The Summer I Turned Perimenopausal

Krystyn just turned 45. Rachael's staring down 44 in October. And somewhere between forgetting words mid-sentence, crying at dog food commercials, and wondering if underwire bras were invented by a man who hates women, both Mamas had the same realization: this is perimenopause, and nobody warned us.

In this raw, funny, and long-overdue conversation, Krystyn and Rachael open up about their own authentic experiences with perimenopause — the symptoms nobody talks about, the rage that comes out of nowhere, the labs that "look normal" while you feel anything but, and the strange comfort in finally having a name for what's happening to your body and brain.

This episode kicks off a brand-new series dedicated entirely to perimenopause — because if our mothers didn't have the language for this, we're going to build it ourselves, one honest conversation at a time.

In this episode:

• Why perimenopause can last a decade (not just "a phase")
• The symptoms that outnumber hot flashes — brain fog, mood swings, sleep disruption, and more
• Why "your labs look normal" doesn't mean you're imagining it
• Second puberty: hormone rollercoaster on the way in, hormone rollercoaster on the way out
• Why our moms never talked about this — and what we're doing differently

We were never broken, never lazy, never too emotional. We were just moving through something nobody explained to us. Let's stop whispering about it.

Got a perimenopause story or symptom that surprised you? Send it our way — we want to feature listener stories in an upcoming episode.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Today, on this episode of Two Mystic Mamas, it is the summer I turn perimenopausal.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Yes. It's a topic near and dear to our vaginas. I was gonna say our hearts It's not just the vagina though. I know it's the whole fucking kit and caboodle. It's all fucking hot mess right now. Yeah, but it's because of it's not the vagina's fault.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

You leave her alone. She's not a big thing.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Not the vagina, but it's being a woman. It is it is with the hormones. Hormones is connected to the cycle that is connected to our lady area. Yeah, but you can't just go go around blaming vaginas. Well, I think perimenopausal is more associated with that than the heart. Close to our hearts, but that doesn't track. It is something that's close to our hearts, though, because we're passionate about it and talking about it and having it not be a I'm really trying to rein myself in, okay? Why? Why? Don't rein yourself in.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Have you seen The Summer I Turn Pretty?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

The show? Yes. No. Nope. That's that's not my kind of show.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Did Emmy get into it? Oh yeah. Evie like mainlined that show last year. Yeah. Last summer. She was all about.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

I think that's their target audience. Yeah. Probably early ladies in their early 20s, I guess. Early ladies. Early ladies. Yeah. You early ladies over there. Yeah. I did not watch it. So I knew I knew it was a spoof on the title.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

It's like, think about it this way. Perimenopause is just like a different kind of love triangle.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

It's like you and your hormones and air conditioning.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

All of yeah. Somebody said the other day it's like it's when your ovaries get real tired and they just start sleeping more. And I was like, oh. But really, it does have to do with the fluctuation of changes that are happening within our bodies as it relates to our hormones and then the symptoms that can be associated with it. But every single woman is different and unique when it comes to what they experience. Very much so. And I think it's just one of those things that we're we're excited about it. We're excited about where science and studies and money are being funded to support this period that happens with women that can range anywhere from like two years before menopause to 10 years before you go through menopause. And you know, of course, the definition, which I think is kind of it just sucks. I don't like the definition of menopause, but it's when your periods completely stop. Great.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

When you become barren.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

No more babies for you.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Let's welcome everybody, shall we? All right.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Welcome to two Mystic Mamas. Yeah. Okay. So this is going to be a series for us. And this particular episode that we're talking about is our personal lived experiences with our own perimenopausal journey that we are actively on.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Right. I just turned 45. I would say I've been actively going through or having perimenopausal symptoms for three years now. I keep saying like a year or two. And then it's been a year since I've been saying a year or two. So I think we need to up that to like two to three years now. Yep. But I've been like really feeling like shit is not the same.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

So what would you say? A, when did you start noticing these symptoms? And then like, what are your top five?

SPEAKER_01 3:51

So my cycle changed, was like one of the things that all of a sudden changed. I started having PMS symptoms, which I really prided myself on being like, I was like, PMS is not real. Like my whole life, I was like, I didn't have cramps, I didn't have mood swings. I just was like, other than the fact that I've always dealt with cysts, like ovarian cysts, and dealing with those rupturing and all of that kind of stuff throughout my life. I didn't have any of the other shit. And I was like, is this made up? Like, what is this? No, it's not, it's not made up.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

It was just keeping it all pent until you got to perimetopause. And then it was like, here you go. Here you go. Yeah, here's all of it.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

25 years of pent-up symptoms. Yeah. And hot flashes, like the excessive heat, and really just like the thing that they say is like all of a sudden one day your metabolism is different and you can eat the same exact fucking foods and your body is not the same anymore. Yeah, for sure. But I would say the the biggest one was a seven-week period. It was like, hey, bitch, I'm here. Uh and again, it's we've talked about this before is you go to the doctor, you have all the testing, you have the ultrasound, all the things. There's nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with you. You're healthy, you're fine. Okay, well then can you explain what just happened? Right. I'd like some answers. Yes. But there are no answers.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yes. Or limited answers. Or guarded answers or not talked about answers. I think. And there are plenty now, podcasts, educators, med, and that's the other thing. Like, we are not medical professionals, right? So, like, we are not giving medical advice here. We are just simply talking about our lived experience with where we are with perimenopause and what we're doing to change.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

I love seeing how women are changing their careers and the direction of their lives to incorporate this because I had a labrum tear in my hip because I was doing like I was really into races and doing triathlons and half marathons and stuff like that at the time. So I would say this is in between that like 2009 to 2012 time period for me. And I went to see a doctor about my hip. And now, if you have been on the internet at all, you know this doctor. She's super famous. Yeah, she's from Pittsburgh. Her name's Dr. Vonda Wright.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

And her whole focus now is in women. Yes. Yeah, she was just on Mel Robbins. Oh, was she really? Oh, yeah. So I feel like I need to reach out to her and be like, hi.

unknown 6:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

I saw you for my hip in a hot minute ago. Uh, but would you like to come on our podcast and talk about perimenopause?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yes, because one of the episodes or a couple of them, we are going to have guests on that are in this area of expertise. And this is their go-to claim to fame. They're on their soapbox about it, and they're not they're not stepping down. Well in.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

To your point, we're not medical professionals, right? We are here sharing our lived experience, but we want to have that kind of expertise to share with our listeners. Absolutely. Every person we're talking to right now is going through the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Or will. I mean, if you legit, if you have a vagina, regardless if you've ever had children, like regardless of where you are, if you've gone through puberty, which is kind of like the precursor, really, it gives you an idea of what to look forward to. But this is like on the other side of getting out of that, right? It's when your body's changing and nobody can avoid it, right? Like you can mask the symptoms, you can ignore the symptoms, and yet we will all the universe will bless you with a daughter going through puberty at the same time. Raise your hand, raise your hand, yeah. President accountable for.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

She's a cruel mistress, that universe.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

