How can perimenopause be mistaken for bipolar disorder?
🤝 Get your own personalised menopause support from Dr Naomi Potter and her team: https://www.menopausecare.co.uk/what-to-expect-ihih
In this episode, Dr Naomi Potter talks to comedian, writer and speaker Cally Beaton about how she was wrongly diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was actually perimenopausal — a misdiagnosis that happens in more cases than you might realise.
Cally also shares how she reinvented herself in midlife to become a stand-up comedian, how she's struggling to access the HRT she needs, and gets advice from Dr Naomi Potter on how to beat those menopause-induced nighttime surges of anxiety.
This is an eye-opening conversation full of laughter, information, and great advice for midlife women.
Follow Cally Beaton below:
Cally's Instagram: @callybeatoncomedian
Cally's TikTok: @callybeatoncomedian
Cally's podcast Namaste Motherf**kers: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/namaste-motherf-kers/id1562113984
Cally's new book Namaste Motherf**kers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Namaste-Motherf-kers/dp/B08JJZF3MCFollow
Dr. Naomi Potter below:
Naomi’s Instagram: @dr_naomipotter
Naomi’s TikTok: @dr_naomipotter
00:00 – Intro to Cally
00:28 – From TV boardrooms to comedy clubs
00:59 – Joan Rivers gives life-changing advice
02:33 – Taking the leap into standup
03:21 – From corporate gloss to vulnerability
04:26 – Learning through failure in comedy
05:05 – Balancing comedy and corporate life
05:35 – cComedy secret revealed in New York
07:51 – The hormonal chaos of our 40s
08:42 – Perimenopause is the real issue
09:19 – When Cally hit rock bottom
10:23 – Juggling too much and crashing
10:54 – Post-stage breakdown and relentless tears
11:25 – Accessing private psychiatric treatment
12:08 – Diagnosed with bipolar at 47
12:54 – Prescribed heavy-duty bipolar meds
13:46 – Finally a GP mentions hormones
14:16 – Realising it was perimenopause all along
14:36 – Off bipolar meds, onto HRT
15:08 – Misdiagnosis of women in psychiatry
16:34 – Hormonal turbulence or psychiatric issue?
17:14 – Fear of long-term bipolar medication
18:01 – Finally coming off the wrong meds
19:34 – Overprescribing and polypharmacy problems
20:11 – HRT patch frustration begins
20:49 – Side effects and stock issues
22:10 – Why HRT access is so hard
25:06 – Perimenopause symptoms: depression to anxiety
25:55 – Hot flushes, night sweats and brain fog
26:35 – The stubborn menopause tummy fat
27:15 – Brain fog vs stage clarity
27:51 – Crippling sleep anxiety in midlife
29:02 – Sleep schedule struggles as a comedian
29:26 – Cally’s current HRT regime
30:03 – Trouble replacing the mirena coil
30:56 – Alternative progesterone options
31:48 – Regular pushback from GPs
32:31 – Long-term safety of HRT
33:36 – Alternatives to HRT patches
34:35 – Chronic sleep deprivation struggles
35:07 – Could progesterone help with sleep?
35:28 – Questions from Cally’s community
35:45 – When is a good time to stop HRT?
36:24 – Managing withdrawal and symptoms
36:46 – On max HRT and still foggy
37:09 – Lifestyle factors beyond hormones
38:05 – Absorption issues and patch quality
38:28 – Testosterone and brain clarity
39:00 – What to expect post-menopause
39:49 – Hormonal chaos eventually settles
40:44 – Libido tips and tricks
41:15 – Understanding the causes of low libido
43:12 – Cally’s upcoming book and tour
44:07 – Fearless reinvention through midlife
44:50 – Mess, midlife, and moving forward
46:10 – Outro
#callybeaton #naomipotter #namastemotherfuckers