Menopause - The Real Deal

“I used to be able to cope with all of this. Why can't I anymore?”

It's a question many women find themselves asking in midlife. Work that once felt manageable becomes overwhelming. Confidence changes. Memory and concentration can become frightening. Relationships can come under strain, and suddenly you can find yourself questioning the career and life you've spent years building.

My guest is Paula Bradbrook, who has more than 25 years of corporate leadership experience and now works across midlife health, career longevity, workplace capability and women's health advocacy. Paula is Director of Midlife Advantage and Your Menopause Doula, co-founder of Her Health Hero, and works with BleedBetter to improve awareness and clinical pathways around heavy menstrual bleeding.

Paula's own experience led her from fearing she had early-onset dementia and questioning almost every area of her life to understanding just how much can be happening to women during midlife. Together, we look at what can happen when menopause collides with careers, relationships, responsibilities and financial security, and why struggling to manage everything you once did doesn't necessarily mean you've become less capable.

• Why she wasn't prepared for what happened after her hysterectomy, and how dramatically things changed in the weeks that followed.
• How nine months of not understanding what was happening nearly cost her the career, marriage and family life she'd spent decades building.
• The crucial difference between losing your capability and losing your capacity, and why that distinction can completely change the way you interpret suddenly struggling with things you've managed successfully for years.
• The uncomfortable realisation that came from looking back at female colleagues she'd previously judged when their performance started to change, and how differently she sees those women now.
• What decades of heavy menstrual bleeding looked like behind closed doors, the lengths she sometimes had to go to just to leave the house, and how something so disruptive became her version of “normal.”

“I thought I had early onset dementia, arthritis, everything just accelerated so quickly.”

“He stood in front of me, I think, on about four occasions, just crying, asking where his Paula had gone.”

“I remember actually storming in and I stood up and maybe pounded her desk even, and just said, ‘This is an absolute travesty against women and what are you doing about it?’”

“We either don't talk about it at all, or we all want to make a joke of it. This is actually really serious for some women.”

Website: https://yourmenopausedoula.com.au/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paulabradbrook

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

There's no shortage of advice telling women how they should exercise during perimenopause and menopause. Lift heavier weights. Build muscle. Protect your bones. Keep pushing yourself.

But women's bodies don't suddenly become identical when they reach midlife. Hormonal changes are happening alongside differences in pain, stress, sleep, menstrual cycles, health conditions and everyday life, and all of these can influence how exercise feels and how the body responds.

My guest is Chelsea Martino, an Exercise Physiologist and owner of Functional Mind Exercise Physiology in Melbourne, Australia. Chelsea works across women's health, chronic pain, neurological rehabilitation and mental health, taking a whole-person approach to exercise and movement.

Together, we challenge the idea that there's one correct way for women to exercise during perimenopause and menopause, and look at why understanding what's happening in your own body could be far more useful than simply following another set of rules.

• Why feeling strong in the gym one week and struggling with exactly the same exercise the next doesn't necessarily mean you've suddenly lost strength or fitness.
• How your menstrual cycle can affect exercise performance, and what cycle syncing could mean for the way you train at different points in the month.
• Why the current focus on lifting heavier weights during menopause may be too simplistic for women dealing with pain, fatigue, stress or other health conditions.
• What your nervous system has to do with exercise, and the surprising ways a body under stress can reveal itself through movement.
• Why doing less can sometimes lead to better results, and how breaking the cycle of pushing hard, flaring symptoms and stopping altogether could make movement more sustainable.

“I'd rather four really good ones than seven half-ass ones.”

“That cup eventually is going to overflow and tip and go, ‘I can't do this anymore.’”

“A lot of women will come in and go, ‘I can't stand my husband anymore.’”

“You're both starting to meet each other again. So there's a shift in the dynamics.”

Website: www.functionalmindep.com.au

Instagram: @_functionalmind on IG

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

Menopause can be difficult enough to navigate, but what happens when it comes as part of breast cancer treatment and the usual options for managing symptoms may not be straightforward?