I I always say Jeff should have a tap out button, but I was thrifting the other day, and I remember Staples was bigly button. Did you get one? I almost picked it up because I just thought the irony would be funny that he could just be like, that was easy when Emily and I are like raging, and he was like, that was easy. Glad I married you and then had you. Fantastic. And also, double triple whammy, just have a six-year-old, feral motherfucker who wants to rule the world on top of it. There are some other wonderful recommendations that we will tag within this episode. Another one of our idols mentors in this space is Stephen Bartlett. He had on, I think she was one of the women that were on that episode as well. He had four female doctors and educators in this space talk about, and this was a much longer episode, the different things and the different areas that go into women's health. So it wasn't specifically just about perimenopause, it was about infertility and the science behind that and how you figure out are you a candidate for IVF, why you should be? And what goes into that? It was talking about nutrition and how uh creatine is like a huge supplement that has wonderful benefits and has had wonderful benefits, but most people just assume it's muscle, like bodybuilding men that need creatine. So it was really interesting talking or listening with her about the peptides and the different things that you can incorporate that are really healthy for your body as you're changing and what's happening, right? These changes are occurring, whether you like them or not. So naturally, Kristen and I are always on board with things that we like to roll with instead of forcing your way against the tide. It's like move with the current that is changing. It doesn't come without a mixed ray of emotions, right? Because I've been probably in perimenopause for two years, a solid two years. I'm a wee bit younger than you, not by much, but a year. And I am I'm over it. I'm over, I'm not over perimenopause. I'm fine acknowledging that I'm in it, and also I'm over not doing anything about it, right? So this past annual that I had with my OBG, I had a PA um this past time, and I was like, listen, I am in perimenopause. Last year you guys didn't want to do anything about it. I need something to change. I don't want to keep dealing with these symptoms and feeling the way I'm feeling. I don't like the way I feel. And I listed my symptoms, which included sweating, not so much heat. I didn't have like the the I have lava skin. Okay, so I don't have that, but I will just start sweating like out of my elbows and the backs of my knees and my armpits. Like it's gross. I hate it. And I've I've never been a huge sweater, but this sounded like I just said a sweater. I did say sweater, but you know what I mean? Sounded like, anyways.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Aren't you guys super excited for Mary Metaphoba?

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Moving on. Moving on, waking up. I've been waking up at like three in the morning. Sometimes I can go back to bed, sometimes I cannot. Weight gain has been huge. So your point to metabolism. And I think this is worth mentioning because anybody that's ever gained weight when they haven't changed their eating habits, it's a weird place to be, right? Because I am all about body positivity, and your size of your body doesn't dictate your worth. And also, there is something about putting clothes on and having them be so tight that you're like, this doesn't feel good. And it's not about like going out and buying more clothes. It's like, why is my body doing this? And that has been a struggle, which has then, of course, played into anxiety, depression, different emotional things that have impacted me. So I, my doctor was like, Yeah, you're a candidate for HRT. And so I haven't yet started it, but I am going to start. I'm gonna do the estrogen patch and the progesterone. And I asked her about testosterone, but because it's through my PCP or not my PCP, my OBGYN, and it's not FDA approved, they can't do anything with testosterone, which is unfortunate because you kind of need all three really to balance everything out. And also, I'll just be patient and wait because there are some other options that might come down the path that we could possibly explore at some point.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

So at the um end of our episode with our lovely team here, yes, I asked them to give some advice to other people watching this. And our wise Brooklyn here was talking about patience and how important that is. And you also, I mean, they all agreed on this that being patient, that things are going to work out is so important to the journey. And that's the same thing when it comes to your body, changes that are happening in your body is being patient with yourself, being patient and understanding that things are changing and they're meant to be changing and that's okay. It's kind of like you remember when the kids were like super little, right? When you have a baby and you feel like you've got it figured out, and then as soon as you have it figured out, then they start fucking rolling or they start walking or they start doing something else, and everything fucking shifts again. And it feels very similar to that of like what's going on in our bodies as you're like, okay, I've got a handle on this, and then something else starts changing in your body. Again, we can't validate any of the claims of what we're talking about with hormone replacement therapy and or supplements, but we can share what was worked for us. I have also struggled. I struggled my whole life really with like if I woke up in the middle of the night, I could not go back to sleep. That's just kind of always been me. And it got significantly worse over, you know, the past couple of years. But I have been using every single day for at least six months now. I've been taking magnesium glycinate at night before I go to sleep, and it has completely changed my sleep. Yep. I cannot recommend it enough.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

I don't even take a high dosage. No. Evie's doctor has her on a higher dosage because of what she's been dealing with headaches and hydration. So she's on like double what I take of magnesium and also riboflavin, and it's made a huge difference for her. So like there are things that you can do out there. So maybe talk to your doctor about that if you're, you know, magnesium glycinate might be something that's good for you to take. Yep. Charlie really finds that he's able to regulate his, I don't know, like any sort of anxiety that happens throughout the day the next day, so much better when he's like been in that routine of taking magnesium. He thinks the magnesium citrate is even more beneficial for that.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Well, there's so many magnesiums out there, but we don't sleep well on that one. Oh, the citrate. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

We are gonna in our series, we will be talking about sex. We will get there and we will talk about parimenopausal sex and what that's another shift in change with your libido and everybody else in this room is so excited for us to have this conversation.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Well, you know, you guys are SOL. I don't know what to tell you. You're along for the ride in all the juicy details. Also, you get to look forward to that. Your libido will change. Yay! Now I have heard though that your your libido can rise as you age. And I have heard that women in their 40s, that's when it can really peak. So I am hopeful.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Oh, are we gonna come into our second hoe era?

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Is that maybe monogamous hose? I don't know. I think that like is counterintuitive, right? Like, I don't know if you can be a hoe if you're just fucking one person.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Well, if this podcast doesn't take off, the next one will monogamous hose, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

I don't know if that's gonna get anybody interested. Only feet.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Everybody come to our only feet page. It's how we make the big money.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Well, this might be an interesting thing. We did touch on this, I guess, a couple episodes ago, but just the fact that like the term perimenopause is somewhat well, we think it's new. It's been around since the 60s, but it hasn't been as used or talked about.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

We never heard this term. Our parents, right? Yeah, our mothers did not ever use the term perimenopause. Right. My mother was in menopause for 20 fucking years.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yes, it was called the change, the great change. Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Potential names hot flesh. That's where it landed. I think that's what we're doing. Oh, that's where we oh no, it I think we didn't. We just landed on hot flesh. Yeah. By accident, because I was merch cummings. I was trying to say hot flesh, and instead flesh came out. And then, anyways, yeah. Well, and it goes back to just how society with women in general was like, how do we subdue them? How do we push them down? How do we not talk about all the things?

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Right. There's so much that's around it. I mean, even you know, you talk about the term virginity, right? It's the same thing, it's a construct that was created by men to oppress women for a reason because women were yielding their sexual power over men in their eyes and getting what they want, we'll say.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

So let's make them pure and let's, you know, come up with a construct that allows us to control them. Yep. And control the narrative.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

And it's and it's it's so it's like everything, right? It's puberty, virginity, postpartum, miscarriages, sexuality, masturbation, all of these topics are like no.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Is there a more technical term for menopause and or perimenopause in the medical world? Do we know?

SPEAKER_00 18:33

No, well, menopause is the technical term.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

I thought so, but I just wonder if there's any additional so this is what I have on it.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

So menopause comes from the Greek words men, which means month, and then pauses, which is pause or where it just stops, the end of the monthly cycles. The term was created by a French physician in the early 1800s, and then it was entered into the English medical language around 1852. Before that, women often referred to it as simply the change of life. So the medical term focuses entirely on the absence of periods, not the emotional, neurological, metabolic, or physical changes that women experience. It's just the end of your period, which is also why I don't think it's like a very good term. This is a better term.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

History. This is the AI overview, guys. So don't quote me on any of this shit. The history of menopause traces a fascinating evolution from ancient misconception of wandering womb.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

The great wandering wombs. Where did it go? It's probably in your stomach now. We don't know. And then perimenopause was a medical term that was recognized in the 60s, but there wasn't a lot of meaningful research, didn't gain traction. They just kind of lumped it all into menopause or the change.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Well, I think some of the things that happened were one, if you really go back in time, women didn't really live long enough to have any sort of history of what happened post-menopause, right? So there was really it wasn't even a thing to talk about. Right. And then they also, you know, it got to the point where like they were putting women and institutionalizing women for being crazy. Hysteria.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

You know, this makes me question something. So there's a family lore of a grandmother who was institutionalized at one point. And I wonder, I just wonder if that has anything to do with it. Because of course it was never like talked about. It's lore, right? So we don't know anything about it.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

But I know plenty of women who have gone through perimenopause or menopause and went on Prozac. Now, when I say I'm talking like women that are older than us because that hit the market probably in the 90s, I think, ProZac, and it became like an instant hit because it helped all of those different symptoms. I'm not an expert in this at all, but I do know from my own experience that my patience level, which I love that you guys were focusing on that, can go from very patient in the morning, but by the afternoon, I'm done. I always tell the kids, I'm like, see how much patience I have left, see how much space is in between my fingers? Like, none. So stop fighting with each other. Stop doing shit that you're not supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Just stay in your lane. I think you should just turn your trampoline into a fighting ring and just let them duke it out. I mean, sometimes that is what happens. Somebody will be victorious.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

It's usually Emmeline. Because Graham, he'll he'll rage, but I mean, Emily's got 50 pounds on him, like doesn't matter. He'll go after her and try to do something aggressive, and then she Just kicks him, punches him, does something. Now he's crying. It's just like this whole secular thing, you know? Siblings.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

Children's UFC fighting.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

That's right. What's gonna be really good is when he starts doing it to Isla. And then Isla's gonna kick his ass.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

He there's no hope for poor Graham. No, he's just gonna have his ass kicked on both sides with his girl siblings.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Yes, he is definitely not built like them at all. Anyways, rage is another one. So, like you have anxiety, you have patience, but then you can also have rage. Now, rage is an interesting emotion, which I we're gonna have an episode on rage too. That's another area that's really misunderstood for women. And there's this distinction that, like, if you assert yourself and you're direct, then you're a bitch.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

There's there's so many ideals about it.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Right. And it's like, what? But I will say that there have been moments where I can feel it in my body, and I'm capable of when that happens, of taking space. Like rage is something that you can take space when that happens and kind of just we'll name that episode Rachel. Well, that's right. Decompress. Decompressed. What else do we want to talk about here? Oh, this this is a women were also were often punished for talking about the symptoms. If they expressed strong emotions, mood changes, hormonal struggles, they were hysterical, unstable, emotional, difficult.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

I think that for so long it has been something that's been not talked about amongst women because this idea that you have to be young and beautiful and youthful in order to have purpose in our society. And that the idea is changing, right? People are starting to see women and realize that like some people didn't even start that business till 40, 50, 60. Some people didn't even pursue their dreams until much later in life. Right. And they've added so much value to the world.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Sure. When I was just with my aunt in California, she was telling me this story that she was 46 and she was having lunch with a mentor and a professor that she used to have at Berkeley. And this other woman was in her 70s. And my aunt was feeling like she was stuck in her career, that she wasn't making the change that she wanted to make in the collective and in the world with the work that she was doing, and that she was past her prime.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Oh, I hate that term.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

So she's having lunch with this woman, and my aunt said this to this professor. And the woman was like, But you're so young. You're so young. You have so much life to live. Like, you're so capable of doing all of that. And it really gave her a renewed sense of hope. Like, holy shit, like it is about perspective. And also, I am capable of doing this. Right. And she did. She spun off, she broke off of the nonprofit that she was with, started her own, and did some really big things in our country for public policy and public health. And I look at where we are, I have that hope. I mean, it does seem daunting at times, but to your point, I think Vera Wenning was 40. I think Martha Stewart was in her 40s. Like, there are some big names that did some big shit. And I think it also in conjunction has to do with your body changing and figuring that out and navigating that in whatever maybe it's an epiphany, maybe it's an awakening. Maybe it's your hot flesh. We don't know. But it is an exciting time. And I also think it's encouraging for the younger generations and for our daughters coming up to know that, like, when these things start to happen, you're not past your prime. Right. Your body's just changing, and it's the next evolution of who you are becoming. Right. I was looking because again, I was at this wedding this past week, and there was like a bunch of pictures floating around of people that have passed on who are no longer on Earth side. And one of them was my great-grandmother, Hazel, and they called her the battle axe, which I never knew. I love this. And I was like, because she was an asshole. Like she was not a very nice human. Sorry, Hazel. You did you. And also, when you look at pictures, yes, she died in her 90s. But when I look at pictures when she was in her 70s and 80s, she looked much older. And I think that was because society just pushed women into this. Well, now you're old, and soon you're gonna die. Well, and our grandparents always looked old to us. Yeah, well, but even now, like I look at my mom who's in her 70s, and I don't I don't see an old woman. No, I see an older woman that has age to her for sure. She has gray hair and wrinkles, but like still so much life, so much vitality, so much purpose. Your mom's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

She is. We should all aspire to be Mary Maher in our 70s.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Yeah. And I don't know. So I think it's a generational thing too. And I think we want to help break down these barriers, these institutionalized barriers that have been in place for decades and decades and decades, to say, like, enough's enough. We're done with this. Yes, we are complex creatures. No one can argue that we're way more complex than men, for sure. And also the superior race. Because of those complexities. Mic drop. We still need you, and we still want you men. So you're not, yeah, we don't want you to go anywhere. However, you have your useful purposes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

And also, and also we need we do love men. Yeah. We love all humans. All humans.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

All humans. We love all humans. And we want to encourage all humans to be able to feel empowered and changes. I mean, that's the whole platform here, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Yeah. The whole idea is that we want everyone to feel empowered to be their very best self, whatever that is. Right now, Rachel and I are going through this process of perimenopause, and we want to share this with other people that we know are feeling disempowered. And we always try to have a platform that people can come to and feel heard and feel seen and be like, yes, like I want to be sitting in there having that conversation with them. Right. Because this is exactly how I feel.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yep. And we have good days and bad days. We tried to record this a different day, and I was just not in it. We could have done it. We we had both prepped for it, but it was just, we listened to our intuition on it. It was just not the right vibe. And that was partly because, too, that I was just having a really emotional day.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

You did just remind me that I actually did prep for that episode. I was like, I don't have any notes today. I prepped for this episode fucking a month ago.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

Yes, I know. I when you said that, I was like, I don't think you did. You I mean, you can wing it, sure, but I thought you were prepared.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Well, I feel like this does speak to something I talk about a lot in my own practices and whatnot, is that when you like physically write something down, you just remember it so much better. Oh, for sure. And my brain currently is what I like to refer to as perimenopausal soup. Yes. It's just if I just have to write shit down. I just have to write shit down now. That's all there is to it. Once upon a time, I did not have to do that. But all of the things are floating around, just like bouncing off of each other there. Yep. I think our goal with this is not only to share our experience, but exactly what we're doing to get improve our energy and improve our sleep and feel better on a day-to-day basis. So we're gonna try our very hardest to share every piece of that with you guys during this series and like having our brains be less soupy and you know, less brain fog and all of the things, and be authentic with you guys about what that experience looks like for us because it's not there's no linear path to follow. There's no even straight answers on what works and what doesn't work, right? As they're still researching everything, still like they're throwing shit against the wall. Yep. You know, I remember reading a few years ago a book by Dr. Mindy Pels called Fast Like a Girl. And hers is she talks a lot about perimenopause. She talks a lot about the different phases, what you should be doing during your luteal phase and what you should be doing during all of it. And I used to be a person that did thrive on intermittent fasting. And as perimenopause started to creep in, I was like really struggling with any fasting. So I kind of abandoned that book and the whole theory. I'm wondering if I should maybe revisit it and you know see what she has to say now that I'm kind of like in it more. And I don't know, maybe it'll work, it won't, but there's resources out there.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

And they all say something different. And we're gonna try and debunk some of those.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Yeah. I mean, and that's where being unique comes in. What might work for somebody doesn't work for another person. And that's what even my PA said when she was like, Listen, I'll check in in six weeks and see how you feel. And if you feel improvement, then we'll stick with it. If you don't, then we'll change. So, because the other interesting thing is you can get blood work done and everything can say you're healthy, you're normal. Yet the symptoms you're experiencing contradict that. And it's like you have to be able to ebb and flow with how you're feeling ultimately, because your brain is driving how you're feeling, it's driving your all of your simp your body systems working together. And so intermittent fasting may work for some women, it may not work for other women, but there's so many different options out there that you can explore. There's different foods that can increase your metabolism, there's different foods you should avoid.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Like, well, it's like the same thing. Like, there's all this research about creatine being good for you and perimenopause, but creatine also causes bloating. Well, who the fuck wants to be more bloated when you're in perimenopause? And hormones affect literally nearly every system in our body. Oh, it's a lot of times you can't even recognize the symptoms because I have a a girlfriend that had a frozen shoulder symptom of menopause.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

I don't know if it's perimenopause, but I know it's a symptom of menopause. Menopause.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

Yeah, I did know. I have another friend who has that too, which sounds like a terrible, terrible thing. Frozen shoulder? Right. No one, no what? No.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

So we want to hear from you guys. We want to hear what your symptoms are, what has surprised you the most about perimenopause if you are going through this with us? Yeah, your stories, yes. Yeah, and if you're not there yet and you're like, spread the gospel, tell me all the things, tell us what you want to know so we can make sure that we're giving you guys all of it during the series.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Yeah, for sure. This is a continuation.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

I'm looking forward to actually feeling good and not just surviving. And that's my goal. For sure. I want to be thriving, not surviving.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Yes. I don't want to feel like what else do I need to include to make me feel different today? Like, I just want to be in a routine where I'm just I'm on.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Keep it simple. Yeah. So I've been in a really great routine for about six, eight weeks of walking. I walk to the pool, I walk here, whatever, I'm getting my steps in, and I can see like body composition changes because of that. Well, I have a consult with an orthopedic surgeon on July 30th because I've been dealing with this issue on my Achilles since last July. And it's getting worse now because I'm walking all the time.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

I know. So it's just frustrating because it's like, okay, now I have to find another way to be active because I'm doing all this walking and it's aggravating it and it's making it worse when you're like, oh, walking is the thing that's not supposed to be super hard on your body. Yes. It's so frustrating. Yep. Um, but I'm not giving up. I'm gonna continue to like find that thing. So I've been swimming laps and well, and that's it's the art of pivoting, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Because I know rotator cuffs is a big thing that can change with age. Your knees, like, I have don't tell me that I'm swimming. Well, I'm just saying, like, I have a girlfriend who her knee was really bothering her. She was going, she was having personal private lessons with a trainer, she was going to her gym, and then her knee started bothering her. She's never had like a massive injury or anything, and they finally did an MRI, and she has an ACL tear, which is continuing, and she's gonna need surgery, which is it's like one, you know, you just have to be able to make those changes, get into PT, get better, get stronger, and move forward. You know, even with my surgery, I feel like I'm so glad I had it done. I don't have the hernias anymore. And yet I'm feeling like I just feel like a bubble. Like I just feel like my stomach and all of it is like huge and expansive. And I'm like, is this normal? I don't know. Like, maybe I'm bloated. I don't know. Like, I just this is where I'm like, ugh. I need to get something under control because I feel like nothing's under control at the moment, and that is that's not a happy place to be. Right. So I don't know if it's related to the surgery, if it's perimenopies. I mean, it's all of the things. It's all of it combined, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:56

So, anyways, it definitely I will say this because your hormones definitely affect all of that stuff. I see it with Evie. She'll start to have like ankle, shoulder, knee, just like random aches and pains, and then she shoots up. Yes, right, and she like goes through a growth spurt, but she can definitely feel it in her body before it ever happens. Yeah, and she's grown.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

If I if I go through a growth spurt, I will be real happy. That would be exciting and encouraging.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

What if it's the other way? That's what's thanks, Kristen. I mean, for both of us, not just you.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

Maybe it'll just get shorter.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Our shoulders are gonna freeze up and be tiny. It's gonna be great. Ah, all right. Well, let's go eat. Okay, thank you guys for being here with us. We're excited to share this with you. We'll have behind the scenes content on Patreon. We'll be sharing all of the things on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. Find us. And if you want to share your stories, via I don't know, man. If you want to share your stories, shoot us an email at two mysticmamas at gmail.com. It's TWO Mystic Mamas at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

It should be gmail dot com. All right. Peace out, Girl Scout.