back, the roots of your hair, your scalp. It was just horrendous. It was horrible and I went through that for many months without doing anything. The sleep got worse, which of course caused the brain fog to get worse, which caused me to not go to boot camp. I. Speaker 2 Was going to be sore. Speaker 4 My joints hurt. I had rosacea. Yeah. And so I'm also now on HIT. But it did take me a while to get there. I kind of thought, oh, you know, I can get through this. Do I really want to go there? And, you know, there still is that stigma around that it causes cancer and. Speaker 2 And I think there are a lot of people that go, yeah, I can get through this. And yeah, if you, if you do HIT, oh, what's wrong with you? Like, why do you need to do that? Why can't you just suck it up? And yeah, yeah, you know. Speaker 4 But I did a lot of research before I went on to HIT and I listened to a lot of Doctor Louise Newsome from the UK, who if you ever want to look anything up, she's fantastic. And she explained the difference between the medication that was around, you know, when our mothers would have gone through HRT, which did have a risk of breast cancer and is made from the urine of pregnant horses. But today it's bioidentical. So as long as you're on the bioidentical one, it's completely safe. And it's been a life changer for me. So I, I think I would be killed up in a ball in the corner under a desk because I mean, at this point in time if I hadn't gone and done something. But along with that, I needed to get back to exercise because it's really good for mental health. It is good for to try and lose some of the weight. I am one of the people who gained 10 kilos. It's still struggling to get it off. Yeah. So I think it's a combination of things that helps. And of course, community boot camp women, we we talk about a lot. We don't we we are obsessed with yeah, menopause and HRT and. Speaker 3 But in a way. Speaker 4 That we want to help other people who are going, hey, I'm struggling, Yeah. You know, and sharing our stories and sharing what we did and not forcing HRT to anyone's story. I don't want to go there. But, you know, there are options out there. And there are other things you can try as well. But yeah, that's just what worked for me. And yeah, much better. Speaker 1 So it took you a couple of months to get the right mix of ingredients. Do you like my plants ingredients because you love cooking? Speaker 2 Lovely don't cook HRT, no? Speaker 5 So you can. Speaker 1 Tell me how you started then once you're on your HRT, what you started with and where you had to get to, to where it really helped you make a difference. Speaker 4 For you, So I'm on progesterone and estrogen because I haven't had hysterectomy, although it was similar to Penny. I had an ablation when I was 41, so I had no periods. So I couldn't actually tell you when I was perimenopause and postmenopause. My guess is I'm probably postmenopause now at 53, but I haven't had a tested. There's no point really. Yeah, so I started with that. They tend to start you on a lower dose. Helped a little bit. I was still getting night sweats, hot flashes during the day, still had disturbed sleep. I think the sleep was probably the last thing to get over control. And that's when I went on testosterone. So a lot of them don't like to give you testosterone as well. But I learned that one through Doctor Louise Newsome. And women have testosterone. It's not just a man's hormone. And testosterone is different to the other two hormones in that it will drop naturally over time. So it's not like once you hit menopause, you stop making estrogen and progesterone with the testosterone, it will slowly go over time. So you need a blood test to have that one? Yeah. Tested. Yeah. Yep. And if your level is low on us, then you can go on to it. Speaker 2 Yeah, on my testosterone as well. Speaker 4 Yeah, right. Yeah. And that was the changer for me for sleep. Speaker 1 Excellent. Great. It's been known how exercise is often prescribed for those suffering depression, and movement is probably one of the best tools for mood. It boosts endorphins, supports serotonin level levels and helps with low mood, anxiety and feeling frustrated with shit I forgot, what do you call it? Speaker 4 Brain Hulk? Well. Speaker 1 Done. Oh, these you? Speaker 2 Crack yourself up right here. I'm like, what's a big secret? Your husband? I was like, OK, fair enough. Speaker 1 Well, half the time I couldn't even get words out of my mouth. We have Roxy here. How HRT and Community Transformed Roxy's Life Roxy, you've had some ups and downs over the last couple of years. I mean, I think last year was the first time I heard you talk about it. I think even when we did, if it wasn't for the first booster or the second booster, saw it in your reflections when you posted. Oh, yeah. So tell me how you've been going with. Speaker 5 It how it's been well in preparing for to sit on this little group chat. I look back over the last 2 1/2 years. I'm 53 now. I tell everyone I'm 47, but I am. Speaker 3 53 she looks. Speaker 2 30. Speaker 5 Five and I have been through started three years ago and was all happy and you know life was going good and then 2 1/2 years ago the can I say the shit hit the fan in many, many ways in my life. We're going through a renovation. My in laws passed away, my husband was grieving the loss of his parents and everything