For some women, the transition can happen incredibly quickly. Then, once cancer treatment ends, they can find themselves trying to work out who is actually responsible for helping with everything that comes next.

My guest is NHS doctor and executive coach Dr Alex, who has more than 25 years' experience in medicine, much of it in oncology. Her work supporting women after breast cancer led her to notice something that went beyond the physical symptoms of menopause.

Because what happens when you treat the hormones, but a woman still doesn't feel like herself?

We talk about menopause after cancer before widening the conversation to the brain, confidence, identity, work and the enormous load many women are carrying by the time they reach midlife. And we challenge an increasingly common message about what women should be doing with their lives and careers as they get older.

• Why women experiencing menopause after breast cancer can find themselves caught between different healthcare services, and what can happen when nobody quite takes ownership of the whole picture.
• What could be behind some of the frightening changes women notice in their memory, concentration and ability to cope in midlife, and why Alex believes we need to look beyond hormones alone.
• What Alex means by the “midlife brain”, and why your brain may be dealing with far more than fluctuating hormones by the time you reach your 40s and 50s.
• Why she challenges the message that midlife women should automatically slow down, step back or do less, particularly when it comes to their careers.
• The difference between capacity and capability, and why confusing the two can completely change the way a woman sees herself when she starts struggling.

“Life's supposedly meant to be coming back to normal, but it rarely does.”

“So I'll have some HRT and life will be normal again. And it's just not that straightforward.”

“It's very easy just to put it all down to menopausal symptoms, but they do land on an already full plate.”

“If I forget a sentence mid-meeting, everyone thinks I'm going through menopause and I'm about to have a meltdown.”

Email: [email protected]

Website: dralexcoach.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-alex-kuciejewska-2767a334a

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

For many women, reaching their 40s can bring a baffling change. The organisation, focus and ability to keep on top of life that they've relied on for years suddenly seem to disappear. Things feel more overwhelming, their memory isn't what it was, emotions can become harder to regulate and they may find themselves wondering why they just can't cope like they used to.

For some, this is also the point when a lifetime of behaviours, struggles and apparent contradictions begins to make sense.

In this episode, I look at what we currently know about the connection between ADHD and hormonal changes during perimenopause, why existing ADHD traits can become much harder to manage at this stage of life, and why this is leading some women to recognise their own neurodivergence for the very first time.

• Why so many women with ADHD reach midlife without ever knowing they're neurodivergent, and why the way ADHD can present in girls has played such a big part in this.
• How you can spend your whole life unknowingly building ways to compensate for the way your brain works, and what can happen when those strategies suddenly aren't enough.
• The connection between oestrogen and the brain chemicals involved in attention, motivation, memory and executive function, and what this could mean during perimenopause.
• Why the mental health impact of perimenopause may be particularly significant for neurodivergent women, and the midlife statistic I think we should all be paying attention to.
• What finally made me seek an ADHD diagnosis and try medication after going my whole life without either, and what happened when I did.

“If you have ADHD at 45, your brain didn't suddenly download it along with your first hot flush.”

“My autistic brain likes things neat and tidy, organised and in their place. My ADHD brain apparently sees that as a personal challenge.”

“Then I blink, and the ADHD has come through like a Tasmanian devil, and suddenly my desk looks like a bomb has gone off.”

“Apparently 11:47 at night is when my brain has decided to produce some of my greatest ideas.”

“Even the sound of your partner chewing or even breathing can suddenly make you question whether prison really would be that bad.”

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

What if some of the strange changes happening to your body aren't random after all?

When we think about menopause symptoms, hot flushes, night sweats and changing periods probably spring to mind. But hormonal changes can affect far more of the body than many women realise, sometimes showing up in ways that seem completely unrelated to menopause.

In this episode, I'm joined by GP and BMS-accredited Menopause Specialist and Trainer Dr Rebeccah Tomlinson for a fascinating conversation about the lesser-known symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, including some that surprised even us as health professionals.

Together, we uncover just how wide-ranging the effects of hormonal change can be, including some symptoms neither of us would immediately have associated with menopause. It's a conversation that shows just how much there still is to understand about the way hormones can affect us, and why joining the dots isn't always as straightforward as we might think.

