Dorothy: [00:00:00] Menopause… that word. It’s a topic that we don’t often talk about or want to talk about or go through, but it’s a journey every woman will experience. Today we’re diving into this subject with Dr. Terri Ann Samuels. She is a urogynecologist focused on empowering women during this pivotal stage of their life. Learn how Dr. Samuels guides women through menopause and helps them to embrace this second chapter of life and why understanding and valuing yourself during this time can redefine your future.
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So, Dr. Samuels, we are so pleased to have you with us today and, and I can’t wait to talk about this subject. But first, let’s give a little background. You are a urogynecologist?
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes.
Dorothy: And, explain exactly what that is.
Dr. Terri Ann: I, this is a specialty just for women. It is a cross between urology and gynecology. So the easiest way to explain is we call ourselves the quarterback of the pelvic floor, right? Permission to speak openly. There are three holes, right?
Dorothy: Yes.
Dr. Terri Ann: Front, middle, back. So that used to belong to three different physicians, right? The front would be the urologist, the middle would be the gynecologist. The back would be the colorectal surgeon or gastroenterologist. But now, so then we created a subspecialty. You could train either obgyn or urology. And we, we, we take the jobs of all those three just for the, the [00:02:00] female pelvic floor and they’re all two centimeters apart. So, so it just all makes sense.
Dorothy: It makes sense.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah.
Dorothy: But why did you get so involved in that?
Dr. Terri Ann: It’s actually a pretty convoluted story, but I got introduced, I was doing OBGYN. And I had a fantastic mentor who, part of his shtick was to do medical missions, and he actually had a medical mission where he took residents to Kenya and did corrective surgery and, and especially addressing fistulas in women. And took me with him, thought I had good enough hands, and, um, just I fell in love with it. And here we are.
Dorothy: The other subject that you are very, very interested in is menopause.
Dr. Terri Ann: Ooh, babe. My babe.
Dorothy: Your babe. All right. So a lot of people still are uncomfortable talking about menopause. A lot of women.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes.
Dorothy: And you know, it still surprises me that even today and I went through this 20 years ago. And I can remember standing in a boardroom and having a hot flash. In front of all the men, [00:03:00] there was no other women. And thinking, what must I be thinking? And you know, I know I’m not gonna come across as being confident and all the things you think. I had one of them come up and say, do you have high blood pressure? And I was thinking, you know, I wish I could have said back then. No, I’m having a hot flash. I’m, I’m in menopause.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: But, so why is it so hard for us to talk about it?
Dr. Terri Ann: It’s just the evolution and I think as women, we, you know, we run the world. We, we, we are the center of the universe. And the difficulty is that, that word or that time in our life has been kind of, uh, associated with us not being able to perform optimally. Uh, our body failing, we’re aging. Um, all the things that kind of an associated go against our youth culture, right?
Dorothy: Yes, exactly.
Dr. Terri Ann: And association with mortality and, you know, um, so I think it’s a very difficult subject, number one for personal reasons. Number two, from a societal perspective, if I look back at, say my [00:04:00] grandmother, you know, she did not talk to my mother about puberty. Right? That was not even a topic. You woke up one day, there was something in your already underwear and life went on. Then I, in my generation, my mother did talk to me up here. It wasn’t a thorough conversation, but I was aware of it. I knew something was going on. Now, going forward for my daughter’s, going through puberty, we are actually, we go actually going to celebrate. We go and have a party. Um, we, we make a big deal of the fact that something amazing is happening to you. Um, so this is that, that’s how I ask people to look at menopause, look at it, uh, from the perspective of people evolving in puberty.
And now we’re getting to the point where, hold on a second, we’re not feeling there is a second chapter. Why don’t we celebrate the fact that we’re not bleeding every month and that we can do so much more? And now we have the wisdom. Get the body to match and, and just look at it completely differently. We have not been doing that up to this point.
Dorothy: Uhuh. I love that. I love that analogy. My goodness. So what are some symptoms for our younger listeners, of course, who will [00:05:00] someday. Every woman’s gonna go through this.