changed from there. So I in these two naive years, I've taken on a lot. And if it wasn't for these coffee ketchups that we have, I don't know where I would be right now. Sorry. You know, I've always been no, I can handle it, I can handle it. But this was beyond my control. And every coffee catch up like like we've mentioned it was, we ended up talking about menopause and slowly, slowly, I felt safer to open and. I was resistant to do all the HRT stuff because of all the research. And you know, I don't even take a pen at all if I've got a headache, you know, I'm one of those people. And, and we would go, we'd do our 5K walks and I would walk usually with Erica and I because I know she's done so much body research. I'd ask her 1000 questions and, you know, and eventually December last year bit the bullet. And because it, it wasn't low, it was below low. Yeah. And I wanted to walk away from everything and the glasses that I attended pulled me through some really yucky times and thoughts and and all of that. But doing the HRT, it was went to the doctors on the Friday morning, did the first, you know, the gel and the tablets and all that stuff. And I woke up this Saturday morning to come to the 8:00 class and it was like I have gone from a black and white life to color. It was that quick for me. So in all of this done a big turn around in what my expectations are now in life, which has been the the positives out of coming out of it is that now I curate my time, who I spend it with, what I do with it. I have now become a class catch up like I my by the end of next week, I should have my 600th class, which is amazing for me because I've never stuck with any kind of exercise program. And I think it's been a savior for me being around, you know, people that are not judgmental, supportive, They make me laugh, they tell really dumb jokes sometimes. And you know, I, I have come through the 2 1/2 years of darkness where I feel more confident as a woman. I've reconnected with my husband. I have joy in my life now. And yes, I have gained, started off losing lots of weight and then with all the stuff with my father last year and the year before having dementia. It has really that dementia cloud has really pivoted me into looking at my life and my family's life and putting and investing in me through these classes of boot camp, which, you know, are amazing for me. Sorry, I didn't think I knew I was going to cry. But yeah, it's just, yeah, it's I was very resistant. And, you know, it's amazing how much you can put on your plate to distract yourself. And I didn't know what my body was telling me. I ended up with plantar fascia. I wake up one day and could not walk. And I'm like, shit, how am I going to get to classes? I'm in pain. Then I had a bit of the, you know, prolapse and I'm like, I can't do sit ups and I can't do this. But thank God that your modifications rate aligned with what the physio suggested, which just, I keep turning up and now I'm doing like 10 classes a week. And I never thought I would be that kind of person. But it's just, you know, in one of the podcasts that Alex did was she mentioned how, you know, even if you're feeling really, really terrible, just turning up and being around the silliness. Because sometimes I was there and sometimes my body was there, but I had checked I was not there. Do you know what I mean? Like mentally I was just not there. But it's all the laughs and all the incidental things and you're. Speaker 2 Going to come to class to catch up on all the gossip. Speaker 5 Yeah. Speaker 2 Social event and if. Speaker 1 You are. Speaker 5 Not there on Friday mornings, coffee catch up. You miss out on social events, all right. But yeah. But it's been a gift. Yep. Speaker 1 Thanks, Roxy. Thanks for sharing that. That's excellent. Thanks. Speaker 5 And this segment was brought to you by Kleenex Tissues. Thank you. Regaining Vitality and Confidence with HRT: Caroline's Story OK, Caroline, so you started on HRT maybe a couple of years ago? Speaker 3 Three years ago. Speaker 1 Maybe three years ago, and then at some point you've come off of it and then more recently gone back on. So tell me why what's happened there? Speaker 3 So I went on to HRT originally because I was having symptoms. Now I've never really had the kind of hot flushes and night sweats, but mood wise, I was certainly having symptoms, as my husband can contest, but certainly having symptoms. And so I went to my doctor to talk about it and they suggested HRT, but it was very much at the time presented to me as sort of like a short term, you know, maybe you'll do it for a year or two just to get you through this change. And then and, and so it was presented to me in a way that that as I said, it was a temporary solution now for me then in early 24, my husband unfortunately got diagnosed with tongue cancer. And because his health concerns all of a sudden became the major concern, obviously, and the major point of focus, my own health, as it were. And going to the doctor for me just took a back seat for a year. But it was also about the time I'd been on it for 18 months. So I wasn't that worried. I just kind of thought, well, the doctor kind of presented it to me as a short term solution anyway. So it's probably about time I come off it. So I'm just not going to worry. I'm not going back to the doctor to get another prescription. And I didn't really. And I kind