• Why symptoms that appear completely unrelated to menopause can sometimes have a hormonal connection, and why they can be so easily missed.
• How declining and fluctuating hormones can affect areas of the body we don't necessarily associate with menopause, from our joints and connective tissues to our skin, senses and nervous system.
• Why some women suddenly develop fears or anxiety around things they've done confidently for years, and what hormones could have to do with it.
• How hormonal changes can sometimes mimic other conditions, potentially leading women down a path of referrals, investigations and even treatment that doesn't address what's actually driving their symptoms.
• Why vaginal and bladder symptoms are about far more than dryness, and why recognising and treating them could have implications for women's health well beyond menopause.

“We kind of push it away as just part of getting older rather than actually, is this hormonally driven?”

“The body doesn't read the textbook. It just does what it wants to do.”

“And then you wonder why we sit here and think we're going mad, because you're just like, well, that's not in any book I've read.”

“A lot of consultations don't get to that last bit of the conversation. We get to, ‘Everything's normal. Fine, go.’”

Website: https://empoweralltraining.co.uk/

Corporate Training: https://empoweralltraining.co.uk/corporate-training/

Clinician Training: https://empoweralltraining.co.uk/clinician-training/

Patient Advice and Guidance Clinics: https://empoweralltraining.co.uk/patient-clinics/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@empoweralltraining?_r=1&_t=ZN-99YrEVpfJaB

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

What happens when you know something isn't right with your health, but you can't work out what's going on or why you suddenly don't feel like yourself?

Changes in our physical and mental health can creep in gradually, making it difficult to understand what is happening or whether seemingly unrelated symptoms might actually be connected. And when the answers we're given don't explain the whole picture, knowing where to look next can be even harder.

My guest today is Babita Paul, a registered nutritionist with the Royal Society for Public Health and certified menopause coach, whose own experience of struggling with her health eventually changed the direction of her life and led her to retrain to help other women.

Together, we explore what Babita's experience taught her about how interconnected our health can be and why understanding what is happening in our bodies isn't always straightforward. We also talk about looking beyond individual symptoms and solutions, becoming more aware of what affects our own health, and how Babita went from trying to find answers for herself to supporting other women.

Why she didn't connect what was happening to her health with perimenopause at the time, and what she was eventually able to recognise with hindsight.

• What happened when, with her GP monitoring her blood results, she began making changes to her diet and lifestyle, and how that experience ultimately led her to retrain.
• What chronic inflammation actually means, how it differs from acute inflammation and some of the ways it may show up in everyday life.
• Why she believes the gut has an important role to play during menopause and how her interest in gut health became part of the work she does today.
• How menopause-related changes can be misunderstood in the workplace, particularly when a woman herself doesn't yet understand what is happening.
• Why making lots of changes at once can become another source of overwhelm, and the value of finding manageable changes that work for you.

“This person that was looking back at me in my reflection in the mirror was just not me. It didn't feel like me. I didn't know the person. I didn't know myself.”

“I was struggling, but I couldn't say what was happening to me because I didn't actually know.”

“You've no longer got buffers where you could get away with it before. You've got to listen now to your body.”

“Everything works together, nothing really works in isolation.”

“If you're already in burnout, you don't need another big to-do list to do for your health. You really don't. Just little steps.”

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/babitapaulmenopauseadvocate

Email: [email protected]

Want practical, evidence-informed support with menopause? Visit Panacea Pause to explore Michelle’s resources, services and ways to work with her.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

What if menopause isn't the beginning of the end, but the point where we start thinking differently about how we want to live the next 30, 40 or even 50 years?

We're often taught to think about ageing in terms of what we'll lose: strength, independence, mobility, health and eventually our ability to do the things we love. But how much of that decline is inevitable, and how much influence do the choices we're making now have over the way we'll live later?

My guest today is Dr Karina Loyo, a Longevity Architect™, author and speaker whose fascination with healthy ageing began when, at just 19 years old, she unexpectedly found herself helping to care for her grandparents. That experience sparked a question that has shaped more than 30 years of her work: how can we remain healthy, independent and in control of our lives for as long as possible?