Dr. Terri Ann: Absolutely.
Dorothy: True.
Dr. Terri Ann: If we, if we live long enough, yes. You know.
Dorothy: So go through some of the symptoms you have during menopause.
Dr. Terri Ann: So the most obvious symptoms are gonna be your hot flashes. Um, your night sweats, brain fog is huge. Another new one, but very common is joint pain. Definitely identity, difficult sleeping, exacerbation of anxiety, depression. So those are just a few. We have a probably up to 70, uh, symptomatology wise, we’re also now very much entertaining the idea that a lot of pathologies that are being managed, especially autoimmune things, just become much more difficult to manage as we lose those hormones.
So the symptomatology. Can be 70 symptoms depending on what, where, where you are health wise. But the ones I mentioned are probably the, the most common. And then you could talk about things like vaginal dryness, secondary to loss of estrogen. Lack of libido. So I mean, we could go on and on. Um, but they’re gradual and they’re very much personalized and not everybody has everything. It’s just recognizing when that time comes that this [00:06:00] may be secondary to just the change.
Dorothy: So do most women recognize it or does someone see it in them and tell ’em?
Dr. Terri Ann: So the most of the time, well, someone who’s seeing them and tell them was, was really the, the where we were before.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: We are now getting to the point, and that’s why we’re doing things like this. You know, this podcast is to, uh, uh, you know, allow women to recognize. When the these things are starting to change and when the time is right for you for intervention, because I’m still at the point where I’m getting women who are coming into my office throwing chairs in the, um, you know, because they’re just so frustrated, right? They’ve just hit the, they’ve hit a wall in terms of symptomatology.
Dorothy: I, I remember that. And yeah, I remember the only thing. What was it? Some kind of black, uh, ash?
Dr. Terri Ann: Black cohosh?
Dorothy: Yes. Yes. That you’re supposed to take. And I couldn’t have anything spicy.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: I couldn’t drink wine. I mean, you know, take away the wine and.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: That’s it. They really gotta see something and, oh, what else was it? It [00:07:00] was just so insane that that was the only thing that was offered at the time.
Dr. Terri Ann: That’s right.
Dorothy: And you know, of course being the feminist that I am. I kept thinking guys get offered stuff all the time. ’cause there’s been lots of good research. Women, not so much.
Dr. Terri Ann: No. No, um, the WHI came at around that time and that really shut things down. I mean, that’s.
Dorothy: Oh, yes.
Dr. Terri Ann: You know, in many, at that, at that time I was a baby doc and at that time I, you know, we heard the rumors, the shutdown came and. You learn very little about nutrition and hormones in medical school. And so that at that time, now people are talking to us about blue, blue cohosh and black cohosh, and we were like, what are you talking about? Right? Like, this is nonsense. But that was all we had an antidepressants in terms of trying to control symptoms for women. So unfortunately that was what was, that was the, the, you know, what was left [00:08:00] after the WHI, which we’ve still, we’ve since debunked that God.
Dorothy: You wanna tell our listeners what that is?
Dr. Terri Ann: WHI, Women’s Health Initiative was a massive study. Done where they started women on hormone after age 65, and the negative effects of the hormones were published and publicized extensively. The positive benefits were not, and it, but it, it caused in, uh, it was enough of a scare tactic that it actually caused all of us to stop giving hormones to women. Um, actually stopped completely. So we weren’t even being selective about it. And not only that, we were actively going and stopping women from taking hormones. Fast forward 20 years later, without getting into huge amounts of detail. We are actually calculating how many women did we harm by, by taking them off their hormones.
Dorothy: Right.
Dr. Terri Ann: So we are the pendulum, and if you have one gray hair, you know, the pendulum goes from that side to that side. And now, you know, hopefully we’re getting back to the middle.
Dorothy: Hopefully.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: Yes. So when a patient comes to you, and, and I have to preface [00:09:00] this with, I was reading your comments, your approach, your philosophy about patients and I, and the one that struck me was you’re not just looking at their body, you’re not just taking care of their body, but you’re also listening to their hearts. Their mind. Talk about that a little bit.
