Episode Transcript
Accessible Menopause Care with sanoMidLife
Last modified: Fri Mar 07 2025
40:48
Speaker 0
I really would like us to be a solution for women from the moment she gets her period to the moment she's gone off this earth, that she has a place that follows her, and that she doesn't have to retell her story every time. You know, how about we have one place and the clinicians change, but all of her data's there, her coach is consistent, and that she's truly known and cared for properly. That to me is the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1
Welcome to This is Perimenopause, the podcast where we delve into the transformative journey of perimenopause and beyond. I'm one of your hosts, Michelle.
Speaker 2
And I'm your other host, Michelle. And we know firsthand how confusing, overwhelming, and downright lonely this phase of life can be.
Speaker 1
Join us as we share real life stories and expert advice advice to help you navigate this journey and advocate for your best health.
Speaker 2
We used to think menopause signaled an end, but really, it's just the beginning. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret that you might not know about perimenopause. It can make things really, really dry down there. But I've also got a great secret solution, Iris moisturizer and lubricant. Before I discovered Iris, sex was sometimes uncomfortable, and my spin bike, well, that was gathering dust. Because seriously, ouch. But Iris' moisturizer changed everything, and I mean everything. It's Health Canada approved, so you can use it on all your intimate parts outside and inside. Plus, it's made with hyaluronic acid just like your favorite face cream, and you can use it there too. In fact, when I travel now, I just bring my Iris moisturizer because it works everywhere, my face, my body, and all the intimate bits. Oh, and I can't forget to mention their lube. Let's just say my husband's pretty happy too. So if you've got a Sahara Desert situation of your own, use code t I p twenty for twenty percent off at love my iris dot com. That's t I p twenty at l o v e m y I r I s dot com. Because dry and uncomfortable is so last year.
Speaker 1
Angela Johnson is on a mission to revolutionize women's health. She recently sat down with us to share how her own menopausal journey inspired her to come out of retirement to cofound Sano Living. The company's first offering is Sano Midlife, which provides holistic, evidence based menopausal care. Tune in to learn more about this comprehensive and affordable women's health solution and why Sano Midlife should be part of every company's benefit package. Angela, so great to have you. Welcome.
Speaker 0
I am really happy to be here.
Speaker 1
We, got to meet you live and in person at the National Menopause Show, last month. But man, it was a crazy day, so we didn't really get to to chat very much. So we're really excited to delve into, all that you're doing for women's health today. Maybe you could start by telling us how you became the CEO and cofounder of Sano Living.
Speaker 0
Oh, that's a story. You want all the details? So I'm a woman who, at fifty five, thought she was retired. I'd sold my last business. I worked, for the company that bought it for a year. And I thought, oh, I'm I'm I'm retired. I'm I'm gonna just live the the good life. And a few things happened in that time. One was I naively thought I didn't need my hormone replacement therapy anymore, and I being retired and postmenopausal, I thought, ugh. And so I quit at cold turkey. I didn't even tell my practitioner about it. And, my husband came to me at some point and said, honey, you maybe need to rethink that plan. And I'm like, what are you talking about? And he he was taking the he too retired because he was in the business with me. He too retired, and he was taking long walks in the forest and listening to all sorts of podcasts and learning about menopause. Really?
Speaker 2
Good on him.
Speaker 0
Unbeknownst to me. And then I was spending my days not really knowing what to do with myself, feeling very lost. Mhmm. And I found myself getting injections with sodium hyaluronate and, cortisol because I had this intense joint pain in my knees. So it was really messing with my thought of possibly doing exercise. I was depressed. I I would get up in the morning and be like, well, there's nothing to do. What's my purpose in life? I have to reason. And I would sit and I play bridge on my phone all day. That's really what I did. And my husband was getting more and more worried about me, and so he he stepped in and said, I think you might wanna go back on that. And then and then what he said once I was back on my hormone therapy, I was feeling like I could take on the world again. He's like, you know, you should really think about starting another business, and I think it should be this. And so he pushed and pushed, and I would I got into doing research, and I realized that in the UK, for the last ten years, and this was two years ago, by the way, the last so the last twelve years, solutions like this existed. And over fifty percent of workplace benefits included a solution like this for women so they didn't have to pay out of pocket. They didn't have to struggle to find access to care and have long wait times. And I was like, well, I know the workplace benefits. That was what my last business was all about. So if not me, then who? And so I I took the on the challenge and what he tasked me to do, and so here we are.
