e11: nobody ever told us
summary:
For the second of our four-part series, we’re joined in the rage room today by Dr. Brie Woodruff, DNP, ARNP. We’ve split her episode in to two because there was just too much good stuff! In this episode, we discuss the challenges women face in understanding their bodies and cycles, the symptoms of perimenopause, and using hormone therapy (and alternatives) to treat some of the peskier perimenopausal symptoms, while also addressing integrative care for women in midlife. Later, we dive into the hot topic of testosterone (for both women and men) and also what the WHI - Women's Health Initiative - revealed about using synthetic hormones in menopausal women. Dr. Woodruff is both a Seattle University faculty member teaching in the Doctoral Family Nurse Practitioner program and a practicing clinician in West Seattle at Neighborhood Naturopathic.
For years, the medical education system has discounted women as separate beings than men, and because of the lack of formal education around women’s health, there is also a trickle down effect of generational knowledge (or lack thereof!) shared between mothers and daughters. Our cycles, our hormone fluctuations, and very specifically, menopause, has been almost entirely overlooked by the healthcare system until only very recently. Dr. Woodruff walks us through what benefits different hormones offer to us and why treating each symptom through the lens of the whole body may benefit women struggling in perimenopause. She also gracefully guides us through alternatives to hormone therapy with lifestyle, supplements, and other options when hormones aren’t right for the patient.
key topics:
lack of education in formal medicine
lack of generational knowledge of our own bodies among women
hormone therapy for perimenopause and menopause
risks and benefits of hormone therapy and alternatives