Together, we explore why menopause and midlife can be an important opportunity to invest in our future health rather than fear getting older. We discuss muscle, movement and the surprisingly simple things we can build into everyday life, but also the parts of longevity we hear far less about, including friendships, purpose, caregiving and financial security. And Karina introduces a completely different kind of "Try-Athlete", which might just change how you think about what you're capable of in the years ahead.

• Why we can spend more than 40 hours planning a one-week holiday, yet barely any time planning what we want the next 30 or 40 years of our lives to look like.
• Why being afraid of looking foolish could be stopping us from discovering the things that make us feel most alive as we get older.
• The little-known condition affecting our muscles as we age, why we hear far less about it than osteoporosis, and the knock-on effects it can have on our health.
• Why the friendships we make and maintain could have a surprisingly powerful influence on how long and how well we live.
• How caring for an ageing parent can quietly change the course of our own future, and why a health crisis in one generation can become a financial crisis in the next.

“We shouldn't even dwell in who we were before, because the truth is we can create anybody we want to be in our future. It's up to us.”

“I'm too old. Says who? Says who?”

“Just try new things and you will discover that there's so many more dimensions to you than you ever thought possible.”

“We've got to save enough for retirement, right? But then we don't really hear you've got to save your body for retirement too.”

WEBSITE: https://www.drkarina.com

Dr. Karina's Community: https://www.drkarina.com/karina-loyo-ph-d-community

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkarinaloyo

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/drkarinaloyo

@agingwithKarina

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/agingwithkarina/

Longevity Blueprint for Health, Wealth and Purpose Book Info: https://www.drkarina.com/longevity_blueprint

Family Care Plan: https://amzn.to/3S8RVwy

My List of Healthy Lifelong Habits (Free download): https://www.drkarina.com/life-long-habits

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

What if feeling like you've lost yourself in menopause doesn't mean you're disappearing, but that you're beginning to uncover who you are now?

Many women reach midlife feeling as though something has shifted beyond the physical symptoms of menopause. We may find ourselves questioning things we've accepted for years, feeling differently about our bodies and relationships, or wondering why we no longer recognise the woman we've become.

My guest today is Lisa Barwise, a wellness alchemist, fitness feminist and author of Unarmoured and Burned. After reaching a point in her own life when she realised she could no longer keep pushing through, Lisa began to look more deeply at what women carry with them into midlife and what can happen when we begin to put some of it down.

Together, we explore menopause through a much wider lens than symptoms alone, looking at identity, health, strength, ageing and the expectations women can accumulate over a lifetime. We also discuss why this stage can be incredibly difficult, while at the same time becoming a point at which we begin to question what we want, what still fits and how we want the next part of our lives to look.

• What she means by “armour weight”, the different forms it can take and why some of what women carry in midlife has nothing to do with calories or the number on the scales.
• Why she describes menopause as a “homecoming”, and how questioning some of the identities and expectations we've accumulated can help us reconnect with ourselves.
• How the “inner mean girl” can influence our confidence and self-trust, and why learning to recognise those deeply ingrained messages matters.
• What Lisa means by “sacred strength”, and why becoming stronger physically can also change how we see ourselves and what we believe we're capable of.
• Why she believes ageing and decline aren't the same thing, and why it's never too late to become stronger, change our habits or discover what works for us.

“We can make things happen, we can push on, but at what cost?”

“Menopause isn't something to fix. It's just a transition. It's just part of who we are.”

“Self-trust is the doorway to your intuition.”

“I think that it can be our strongest era when we start to do the shifts... to realise the potential that we have.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Enter the Saga: https://thewarriorgoddesssaga.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisa_barwise

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000241260393

Website: thewarriorgoddesssaga.com

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

When we're surrounded by supplements, diets, exercise trends and conflicting health advice, it's easy to believe that improving our health needs to be complicated. But are we spending so much time searching for the next solution that we're overlooking the things that could make the biggest difference?

