Menopause care should not depend on your income, insurance status, or where you live.

In this episode of Wellness & Growth Journeys, I sit down with Dr. Peggy Margetson, board-certified women's health nurse practitioner and founder and CEO of Trust Women's Healthcare, for an honest conversation about the gaps in women's healthcare and what better menopause care can look like.

We discuss why so many women struggle to get appropriate care during perimenopause and menopause, including the barriers created by cost, insurance coverage, provider education, and access to hormone therapy.

Dr. Peggy also explains why symptoms such as fatigue, sleep problems, mood changes, irregular periods, and irritability should not automatically be dismissed as "just perimenopause." A proper evaluation matters because other health conditions can produce similar symptoms.

We explore✨

✔️ The gaps in menopause care and why access can depend on income and insurance

✔️ Why hormone therapy remains underused and the barriers women face

✔️ PCOS/PMOS and what happens during the transition into perimenopause

✔️ Why symptoms shouldn't automatically be dismissed as perimenopause

✔️ Mood changes, irritability, sleep issues, and other overlooked symptoms

✔️ Understanding hormone therapy risks, benefits, and alternatives

✔️ The importance of listening, education, and shared decision-making

✔️ Why finding a provider who listens can change the experience of menopause care

About Dr. Peggy Margetson

Dr. Peggy Margetson is a Board Certified Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and the Founder and CEO of Trust Women's Healthcare, with locations in Brooklyn and Deer Park. With over a decade of experience, she is dedicated to providing compassionate, culturally competent, and personalised care across women's health, including preventive GYN care, menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and sexual medicine.

Connect with Dr. Peggy

Website: https://trustwomenshealthcare.com

The Menopause Connect Webinar: https://themenopauseconnection.eventbrite.com/

Instagram: @drpeggynyc

Wellness & Growth Journeys explores women's health, wellness, personal growth, and the conversations that help women live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Subscribe for more conversations with healthcare professionals, wellness experts, and women challenging the way we think about health.

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

Why don't I want sex anymore? For many women, changes in sexual desire during perimenopause and menopause can feel confusing and frustrating.

In this episode of Wellness & Growth Journeys, I sit down with Dr. Janet Williams, a board-certified OBGYN, physician, hypnotherapist, coach, and author of Why Don't I Like Sex Anymore?, to explore what can really be behind changes in libido after 40.

Dr. Janet brings more than 20 years of experience in women's health and now helps women navigate perimenopause, menopause, sexual wellness, and pleasure through her work with Good Groove. She explains why sexual desire is biopsychosocial, shaped by biology, psychology, relationships, stress, mental load, and the environment around us.

We explore why desire can change during midlife and what women and healthcare professionals should understand about pleasure, menopause care, and personalised support.

✨ Why libido can change during perimenopause and menopause

✨ The role of hormones, stress, mental load, relationships and the nervous system

✨ Spontaneous vs. responsive desire and the orgasm gap

✨ How clinical hypnosis may support women experiencing menopause symptoms

✨ Hormone therapy, personalised care and knowing when to seek another opinion

✨ Why women can feel dismissed when seeking menopause care

✨ The connection between menopause, brain fog, mood and leadership

✨ How women can begin reconnecting with pleasure after 40

Dr. Janet Williams is a board-certified OBGYN, physician, hypnotherapist, coach, and author of Why Don't I Like Sex Anymore? She helps women over 40 navigate perimenopause and menopause, revive pleasure, and reconnect with their sexuality.

She founded Good Groove, combining her medical background with coaching and clinical hypnosis to support women through this stage of life.

Website: goodgroove.com

Instagram: @goodgrooveco

Free Book: https://goodgroove.com/book

Wellness & Growth Journeys explores women's health, wellness, personal growth, and the conversations that help women live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Subscribe for more conversations with healthcare professionals, wellness experts, and women challenging the way we think about health.

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

What happens when you know something is wrong with your body but your doctor tells you everything is "normal"?

For many women navigating perimenopause, this is a frustrating reality.