of thought that was fine. And, and I probably thought that was fine for that, that exactly. I thought I was OK. But then after and obviously, as, as you know, Roxy's just been talking about sometimes in your life things collide. And for me, you know, the menopause and my husband getting sick collided at the same time. So it is quite difficult to separate out obviously what's specifically being caused by what. But then I found, so say we're about nine months out of treat, out of Roger's treatment finishing and he's still in recovery, but we're nine months out and I just wasn't recovering. The thing that I really lost was my confidence and my feeling of vitality. And I'm somebody that, you know, I, I attack the world, if you know what I mean. And I have big ambitions and I want to do stuff and I, you know, I'm not scared by day-to-day life. And all of a sudden I found that I was and that kind of fire in me that that that, you know, wants to do things and achieve things and go here and travel and just all of a sudden, everything felt overwhelming instead of exciting. Yeah, yeah. And obviously I put that down at the time to what was going on with with with my husband. But then, you know, it sort of got to a point where I was thinking, but that's now in the rear view mirror. And, and yeah, of course you don't, you know, the family of, of someone who's had cancer, cancer are, are going through it with them and you don't bounce back in 5 minutes. It does take time, but sort of a year later or whatever, I'm thinking, well, I'm just not, I'm not coming back. And then you arrange, which was just incredibly fortuitous for me, for a menopause expert to come in and talk to us and when and you know, and it's just one of those things, isn't it? When someone's running through symptoms and you just think, my God, that's made you're amazing. I just, it's me. I said, for me, I don't get the hot sweats and stuff. I don't get that at all. But certainly, as I said, this just complete feeling of I've just lost my nerve for life. And so and, and, and you know, the woman that was talking to us was talking about, of course, putting the cancer thing to bed and really explaining how that was just a scare. It's just not true. Just just put that aside. But also when she was running through the statistics of all of the different things that if you're on HRT long term, you reduce, you know, your, your chances of dementia and heart disease and, and, and what do you call it? Osteoporosis, bone density. And, and it's not just like by 5%, some of the statistics were like 60%. They were, they were so compelling and I think the confidence of of of an expert, obviously in a boot camp environment, which I trust. Do you know what I mean? I know that I'm not talking, you know, I'm not listening to some real on Facebook, if you know what, to me telling me how to do this. And I just thought, no, OK, that's well, that's what I've got to do. So I went back to my Doctor Who who and interestingly, she has over time done with me this kind of questionnaire thing where I tick boxes on a piece of paper to, to rate myself. I can't remember what it is nought to 10 or whatever it is about, you know, how my sleep's going, how my anxiety's going, all of these different things. And, and we realized that when I was on HRT, you know, the previous time I was scoring, I can't remember what it was, let's just say 78 out of 100. I was doing well. But now my score was like 15 out of 100. I was doing that badly in all of these measures. So she put me onto, you know, back onto the gel and the progesterone tablets at night. I don't take the testosterone. It's never been in the conversation. I looked. I mean, everyone here will know that when these guys talk about testosterone, my I look shocked. I'd never heard of that. But I think that's because I'm concluding in this conversation. That's because I've got polycystic ovaries and I've had them my whole life, so I have too much testosterone anyway. Speaker 2 So you could have given it to me exactly so I've had. Speaker 3 To do symptoms of that. So for me I I assume that's why testosterone's never been in the conversation. I didn't even know that that was a thing, but I. Speaker 2 Don't know if they really readily bring it up anyway. Speaker 4 No, they don't. Speaker 2 Yeah, like my doctor never mentioned testosterone to me and I end up talking to an endocrinologist about it because they kind of socialize like not all doctors like mine doctor's a male and he was like, I have not prescribed that before to a woman. I don't want to prescribe it wrong. Yeah, I think you should go and drive somebody. Yes. So it probably depends as well. But if you've got plenty of it, then. Speaker 4 And I think I find in the HRT area at the moment, you've really got to advocate for yourself. Speaker 3 Yeah. Well, and that was one of the things that I that was just when again the expert that you brought in was talking about how the average doctor in the medical training. Yes, it was. Speaker 2 Two hours or something? Six hours. Speaker 3 I thought she said on the menopause, that is the training. Yeah. And she was explaining exactly how little doctors actually know, which gave me the confidence exactly to go and advocate for myself. No, I'm lucky that it didn't take much of A push. My doctor was, you know, I mean, that wasn't much of a hard conversation, but I went back on the