Menopause Chicks with Shirley Weir

08/09/2024

And, and, and…what questions do you have?

Watch the MenopauseChicksMasterclass.com today AND join our ASK ANYTHING session tomorrow at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET (e-vite in your inbox tomorrow!)

04/09/2024

MISINTERPRETATION is one of the greatest gaps in health care.

When one thing is said (or posted on social media...or written as a search-optimized headline...or spoken quickly in a 90-second reel...or inside a 10 minute doctor's appointment), it can be interpreted in a thousand (generous?) different ways.

And yes, I am speak often of how media, marketers and members of the medical community can mislead... I am also speaking of how WE show up for those conversations too.

“It's what we say AND it's how we say it" really matters...especially when it is an important, time-limited conversation about YOUR health!

Here is one example:

🌀 If we say: 🤷🏽‍♀️”Ah, you know what doc, I'm just not sleeping like I used to," your doctor is going to hear "passive, not urgent, not important" and their response is potentially going to be misinterpreted by you as "he dismissed me," "she never takes me seriously," or "I went to my doctor but it was a waste of time."

🌀If, on the other hand, we show up for our appointment and say: 💁🏻‍♀️ "I'm here today to discuss my options for insomnia. As you know, I'm 57, and I've always been a good sleeper. However, for the last year, I can fall asleep, but I'm struggling to stay asleep. The sleep deprivation is happening a few times a week, and it's really impacting my productivity and my job. In fact, I looked back and I have had to call in sick more than once a month. I am taking my sleep health seriously and I want to work with you to find the best solution for me."

This second version leaves less room for misinterpretation; you've stated your goal for the health appointment, you've demonstrated you understand the definition of and you've illustrated how your current experience is impacting your quality of life.

Changing how we show up (what we say AND how we say it) for important health conversations can change our health outcomes.

Want more or a personalized version for your current experience? Watch the www.MenopauseChicksMasterclass.com & then join me for ASK ANYTHING | Mondays at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET

03/09/2024

03/09/2024

No one is immune from the effects of deprivation, and its effects are cumulative.

We learned so much about CBT-i (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia) from Marlee & Leah at including how CBT-i is an approved treatment for insomnia, how CBT-i might be covered by your extended health coverage and most importantly, how CBT-i works to change our THOUGHTS about sleep, how we SCHEDULE sleep and can be effective for tapering off medication, if desired.

😴 Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or waking too early + when poor sleep negatively impacts our performance or quality of life the next day.

Learn more about the -i programs (specifically tailored for ) at www.Sleep-Works.com.

You can book a free 15 minute consultation.

And guess what? Their first recommendation is NOT going to be to put your phone 📱 away …although that's a good idea! (Marlee & Leah have many other too!)

02/09/2024

FINE 🔴 a noun most often told as a lie; considered easier than explaining what is truly going on…even when what is truly going on may have easy, viable solutions. Let’s re-think the F-WORD. The next time it’s on the tip of your tongue, ask yourself: What do I need to FEEL AMAZING?

**naldryness

02/09/2024

One is my favourite S words:

Buckle up! This month promises to turn all your health questions into answers, directions and the confirmation that ❤️

31/08/2024

My mama told me 🎶 there would days like this: When it’s not always raining, there’ll be days like this. When there’s no one complaining, there’ll be days like this. When everything falls into place like a flick of a switch…well my mama (& ) were right!

Hello Fall 2024 ☀️ 🍁

28/08/2024

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎

Andrea Fulton, Shauna Karinen Hess, Vanda Marsden, Nathalie Debonville, Terry Fraser, Diane LeBlanc

26/08/2024

I've been running this experiment since 2020, and it's based on this:

What if we showed up to our health appointments more confident and informed?

Good news: it's working. We are changing how we talk about our health, and it's positively influencing health outcomes!