In this episode of Wellness & Growth Journeys, I sit down with Dr. Shona Kambarami, an obstetrician and gynecologist with 15 years of experience across three continents, to talk about medical dismissal, perimenopause, women's health, and learning to advocate for yourself.

Dr. Kambarami shares her own experience of spending two years seeking answers for symptoms that ultimately involved autoimmune disease, thyroid issues, and perimenopause. Despite being a doctor herself, she admits she became her own "first dismissal," downplaying her symptoms and convincing herself she simply needed to push through.

The conversation explores why women can struggle to get taken seriously, why perimenopause can be difficult to identify through standard testing, and how women can walk into a short GP appointment better prepared.

✨Why women's symptoms are so often dismissed, especially during perimenopause

✨Why women can become their own first dismissal

✨How to advocate for yourself in a short doctor's appointment

✨Why "normal" test results don't always mean you feel well

✨How to prepare your body for menopause

✨The impact of menopause on relationships, work, and everyday life

✨Why believing your body matters

One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation?

You know your body. And if something doesn't feel right, you're allowed to take that seriously.

Medical Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views and experiences shared by guests are their own and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical care. Always speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your individual health concerns.

If this conversation resonates with you, share it with another woman who needs to hear it.

Website: shonakambarami.com

The MoM Overlap™ : momoverlap.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shona-kambarami-b756a3404/

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

For many women, perimenopause and menopause are still surrounded by silence, cultural expectations, misinformation, and frustrating gaps in healthcare.

In this episode of the Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast, host Mialisa Garnes sits down with Dr. Ban El-Karaguli, a board-certified OB-GYN, menopause specialist, and functional medicine practitioner, for an honest conversation about what women actually need during this transition.

Dr. Ban shares why so many women are told their symptoms are simply "part of aging," why hormone replacement therapy (HRT) isn't necessarily the complete answer, and how functional medicine can complement traditional menopause care.

They also explore the cultural expectations that can encourage women to silently endure symptoms, particularly within Middle Eastern and other culturally conservative communities.

→ Common perimenopause and menopause symptoms women are often told to simply tolerate

→ HRT and menopause care. Who may benefit and why it isn't the whole answer

→ Functional medicine and looking beyond hormones to sleep, nutrition, stress, and metabolic health

→ Culture and healthcare. How cultural beliefs can shape how women experience and seek menopause care

→ Telehealth and self-advocacy. Getting better support when traditional appointments fall short

→ Quality of life in menopause and why women don't have to suffer in silence

One of Dr. Ban's most important messages is simple:

"You are not lazy. You're not imagining it, and you're not supposed to suffer."

Menopause is not the end of life. It can be the beginning of a new era, and women deserve the information, support, and care they need to navigate it.

Learn more about Flourish & Bloom Functional Wellness with Dr. Ban and explore her virtual functional health services and discovery calls through the links provided in the episode show notes.

Instagram: @flourishandbloomwithdrban

Wellness & Growth Journeys explores women's health, wellness, personal growth, and the conversations that help women live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Subscribe for more conversations with healthcare professionals, wellness experts, and women challenging the way we think about health.

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

#Menopause #Perimenopause #WomensHealth #HRT #HormoneReplacementTherapy #FunctionalMedicine #MenopauseSymptoms #MidlifeWomen #WomensWellness

Why do so many women start feeling 'off' in their late 30s and early 40s, long before anyone mentions menopause?

In this episode of the Wellness and Growth Journeys Podcast, host Mialisa Garnes sits down with Dr. India Presley-Boyd, a lifestyle-focused women's health provider, to unpack the small daily habits that shape long-term hormonal health, and why the 35-45 window matters more than most women realize.

Dr. India explains how sleep, stress, cortisol, and even the order you eat your food affect your hormones and energy, why 'normal' labs can still miss what's really going on, and when it's time to see a hormone specialist rather than push through.