Dr. Terri Ann: Well, a big part of that transition when you go through puberty, right? You take a, a, a child and then you’re taking them into an, a transition, a transitory time in their life. Where you are starting to talk to them as teenagers. They’re not quite adults yet, but they’re starting to think for themselves, and you actually have to get in, start to get in touch with your kids, right?
You have to understand where their mind is going, what they’re thinking. It’s no different from menopause. When you’re, what we call in our practice is second chapter management, right? So we’re talking about taking you through this transition to the next 50 years. But if I don’t hear where you really want to be, if I don’t hear where your mind is, where your heart is, I can’t help you.
I can’t truly [00:10:00] help you to where you truly want to get to, and it’ll be unsuccessful for both of us. So that has to be part of the management, and I’m fortunate to be able to do that in my practice. After years of, I’ve done the academic thing, I’ve done the, you know, 30 patients a day thing. You cannot get that, that kind of attention. You cannot get the answers you need. You can’t get the help if you don’t get to spend the time.
Dorothy: That is so true. And how did you make that happen?
Dr. Terri Ann: Uh, a lot of butt clenching. Whew, we’re gonna do this. Um, and it was just, it’s just based on the way healthcare is structured, um, in this country. It, it’s just unfortunate that in terms of between insurance and everything else, it’s very difficult. In order to make ends meet, you really have to see more and more patients, and patients. Being seen by volume means that you don’t have time to listen. This is about survival, right? I need to make sure that you’re alive walking outta here right now in talk, in terms of when I talk about thriving. That’s [00:11:00] a whole lot. That’s a whole other thing, because we have to get on the same page and then we need to get direction, and then we need to have follow up. But the system doesn’t reward you for that.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: They reward you for keeping people alive and doing surgery. Yeah. The more you cut the better. Right?
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: But there are women who need this. Uh, and that’s what I met in my old practices, women who need the time, who want to do better, who, who, who, who want to thrive, but they just need an advocate. And so that’s where I volunteered.
Dorothy: Wow. So you just did it.
Dr. Terri Ann: I just, Ooh, like a cliff. Jumped. Um, I think that was probably, I did not sleep that night. And all, I all, I remember getting up the next morning, I, I gave up insurance completely. And I got up this morning and I looked at my schedule and I was like, Ooh, there is Mrs. So-and-so. I was like, oh, there’s one patient.
Dorothy: One patient.
Dr. Terri Ann: One patient, and then it’s, it’s grown.
Dorothy: You know that that is so… that’s a pioneer type approach [00:12:00] to medicine.
Dr. Terri Ann: I know. It’s crazy, right?
Dorothy: No, it is so needed. I, I know. A handful of doctors who have, who have done that, but it’s always because they want that time with the patient.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah. And it’s, it’s painful though. I mean, it’s pain. It was, it was very painful for me. It’s because of the, you know, it costs money, right?
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: And I know people pay for their insurance and it’s really just terrible the way things are structured. But I think I had a little girl that came in and she was, uh, or mid twenties and I was like, you know, I felt terrible like charging patients. It was just, it just not in my nature. But she came in there and she said, you know, I expected, you know, obviously that patient, certain patients would come back certain, you know, you try and make predictors in your mind. And she said to me, she said, I will, I will save every month to make sure I see you annually ’cause you take care of me. And I was like, Hmm. I said, then I’m gonna keep doing this.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah.
Dorothy: So you take woman through a, a [00:13:00] complete profile. Um, how long does it take when you have your first visit with you?