jail, let's just say in November, something like that changed my life, changed my life. I mean, I just feel, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm back, if you know what I mean. And I feel I've got energy again. I've got that, you know, vitality and zest for life has come back. My confidence has come back and my sexual function has come back. And that's something that we haven't kind of talked about yet, but that's a that's a real thing that kind of is significantly impacted or it certainly was for me. And that has completely returned to normal. And so, yeah, I'm on it for life. Girls, I didn't actually know before we did this, all of us. So I didn't actually know that we're all on HRT, but it's certainly, absolutely, absolutely it is. It is a game changer, or it certainly has been for me. Speaker 1 And I would say I think Roxy and I both have the same problems. When we went to our GPS at the fast food chain, they'll call it fast food. Speaker 4 Chain. Speaker 1 That the doctor obviously wanted to do the blood test, hormone test, OK, we know that that doesn't really help or show anything. So of course nothing comes up abnormal in her eyes. She wanted to prescribe an antidepressant tablet and I was shocked. I was like, why? I'm not depressed. OK, maybe yes, the symptoms are sounding. Speaker 2 Like that, aren't they so? Speaker 1 Yeah, I have an antidepressant tablet and maybe this was get you through, but then. Speaker 4 And the side effects of an antidepressant tablet are horrendous compared to bioidentical HRT that has no side effect. Speaker 2 Well, I got, I got prescribed antidepressant tablet for hot flashes when I first started on the HRT journey, but it just wasn't strong enough. Like I went back to the doctor and said, look, that they helped it start, but they're not helping anymore. So then I went on to the patches and then the gel. But yeah. Speaker 3 The other thing I think going back on the gel has done is is I'm losing weight whereas I put weight whereas I was another one that put put on a lot. Speaker 2 Of find it thing on it makes you want to come to class so. Speaker 3 It's just, I just got more energy. Yeah. I've just got more energy. It just doesn't, you know, it's just not such a, you know, drag. Yeah, drag. Exactly. I've just got more energy. And therefore I'm just naturally more active. Yeah. I don't feel the need to comfort eat so much, I guess because the anxiety has gone down because I'm, you know, the whole thing. The Synergy of HRT, Exercise, and Community Support The whole thing, yeah. Speaker 1 I think it takes a while to connect all of the dots. So you're going, you might be feeling something because same. The energy, my goodness, I've had all this sleep, but I'll wake up and I'm so tired. What's going on? Have a blood test. Oh, iron levels are maybe a little bit dropped. Try iron. But now when I look back and I can see what was gradually happier. Speaker 5 Yeah, all. Speaker 1 The little pieces coming back together. Speaker 2 Because I had a friend who was waking up absolutely drenched in the night, and she went and got a blood test and the doctor's like, no, you're not in perimenopause. Well, how else they can't tell you that? Yeah, but. Speaker 3 Your your. Speaker 4 Progesterone and estrogen will fluctuate within an hour, so a blood test for those two hormones tells you nothing is. Speaker 2 Different and then unfortunately it's taken them longer to get onto something that they need because people are saying, Oh no, you're not going through pyramid. Of course you don't need that when an actual fact they could be feeling so much better so much sooner. Speaker 3 Yeah. Now this is, I mean, obviously we're all talking about HRT. All of us have found that. I would I would, you know, bringing it back to boot camp though, say that that HRT on its own isn't. Speaker 2 Enough. No. No. Speaker 3 Fish Camp, I mean, for me it's. Speaker 5 Complimentary. Speaker 3 And anxiety was was a problem for me. I said all of a sudden, and I'm not an anxious person. All of a sudden, I've got this anxiety. And yes, as I echo everything you were saying, Roxy, about sometimes I don't want to come. I don't want to come out of the house. Yeah, but I know if I get there, it'll be OK. I know. And I know that it it, you know, exercising helps with absolutely everything from energy levels to to anxiety to just, you know, because you do come out of the class just in a different mindset. Exactly and exactly have. Speaker 2 You know, groups don't always like the classes that Rachel does. Climbers aren't my favorites, but talking is. Yeah. Speaker 4 Yeah. Speaker 3 Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Speaker 2 For sure. Speaker 4 Yeah. Speaker 1 Great. Well, ladies, thank you so much for coming out tonight and putting our hearts on the line. Really, it's obviously been great training you all. You've all stayed relatively consistent with your training. So I think that's also made a big difference. And most of you are doing like four or five classes a week. So hats off to you going through that and still being consistent with your training. It's really important and you guys have all said how it has benefit you all. I don't know how to finish this podcast really. Speaker 3 You just say thank you for listening. We hope this has been. Speaker 2 Helpful and. Speaker 1 Sponsored by clinics Tissues. Thank you.