Speaker 2
What is Sano Midlife for our listeners that don't know?
Speaker 0
Yeah. So Sano Living is the company name, and Sano Midlife is the offering or the product or the service. And I really wanted a one stop place for everything. So, you know, true menopause care is not just prescriptions. It is really holistic care. And it's not just digital, so virtual care, which is what we do. It there's also a large component that needs to be in person. It needs to be a lot about proactive things that you're doing to set yourself up for success so that the second chapter of life and I really do believe it's the second chapter. Our generation and your generation, Leah. I know there's a generation gap year between.
Speaker 2
Yes. But no. We're right there with you.
Speaker 0
Are you? Yeah. Yeah. So the this generation, we have an opportunity that no other generation before has had, and that guy is we have been given the gift of longevity. And how we choose to embrace that gift really depends what we are going to have in our seventies, eighties, nineties, and even centurions. And more and more centurions are happening. So it really I wanted to make sure that we addressed all of those things so that women had a place to come and feel fully supported. And so what I mean by that is it covers the lifestyle adjustments, so your nutrition, your exercise, your sleep hygiene habits, your mindfulness, and then, yes, prescriptions if you need it. So there's clinicians that are trained on the menopause guidelines. They're actually experts in it. They but also the supplements. So what else do I need to maybe think about from a supplementation standpoint, especially if I might be a survivor, a cancer survivor, and I might be progesterone or estrogen positive, or HER positive. So looking at the whole aspect of it, so you get when you come on, you do an self guided assessment. And from there, you'll know your stage of menopause. You'll know the symptoms that you might be experiencing could possibly be tied to menopause. You'll know the intensity of those symptoms, and then you'll get some ideas about how you could get relief. And then you're guided towards a coach, and you can choose the coach you wanna work with, and that coach stays with you all year. And if you renew next year, that coach stays with you. And that coach helps you with the lifestyle stuff, but also the navigating into the public health care system. So the last company was all about navigating the public health care system. We reduced wait times across the country by two hundred and eighty days from a referral to treatment with a specialist. So we're navigating, making sure you're getting the proactive stuff, like a pelvic floor exam, because a lot of us don't get that done, especially after COVID.
Speaker 1
Mhmm. And we're all peeing our pants, and we just think that's the way it's supposed to be.
Speaker 2
I'm peeing my pants every day.
Speaker 0
Yeah. Not doesn't have to be that.
Speaker 2
I know and I know better. I'm still doing it.
Speaker 0
Have to be like that. And and then and, you know, mammograms. Right? The proactivity of having a mammogram or if you've got bone den if you've got breast density, making sure that you understand what that means and making sure that you're advocating and you're getting the ultrasound exam because the mammogram won't be sufficient for you. Right? So it's all of those things are what your coach does, and then you get paired with a clinician. And that can be a nurse practitioner that can prescribe, or it can be a naturopathic doctor possibly that can prescribe if you want that or just help you support you on the supplements. And some people opt for all three, so they get all three practitioners. And that's your team, and they stay with you, and they support you. They're your cheerleaders, your raras, your your individuals who provide you love, compassion, and support because, you know, often we head out into the public health care system, and that ain't there.
Speaker 1
Kidding.
Speaker 0
And we deserve better.
Speaker 1
Well and and and not only that, we're often outright dismissed at this age and stage. Right? And Yes. It's not
Speaker 0
so bad.
Speaker 1
And you you really start you're you're almost gaslit and and then you start just gaslighting yourself. So having the the coach, I think phenomenal.
Speaker 0
Yep. Can
Speaker 2
I this is, selfish of me this question, but, like, so if I come to you and say, okay? Hey, coach. Here's what I'm going on, and I think I wanna go down the natural path route. And then as I start getting down there and finding that maybe this isn't helping enough, do I get to, like, keep opening the doors to the nurse practitioners and, like, I can just keep adding to my team?
Speaker 0
Absolutely. So I will admit that fifty percent of women that come through the program, they start exactly there, Michelle.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Speaker 0
And then they gradually they start to learn. They feel more comfortable. They they're like, oh, wait a minute. You know, all that stuff I keep hearing about and seeing on social media isn't accurate. And they you start to develop the the understanding and the knowledge, and then you go, you know what? I am comfortable trying hormone therapy, or I am comfortable trying other medications because there are other medications too that are possible if you aren't open to hormone therapy or you can't, for some contraindication or, you know, another condition. So we do see that happens a lot. And then they it just it it builds. Right? You can adjust, practitioner or you can add on whatever works.