Dr. Terri Ann: Oh yeah, it could, it takes, uh, at least 45 minutes to an hour and we’d get blood work there. So it’s, it’s getting the objective and the subjective. Uh, we put them together and then we decide what we, what we’re gonna, what’s our plan going forward. And hormones is only a part of that. That’s that. Not everybody leaves with hormones. Uh, you don’t get it unless you, you need it. But there’s so much more to it in terms of second chapter planning, right? Um, the medical side of it too, that we have to kind of weigh in always is hormonally, is that we wanna make sure that your risks for all things are, are down. Right? You’re not just a walking vagina. We need to talk about everything else, right? So I wanna know your family history. I wanna know who’s had cancer. I wanna know, you know, do you qualify for breast MRIs? Is that what you should be doing instead of just your mammograms?
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: Um, all of those things are important to delve into. Are you getting your colonoscopies? These are, these are simple things, um, that these, these women, right? We’re second chapter planning. That means I want you [00:14:00] here for the next 50 years. So what information, just.
Dorothy: You’ve said that twice now, 50 years after menopause.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah.
Dorothy: That’s unbelievable.
Dr. Terri Ann: Why not? Why not?
Dorothy: Oh, I love it.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right?
Dorothy: But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say you could live another 50 years and thrive.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right? Don’t we say that? Don’t we say that to our kids?
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah. But we assume, but again, when you start to look at the things that we know, we have data to, to, to look at the things that you want to achieve. And that’s what I’m saying when I talk about planning. If you want to be at 85, 90, a hundred, doing 10 pushups, lifting your luggage above, you know, in, in the, in the, in the plane, you wanna be on the floor with your grandchildren. You can’t start that at 75.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: We gotta start that at 50. And then with a clear view, right, of what you wanna be. And that’s what you tell your kids. It’s the same thing.
Dorothy: Hmm. So what in the world made you start your [00:15:00] podcast?
Dr. Terri Ann: They actually, for the same reason you just said. What was the hole that I was trying to fill? And that’s awareness.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: Because that’s, it’s, it’s, it’s obviously a passion of mine. So it, but it’s so frustrating when women wait. We’re, we’re making the world turn right. We, everybody’s needs but our own. And then we wait until we hit a wall, and that’s when I’m, I’m getting tears and I can’t take it anymore. And why can’t we, we get aware before that so that we can start working in our, you know, thirties into our forties towards menopause and understanding if you’re getting symptomatology that’s affecting your quality of life, let’s do something about it. So I, it’s really for patient awareness. And so that’s why we started talking.
Dorothy: It’s like you’re really trying to get rid of this bias this.
Dr. Terri Ann: Bye-bye.
Dorothy: Bye-bye. This myth that we can’t function and.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah, I want you walking in with your girlfriends going, yeah, I’m going to menopause. We’ll speak to.
Dorothy: That’s it.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah. Yeah. I want, when men hear it, it’s not like, oh my [00:16:00] God, she’s limp.
Dorothy: Yeah. Right?
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah. Yeah. I, I, she’s, she’s, she’s going into a transition. If I see a hot flash, no big deal. It doesn’t change her. Her brain still works. Her body still works. She’s on, she’s at top of a game and she’s wise.
Dorothy: Mm. Right. Which is such a big deal.
Dr. Terri Ann: It’s such a big deal.
Dorothy: Yeah. And we know when, go back to something you said though, it, because we deal with that in the breast cancer world.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: It’s always that the woman put herself last.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: And I keep saying it is a societal thing.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: But it has to be more than that. What’s your opinion on why.
Dr. Terri Ann: Why women put themselves last?
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: Sometimes it, it, it, it boils down to culture. In certain cultures, it’s, uh, it’s the, it’s, I do feel that women feel that if they put themselves la, that there’s some body keeping track and giving them a tick, like, yeah, great.
Dorothy: Oh, I’ve never heard that.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah. Oh, you, you, uh, you put yourself, I, I feel that there is a, a sense of, if I sacrifice that, [00:17:00] that somehow, that energy is going to propel or propel me in, in a weird way. And, and I’ve heard that over and over again. Sometimes it’s just that they literally can’t find the time and energy to put themselves there. And sometimes they’re in a situation where they can’t. So I think for various reasons, and I don’t understand, and if they don’t, if you don’t understand your value. Right?
