SOG EP 1641 BONUS: #1 Menopause Doctor: 5 Daily Habits to Sleep Better, Feel Healthier, and Beat Menopausal Belly Fat

0:03Hey everyone, this is Lewis Howes and I am so excited to invite you to the Summit of Greatness 2024 happening at the iconic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. This is more than just an event. It's a powerful experience designed to ignite your passion, boost your growth, and connect you with a community of other inspiring achievers. Join us Friday, September 13th, and Saturday, September 14th for two days packed with inspiration and transformation from some of the most incredible speakers on the planet. Don't miss out on this chance to elevate your life, unlock your potential, and be part of something truly special.

0:38Make sure to get your tickets right now and step into greatness with us at the Summit of Greatness 2024. Head over to lewishouse.com slash tickets and get your tickets today and I will see you there. Hi, my name is Lewis Howes and welcome to the Daily Motivation Show.

1:02I have a question about menopause and divorce. Yeah. It seems like divorce happens a lot around that season of life. Yes, absolutely. And maybe it's not all because of menopause, but it's because of whatever, unsaid things for 20 years. People have been married, our kids are gone, whatever it might be. Well, I have a couple of patients who are divorce attorneys and they have lots of opinions. I'm popping the popcorn and listening to them. So there's women who were never in a great relationship but stuck it out because kids and finances and whatever. And now they're like, I'm out. Okay, so take those out.

1:35People who felt like they had a good partner, and now what happened? And so most of those divorces, the first set is mostly initiated by women. Men, the happiest men in the world are men who are married, and the most unhappy women in the world are women who are married. Wait, say that again? The happiest? The happiest men in the world are married men, and the unhappiest women in the world are married women. Why is that? You know, well, I think it's the jobs we give ourselves, and the jobs society expects on us, and all the mental load and the work, And there's lots of TikToks about that right now, and I find it all fascinating.

2:06And that was kind of what happened early in my own marriage, and we've worked it out, and it's fine. But I think the second set, so women, we have increasing depression. That's a risk factor for divorce. We have increasing cognitive changes. She's not happy in her job changes. And there's a lot of sexual dysfunction, which can destroy a relationship. That's why I wanted to ask you about the sexual dysfunction or just the changes in sex desires or drive. Yeah, let's go through that. So when we look at female sexual dysfunction, first of all, it has to be a problem for her. So some women... Do women want sex more during menopause or do they want less?

2:42Some more, some less. Is it in general? It's like it declines. General, it declines. The drive declines. And that's probably hormonal. So we have five buckets typically. We have an orgasmic disorder, an arousal disorder, pain. That's huge in menopause. We have a relationship disorder, which we kick those guys out. And, you know, we already talked about that. And then we have desire disorder. So orgasmic means that you're struggling to have an orgasm. So about 10 % of women are anorgasmic from birth. They'll never have an orgasm in their whole life. And no one talks about it or thinks it's a big deal.

3:16And, you know, that's part of society's thing. We're just receptive and, you know. But then there's secondary anorgasmia where you used to have orgasms and now you can't. Or they're taking a lot longer or they're less. The peaks are lower, right? And so that happens a lot in menopause. Our blood flow to the area changes. The health of the tissue changes. And that's all kind of related. And so there are medications to help with that. You have to be able to talk to a doctor who's receptive and who knows how to treat it. So then, but the biggest thing we see is hypoactive sexual desire disorder, where it is causing distress to a woman.

3:47Loves her partner, feels totally supported, wants to want to do it, but just can't get that first one. Like doesn't feel it. Yeah, and she'll do it as a chore and to make her happy. That doesn't sound good. But there's not, she's just not, and it's killing her. And so - That could destroy a marriage. That could, that could. And so we know testosterone helps with this in menopause. For women? For women. Okay. So our testosterone levels drop 50 % or more through the menopause transition. We have a different pathway to make testosterone, but we do see an andropause in women. Not as much as estradiol drops.

4:20When the estrogen drops, all the health of the tissue in the vagina. So we end up with this GSM, general urinary syndrome of menopause. So it becomes thin. You lose elasticity. You can't make mucus. It's dry. It's painful. You can tear the skin with intercourse. I mean, I have some women who are like, I am just gripping the side of the bed. Painful. So painful. But she feels like she'll lose her marriage if she doesn't put up with it. And I'm like, this is totally fixable. This is such an easy thing to fix. Vaginal estrogen, which is a cream prescription, so easy. Or they have creams and pills and rings.

4:52There's different ways to get it up there. But that will fix that. And if it doesn't hurt, your desire might come back. Right. You might enjoy it more. Right. And so the female sexual function piece is complicated, but it is doable. You just have to find the right. And we're not teaching our trainees on how to talk about it. Most OBGYNs aren't comfortable speaking about it. So we're failing women there as well. Wow. Yeah. So have you seen women say, I need to get a divorce. It's just not working. because their sex drive is low or something is a challenge for them? Typically, there's a lot of guilt and shame there because they do love their partner.

5:30You know, then the relationship thing comes into play. You know, I had a woman who was telling me, you know, I love him and he's so creative and wonderful. He's trying so hard. It's just not happening. And like, help me. Now, does she have desire for other men? No, no. Now, it's funny because some will be like, I just figured out I needed a new husband. You know, female sexual response is complicated. and first thing I ask about is a relationship issue. Sure. And if they're like, I can't stand him, I'm like, well, there's a problem. You know, like that's not anything I can medicate, you know. So, and we do have two FDA approved medications, but they're typically not covered by insurance for HSDD in the peri and premenopausal women as well.

6:11Got it.

6:22Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Daily Motivation. And I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description. That will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on The School of Greatness. And if you are loving The Daily Motivation, please follow us over on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world-class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.

7:12Again, have an amazing day and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.