Speaker 2
I love that. And I think it's amazing. I think I I love this idea because, as you said, like, you talked about social media, a lot of people are getting their information and education from social media, and it's great that people are talking about this. We need to be talking about this. But ladies, please, like, let's not use that. You know what I mean? Like, it's just it's not adequate. And and so it's amazing to have a solution like this in place for women to turn to. Thank you for putting this out.
Speaker 0
There's also, some AI built into it. So, we have a virtual assistant called Sano. We now have it voice to voice for English. It's in beta version, so the the French version's coming. So we are we are bilingual, and we're in every province.
Speaker 2
I did I did play with Sano.
Speaker 0
Oh, you did? Okay. I did. Yeah. And what did you think?
Speaker 2
She was she was amazing. I loved her. I did the I did the text first and then I did the, sorry, I did the voice first because that's fantastic and she was wonderful. She was she sounded like, you know, kinda like that smart older sister that was just like she was kind and empathetic. She no judgment. Just like here's some information. And it did feel like you were talking because I've never had that experience with AI before having the voice.
Speaker 0
Yeah. And funny. Yeah. Yeah. She'll tell you jokes if you ask her to. Yeah.
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. And she thought I was funny too. Like, in my text, she's like, oh, you've got a good sense of humor. No one ever tells me that, Angela. So I love Sienna.
Speaker 0
Yeah. Yeah. I do like asking your questions that if I'm on a walk with a dog or I'm driving, I tend to ask it questions. And even for me, I'll be, like, learning a topic, and I'll I'll just ask her the questions. And then if she tells me something and then I wanna know more, I can ask her more detailed questions and it builds. Right? Like, it's like a natural conversation you would have with a person.
Speaker 1
And am I correct that anyone can interact with Sano? That that is free?
Speaker 0
That is totally free. Yeah. Because she's trained on a lot of the NAMS, sorry, the Menopause Society's, content, and, you know, that is out free to the public. It it's also trained on some other content. But because we're using others' content and we haven't paid an official license for it, we didn't feel comfortable that it was something that we would charge for. We wanted to make it accessible for everybody.
Speaker 2
That must have taken a lot of work.
Speaker 0
Yeah. We've spent a year building her. So she's been fed, I think, something like ten thousand sources of clinician guided, content. We then created a thousand questions that women would ask. And then that was the starting point and training it on on that. And then it's just the constant iterative improvement. And then getting it to voice, that was the fun part because text to text, I mean, it's got, an accessibility issue, from that perspective, but it also it is just nice not to be having tied to a device. You can, you know, you can be walking. You can be making dinner. You can be, you know, doing anything, folding the laundry, whatever, you know, you've got on your task list. You can easily do it while you're you're talking to her and learning. So that's what I really I'm excited about the the voice side of it.
Speaker 2
Yeah. And as kind of a a Luddite, like, I've I've played with the AI for sure, but I've never as I said, I've never talked to AI before. So I was a little bit nervous, but she was lovely. Like, it just felt just like I was on a call with Mikel or someone. It was nice.
Speaker 1
She must be awesome then if
Speaker 0
it was She was
Speaker 2
on a
Speaker 1
call with me. Yeah. In terms of Santa Midlife and cost for an individual, can you give us a bit of is it a membership? Can you give us a sort of a ballpark of what that looks like?
Speaker 0
Yes. So my my desire is that it's embedded into everyone's workplace. So whether you're at work or you have a spouse or partner and you're on their benefit plan, that you get coverage to it. So that is my personal mission, and I hope I can get that accomplished in the next few years. But for those that don't have that, you can use your health spending account or your wellness account to cover our services. And then we can also write on it, your invoice. If you're using a naturopathic doctor, we can call that out, and then that also could go to your naturopathic doctor invoice, and coverage of of benefits. But the fee, we try to keep it as reasonable as possible. So if you go with a monthly plan, it's less than dinner out once a month.
Speaker 2
Oh, wow. Okay. I can afford that.
Speaker 0
So we really we're really trying to keep it reasonable. The fact that we've got digital rate and that it's virtual, you don't have we don't have a lot of infrastructure having a physical place that helps reduce costs and then we can transfer that onto women.