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: Then it doesn’t make sense. If you don’t understand that, you have nothing to give, if you don’t put something in the bucket, right? Then you, you can’t get your head around making the time in between your crazy schedule to take your mammogram to make sure that you’re not dealing with a, a cancer that is totally treatable.
Dorothy: Right.
Dr. Terri Ann: If caught early.
Dorothy: Do you have that discussion with your patients?
Dr. Terri Ann: Absolutely.
Dorothy: Or have they already made that transition when they come to you?
Dr. Terri Ann: No, not at all. Not at all. I get both. I get both. Uh, and sometimes we have to have that. But you know, again, the heming and hawing, and I’m not sure, and I listen, if it’s affecting your quality of life. Right? And your bucket is not full. There is nothing to [00:18:00] give. You have to fill your bucket first. And it’s an awkward conversation. I’m not asked, I didn’t, I didn’t say buy expensive shoes. I said, take care of your health.
Dorothy: Oh, great.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right? Yeah. I said, I said, why not try and feel better every single morning so that you have more to give to the people around you?
Dorothy: But you know, we wouldn’t. If we were talking to our spouse or our son, or we wouldn’t even have to use those words. Right?
Dr. Terri Ann: Right. Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: We expect that they’re gonna take care. We, we expect that we’re gonna make sure they take care of themselves.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right, right, right. But it, and, and you’re right. I mean, a lot of it too, you know, I talk a lot about vocabulary. And when we use that vocabulary, when we can speak, um, in terms that make sense, that everyone understands, then there it translates a lot better. And so that’s part of it too. When, when I, you said why I did the menopause, well, you’re hearing it from my patients. They’re giving you vocabulary they’re giving you and empowering [00:19:00] you with words to describe why your quality of life is the way it is and to be unapologetic about that. But sometimes we just, as women, because we don’t talk about it, we just don’t know the words. Even if we do wanna get help.
Dorothy: It’s the same in breast cancer.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: How many times have I heard someone say, well, I should have told her I knew she wasn’t having her mammograms or, you know, all of the things just last week was we were talking with someone who works in this healthcare field, gone to great extent to have women come from the community, filled out the paper, been through the education, got to the point of walking through the door for their mammogram, couldn’t do it.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: And, and I’m thinking this is 2025.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: I, I don’t know how we’ll ever push past that.
Dr. Terri Ann: No, no.
Dorothy: And, and believe me, menopause would be a bigger challenge.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes.
Dorothy: Because no one wants to talk about it.
Dr. Terri Ann: Nobody wants to talk about it. And again, it’s undoing a lot of [00:20:00] what’s already been done. You’re talking about generations of, you know, suck it up buttercup. This is what makes you a woman. You’re strong if you get through it and you don’t complain. That’s what makes you strong. Is it really? And the reality is, before a hundred years ago, you know, we really would talk without sanitation, without, you know, uh, modern medicine, we, we’d be dead at about 47.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Dr. Terri Ann: On average. Right? The fact is that we care about it. And now, I mean, it’s, let’s take another lens. Think about it like, you can actually be more productive after age 50 than you were before, right?
Dorothy: No, I have been.
Dr. Terri Ann: Exactly.
Dorothy: I, I’ve just been amazed at
Dr. Terri Ann: Yep.
Dorothy: At how, for one thing you, you stop wanting to be responsible for everyone.
Dr. Terri Ann: That’s right.
Dorothy: And eventually that fades away . And the other thing is, it’s like you’ve learned it, it will pass. Yeah. No matter what.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yep.
Dorothy: You know?
Dr. Terri Ann: Yep.
Dorothy: How do you talk to your husband, spouse, boyfriend, significant other, when you’re picking up the, [00:21:00] they are annoyed with you, right? Because you’re in this time.
Dr. Terri Ann: I think it’s an open conversation and I think it needs to be addressed very early in any relationship in terms of things that happen. You know, again, with children, we talk, we talk about puberty like we our kids, if they live long enough. Thank God they’re going through puberty. Well, if our relationship lasts long enough, you know, we’re gonna go through menopause number one.
