Power Surge Live -- Guest: Sunny Hersh

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Power Surge Live -- Guest: Sunny Hersh

Dearest: My guest tonight is Sunny Hersh. Sunny is a former advertising executive, professional speaker, trainer, and workshop leader whose fun and engaging programs support busy people in achieving the quality of life they desire. At 40, she experienced weight gain, fatigue, PMS (psychotic mood swings), and that emotional wake-up call that starts women on the path to transforming their lives. Her book, Midlife Mamas on the Moon: Celebrate Great Health, Friendships, Sex, and Money and Launch Your Second Life is upbeat, a personal guide to positive choices that will keep you from being blown away by life's accidents. Sunny talks about everything connected to being female and over 45. It's like having a treasured girlfriend to hang out with and consult about anything and everything. It's a pleasure to welcome you to Power Surge, Sunny. I hope it's okay if I call you Sunny. We're very casual here. Sunny Hersh: Hi, Dearest. It's so good to be here! Call me Sunny. Dearest: Thanks :) You're so upbeat and positive in your book. The perimenopausal years are, for many women, the worst years of their lives - physical, emotional and spiritual discomfort. How does one keep an "upbeat" attitude when she feels lousy all the time? Sunny Hersh: There are real techniques you can use, but you must pursue better health at the same time. KBear: What do you suggest for me to do given my current situation? I have been officially in perimenopause for over one year and just this January went 87 days without a bleed. Then my doctor, the wonderful Laura Corio, gave me 300 mg of Prometrium for 10 days and then I got a bleed one week later. Now I am on day 3 of my cycle and I didn't know what to do for the next month or so. Dr Corio has suggested I wait for 30 days and then see what happens. if no bleed go another round of Prometrium and see if it comes. But the thing I am TERRIFIED of is the chance of some creepy cancer being undetected in the midst of all these irregular cycles I have had for the past 1 and 1/2 years. Sunny Hersh: Hey K bear, congrats for going to such a wonderful doctor! How long did you wait for the appointment? KBear: not too long I saw her the first time last April and she is wonderful. Sunny Hersh: Dr. Corio is very knowledgeable. Try faxing her your questions and she'll get back to you when she can. Dearest: You can also read Dr. Laura Corio's transcript in the library. She's been a guest in Power Surge :) The transcripts are at www.power-surge.com/library.htm Sunny Hersh: I plan to bleed and be on a cycle with hormones for years to come. I'll drive all of you to your doctor appointments, cause I'll still be sharp! Dearest: Sunny, can you elaborate on that? Don't you believe women can still be sharp without being on a cycle or hormones? Sunny Hersh: Why are you all so horrified about continuing to have your periods? What if you felt great because of it? Dearest: I lost my period and it's the first time in my life I didn't look for something I lost :) Sunny Hersh: I find there are 3 kinds of women in Meno. The Clueless, "What menopause?" They have no symptoms. Then there's the Zen mother. She was the den mother, she gets on an exercise program, diet, some herbals and bingo, she feels great, the Zen Mother, That's #2. Then there's my group. Les Menopause Miserable! Lot's of symptoms, feels awful, needs major help -- these women need to consider some type of hormone replacement. Julie11: I'm surgically menopausal, How do I get my sex drive back? Sunny Hersh: Julie, have you had your hormones checked? You may need estradiol, testosterone. You've got to find out! Julie11: I don't believe in synthetic hormones. Which ones should I check? Dearest: Julie, Power Surge doesn't believe in synthetic hormones either. You can ask the pharmacist, Pete Hueseman, at www.power-surge.com/asktheexperts.htm Sunny Hersh: No one on this site is advocating Premarin, PremPro or any of those nasty synthetics! Read around and find the bioidentical alternatives. Dearest: Pete has been compounding natural, bioidentical hormones for years. I gave you the link above. You can email me at Dearest@aol.com if you need more information. Sunny, You give ten "excuses" women use to sabotage themselves to avoid getting into good shape, doing daily exercise, losing excess weight. An interesting expression you use is, "Visualize victory." Can it really be that simple? Sunny Hersh: Pete is awesome. He figured out some equivalents and prices for me this week. I am so impressed by his expertise, Dearest! Dearest: Thanks. He's been with Power Surge for 9 years now. Glad he could help you. Sunny Hersh: You have to get crazy stubborn about your absolute right and need to exercise and take care of yourself. Visualize the way you can really be! In Midlife Mamas, I list things to say to yourself to take your excuses away. You have 70% of your conversations with yourself. Dearest: Can you give us some examples of excuses we give ourselves? Sunny Hersh: How about My family doesn't eat that stuff? Are you doing them a favor by having that in the house? How about "My family is just big?" Your