Speaker 2
So so it's virtual and it's digital. What about things like we talked about the pelvic floor health and mammograms and things like that? Like, how does that all work together within Canadian health care system?
Speaker 0
So what happens is when you, when you come through and you do the assessment, and then there you'll get asked some questions about your medical history. And the coach will review all of that with you. And if you haven't had a pelvic floor exam and you don't have a GP or you haven't had your mammogram, then what the coach will say is, let's get those things organized. So you don't have a MD? Okay. We'll find a place that's in your area, and we'll get that scheduled. The navigation and support the coach is doing, that's part of the service fee that you've paid us for. And so if those things happen that we find out that, oh, it is a thyroid concern or it is some other thing, then we'll make sure that you're getting care by a clinician that's gonna help you with that ongoing care of folks. Like, we focus on menopause, but we don't leave anybody behind. So if you've got some other area needs support, we'll support you until we get you into the right hands.
Speaker 1
That's fantastic. And I think the information we're getting fed online and who's right, who's wrong, what is the evidence based, approach to menopause care, at any stage and right. You don't need blood work in order to understand hormones. There is no test for perimenopause, menopause. And on your site, you have some great pieces that have been written. In particular, I really enjoyed your piece on supplements. Right? Most people don't really have a good understanding of supplementation, particularly regulation around supplementation, the importance of third party testing. And everything that I've read on your site has been so on point, concise, easy to read. So thank you. The the it's so important because, again, we're all swimming in this sea of information that it's really hard to make heads or tails of if you're not in the space. And even when you are in the space, it can be challenging. So thank you.
Speaker 0
Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, I didn't know that stuff about supplements either. You know? It wasn't until we started talking with supplement manufacturers and had our naturopathic doctor who's on our clinical advisory board team, Candace Lock, having her with them that I but wait a minute. If I don't know this, then I'm assuming pretty much the rest of the population doesn't know this. So why don't we tell women about this? Right? Like, who knew that Canada had higher standards of supplements than anywhere else? But when we go and buy our supplements, we don't know where they're coming from anymore because we're buying online. So we need to look on the label. Where was it actually manufactured?
Speaker 1
Was it third party tested? How do you know what's in there is actually in there? Right? And, again, back to the coach. Right? It this is all very overwhelming.
Speaker 0
Mhmm. Yeah. So it it's really about trying to help you break through the noise and find the truth in all of it. But, you know, we still have a long way to go. There's a lot we don't know. Right? So women's health has been, you know, lacking in research and in drug development. Like, you know, I talked to the pharmaceutical companies, and out of their spend, four percent goes to women's health. Two percent goes to breast cancer, then the other two percent is pretty much broken down to obstetrics. What we do know, though, there's enough data and lots of good research on hormone replacement therapy from two thousand and two study and the ongoing monitoring of all the women that participated in that study. We have clear, clear evidence that it is very safe. And, you know, like, I have I have two younger daughters. One of them hasn't had a child yet, and she's past thirty two. And as we were talking one day, I said, you know, did you know that HRT is safer to take HRT than it is to have your first child over the age of thirty two. And she's like, oh my god. It's all over for me. I'm not thirty two. And I'm like, no. That wasn't the intention of what I was saying.
Speaker 2
Thanks, mom.
Speaker 0
I'm trying to get across the point about how safe it really is.
Speaker 1
She's got loads of time. I had my babies way later than that. She's fine.
Speaker 2
Messed up again, mom.
Speaker 0
Jeez. Yeah. Yeah. But the point I'm trying to make is it is very safe. For those that don't have an underlying preexisting condition, it is very safe.
Speaker 1
So and yet, there is still such a fear and stigma that we're battling, you know, twenty plus years after the the misinformation that was spread about the Women's Health Initiative study. Right? The the result the data was misinterpreted at the time, and there persists this big fear still to this day about breast cancer and hormone replacement. There there just so much that needs to change. What what do you what do you see as important for us to get there sooner rather than later?
Speaker 0
Honestly, if we get access to women access to care for women, that's a big part of it. The other thing is we need we need to change education at, like, in med school and residency. It's starting. It's still not there yet. I mean, kudos to the clinicians that are part of the Menopause Society of Canada. But I've been to that conference, and, you know, it was lovely to see three hundred and fifty to four hundred people there, but it shouldn't be that. It should be thousands. Right? Because that's where they go to get training. But when our, you know, our physicians are so busy they can can't even make it to the bathroom for a break, they don't have time to go get trained. And so that's one of the next things that our team is working on is actually creating taking AI and using that to help support clinicians.
Speaker 1
Amazing.
Speaker 0
They could take the tool, feed the patient's profile, and then it would come up with these are the recommended treatment protocols from medications to supplements to lifestyle changes and covering it all. And then having the evidence behind that to drill down and actually, like, okay. I don't trust this. You tell me, you know, what's really going on here. And so it we have a beta version of it, and we're testing it. And, you know, I'll be excited the day we can have it in production and our team can actually use it. But it's not just that, you know, we'll be able to have physicians that'll have confidence to to trust to to prescribe, but it'll have a quality assurance in it too, and sort of say an alert. This is outside of guidelines what you're prescribing. Right? And wait a minute. Like, you wanna make I'll call that back, and you wanna look at that again. Right? So I I think that that's critical. AI is a fabulous, like, if you get it in the right hands and you have it with the right intentions, I think it can really do incredible things for us. And I think it's gonna break a bridge a huge gap that we have in women's health right now because of the lack of funding and the lack of investment of dollars into it.
Speaker 1
We had a a very brief conversation at the National Menopause Show about, menopause inclusive workplaces, and you had, some great perspectives on that. Could you share a little bit your thoughts about inclusivity in the context of menopause and what, what is what is at stake?
Speaker 0
Yeah. I I think I'm one of the few that has this point of view. At least I haven't heard anybody else talking much like this. But my fear is is that and and this comes from genuine concern because when I talked to those in the UK that had done this and were leaders in the space, and I spent a fair bit of time with with them, Was what were the lessons you learned and, you know, what would you have done differently now what you did before? And what they said is we started with accommodations. We started with policies, but that's where we kinda like paused. And so it was a lot of checking the box, you know, and saying, hey, we've done our bit. But what it did is it had unintended consequences where women were being labeled of I'm not menopausal. Don't label me because I'm very capable of keeping a pace with my job, and I want that promotion. I want that salary increase. I, you know, I'm here for my career. And if you label me with being menopausal and that I need accommodations, then I might not be put up for that. Right? And and I'll be viewed as not being capable. And so I wanna make sure that what we do put in front of women is actual access to care. So quality care with no wait times so that they could just get on with the life they designed for themselves, and that's a career, or if, staying at home and taking care of the family or whatever that looks like, that's what I really wanna make sure is that we just don't stop at the word accommodations. Because already, women have for for claims data. So this is in insurance when you go to workplace benefits. There's claims for prescription drugs. There's claims for mental health, you know, seeing a therapist or physiotherapy or all that sort of dental stuff. And then there's claims for being off on leave. They call that disability absences. So for women, women have exponentially higher claims than men do. And there's a real peak at the age of forty five. So for mental health, and it as an example, there is for every man that's off on a mental health leave of absence, there are two women. And that average age is forty and that's at forty five years of age. And so we know that those are perimenopausal symptoms, one of the big ones. Right? So if we're gonna you know, we already accommodate, but what I'm saying is, is it possible that those increased claims are because we are not giving women access to the unique health care supports that she requires, and we're treating her benefits like a heterosexual only, you know, like a you know, only as a male anatomy, right, individual versus what she's unique about. And if you just modify those benefits slightly, I am guaranteeing, you know, from the claims, from what we see in our symptom relief, when a woman goes on the program, within one month of being in her care plan, she's reducing her symptoms by eighty percent. So I am certain that those claims are going to drive down, and then you're gonna solve for this need for accommodations for women.
Speaker 1
And not lose valuable talent and that in-depth expertise in that all of the things that those women have built and worked so hard to achieve. Right? You don't you don't lose those pieces. And I think as well, you know, we saw in our initial research when we were deciding how we were gonna launch. Right? The number of, women we interviewed who said, I'm not telling anybody that I'm having menopausal struggles. I don't need to give anybody one more reason to consider me out or not a candidate for something or or or. Right? And I think you made a comment at the show, Angela, which was, I don't want time off. I wanna feel better.
Speaker 0
Yeah. Yeah. Yes. So, you know, the majority of women are in a career or at work, not for the paycheck solely. They're in it because, you know, they wanna contribute. They feel fulfilled when they're part of a solution and something bigger than themselves. And when you're not feeling well and you're not supported, your sense of belonging is, you know, it's jeopardized, and you your your ability to do what you really set out to do is is hindered. And so I I really believe that if we can just give women the proper supports, they could forge on with everything that they had planned for themselves.
Speaker 1
Love how on your website for organizations, you have they enter in a little bit of data and you have a return on investment. Right? Mhmm. If they invest in this, this this is what you can expect. Just, not as it only the right thing to do, it makes sense from a bottom line perspective.
Speaker 0
Yeah. It's there's a business case here for sure.
Speaker 1
Yeah. Are you actively recruiting clinicians to be part of your program, or how how are how are you building that team, if you will?
Speaker 0
Yes. So each time we bring on a large employer, we look at, you know, where they're at and do we have enough capacity to support. So, and we give ourselves about a month or two to onboard, when we have a really large employer coming on. So, given the pace we're growing at, we're almost actively always looking for clinicians.
Speaker 2
And are do you have to get someone from every province?
Speaker 0
Yes. So the clinicians have to have a license in the province that the patient lives in. And in some provinces, the clinician actually has to live, in that province. So each province has different requirements.
Speaker 1
So Santa Midlife is Santa Living's first offering. What's Santa Living's next milestone?
Speaker 0
Prenatal and postnatal care, for sure. Mhmm. That's exciting. I, like, I really would like us to be a solution for women from the moment she gets her period to the moment she's gone, off this earth, that she has a place that follows her and that she doesn't have to retell her story every time. You know, I think about a woman who has maybe had a sexual assault in her life and how stigmatizing that can be and triggering it can be when she has to retell her story every time to a new clinician. You know, how about we have one place and the clinicians change, but all of her her data's there, her coach is consistent, you know, and that, you know, she she's truly known and cared for properly. That to me is the ultimate goal.
Speaker 2
I think, Mikkel I don't have I have a teenage son, but Mikkel has often talked about the fact that, oh my god, there's, like as far as we've come since we were teenagers, it's still messed up for our kids. And I feel like to have something like that and also, like, to help educate them about, you know, we've had experts on our podcast that talk about, like, what you do today and how it impacts your your longevity and down the road. And to be able to see that, like, it's it's not just about the present moment. It's about ten years from now or twenty or thirty years from now, and I love this. This I think this would be let's do it.
Speaker 0
It's amazing how we we as women haven't really been taught about our bodies. Right? So to understand about the period and the cycles of the period, right, of menstrual cycle. So many of us, we go to school, we get told, you know, the boys are sent to one classroom, and the girls are sent to another classroom, and we're all told about this stuff. But, you know, we don't really we're all too embarrassed to ask any questions to really understand it. And so only when you might be having challenges with fertility that you might dig in a bit deeper to understand what's happening. But most of us don't actually learn this. Right?
Speaker 2
If we if we knew when we were fourteen or fifteen or sixteen that we should be tracking our period and and our moods and our, like, our physical, emotional symptoms and all of that, when things like perimenopause hits, we like, it wouldn't be surprising. We'd know, oh, hey. This is abnormal. This isn't usual. This is something weird. What's going on? We'd I I that would be my one message if I had a teenage daughter. Like, start tracking. Here's an app and keep keep on top of this. Yeah.
Speaker 1
Yep. What about you, Angela? What's your next milestone?
Speaker 0
That's a great question. I think this is it. Like, I think Santa Living and Santa MetLife is really like, I'm it's a huge part of me. I I've been an entrepreneur before this, and I tried not being an entrepreneur for a while. It wasn't very good.
Speaker 1
Didn't stick. Didn't stick.
Speaker 0
You know, so I think do I have another one in me after this? I think this could take a long time. And so I I really don't see that.
Speaker 1
Selfishly, we need you at this for as long as you're willing to give us. So
Speaker 0
But, you know, I think for me, I'm very focused on my own health. Like, I'm you know, this has really taught me I I knew this stuff before, but I didn't know how important it was. So, you know, I went to the gym this morning. At six AM, I was there. Right? And I because if I don't do it in the morning, I don't get it in. I just know my routine, and I know what happens to my day. I have cut out alcohol except for weekends. Right? Like, I what else? I, have a very regiment around which supplements I take, and then I I have a little box that I fill every week and I take them. You know, like, I'm really trying to live the mantra of what we're recommending. It's not easy. I will admit, not easy. I have my days where I go, oh, I really want the glass of wine when I see my husband with a glass of wine. And I go, okay. Can I at least have a sip? Until I get my little sip in, but I've at least they didn't have a full glass of wine so that I can sleep properly because when I do, I don't sleep properly. And so it's when I have those little moments where I go, oh, yeah. It's just a glass. Then I remind myself because I I look at my Oura Ring. So we partnered with Oura Ring. And I look in the app, and I I I remind myself, you see the night you had the wine, you were up for two hours. This is what you don't want, so don't drink it. Right? So I try my best to remind myself and be my own little rah rah person that keeps me on the straight and narrow, but it it's not easy, and I recognize it.
