Why Your Menopause Transition Is Your Biggest Health Opportunity: with Dr Kelly Teagle, Women's Health Powerhouse.

Hello and Welcome!Today I’m joined by one of Australia’s powerhouses in women’s health, Dr Kelly Teagle - GP, founder of WellFemme and a woman who knows about it as a respected doctor and as a woman. Kelly hit her own perimenopause in her early 40s while going through a separation, raising two kids under four and juggling a stressful job. Even as a women’s health professional, she didn’t see it coming until the hot flushes (flashes) started and things felt different. That experience is one of the reasons WellFemme exists today, as Kelly sought out health professionals knowledgeable about women’s health. Fueled by Covid and the uptake of telehealth consultations WellFemme was Australia’s first dedicated telehealth clinic specialising specifically in perimenopause and menopause care. It’s been recognised as the premier service provider in this space.In this episode, Kelly and I dig into what she calls the ‘sliding window’ of the menopause transition: a narrow period (pardon the pun) of time where the small decisions you make now compound into who you are at 70, 80 and beyond. It’s a rich, practical, occasionally colourful conversation about hormones and the downstream diseases that can present as we age; affecting our bones, hearts, brains…so many aspects of our health. And more importantly, why we’re not talking about any of it early enough!So in this episode, we do.In this episode we talk about…* Why perimenopause is a ‘sliding window of opportunity’ for our future health. Not just a list of symptoms to manage which is where most of the conversations on women’s health are centred.* Kelly’s own perimenopause story, and how it led her to start Australia’s first dedicated telehealth menopause and women’s health clinic in 2018.* Why regular periods don’t rule out perimenopause. Yes, you can still be having regular periods ladies, meanwhile the hormonal shifts are happening - the estrogen–progesterone ‘dance’ gets wobbly years before your last period.* How the symptoms are different in the perimenopause and postmenopausal years. * Why menopause is described as a ‘withdrawal state’ and what that means for the changes you feel and for the health of Future You as you age.* The downstream impacts of those hormonal shifts in our postmenopause years - impacts on bone health, cardio-vascular health, dementia. And why waiting 10+ years post menopause can close the window on effective hormone therapy for chronic disease prevention.* Bone health: up to 10–15% of bone density lost in the first five years after menopause.* The ridiculous waiting for a bone scan - Australia’s Dexa scan subsidy gap where women can’t access a subsidised bone density scan until they’re 70 without a pre-existing condition. Aaaargh!!!* Cardio-vascular disease: Why women present differently and later to emergency departments with heart attacks, which significantly impacts their appropriate treatment in a timely manner. * Symptoms of a female heart attack are not like they are for men - not like they are in the movies!* Dementia: the #1 cause of death in Australia now (equal first with cardio-vascular disease).* The hidden interaction between GLP-1 weight loss medications and hormonal treatments (including oral contraceptives and hormone therapy) - hint…GLP1’s can interfere with effectiveness of hormone dosages.* What Dr Kelly calls the ‘shrinking jellyfish effect’ of losing muscle and bone alongside fat.* Why it takes a village: GPs, dieticians, pelvic floor physios, exercise physiologists, psychologists (and other allied health professionals) all have a role to play on our health team. * Why Kelly is launching a new directory to help you find the right ones - to help you and your GP gather your team (if you are in Australia).* Kelly’s one piece of advice for this week: stop labouring under misconceptions and go find well-informed, evidence-based care. * Don’t wait! That sliding window of opportunity is closing and you don’t want to miss it. For Future You.Exciting News: Announcing MennoConnect!You heard it first, here (as they say on TV). Kelly gave me an exclusive first-look at WellFemme’s newest initiative, launching soon: MennoConnect - The Directory for Trusted Midlife Women’s Health Support across Australia.MenoConnect is a free directory of menopause-informed doctors and allied health professionals - dietitians, pelvic floor physios, exercise physiologists, psychologists and more.Those practitioners listed are fully vetted for their qualifications, experience, expertise, recommendations and passion. Not just listed after paying a membership fee as other directories do.Where women (and their GPs) can actually find the right support, wherever they are in Australia. If you’re a women’s health professional and would like to be considered, reach out to WellFemme to apply (link below).Resources* WellFemme — Kelly’s telehealth menopause clinic, servicing women Australia-wide* About Dr Kelly Teagle & WellFemme* Book a WellFemme Telehealth Consultation* Health professionals interested in WellFemme’s Preferred Provider directory (Menno Connect) can enquire via [email protected]* Grab a sneak peek at MenoConnect here. Launching soon. A Question For YouHave you got a midlife health sliding-window moment of your own? Hit reply or drop a comment, we’d love to see it and so might others who sense there’s something going on, but haven’t as yet taken action. A huge thank you for being here. I hope you found it helpful. If you did and think that others would too, then please share it on. If you’re on Substack, give it a Restack! That would be awesome.Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Anita xxp.s. Kelly made a promise in this chat to come back and talk about Erectile Dysfunction in Women because…we have to set the record straight girls! Educate the bro’s about it. Look out for that one. If you’re looking forward to that chat let me know what you’d like to know about it and I’ll put it to Kelly :) Send me a message or leave me a comment.Axx This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit midlifeunfiltered.substack.com