Now, the other thing is that there is, I hate to use the term, but menopause. Men do change also, right? Theirs is just such a gradual change, and they address it faster because they prioritize pressure. Right. So they will tend to address their issues.
Dorothy: Wait, wait, wait. Say that again.
Dr. Terri Ann: They priorit, they prioritize pleasure, right?
Dorothy: Wow.
Dr. Terri Ann: Men prioritize.
Dorothy: Yes.
Dr. Terri Ann: Of course they do. They do what makes ’em feel good, right? Right?
Dorothy: Right.
Dr. Terri Ann: You know a man that doesn’t sit on the toilet for 30 minutes every morning? No. Very few of them because it’s the best part of their day. Right? And I don’t wrong them. We need to do [00:22:00] that too. But that’s their, they prioritize pleasure.
So they were, they’re quicker to go and get help than we are, but it’s a gradual decline. They, their bodies do change and their, their hormones do change. So.
Dorothy: And oh my gosh, if they’re without testosterone.
Dr. Terri Ann: Exactly. Exactly.
Dorothy: Every other commercial. This pill.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes, the irony of it is that we also do men, some of the has in testosterone center. But the, the irony of it is that because of this kind of nuance and acceptance of testosterone for men, they are a little bit more open. I think that conversation is a lot easier in 2025 because they, they realize that there is a hormonal deficiency because we are, we’re marching forward, right. In maturity.
So, so I think the conversation is definitely easier now from that perspective. Men in general, the other side trying to look at the positives is that there, there are men who are really interested, but again, we need to have vocabulary to be able to convey what this is, what this [00:23:00] transition looks like. And there is another side to it, right? And also not be afraid to get help. And I think if we do those things, then this conversation, I think in 10 years is going to be moot. Like, oh, okay, this is what’s happening.
Dorothy: That would be.
Dr. Terri Ann: Oh. I think it’s possible. I think it’s totally doable. The other thing is, is I think the workforce is gonna need the menopausal women, I need y’all to just value yourself because we are gonna be the ones who teach people work ethic. And we, we, they’re, this is an important group of women.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: This menopausal group is going to change history. Right? Because you have the wisdom, you get help. Your body starts working the way you have creative ideas and the world needs you. So this is a very interesting time in history, I think.
Dorothy: Oh yes. You’re absolutely right. There has never been so many women who are educated. Have a level of power that they never had before.
Dr. Terri Ann: That’s right.
Dorothy: Have the money.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: And if they have the vocabulary or use their voice. Absolutely.
Dr. Terri Ann: [00:24:00] Yes.
Dorothy: Give us three examples of new vocabulary we can use as we’re describing ourselves or as we’re moving.
Dr. Terri Ann: That’s hard. I think learning the difference between things like vaginal dryness, okay. Okay. That the, it is an actual dryness. It’s like starchy, right? And painful, right? As opposed to when they come in and say, well, I, sex is painful.
Well, is it painful or is it dry? Or is it both? Right? There are different things and different parts of your pelvis that we need to look into. So those words I think have gotten, they, it’s very kind of vague, um, in terms of, and, and honestly, a lot of patients are like, it’s down there.
Dorothy: Whoa,
Dr. Terri Ann: whoa. I know. We don’t have enough hours in the day, lady.
Dorothy: I know, right.
Dr. Terri Ann: And from my perspective, there’s tons going on down there. Right. But we need to be able to address them with the appropriate term. I’m, I’m trying to think off the top of my head, things that are really obvious. Hot [00:25:00] flashes versus night sweats. People say, at night, I’m having flashes. They’re, they’re different hot flashes and they’re actually etiology is a little bit different also. I’m trying to think of really good examples, but I think the more that you speak about it and the more that you hear people use terminology that are related to menopause, then it becomes easier to say it yourself. It’s not like, oh my gosh.
Dorothy: I think you’ve given us some great examples.
Dr. Terri Ann: Oh, good.