My guest today is Jenine Wright, an Exercise Physiologist and Nutrition Therapy Practitioner with more than 30 years' experience in health and wellness. Her approach is about moving away from quick fixes and looking at the foundations that support our health throughout life, and become even more important as we move through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

Together, we explore why women are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by conflicting health advice, how to question who and what we're trusting online, and why movement, nutrition, sleep, stress, relationships and our environment all matter.

We also discuss the impact of increasingly sedentary lifestyles, what endocrine-disrupting chemicals are and where we encounter them, the reality of our changing food environment, and simple changes that can help us take greater control of our health without feeling we need to change everything at once.

• Why chasing supplements, diets and wellness trends without addressing the foundations of our health is like putting frosting on a cake that doesn't taste good.
• Why movement matters so much during menopause and as we age, and how even small increases in what we're able to do can make a difference.
• Where endocrine-disrupting chemicals can be hiding in our everyday lives and realistic ways to reduce our exposure without becoming overwhelmed.
• How her Live Better Journal helps people identify what's affecting their health, cut through information overload and make sustainable changes one step at a time.

"We tell them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear."

"If you think about the amount of money that we're spending, billions of dollars on these supplements, and we're not fixing our foundations. So at the end of the day, you're adding this frosting on your cake. And your cake tastes terrible."

"People that don't have the money to spend on all of these fixes, on all of these supplements, they feel like, 'Well, then there's no chance for me.' And that's just not true."

"At the end of the day, you can have an anti-inflammatory diet by just eating whole foods and avoiding all of the stuff that's packaged."

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk

If menopause treatment is about replacing missing hormones, why are progesterone and testosterone still so often overlooked?

For many women, HRT can be life changing.

For others, it never seems to make enough difference.

So what if the conversation is more complex than we've been led to believe?

In this episode, I explore one of the biggest debates in menopause care today. As research continues to evolve, more questions are being asked about the wider roles of progesterone and testosterone, how current prescribing guidance reflects the evidence, and whether some women are still missing out on treatment approaches that could make a real difference.

Whether you're trying to understand your own treatment options or you're a healthcare professional wanting to better understand the evidence, this episode will challenge the way you think about hormone replacement therapy.

• Why menopause treatment remains so heavily centred around oestrogen

• The ongoing debate around progesterone and testosterone

• What current prescribing guidance says

• The wider roles of progesterone throughout the body

• Why progesterone after hysterectomy remains such a debated topic

• Why testosterone is still so difficult for women to access in the UK

• Why some women are left believing HRT simply didn't work for them

• Where the evidence is beginning to take us

"Hormones don't work in isolation. They're an orchestra, not a solo performance."

"Medicine evolves. Research evolves. Our understanding of women's hormones should evolve alongside it."

"Sometimes the question isn't whether HRT didn't work. It's whether the right hormone was ever being replaced."

"Better questions lead to better research. Better research leads to better guidelines. Better guidelines lead to better outcomes for women."

Know someone who's still searching for answers? Share this episode with them.

Michelle Rowlinson is the founder of Panacea Pause, a Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Menopause and Wellbeing Practitioner, best-selling author, and host of the Menopause - The Real Deal podcast.

After spending seven years searching for answers to debilitating symptoms that were eventually recognised as perimenopause, Michelle made it her mission to help other women understand what is happening to their bodies and navigate menopause with confidence.

Today, she delivers evidence-based education for women, workplaces and healthcare professionals through her CPD-accredited training, workshops and public speaking. Combining over two decades of clinical experience with her own lived experience, Michelle is passionate about translating complex science into practical, honest conversations that help women make informed decisions about their health.

Through her podcast, Michelle explores the latest evidence, challenges outdated misconceptions, and asks the questions that many women, and increasingly healthcare professionals, are asking about menopause today.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.rowlinson.official/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michelle_rowlinson

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-rowlinson-38330b21a

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MenopauseTheRealDeal

My Book: You, me conquering perimenopause & menopause https://amzn.eu/d/hCcbjag

Website: www.panaceapause.co.uk