Self Care Club - The Midlife Edition

This episode is sponsored by Welbeck – providing beyond better healthcare.

On today’s show we’re talking about something that affects millions of women but that we still find surprisingly difficult to talk about: our bladders.

Urinary incontinence, recurrent UTIs, pelvic floor problems and prolapse are incredibly common, particularly as women move through their 40s, perimenopause and menopause. But how much of it is actually "normal", how much should we put up with, and when should we get help?

This week we are joined by Miss Neha Sihra, Consultant Urological Surgeon, to answer the questions women are often too embarrassed to ask.

We talk about why childbirth, perimenopause and menopause can change your bladder, whether low oestrogen can cause urinary symptoms even without vaginal dryness, and whether needing to wee more frequently or waking up several times a night is simply part of getting older.

We get into urinary incontinence, including stress incontinence and overactive bladder, why women leak when they laugh, sneeze, run or jump, and what treatments are actually available.

Then it's time for UTIs. Why do some women suddenly start getting recurrent infections in midlife? How can you tell the difference between a UTI, overactive bladder and menopause-related urinary symptoms? Can you have UTI symptoms without actually having an infection? And does cranberry really help?

We also tackle pelvic floor health and prolapse. What does a prolapse actually feel like? Can you have one without knowing? Does running, lifting weights or playing sports make it worse? And what's the difference between a weak pelvic floor and one that's actually too tight?

Finally, Neha explains which bladder and urinary symptoms women should get checked rather than simply putting them down to ageing or menopause, and the symptoms she wishes women would stop ignoring.

If you've ever crossed your legs before sneezing, planned your day around toilet locations, had a UTI at the most inconvenient possible moment or wondered whether that sudden need to wee every five minutes is "just your age", this one's for you.

In this episode we discuss:

Find Neha Sihra here: https://welbeck.com/find-a-specialist/miss-neha-sihra

Please note: Self Care Club is not medical advice. If you have symptoms or concerns about your bladder, urinary health or pelvic floor, speak to a qualified healthcare professional.

Get in touch with us:

Email us: [email protected]

Instagram @selfcareclubpod 

Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee. 

Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diagnosed with ADHD at 40, Kate Moryoussef explains what ADHD really looks like in women over 40, why so many reach midlife before spotting it, and how perimenopause, oestrogen and HRT can change your symptoms.

If you've ever wondered whether your forgetful, overwhelmed, emotionally intense brain is more than "just your personality", this episode is for you.

Kate is the host of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, author of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit, an EFT practitioner and mum to four neurodivergent children.

IN THIS EPISODE:
In this episode we discuss:

🔗 Find Kate: https://www.adhdwomenswellbeing.co.uk/

Self Care Club is not medical advice. If you have concerns about ADHD, please speak to a qualified professional.

Try AG1 at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare for £20 off your first order + 5 Travel Packs, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2 and the Welcome Kit free, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.

#ADHDinWomen #Perimenopause #MidlifeWomen

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever heard us mention a pair of jeans, a hair product or a recipe in passing and wished you'd written it down? That's exactly why we've started The Midlife Club on Substack.

It's our home for everything behind the episodes: the products, recipes, clothes and bits and pieces we chat about on the show, all in one place, plus extra content you won't hear anywhere else.

Come and join us: https://substack.com/@themidlifeclub

See you in the club x

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Nicole's daughter Daisy went off to uni — and it's brought up every contradictory feeling going: pride, relief, grief, liberation, and the sudden silence of a house that used to be full of noise.

In this episode, Lauren and Nicole dig into what it really means to become an empty nester (or, as they'd rather call it, a "free bird") — without turning it into either a tragedy or a celebration. Because you're allowed to feel whatever you actually feel.

We cover the emotional whiplash of drop-off day, what you're really grieving when the house goes quiet, the identity shift of no longer being needed the same way, navigating phone calls and contact without guilt-tripping, why the empty nest doesn't actually stay empty, and how to rebuild your relationship with your partner once the parenting dynamic changes.

If your kid has just left, is about to leave, or you're dreading it already, this episode is your permission slip to feel it all.

Get in touch with us: Self Care Club

Instagram: @selfcareclubpod

Email: [email protected]

Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee. 

Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the midlife confidence crisis isn't about losing confidence; but about outgrowing what used to create it?

In today’s episode Lauren and Nicole unpack why confidence feels harder to access in your 40s and 50s, even when nothing's "wrong." They break confidence down into six areas: identity, capability, body image, desirability, agency, and belonging and do a confidence audit asking the questions most women never stop to ask themselves.

In this episode we discuss:

If you've ever felt like you don't recognize yourself lately, this episode is for you.

Get in touch with us:

Email us: [email protected]

Instagram @selfcareclubpod 

Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee. 

Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ask The Doctor: Insomnia, Menopause & Sleep with Professor Guy Leschziner

This episode is sponsored by Welbeck – providing beyond better healthcare.