Dorothy: I, I know especially the, the vaginal dryness as I’ve talked to my friends. You know, it’s almost like, oh, I got dry. There’s something wrong with me, but it’s. It’s psychologically wrong.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: You know, it’s, it’s, it’s a physical thing. Woman, I mean, you know, yeah. It is dry, but, but there’s still that, oh, I don’t know how to say it. Is it a guilt? It’s almost a guilt, like, oh, I’m not ready for him. Oh, I’m not enjoying it.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: Or all of those things.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right.
Dorothy: That just. Aren’t true.
Dr. Terri Ann: No.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Terri Ann: And like the word libido, very medical terminology that women are very getting comfortable using. Right. Well, I don’t feel [00:26:00] like it. Okay. When I, when you know, or when I asked, do you feel like having intercourse? Well, you know, the difference between libido and, you know, and being able to have intercourse is that, you know, most women can, you know, get revved, get there eventually. Libido is the de novo, like. Like, I feel like a piece of chocolate cake. I feel like some sex. Right? Like I that de novo, like, oh, he’s good looking. You know? Right. That, that in innate sense of that side of your body being awoken on a regular basis.
Dorothy: Yeah. It’s a sexuality, it’s their sensuality and all, all of those things.
Dr. Terri Ann: Right. And which declines as we get older. So it’s, it’s important to wake that up because that changes the trajectory of your sexual life. As opposed to, I can get, I can have sex, like I can get through it. If my engine is rubbed and the the moon is 180 degrees and I do a black flip, then I can get there. Right. But what, uh, I’m asking you about [00:27:00] that, just that, that innate sexuality, sensuality, that you just feel like this is like vitamin S you I’d like, I have some vitamin D today, tomorrow have some vitamin S. Thank you very much.
Dorothy: Mm-hmm. And you’re alive.
Dr. Terri Ann: And you’re alive.
Dorothy: Yes. You’re feeling alive. You’re glad to be alive.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes.
Dorothy: Eager to get out of bed.
Dr. Terri Ann: Vitality.
Dorothy: Yes. Oh my goodness. What a gift you are giving women.
Dr. Terri Ann: I, I am honored.
Dorothy: No, you are. You really are. All right. So as we close, mmm. Besides encouraging people to listen to Meno pod.
Dr. Terri Ann: The Meno pod.
Dorothy: Meno Pod. Alright. What’s that line after that? For women?
Dr. Terri Ann: This is for women who refuse to pause.
Dorothy: I have listened to every one of them, and they are so good.
Dr. Terri Ann: Thank you.
Dorothy: And you’ll find, uh, you know, there’s a big range of age within your patients that are talking.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes.
Dorothy: I I thought that I was expecting everyone to be old.
Dr. Terri Ann: No.
Dorothy: But it’s not because you talk perimenopause. [00:28:00]
Dr. Terri Ann: We don’t use menopause. We don’t use the
O
Dr. Terri Ann: word by the way, that doesn’t exist.
Dorothy: Oh, okay.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yeah, it doesn’t exist. The O word. No, no, no, no. The, the actual, we’re actually the, we actually started filming the, the next portion, which is gonna be sex after 70.
Dorothy: Oh, I love that.
Dr. Terri Ann: Yes. Yes. And, and you can’t wait. Yeah. And I, I didn’t, I didn’t spawn that. This was spawned by, by my patients who were like, I wanna talk about this.
Dorothy: You know, don’t we in healthcare who are paying attention, every need you ever meet are even try to attempt to make help. And is because that woman asked for it . Is because it’s a, it’s a need that’s being expressed. I’m just so amazed at how many programs we’ve started only because we listened.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Dorothy: And then knew we needed something else. So that’s what you’ve been doing so well, thank you. My goodness. And wish you all the success in the world and can’t wait till your new one comes out.
Dr. Terri Ann: Oh, I’m excited. I’m excited. Thank you so much. And I, I could talk to you forever. Thanks again.
Dorothy: Oh, thank you.
Dr. Terri Ann: Mm-hmm.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your [00:29:00] Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting, and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.
