#547: What You Need to Know About the OPill and Hormone Changes in Perimenopause with Dr. Carrie Jones

September 19, 2023 in Podcast, Women’s Health 0

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Episode Summary

Hormone shifts and changes are inevitable for us as women. Aren’t we lucky?! In all seriousness– I know you’ve felt these changes in your body.

Take your menstrual cycle, for example. One moment estrogen and testosterone rally together, and you feel on top of the world right before ovulation. Then, just a couple of weeks later, progesterone and estrogen plummet to the ground, and it can feel like everything in your body is working against you.

And then there’s how your body feels when on hormonal birth control– which we’ll discuss today. Or even during the long 10+ year perimenopause transition when everything is up in the air.

Perimenopause is undoubtedly the most significant hormonal transition right after the ultramarathon that is pregnancy. And I would argue that perimenopause is the critical window that shapes our future health outcomes.

The truth is, how you take care of your body during the perimenopause transition can determine how you thrive for the rest of your life. So today, I invited Dr. Carrie Jones to share her insights on the new research concerning women after perimenopause, and what tools are at our disposal to set us up for success so we can extend our longevity.

We’ll also discuss the new FDA-cleared, over-the-counter mini pill called the Opill– which is about to hit drugstores. We want you to understand all the options, concerns, and risks around an over-the-counter pill.

And lastly, we talk about how improving your metabolic health is the biggest lever you can pull if you want a healthy, thriving body and life– before, during, and after perimenopause.

Although your body’s changing a lot– even in menopause– there are adjustments you can easily make to reduce the symptoms you’re dealing with. And that first step is assessing how well your metabolism is functioning– and then taking proactive steps to improve it.

Learn more about all of this today in my empowering discussion with Dr. Jones– so you can take charge of your hormones and metabolism to live the life you deserve.

Dr. Carrie Jones

Dr. Carrie Jones is a Naturopathic Physician, board-certified in Naturopathic Endocrinology with a Master’s in Public Health. She’s an internationally recognized speaker, consultant, and educator on the topic of women’s health and hormones with over 20 years in the industry.
Dubbed the Queen of Hormones, Dr. Jones was one of the first to become board-certified through the American Board of Naturopathic Endocrinology. She was the first Medical Director of the DUTCH Test and the first Head of Medical Education at Rupa Health. She’s the Chief Medical Officer at New Ethics Formulations and the Head of Medical Education at Metabolic Mentor University.

Quotes

“Ovulation is the main event. And us lacking that Ovulatory cycle really is a detriment to our health, especially if we’re just using [birth control] as a symptom management tool.”

“A combination pill depletes basically a multivitamin’s-worth of nutrients in your body. And I was asking this pharmacist, “Why don’t you automatically recommend a good quality multivitamin with birth control?’”

“I think a lot of women still don’t know that it exists out there– an app that tracks your temperature every single day and can nail it on the head when you are fertile and when you are not.”

“All your hormones, all of them. Everything from your estrogen, and progesterone, to your testosterone, to your cortisol, to your insulin, to your glucose, to your thyroid, to your brain neurotransmitters, to your gut neurotransmitters… everything is changing because of this reverse puberty– you’re reversing out into menopause.”

“We do have the ability to reverse our biological age, to increase our health span. But we’ve got to be mindful about it. We have to be intentional about it.”