In this episode:

→ What lifestyle-focused medicine actually looks like

→ Why the order you eat food (fiber and protein before carbs) matters

→ Sleep, stress, and cortisol as hidden drivers of how you feel

→ Why perimenopause can start in your 30s

→ Why 'normal' labs aren't always normal

→ When anxiety and depression are actually hormonal

→ When to see a hormone specialist instead of your PCP

Connect with Dr. India Presley-Boyd

Instagram: @wanderlustconciergehc

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/india-presley-boyd-dnp-msn-agpcnp-c-a983759b

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

#Perimenopause #Menopause #MidlifeWomen #WomensHealth #HormoneHealth #LifestyleMedicine #BloodSugar #WellnessAndGrowthJourneys

Have you ever left a doctor's appointment feeling like your weight was the only thing anyone wanted to talk about, while the symptoms actually wrecking your days got waved away?

In this episode of the Wellness and Growth Journeys Podcast, host Mialisa Garnes sits down with Dr. Naomi Busch, MD, a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner and founder of Seattle Menopause Medicine, whose practice does something radical in its simplicity: it focuses on your symptoms and your diagnosis, not your size.

Dr. Naomi explains what weight-inclusive, evidence-informed menopause care actually looks like inside the exam room, how she uses a menopause symptom checklist, the truth about estrogen and hormone therapy, and why every woman deserves to be heard and to advocate for what she needs.

In this episode:

→ Why Naomi's office walks past the scale

→ What weight-inclusive, evidence-informed care means

→ The menopause symptom checklist every woman should know

→ 'I don't feel like myself'; decoding what's really happening

→ The truth about estrogen and hormone therapy

→ Busting the menopause myths flooding social media

→ How to advocate for the care you need

Connect with Dr. Naomi Busch

Website: https://www.seattlemenopause.com/

Instagram: @seattlemenopausedoc

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

What happens when the doctor who writes the prescriptions suddenly becomes the patient who needs one? In this episode of the Wellness and Growth Journeys Podcast, host Mialisa Garnes sits down with Dr. Nikki Ramskill, a UK women's health GP and menopause specialist who was diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency at 36, and delivered that diagnosis so poorly by another clinician that it changed how she practices forever.

Dr. Nikki explains what premature ovarian insufficiency actually is, how it differs from perimenopause, the symptoms women are told to ignore, the one blood test that matters (FSH), and exactly how to prepare for and advocate for yourself in a short appointment. This one is for the woman who has been told she's too young to feel this way, and for the practitioners who want to do better.

In this episode:

→ How Nikki's own POI diagnosis was delivered (and why it was so wrong)

→ What premature ovarian insufficiency actually is

→ The symptoms women under 40 are told to ignore

→ POI vs perimenopause: how to tell the difference

→ The FSH blood test and why it matters

→ What actually happens when you start HRT

→ How to prepare for a specialist appointment

→ Why women aren't listened to, and what to do about it

Connect with Dr. Nikki Ramskill

Clinic: The Female Health Doctor Clinic (Nottingham, UK) — thefemalehealthdoctor.com

Instagram: @femalehealthdoc

Wellness & Growth Journeys Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-growth-journeys/id1761928681

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/653PlFZ7LxJvZNf0Nh6crj

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Website: wellnessgrowthagency.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mialisa-garnes

If this conversation helped you feel seen, send it to one woman in your life who needs to hear it.

#Perimenopause #PrematureOvarianInsufficiency #POI #Menopause #Hormones #HormoneHealth #WomensHealth #HRT #WellnessAndGrowthJourneys

What if the reason so many women are told they're fine when they aren't is not an accident but a result of structure?

In this episode of the Wellness and Growth Journeys Podcast, host Mialisa Garnes sits down with Dr. Kemi Doll, MD, gynecologic oncologist and uterine cancer scientist, to name the architecture behind that dismissal and what practitioners in the perimenopause and menopause space need to understand about it.

Dr. Doll walks us through the history most clinicians were never taught, the difference between common and normal, why the uterus is not treated like a vital organ, and what a redirected "terrible strength" looks like when women stop accepting suffering as inheritance.

In this episode:

→ Why the book tour taught Kemi that this crisis was hiding in plain sight

→ The history of gynecology and why it still shapes care today

→ Fibroids, endometriosis, and why "common" is not the same as "normal"

→ The kidney metaphor: why we wait until things are severe in gynecology

→ The uterus is not treated like a vital organ, and what that costs

→ Superwoman as a burden, not a badge

→ The "inappropriate inheritance" and how to break the cycle

→ What Black women in perimenopause and menopause deserve to demand

Connect with Dr. Kemi Doll

Purchase link for A Terrible Strength: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775526/a-terrible-strength-by-kemi-doll-md-mscr/

Website: www.kemidoll.com

Instagram: @kemidoll

TikTok: @drkemidoll

LinkedIn: @kemidoll

Facebook: @kemidollcoach

The GRACE Center: https://www.thedolllabgroup.com/

Work with Mia

Free Patient Experience Gap Report for clinic owners: https://wellnessgrowthagency.com/gap-report

Instagram: @Itsmialisa

Website: https://wellnessgrowthagency.com/

Most clinicians treat menopause like a clinical problem with a clinical solution. Hot flashes, prescription, see you in a year. Dr. Heather Bartos, the OB GYN Cosmopolitan once called a supremely badass gyno, is one of the women rewriting that script. She has spent the last four years stepping out of delivering babies, over five thousand of them, and into the work almost no one wanted to do, which is sitting in the actual story of women in midlife.

In this episode of the Wellness and Growth Journeys podcast, Mialisa Garnes talks with Dr. Bartos about why menopause is the disruption Gen X was raised for, the sixty-year-old patient who walked out of an annual exam having never known what an orgasm was, why hormones are not the cure-all social media promises, and the one point eight billion dollar problem of midlife women quietly leaving the workforce because nobody told them how to handle a hot flash in a board meeting.

About Dr. Heather Bartos

Acclaimed author, OB GYN, and nationally recognized menopause specialist named by Oprah and Maria Shriver as a top five expert in midlife care. Her latest book is Quickies: One Hundred Little Lessons for Living Sexily Ever After in Midlife. Her debut novel, Are You There God? It's Me, Menopause, comes out September 2026 under her maiden name, Heather Robertson. She is also the founder of Empress Editions, a publishing imprint for midlife women's fiction.

Connect with Dr. Heather Bartos

Website: DrHeatherBartos.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Heather Bartos

Connect with Mialisa

Wellness Growth Agency: wellnessgrowthagency.com

#Menopause #Perimenopause #HormoneReplacementTherapy #WomensHealth #MidlifeWomen #MenopauseSupport #HRT #SexilyEverAfter #ReversePuberty #SupremelyBadassGyno

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered, "Who am I beyond my job, my family, or my responsibilities?"

In this inspiring episode of Wellness & Growth Journeys, I sit down with speaker, coach, and author Jill White to explore what it really means to reinvent yourself after 40.

After decades in education leadership, Jill discovered that her true calling wasn't managing schools; it was helping women navigate life's biggest transitions with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

About Jill White

Jill White is a speaker, coach, and author dedicated to helping women over 40 rediscover their purpose and embrace life's transitions with confidence and clarity. Drawing on decades of experience in education leadership, she empowers women to move beyond the roles they've held and reconnect with who they were created to be. Through her coaching and storytelling, Jill inspires women to see every new chapter as an opportunity for growth, purpose, and lasting fulfillment.

Together, we discuss:

✔️ Why so many women feel lost after 40

✔️ How to overcome the fear of starting over

✔️ The difference between living as a victim vs. a victor

✔️ Why your past experiences are preparing you for your next chapter

✔️ Practical ways to rediscover your purpose

✔️ The mindset shifts that make change possible

✔️ How gratitude and generosity create a life of overflow

Whether you're experiencing career changes, an empty nest, divorce, burnout, or simply asking yourself "What's next?", this conversation will remind you that your best chapter may still be ahead.

Connect with Jill White LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillwhitecoaching/

Connect with Wellness Growth Agency Website: https://wellnessgrowthagency.com

#WomenOver40 #PersonalGrowth #Purpose #StartingOverAfter40 #ReinventYourself #CareerChangeAfter40