Are you struggling with menopausal weight gain? Is this symptom of menopause something that actually needs to change, or something you think needs to be changed? What happens with sexuality after menopause and why is it important that we understand that all these bodily changes are normal? In this podcast episode, Dr. Cristina Castagnini speaks with Rachael Cabreira about what's really going on in your body during menopause.

MEET RACHAEL CABREIRA

Rachael Cabreira, RN, BSN, FNP-C, Certified Sexual Health Clinician, Anti-Aging Specialist.  She has been in practice for over 22 years, and is the Founder and CEO of Innovative Wellness Inc, her health care practice in WC California that specialized in urogynecology, pelvic and sexual health. It enriches services to personalize a holistic integrative multi-disciplinary approach to wellness.
She is also the Founder and CEO of Pure Vitality Inc., a product line which is an intimate product line for women, that specialize in patent therapeutic and restorative formulations to repair and support intimate skin and wellbeing
Pure Vitality Inc. is founded and driven by a female entrepreneur, optimist, feminist, sex enthusiast, and medical provider, which all summarizes the passion and dedication Rachael has for supporting women’s health at the forefront, empowering women, and unlocking the taboo conversations in sexual health and wellbeing. Finding the gaps in women’s health and optimizing opportunity to optimize quality of life.
Visit her website and connect on Instagram and Facebook.

IN THIS PODCAST

  • From 40 onwards
  • This is a normal process
  • Sexual health after and during menopause

From 40 onwards

From the time you turn 40, your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone slowly start to decrease until your periods stop.
As these hormones are decreasing, women will start feeling like ‘oh I have vaginal dryness’ or ‘mental fogginess’ … all these subtle little things … the time between perimenopause and menopause … is the hardest time for women because it’s where things [are changing]. (Rachael Cabreira)
The first few steps of seeking counseling for this change is:
  • Helping women to understand what is going on. This is everything that they experience from emotional to physical changes and turbulences to their personal and work life.
  • Undergoing a total lab panel: serum testing which tests insulin, thyroid, gut health, vitamin level, and all sorts of different aspects of health.
  • Urine testing over two days.
Women who are having specifically weight issues during menopause, which is a very common symptom … what we’re looking at is metabolism and thyroid. (Rachael Cabreira)
Your thyroid is incredibly important to the overall health of your body and it goes especially hand in hand with your metabolism. You need to look at your health as an overall whole in order to find a treatment plan that is personalized to you and your body.

This is a normal process

Menopause is a normal process. It is natural, expected, and an important part of the lifecycle of humanity. What we do not like about it is the symptoms that it brings, but they are not symptoms that you need to necessarily control with all the might you have – unless they are symptoms in rare cases that can impact your health. Of course, there are aspects that you may like to change and are within your power to change. If this is the case then that is up to you, however, it is important to know that what is happening is normal. What is “normal” in biology will always stand the test of time in comparison to the ever-shifting beauty standards of modern history. Examine your perception of how you think you should look in comparison to, maybe, how your body wants to look. We need to be aware of how much we edit our bodies to fit the mold of modernism and keep in mind that modernism changes every few years so that what is societally normal to us now will be old in a decade or less, but what is normal and natural to biology will remain in place.

Sexual health after and during menopause

Many women who are entering perimenopause and who are in menopause have some issues with their libido and desire. These can stem from feeling like they are not reaching the expectations of their partners anymore, and from hormonal changes. Partners to women experiencing menopause should also learn and seek to understand the changes that they are experiencing because it is not fair to expect your partner to stay the same as how they were then they were 21 when they turn 50: there will be some changes, and we can work to understand and embrace as many of them as we can. After 40 and onwards, estrogen (progesterone and testosterone too, but mostly estrogen) has the important job of keeping lubricative systems, engorgement, and oxygenation of the vagina healthy. Once estrogen starts to decrease after 40, there is no longer a high enough level of estrogen in the body to support that vaginal ecosystem anymore therefore the tissue starts to get a little drier, irritated and thinner.
What happens with a lot of women is because they are having these symptoms they don’t correlate it with vaginal dryness or the root cause so then … it turns off the libido … even if you are like ‘take me now!’ your body unconsciously knows its going to hurt and that is a turnoff for many women. (Rachael Cabreira)
Understanding all of these moving parts will help ease some anxiety. When we listen to our bodies instead of constantly trying to control them, we will be welcomed to a plethora of knowledge about where our body is, what it needs from us and how we can support it in the best way we can so that it can enable us to live our lives better.

USEFUL LINKS

MEET DR. CRISTINA CASTAGNINI

I am a licensed Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. While I may have over 20 years of clinical experience, what I also have is the experience of having been a patient who had an eating disorder as well. One thing that I never had during all of my treatment was someone who could look me in the eye and honestly say to me "hey, I've been there. I understand". Going through treatment for an eating disorder is one of the hardest and scariest things to do. I remember being asked to do things that scared me. Things I now know ultimately helped me to get better. But, at the time, I had serious doubts and fears about it. If even one of my providers had been able to tell me "I know it's scary, but I had to go through that part too. Here's what will probably happen...." then perhaps I would not have gone in and out of treatment so many times. My own experience ultimately led me to specialize in treating eating disorders. I wanted to be the therapist I never had; the one who "got it". I will be giving you my perspective and information as an expert and clinician who has been treating patients for over 2 decades. But don't just take my word for it...keep listening to hear the truly informative insights and knowledge guest experts have to share. I am so happy you are here!

THANKS FOR LISTENING

Did you enjoy this podcast? Feel free to comment below and share this podcast on social media! You can also leave a review of Behind The Bite on Apple Podcasts (previously) iTunes and subscribe!