Welcome to the first episode of our brand-new Ask The Doctor series.

In this special bonus episode, we put your midlife health questions directly to a medical expert  and this time, we're talking about insomnia, menopause and sleep.

Sleep problems are incredibly common during the perimenopause and menopause, with around 40–60% of women experiencing sleep disruption during the menopausal transition. But why does sleep become so difficult in midlife? What causes us to struggle to fall asleep? And what can we actually do to improve our sleep?

We put your questions to Professor Guy Leschziner, one of the UK's leading neurologists and sleep experts. Guy is a Consultant Neurologist at Welbeck and Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital, where he runs specialist sleep and epilepsy clinics as well as general neurology clinics. 

Got a question for a future Ask The Doctor? Keep an eye on our socials for details of how to send yours in. We'd love to hear what you've always wanted to ask a medical expert.

Email: [email protected]: @selfcareclubpod

Please note: This podcast is for information and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for personalised medical advice. If you have concerns about your sleep, insomnia, perimenopause, menopause or any other health issue, please speak to your GP or another qualified healthcare professional.

Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee. 

Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.

Find Professor Guy Leschziner Professor Guy Leschziner at WelbeckGet in touch with Self Care Club

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Advertisement⏐Try AG1 now at http://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30-day money-back guarantee.

Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023

This episode is sponsored by Welbeck - providing beyond better healthcare.

Why does sleep seem to get so much harder in midlife? From waking at 3am and being unable to get back to sleep, to lying awake with a racing mind, insomnia is one of the most common and frustrating symptoms women experience during the menopausal transition. In this episode of Self Care Club - The Midlife Edition, we’re talking all things sleep, insomnia and menopause with Professor Guy Leschziner, Consultant Neurologist at Welbeck and Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital.

We explore what’s really happening to our brains and bodies during menopause, the difference between poor sleep and clinical insomnia, and why you can spend eight hours in bed and still wake up feeling exhausted. We also get into brain fog, sleep trackers, caffeine, screens and blue light, snoring, HRT and the lifestyle changes that can genuinely make a difference.

We discuss:

If you’re struggling with sleep in midlife, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Get in touch with us:

Email us: [email protected]

Instagram @selfcareclubpod

Find Professor Guy Leschziner Professor Guy Leschziner at Welbeck

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back! And a big welcome to a brand new season and new chapter of this podcast. After seven years of exploring wellness and self-care, we’re evolving because, well, we’re evolving!  In this intro episode, we talk about why self-care looks different in midlife and the real-life questions that come with this stage of life.

We’re talking perimenopause and menopause, hormones, sleep and insomnia, anxiety, confidence, changing bodies, relationships, friendship, empty nesting, career, purpose, sex, ageing and finding joy in midlife.

This isn’t about fixing yourself, looking younger or pretending midlife is always fabulous. It’s about honest conversations, expert advice and figuring out what actually matters to us now.

In this episode:

We really want you all to get involved because you are going to shape this next chapter of the show so please send in your questions, stories and topic ideas to us: [email protected] or dm us on Instagram @selfcareclubpod. What are you struggling with in midlife? What guests would you love to hear from? What are you currently trying to figure out?

We're calling this The Midlife Edition because we believe this stage of life deserves its own conversation. Not because we're putting women in a box, but because there's so much to explore and so much we don't talk about enough.

Welcome to the new Self Care Club. Let’s talk about midlife  honestly, openly and without pretending we have all the answers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are taking a break over the summer so please enjoy this show from our archives.

This week Lauren and Nicole go about their week by assuming good intent. Meaning they always start from the idea that a person meant well or was doing their best, no matter what they say or do. Sounds very simple, but the ladies struggled. Expect a lot of honesty and some hard truths they would prefer not to have to admit. If you like what we do here and want to be part of the club, why not follow us on Instagram and TikTok. If you want to get in contact with us please send us an email: via [email protected] We love hearing from you. 

Studio production by @launchpodstudios  Music by purpleplanet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are taking a break over the summer so please enjoy this episode from our archives.

Dreams seem to fascinate us; why we have them, what they are and where they come from. The majority of dream researchers today believe that dreams are messages from our unconscious mind and if we know how to interpret them, they can be powerful tools for personal growth. Research has shown that the more you remember and investigate your dreams, the better your creativity and problem-solving skills and can give you insight as well as be a source of guidance, healing, discovery, change and growth. So this week at the club we are going to teach you how to capture and remember your dreams. To help us with this week and we enlisted Theresa Cheung. Theresa is a Sunday Times bestselling author and one of 32 women listed in the 100 most spiritually influential living people of 2023.  Theresa works closely with scientists researching consciousness and has contributed features about dream power to newspapers and magazines and is a frequent dream decoding guest and spiritual expert on ITV: This Morning. You can find out more about her and her work here: https://www.theresacheung.com

Email us:  [email protected] 

Studio production by @launchpodstudios Music by purpleplanet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices