The Tamsen Show

You wake up at 3 a.m. with your heart racing, and you cannot figure out why. The anxiety out of nowhere, the PMS that got worse. It may trace back to one hormone that started leaving your body years before your first hot flash.

This episode is part of Tamsen Fadal’s series breaking down the topics from her New York Times bestselling book How to Menopause, one conversation at a time.

This week it's progesterone. Tamsen starts with a confession: her doctor prescribed it, and it sat in her medicine cabinet so long the pills congealed into a brick. She never took one, because nobody ever told her what progesterone was or why she needed it. So she spent a year struggling with the exact symptoms it would have helped.

She's not a doctor. She's a journalist who has lived this, breaking down what the leading menopause doctors she's interviewed have taught her, so you can take it to your own doctor.

Inside the episode:

- Why progesterone is one of the first hormones to drop, often years before anything else feels off

- The brain receptor that explains your 3 a.m. wake-ups

- Why it's non-negotiable if you still have your uterus and you're taking estrogen

- The straight answer on progesterone and breast cancer, and why the study that scared everyone doesn't tell the whole story

- Body identical vs. synthetic, plus the exact words to use with your doctor

- The one side effect that means you call your doctor instead of quitting

You deserve to understand what's going into your body and why.

Get the free Hormone Therapy 101 guide

If you liked this conversation, check this out: The #1 Sleep Expert Reveals What’s Ruining Your Sleep

If you liked this conversation, check out the rest of the How To Menopause series:

⁠⁠Estrogen Down There 101: Here's Everything You Need to Know⁠⁠

⁠Testosterone 101: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Minutes⁠⁠

⁠Relationships 101: Is It Him or Is It Menopause? Here's How to Tell⁠

⁠Perimenopause 101: The Symptoms, Tests & Fixes No One Tells You About⁠

Alcohol 101: Belly Fat, Bad Sleep and the Long-Term Cost of Drinking

Anxiety 101: What I Wish I Knew Before I Hit Perimenopause + How I Got My Life Back

Coming up: Mental Health, Estrogen 101 and more!

Stay connected with Tamsen:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone

Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen 

Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're in perimenopause or menopause, sleep has probably become something you think about all the time. Falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up at 3am, feeling exhausted, waking up anxious even when you did fall asleep. Perimenopause sleep disruption and menopause insomnia are real, they are hormonal, and they are not your fault. The nights can feel endless.

That's why Tamsen Fadal invited Dr. Andrea Matsumura on The Tamsen Show. A board-certified sleep medicine physician, menopause expert, and creator of the D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method, Dr. Matsumura breaks down exactly what is happening in the body when sleep falls apart in midlife and gives you the tools to get better sleep in perimenopause starting tonight.

We cover:

- Why waking up at 3am is a cortisol event, not an anxiety problem, and what to do when it happens

- The sleep apnea statistic that will stop you cold: up to 90% of women in midlife who have it don't know, because they don't look like the textbook patient

- What melatonin actually is, why taking it at bedtime is usually the wrong move, and what happens to production by age 50

- How alcohol is disrupting your REM sleep, and why one glass hits completely differently now

- The D.R.E.A.M. Method: the five-part framework Dr. Matsumura built because treating one thing at a time only ever gets women halfway there

- The ferritin level behind restless legs that most providers aren't checking

- Why getting out of bed at 3am is the right call, even though it feels like the worst one

- How every additional 15 minutes of sleep compounds into something significant over time

This episode will help you get your sleep back on track because it’s the foundation of everything. When your sleep goes, it starts to unravel the rest of your life.

Check out Andrea’s essentials

If you liked this conversation, check this out: How to Finally Get to Sleep in Menopause

Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at https://www.shopify.com/tamsen!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code TAMSEN at https://www.oneskin.co/TAMSEN #oneskinpod #ad

Stay connected with Tamsen:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone

Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen 

Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever stood in front of a full closet, said “I have nothing to wear,” and reached for the same safe outfit one more time? You are not alone, and it is not really about the clothes.

Tamsen’s viral closet clean out started as a simple declutter and spiraled into one of the most transformative things she has done in midlife, pulling in everything she had been avoiding about who she is now and the body she is in today.

In this deeply personal solo episode, Tamsen shares why she really did it and what she learned once she stopped negotiating with herself in front of the mirror.

You’ll learn:

- How to make a fast yes-or-no call on every piece without talking yourself back into it

- Why you get stuck doing this alone, and exactly who to bring into the room with you

- How to spot the clothes you are keeping out of grief instead of love

- Why holding onto clothes in multiple sizes quietly works against you every morning

- How to tell the difference between what is weighing you down and what is holding you up

This is the episode that will make you finally open the door you have been avoiding. The woman on the other side of that closet is already there, waiting for you to make room for her.

Download the Your Free Closet Glow Up Guide here

For all the tools Tamsen uses in her closet organization, click here

If you liked this conversation, check this out: Stacy London: Reinvent Yourself (and Your Style) in Midlife

Stay connected with Tamsen:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone

Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen 

Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Managing menopause and perimenopause symptoms is hard enough without a supplement market flooded with products promising to fix hair loss, trouble sleeping, hot flashes, mood fluctuations, skin changes, and so much more. It can feel impossible to know what actually helps and what is just a waste of money.

Today's guest on The Tamsen Show, Phil Cowley, has spent 22+ years behind a pharmacy counter watching people walk in confused, overwhelmed, and chronically under-informed. He has seen firsthand which treatments work, which are a waste of money, and what the medical system has been getting wrong about hormones since 2002. Now he is joining Tamsen Fadal to tell the truth that women deserved to hear decades ago.

In this episode, Tamsen and Phil cover:

- The three supplements worth actually spending money on in midlife and why they will not break the bank

- Why anxiety is a depletion of something, not an excess, and what that means for how you treat it

- What the 2002 Women's Health Initiative got wrong and why women who came off hormone therapy die younger than those who stayed on it

- The real reason your body odor changes in menopause, what is happening at a bacterial level, and exactly how to fix it

- Why hair loss in menopause is never one problem and why treating only one cause never works

- Why losing lean muscle mass is the single strongest predictor of early death and what to do about it

- The $7 estrogen alternative your pharmacist already knows about

- Why caffeine does not give you energy, it just hides that you are out of it

- The one question to ask your pharmacist that most people never think to ask

- Generic versus name brand medications and the manufacturer variance that could be affecting your results

This episode is full of answers to questions most women have never thought to ask, but absolutely need to know.

You can find everything Phil mentioned in this podcast here!

Follow Phil on Instagram

Follow Phil on TikTok

If you liked this, check this out: The #1 Hair Loss Doctor: The Truth About Minoxidil, Supplements + Hormones

Stay connected with Tamsen:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone

Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen 

Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Menopause anxiety and mood changes can creep up so slowly you don't even notice. You're avoiding things you used to do, snapping at people you love, waking at 3 a.m. with your heart racing. It's not in your head, and it often starts years before a single hot flash.

This episode is part of Tamsen's series breaking down the topics from her New York Times bestselling book How to Menopause, one conversation at a time.

This week it's anxiety and mood. Tamsen starts with the moment she caught herself avoiding driving in LA, a city she used to drive without a second thought. When she posted about it, the floodgates opened. She breaks down what the top doctors she's interviewed have taught her about why this happens and what actually helps, including the hormonal piece almost every doctor skips.

She's not a doctor. She's a journalist who has lived this, including a panic attack on a live news set that started her down this whole path.

Inside the episode:

- The two hormones behind your mood, and why the calming one disappears first

- Why anxiety here so often shows up as avoidance or rage instead of obvious panic

- The reason so many women get handed an antidepressant before anyone checks their hormones

- What actually helps, from body identical progesterone to the therapy approaches with real evidence behind them

- How Tamsen got back behind the wheel, and why facing the fear gradually breaks the loop

- The single shift that helped her more than any pill

The first step is recognizing this has a name and you're not making it up.

If you like this episode, then you will love: The 4 Tools That Rebuild Your Confidence Fast

If you liked this conversation, check out the rest of the How To Menopause series:

⁠⁠Estrogen Down There 101: Here's Everything You Need to Know⁠⁠

⁠Testosterone 101: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Minutes⁠⁠

⁠Relationships 101: Is It Him or Is It Menopause? Here's How to Tell⁠

⁠Perimenopause 101: The Symptoms, Tests & Fixes No One Tells You About⁠

Alcohol 101: Belly Fat, Bad Sleep and the Long-Term Cost of Drinking

Coming up: Anxiety, Mental Health, Estrogen 101 and more!

Stay connected with Tamsen:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone

Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen 

Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.

If you’re struggling, you don’t have to do it alone. In the US, call or text 988 anytime to reach the Crisis Lifeline.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices