Feel Like Yourself Again in Perimenopause and Menopause with Dr. Nadine Gavin
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If you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do and still feel exhausted, with a mind that starts racing at 3 AM, you’ve probably wondered whether something is wrong or whether this is what getting older feels like. There’s often a hormonal explanation sitting underneath, and this episode on perimenopause and menopause helps you find it.
Karen sits down with Dr. Nadine Gavin to talk about early perimenopause symptoms, which can start up to 10 years before your periods stop. They tend to show up in the week before your cycle, long before anything about your period changes, which is why so many women get told their results are fine and nothing needs attention. Karen shares her experience of spending a year trying to piece it together, and Dr. Gavin explains how the hormone changes at this stage connect to symptoms that seem unrelated.
Here's what's covered:
Why your blood work can come back normal while you still feel like something has changed
What early perimenopause can look like in the week before your period, before your cycle shifts at all
How falling progesterone and estrogen connect to perimenopause sleep problems, including waking at 3 AM with a racing mind
Why perimenopause belly fat can show up even when your eating and exercise haven’t changed, and how poor sleep and shrinking muscle mass play into it
Why brain fog and perimenopause joint pain belong on your symptom list, and why a racing heart surprises so many women
How to bring up vaginal dryness and low libido in menopause with a provider you trust, and where pelvic floor physiotherapy fits
When testosterone might help with libido, and why it’s worth checking for other causes first
What a thorough assessment looks like, including the difference between normal and optimal results
Why every woman deserves a real conversation about menopause hormone therapy, even if she walks away without it
What to write down before your next appointment so you get the most out of it
If you’ve been told what you’re feeling is stress or just part of life, this conversation gives you words for what’s happening and a starting point for asking better questions. You deserve to understand your options and be part of the decisions about your care.
“The best thing we can do as a woman is prioritize our own health.” - Dr. Nadine Gavin
Not sure where your own patterns land? We’ll work through it together in the StrongHER 21-Day Challenge, starting November 2nd, with guidance and support as you put this episode into practice.
What's the biggest change you've noticed in your body or mind over the last few years? How did you realize it might be linked to hormones? Share with us on social media, then send this episode to the woman in your life who keeps saying she wants to feel like herself again.
Meet Dr. Nadine Gavin
Dr. Gavin is a Naturopathic Doctor and the founder of Gladstone Health in Oshawa. She is passionate about helping her patients navigate their hormones and optimize their well-being through healthy periods, fertility, perimenopause, and menopause. She is board-certified, in good standing with the College of Naturopaths of Ontario, IV certified, has prescribing rights, and recently won the Reader's Choice Diamond Award for Best Naturopath & Best Naturopathic Clinic.
Connect with Dr. Gavin
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This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.
The unedited transcript for this episode of FIT4HER Unplugged
More about FIT4HER Unplugged
You've spent decades building a life. Your career, family, and health…you've shown up for all of it. And somewhere in your 40s or 50s, you started noticing that what used to work no longer does. Your body feels different. Your energy isn't there. You're not sure who you are outside of the roles you've been playing. And nobody seems to be talking about all of it at once.
Fit4Her is a podcast for women in midlife who are ready to stop waiting to feel like themselves again.
Hosted by Karen Gallagher, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Strength and Conditioning Coach with 30 years of experience, this show delivers what most health and wellness content never does: honest, whole-life guidance that covers your body, your mindset, your relationships, and your sense of purpose, without the extremes, the all-or-nothing pressure, or the advice that was never built for a woman at this stage of life.
No single corner of midlife gets left out. Fitness, hormones, identity, relationships, career, empty nest, divorce, purpose - it's all here, and it's all connected.
We'll answer questions like:
What should I eat in perimenopause and menopause?
How do I balance my hormones naturally?
How do I get my energy back in midlife?
How do I find my purpose in midlife?
How do I deal with teenagers while going through menopause?
Is it too late to change careers in my 40s or 50s?
How do I rebuild my life after divorce?
How do I stop feeling invisible as I get older?
This show is for women who are done waiting to feel better and ready to actually do something about it.
If that's you, Karen built this show for you.