Speaker 1
Yeah. Well and why things like living are so important. Right? Having a coach, someone to keep you on track and to cheer you on and because it is it is a lot, but the reality is it's a lot. And you can choose to do it and feel better and have a longer lifespan or health span, or you cannot and it'll be better to do it. Tell us about I was very remiss. We almost forgot to, ask about you just, sealed that partnership with Oura right before the menopause show, I think. Right? Tell us about that.
Speaker 0
Yeah. We did. We did. Yeah. So that's really exciting. Actually, today, there's a draw. Oh. Because we get you yeah. So they donated a ring to the partnership. And so some lucky person that, winning the draw is winning an Oura ring today.
Speaker 1
Amazing.
Speaker 0
I don't know who that is yet, but it's coming out. So where we're going with that is actually integrating the data. So you can if you have a ring, you can opt to share your data with your clinician and your coach and so that they would actually see it. So, you know, imagine when you have the subjective conversation about, well, I just don't feel like I'm sleeping very well versus, oh, I can see that you have, you know, you're waking at two, and then you're you're awake until four. Or I can see that it's taking you a long time to get to sleep, but once you get to sleep, that's not a problem. Or I can see your REM sleep is, you know or your your heart rate is doing these things. Like, you can actually have a factual conversation about the data. Right? And so this is, I think, really helpful for the clinician and the individual. Mhmm. You know, it maybe part of your lifestyle plan was an exercise plan of x minutes of exercise a day and getting your heart rate up. Well, we can actually look in the data. Is it happening? Oh, it's not happening. Okay. Let's talk about why isn't it happening. And maybe it's the wrong plan for you, or it's like me. If I don't get it done in the morning, it doesn't get done. Right? So it's it's making the conversation more factual and really being more supportive about trying to find ways to fit it within your true lifestyle.
Speaker 2
Yeah. I love my Oura ring, and so I'm thrilled that
Speaker 0
you did that. Love it.
Speaker 2
Angela, one last question before I let you go. What is the one thing you would love every woman to know about perimenopause?
Speaker 0
When you start to feel like you're not yourself, you know, and you just go, what the heck's going on with my body? Trust yourself that you know your body. And just because a clinician might be telling you, can't be menopause, or it can't be this, or I don't know, you know, trust yourself to go dig a little bit deeper. Come to settlement life, at least do the assessment, and you're gonna learn a lot more and know about your options. That would be what I would say is trust your instincts because you know your body best.
Speaker 1
Great advice. Where can our listeners find you? We'll include information in the show notes, but
Speaker 0
is the website the place to go? Website is the best place to go. So sanoMidLife, s a n o, and mid and then life dot com. Perfect.
Speaker 1
Thank you so much, Angela.
Speaker 0
Oh, it's a real pleasure. Thank you for getting the messages out. It's this is important.
Speaker 1
It is. It is. And we will keep doing that. If you promise to keep doing what you're doing, we'll keep doing this. We'll make a deal.
Speaker 0
I promise.
Speaker 1
Good day.
Speaker 0
You make a deal.
Speaker 2
Thanks so much for listening to the show. If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate and subscribe to our podcast. When you do this, it helps to raise our podcast profile so more women can find us and get a little better understanding of what to expect in perimenopause.
Speaker 1
We also read all the reviews, the good, the bad, and the ugly to help us continuously improve our show. We would love to hear from you. You can connect with us through the podcast, on social media, or through our website. Our information as well as links and details from our conversation today can be found in the show notes. This podcast is for general information only. It's designed to educate, inspire, and support you on your personal journey through perimenopause. The information and opinions on this podcast are not intended to be a substitution for primary care, diagnosis, or treatment. The information on this podcast does not replace professional health care advice. The use of the information discussed is at the sole discretion of the listener. If you are suffering from symptoms or have questions, please consult a qualified health care practitioner.