Come join us: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/997757428327?aff=oddtdtcreator

21/08/2024

Big shout out to my newest top engagers! 💙🦋🙏

Andrea Fulton, Shauna Karinen Hess, Vanda Marsden, Terry Fraser, Diane LeBlanc

20/08/2024

Information is just information until it’s been translated to “What does this mean for me?”

18/08/2024

I just finished THIS WEEK'S e-magazine!

P.S. Thank YOU to everyone in the Menopause Chicks PRIVATE COMMUNITY for all your feedback on this new initiative!

And the analytics from the last two issues have shown that more members open and click on articles on Sundays vs. Mondays.

But if you know me, this work isn't about analytics as much as it's about YOUR feedback...so big thank you to Sylvia and Rina and Becky and Shelley...who all wrote to say they would like to see the "Dear Menopause Chicks" Q & A IN the e-magazine.

Unlike FB, they love knowing where to find answers in their INbox! (Have you created a folder in your inbox yet?)

I certainly get that.
So long scrolling. HELLO KNOWING!

➡️ Are you on the list? Sign up here:
https://menopausechicks.myflodesk.com/ezine

13/08/2024

We deserve to see everything on the MENU.

First discuss the definitions of insomnia 😴 :

🌀DIFFICULTY GETTING to SLEEP
🌀DIFFICULTY STAYING asleep
🌀WAKING too EARLY
🌀or having sleep disruption IMPACT YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE the NEXT DAY 3 or more times per week.

Next, let's discuss midlife women:

More than half of women in my Menopause Chicks PRIVATE COMMUNITY fit the definition of insomnia.

And the biggest impact to quality of life is energy level, cognition and mood the following day.

The majority have tried to manage their sleep on their own (sleep hygiene, over the counter strategies, etc.)

🗝️ This is KEY for health care providers to understand; women rarely make a doctor's appointment after one or three night's of poor sleep! Instead, by the time they are in their doctor's office, the situation is chronic and they are seeking support because their quality of life (productivity at work, ability to care for children/aging parents is in jeopardy, relationships) is impacted.

Two examples come to mind--both friends of mine:

📰 One friend sought sleep support from her GP and was handed a photocopy of an article on sleep from an 1986 Geriatrics Journal.

🛁 Another friend, after decades of disrupted sleep, finally made a doctor's appointment to discuss options for a sleep aid and was told to try reading before bed and have a warm bath (as if she had never considered those options! )

We need all women (and their health teams) to understand...that even if we are going to investigate to find and treat the root cause of our insomnia (lifestyle, stress, grief, declining hormones...the list goes on) we could still benefit from an approved treatment for insomnia, such as:

1️⃣ CBT-i (cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia) or
2️⃣ a sleep aid (many new additions to the market that have been tested on women and don't have lingering "hangover" effects the following day)
3️⃣ or both

Learn more about CBT-i on August 28 at "Sleep is BEST Medicine Part II" with sleep experts from

Sign up here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/974550515827?aff=oddtdtcreator
For a limited time, you can also watch Part I here: https://youtu.be/rPpvNsygkFI

08/08/2024

I want YOU to experience an informed, confident conversation about your health...like THIS! And then choose the journey that's right for you!
www.MenopauseChicksMasterclass.com

07/08/2024

Q: What do you mean by "vasomotor symptoms is the correct term?" "Hot flashes" is common and used widely for across all professions. Wouldn’t be best to say it's the “the medical term”?

A: Vasomotor symptoms IS the correct term, and here is why this is SO important to women's health:

Accurate language is required to change (prioritize) women's health. We must emphasize the correct words--to everyone: each other, media, marketers and the medical community.

"Hot flashes and night sweats" are slang and have been used for a very long time to patronize women, and even put their adverse health experiences on the back burner (over half of all women have felt dismissed by their health care provider) or used as the punchline of a joke, or the title of a Broadway musical.

But just because "it's always been that way" does not mean we can't change.

Continuing to refer to vasomotor symptoms as hot flashes and night sweats will lead to more dismissal and "sucking it up"; it also feeds the marketing engines with more "proprietary blends," more special pajamas, more fans; more patronizing...
Imagine if we equated vasomotor symptoms to a "check engine light" on our car. What do we do when the check-engine light comes on? We pull over, lift the hood and investigate.

That is my invitation to women: investigate; treat your body the same way (or better than!) you would treat your car. Protect your greatest assets...
VASOMOTOR accurately describes what is happening: our veins are dilating; it's a cardiovascular experience for women and the root cause is hormone decline.

Slang terms (even ones that have been repeated for decades) get in the way of women accessing the health care they need and deserve.

This has implications on their ability to connect-the-dots that declining hormones cause vasmotor symptoms AND declining hormones have implications on cardiovascular health, bone health and geniourinary health for the next 3-5 decades.

The impact shows up as the HIGH number of heart & stroke cases amongst women (the #1 reason for premature death in women; when estrogen declines, blood pressure and cholesterol rises), osteoporosis (we lose ~20% of our bone mass within the first 5 years of menopause), and vasomotor symptoms (hormones declining) serve as an invitation to prioritize our genitourinary health too: the decline in both hyaluronic acid & estrogen impacts the health of our v***a, va**na, bladder and overall pelvic health, leaving overwhelming statistics for va**nal atrophy, incontinence ( #2 reason a women is admitted to long term care), pelvic organ prolapse (over 50% of women have one form of prolapse) and re-occurring UTIs (account for 11 million doctor visits per year in North America.)

This is NOT an apples-to-apples comparison at all, but when men can't get or maintain an er****on, society doesn't use slang or write a Broadway musical to describe their health experience. Instead, we use the correct term = erectile dysfunction, and we explain to men the possible root causes (which can include heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and more,) and then we offer treatment.

So YES we need to eradicate slang--but not just because I'm a stickler for using the right words; it's because using the right words helps women connect-the-dots to their current & future health, to stay curious about any symptom and to find out what it means for both her short- and long-term quality of life.

Correct words also help change the venacular of women's health--so we all feel equipped and confident to reply when someone tells us to "dress in layers" or that "nothing can be done."

Something can ALWAYS be done.

Including changing how we talk about it.

Thank you so much for asking this clarifying question today.

YOU may have just saved someone's life; or quality of life.

Please watch www.menopausechicksmasterclass.com & join Menopause Chicks PRIVATE COMMUNITY

06/08/2024

Sleep is the Best Medicine

READ: https://tinyurl.com/MCezine

➡️ SUBSCRIBE: https://menopausechicks.myflodesk.com/ezine

WATCH REPLAY of PART I: https://youtu.be/rPpvNsygkFI

JOIN ME on August 28 for PART II: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/974550515827?aff=oddtdtcreator

Replay from exclusive Menopause Chicks event on January 31, 2024

05/08/2024

DON'T MISS: AUGUST 28

"Sleep is the best medicine." ~Joyce Weir

It's a phrase I grew up with. My mom repeated this phrase to us over and over, for the 40 years I had her. And now I will continue to repeat it for YOU.

January 2024: "Sleep is the BEST medicine Part I" focused on finding and treating the root cause of sleep disruption. For a limited time, you can watch the replay here: https://youtu.be/rPpvNsygkFI

August 28th is "Sleep is the BEST medicine Part II" focused on approved treatments for chronic insomnia disorder...one of which is CBT-i (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia) and I'm bringing in two sleep experts from Sleep-Works.com for this important learning. Sign up now here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/974550515827?aff=oddtdtcreator

25/07/2024

Will I see you there? (code to save 15%)

1️⃣ The first-ever National Menopause Show is Saturday, October 26th in Toronto. Grab your ticket early (before Aug 6th!) and SAVE 15% with code: MENOPAUSECHICKS Visit www.NationalMenopauseShow.com

2️⃣ I can't wait to meet YOU in REAL LIFE! I will be unveiling a new talk called "Speaking of Menopause" Here's my first crack at the description:

"Navigating perimenopause-to-menopause-to-postmenopause takes 2 things: quality information + confidence. Don’t miss this session, based on Shirley’s *new* book, "Speaking of Menopause," which will give you the essential "script tips" you need to walk into…and out of…your next doctor’s appointment with the health plan that’s right for you!

You deserve to feel amazing NOW, and you deserve a conversation that will prioritize your heart, brain, bone and genitourinary health for the next three to five decades! Asking our doctors for their support is one part of the equation; changing how we show up for these conversations is the magic sauce.

You see, a lot of people say our health systems are too big to change. Shirley, a menopause and women’s health advocate for the last 12 years, reminds us that WE ARE the system, and she wants us to learn how to effectively advocate for ourselves.
Plus, you’ll discover tips and tricks Shirley has honed thanks to her 57,000-member community for how to be your own best “fact checker” when it comes to menopause media, marketing—and even information from the medical community!

Changing the conversation around perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause has the power to transform our health outcomes. This is YOUR opportunity to easily equip yourself with the quality information and tools you need to make the health decisions that are right for YOU!

p.s. Someone you love needs this information too! It’s going to feel so good when you take Shirley’s tips and pay them forward!"

3️⃣ I recently shared some thoughts about menopause education in the workplace on the Show's blog, which you can read here: https://nationalmenopauseshow.com/blogs/

25/07/2024

2 MAJOR GAPS I'm on a mission to close:

1️⃣ Making sure you understand how our hormones work with cycles are regular--so you can make a health (heart, brain, bone + genitourinary) plan for yourself when they are no longer regular

2️⃣ Making sure you have the most up-to-date, quality information + "script tips" to confidently walk into...and out of...your next health appointment!

TAP here: MenopauseChicksMasterclass.com
only $25 🇨🇦 Approx $18 🇺🇸 (you & your health are worth it!)

17/07/2024

Today I am celebrating Dr. Nathalie Gamache

One year ago on July 17, 2023, a previous professional acquaintance became a trusted friend, and I will be forever richer.
Dr. Nathalie is the most interesting person I have ever met: fierce 🦁 women's health expert & advocate, teacher, mother, kayaker, sailer, coroner, gynecologist, French, world traveller, gin expert & more! I hope you will listen to our podcast to find out the details! (link at bottom)

When I went to find these photos of Nathalie this morning, they appeared in this exact order; the same way Nathalie shares herself with the world:

PHOTO 1️⃣ LEAN IN: She leans in and makes her patients, or whoever is sitting across the room, feel as though they are the most important person in the world!

PHOTO 2️⃣ LISTEN: When patients share their journeys of how they got to Dr. Gamache, it's a story she has heard thousands of times before, yet her "n = 1" mantra offers assurance for how they deserve personalized care. Same goes for her fellow physicians as she moderates a private community to support other professionals with quality, verified answers for the women under their care.

PHOTO 3️⃣ LAUGH! Joy oozes out of Dr. Nathalie's pores. This photo alone made ME go back to re-listen to our podcast!

PHOTO 4️⃣ LIGHT up 💡whatever space you are in, as she does.

PHOTO 5️⃣ Did I mention this gynecologist also knows her gin?!

🗓️

Today, July 17th, also marks the 22nd anniversary since the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) original publication… which altered the trajectory of women’s midlife health care.

This means that for every working day for the past 22 long years, menopause-trained & menopause-certified practitioners, like Dr. Gamache, have been debunking misconceptions, misinformation and the MISINTERPRETATION of this study & its findings.

So today, and every day, please remember this:

Just because we (society, health care, media) got it so wrong for women these past 22 years, does NOT mean we can't get it RIGHT for the next 22+!

🦁

Quality, verified, evidence-based information prevails!

PS. The 🦁 emoji will make sense after you listen to the podcast...here: https://youtu.be/KWWBRiyZgCk?si=6kTxdWLn8FnaMNCE and everywhere where you love to listen to your favourite podcast!