genes don't totally dictate your jean size. Sheryl: I'm at the place where I don't care what it takes to feel better, I just want to know what that is. My biggest problem is fatigue and extremely painful and stiff neck and shoulder muscles. What type of hormonal treatment would you suggest? I quit HRT over 6 months ago. I was taking Estradial and Progesterone. Sunny Hersh: Sheryl, so you tried a bioidentical regimen and it didn't work for you? For how long? Sheryl: Actually, it was working. I was on it for almost five years. I wasn't sure how long was too long. Sunny Hersh: I plan to be on a similar regimen the rest of my life! Sheryl: Are you on the same HRT? Dearest: Sheryl, if you have any additional questions about natural, bioidentical hormones (plant derived) you can ask Pete Hueseman at www.power-surge.com/ asktheexperts.htm Stel52: I take Prometrium but when I stopped my 12 days I bled till no end, then the Dr. put me on estradial, and I'm still bleeding! The estradial only stopped my bleeding for 2 weeks. Are there there any women in which bio identical hormone problems do not work to regulate the cycles? I myself am fed up with bleeding. I've had abnormal bleeding for 8 years now, 3 D&Cs, ultrasounds, etc. I'm sick of it! Sunny Hersh: If you don't want to bleed go on a continuous cycle, Estradiol and Prometrium every or every other day, and after a time you won't. Stel52: After a time? like how long? months? I'm not menopausal yet. Sunny Hersh: The experts I quote in Midlife Mamas tend to agree a year of intermittent bleeding is pretty normal. Dearest: Stel, I would recommend you ask this question of our resident pharmacist about natural hormones, the bleeding, etc. Pete Hueseman, at www.power-surge.com/ asktheexperts.htm Joanne: My doc advised me that I am going through first part of menopause. I am wondering about my period it is like a brownish color and its been there for almost 1 week and a 1/2? And is that normal? Also there are times when I look in the mirror I feel like I am ugly and fatter? I've never felt that way before which is just probably my menopause? Sunny Hersh: Joanne, your hormones are definitely surging! My heart goes out to you I've been there. What you see in the mirror is a person who needs to get her health right - you are awesome! Brownish is OK and normal. AudreyR: If your doctor won't go the bioidentical route with you, but you don't want to change doctors, would you recommend just working with a pharmacist like Pete? Sunny Hersh: Yes, just put him in touch with your Doctor. He's great. Dearest: You can get in touch with Pete at www.power-surge.com/asktheexperts.htm Sunny Hersh: Audrey R, photocopy the basic starting dosages in my book. Show that to the doctor and let her review it. KBear: Yes, I sleep ok but not enough it feel like I am always exhausted. I really like having found you all and the power surge site. I felt NUTS before and with this site and Laura Corio's help and book I feel sane even if hormonally on a roller coaster. I guess I really have not been fully expecting the change I am going through and I feel so out of control of my emotions sometimes it is scary. I am on a good food plan and eat healthy, I am active and exercise daily. Actually I am a hang gliding instructor and fly a hang glider and teach others to fly as well. The thing is I feel so scared of this out of control hormone menstrual stuff and worried about worse troubles like cancers from unopposed estrogen levels. The Prometrium helped dramatically the past year until January when I went 87 days without a bleed. I guess maybe I am thinking still like a pre-peri woman i.e. still should bleed, when maybe I just need to accept the changes. This is hard. What do you suggest my biggest desire is to stay healthy during these transition years. I am on a vitamin regimen any other suggestions? Sunny Hersh: Yes, Kbear you are moving to the next level. Are you getting sleep and checkups? You are doing many things right! Have you had levels checked? KBear: Yes and the estrogen was high and progesterone was low super low. Sunny Hersh: Hormones, thyroid, progesterone helps you sleep Dearest: You might want to try using the Active Women's Multi vitamin. You can read about it on the Recommendations page of the site at www.power- surge.com/recommend.htm KBear: ok Dearest: It's specifically formulated for women at midlife. KBear: :-) that is me! Kelso: Most doctors do not understand Bioidentical alternatives. Is there some sort of association of doctors around the country that one can go to and be assured that the member doctors are "up to speed" on this matter? Sunny Hersh: We have to juggle many things but it will all be worth it! Pete recommends doctors he knows about. Dearest: Again, you can ask Pete at www.power- surge.com/asktheexperts.htm. He has a list of doctors all over the country who specialize in menopause and who will prescribe naturally compounded, bioidentical hormones. Sunny Hersh: Call a pharmacy in the yellow pages that does compounding. Ask them who refers bioidentical hormones to them. These suggestions are in the book. GI: Do you really feel that soy helps with the perimenopause issues, anxiety, no sex drive, heavy and painful periods, etc? Sunny Hersh: GI Many women report it helps, especially in Revival. I believe Revival has higher doses of phytoestrogens, that's why more have success with it. GK: I Suggest every woman out there read, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause", by Dr. John Lee. It's a very informative book! Have you, Sunny, read his book? And if so, would you agree? Sunny Hersh: Dr Lee's suggestions work for peri, but not as well later on. Later on, lack of estrogen, not progesterone, is usually the problem. Dearest: And often only in the earliest stages of perimenopause. BellaTrue: I just wanted to say that at 50, I am going through menopause AND nursing my 3 year old. It's a brave new world, don't you think, lol? Sunny Hersh: You are pushing the envelope. I love it! Dearest: Wow, Bella. that's fabulous! BellaTrue: It's a challenge, lol Dearest: Congratulations. You deserve the medal of honor, Bella :) Sunny Hersh: It is a brave new world, and I congratulate you for having enough faith to celebrate life in this way! Joanne: What do you recommend as far as the hormones pill or the patches on skin? Sunny Hersh: Joanne, I have a tendency toward high blood pressure and use the patch. Transdermal approaches are the coming thing. Let me tell you about some new ones just approved. EstroGel from Solvay is a bioidentical you run on your arm. It's been used all over the world for years, soon available here. Estrasorb is a cream, rubbed on the inner thighs, available here in about July. Dearest: I must disagree that "transdermal approaches are the coming thing." I've been talking about bioidentical hormones and the various delivery systems, such as transdermal gels, creams and sub-linguals for ten years -- we recommend contacting Power Surge's registered pharmacist/Doctor of Pharmacy, Pete Hueseman, R.Ph., PD, because with the commercial brands you're falling into the same "one-size-fits-all" trap, rather than having hormones individualized for the individual woman and her menopausal issues. No one at the big pharmaceutical companies is going to talk directly with your doctor, go over your medical history, your current health/menopausal issues and recommend based on specific needs. This is why Power Surge has for 9 years endorsed naturally compounded, bioidentical hormones and our in-house consultant, Pete Hueseman. Sunny, in your book, you refer to losing your virginity the second time around. What, exactly, do you mean? Sunny Hersh: I'm saying take responsibility for your own pleasure. You're grown up for God's sake! Do you know how to give yourself an orgasm? Do you know the bases in the ballpark down there? Sunny Hersh: It's time we stopped the excuses and put some effort and thought into your sex life! Favorite excuse is who would want to have sex with me? Have you noticed women who think they're hot, that men think so too? Men look in the mirror and say hubba hubba. We need to be more like that! Sheryl: Everytime I have a question, someone else has asked it already. When I get through this meno fog, I'm sure something else will pop into my grey matter. Sunny Hersh: The menofog is from changes. Exercise, get a check up, get some sleep! Dearest: You can also try taking some Ginkgo biloba. Sheryl: Sleep! That's a good one. How does one go about it? Sunny Hersh: You have to get consistent with those herbals. I list the good ones in Midlife Mamas. Also how to clear the way for better sleep. Sheryl: I am very interested about the herbs! Dearest: There's always been a list of herbs, vitamins, amino acids, et al, on Power Surge's Recommendations page and in Being the best you. There are also numerous articles on the site. All you have to do is use the comprehensive search feature on the Web site. You'll find mostly everything. Florida: What is your basic starting dosage in your book? Sunny Hersh: I like Valerian for sleep, but don't sniff, it smells like socks! I suggest the lowest dosages of Estrace and Vivelle, with Prometrium and procheive. Your doctor knows these products. You can branch out if you find these brand names help, then get a custom prescription. Dearest: By the way, they discovered long ago that women can take 1/2 the conventional dose of hormones and have the same effects. Sunny Hersh: I still wouldn't take any dose of Premarin at all. CHAMONIX: Is there any possibility that a 54 year old woman, 3 years post- menopausal (prior to that, my last period was 10 months earlier), could ever get pregnant? Do you give credence to '7 chakra areas'? Sunny Hersh: I'm not up on the Chakra thing. No I don't think you could get pregnant, but... CHAMONIX: Oh my God. The "but" scares me. Sunny Hersh: Well, no doctor would say you could, but maybe a miracle? Dearest: They say to use some form of protection for a minimum of one year after your last period. Some even say two years. CHAMONIX: So then, the chances are very slim? I certainly hope so. Dearest: Yes, slim. GI: What do you recommend for perimenopause? We have the symptoms but hormones haven't changed. Also, but is there a link with women drinking too much during this? I'm not trying to make an excuse. Nighttime is my difficult time. I can't relax or sleep. Sunny Hersh: Nightime is always a problem. Are you on birth control? This might be the time to try progesterone cream at night. Birth control (I like Yasmin and Ovcon 35) helps keep you even in perimenopause. GI: No, I'm not. But had trouble with birth control pills, migraines. I'm on Paxil. Sunny Hersh: Some women who use birth control breeze through peri. Try one of these brands. Stel52: Well, I know the bases in the ballpark. However, I recently had my hormones tested and both my DHEA and my testosterone levels are low, which would help explain my low libido. Should I take DHEA because some of it converts to testosterone or should I use the testosterone patch? I worry about the patch side effects like hairiness and acne. Sunny Hersh: No women's testosterone patch is currently available. Stel52: I thought it was. Sunny Hersh: One called Intrinsa is in the pipeline, for now compounded DHEA or testosterone is the way to go. Stel52: How much DHEA should I take? Sunny Hersh: Women use a very low dose of these hormones, start low and go slow with the dose. I give some suggestions in my book. Women use as low a .1 mg. Dearest: I would really recommend communicating with Pete Hueseman, R.Ph., PD who can then talk to your doctor directly - he's been compounding natural bioidentical hormones for women for many, many years. You can get great suggestions from Sunny's book and take them to Pete. KBear: Meno fog, I can relate. I use to joke about it but for now I am wondering what happens to sex drive with all these hormonal changes. I find not only dryness but very very very picky with how and when I want to be touched these days. How do herbs help this? Which ones? These days it seems the only things that helps is a glass of wine and a vibrator! Any other suggestions very much appreciated. Sunny Hersh: KBear - You go girl! The skin thing is very common - many women feel that way. It's the changes, I haven't found herbs especially for that. Since I started bioidentical hormones, all that stuff went away. Twinkle: This is a little off topic, but was just wondering if men can take Valerian to help them sleep; would it have the same effect on them? Thanks Sunny Hersh: Yes, my husband uses it too. Any of you struggling with snoring? Yours or his? Twinkle: I am :) Stel52: I am Midlife, but I also have mild sleep apnea. Sunny Hersh: Wow, okay, but a little extreme. That's why kids leave and go to college, so you can sleep in their beds. Sunny Hersh: Separate bedrooms can put the mystery back in your marriage. Sunny Hersh: Of course, separate bedrooms in different states is more permanent. Violet: I live in Canada where things are not so easy with respect to natural hormones and many doctors don't know what I am talking about. That said there is a compounding pharmacy in my city that does do preparations of some natural hormones in creams. I use sublingual tablets that contain estradiol and progesterone and like my tablets. I am just wondering if I am putting myself through lots of trouble to get my sublingual tablets from the states. I have just started on a new prescription and I like the way I feel although I have to do a little more tweaking, I think. Sunny Hersh: Violet, Canada is great for natural hormones, ahead of US. Your sublinguals sound great and bioidentical, how do you feel? When you get settled in to the new regimen, you can tweak. You sound like you're on the right road! Joanne: My doctor gave me some Furosemide 20mg. She said when we women go through perimenopause we tend to retain a lot of water in our womanly bodies? Why is that? Sunny Hersh: Joanne, I'm not sure I like the sound of that, though I'm not sure. Do you feel bloated? Joanne: Yeah, sometimes. Sunny Hersh: There's one called Spirolactonone, that tends to work well. Joanne: Is it over the counter? Dearest: No, prescription. Vitamin B-6 works as a natural diruetic Sunny Hersh: Getting rid of bloating will not solve other problems, though, doctors tend to prescribe it cause they're familiar with it. Aw: My main problem has been the palpitations. Not so bad, but they scare the heck out of me and I get anxious at bedtime because of this. Any suggestions? Sunny Hersh: Have you had an absolute full work up? I give good check up levels to strive for in the book. Aw: Yes. Sunny Hersh: Many women like the progesterone cream for palpitations at bedtime. Dearest: Aw, if it's any consolation, I lived with palpitations all through perimenopause. Once your hormones settle down and you're menopausal, the palpitations will diminish and eventfully disappear. GI: Why is nighttime so difficult? I figure it's because it's the end of the day, etc. but it's even more. Trying to explain this to my family. P.S. We have separate bedrooms. There's NO mystery in our marriage. How pathetic. But seriously, why does snoring happen to us women at this time? He sleeps in the another room because of my snoring (so I bought a PUG DOG to keep me company) but would really like to know why this happens? Sunny Hersh: Most snoring is because of weight gain. I use a biofeedback device called Resperate, talk about it in the book. I'm not a good meditator, to distractible, but Resperate keeps me on track. GI: Thanks a lot :) Trying to get to the gym for Women ("Curves") once a week. Sunny Hersh: Once a week is not enough -- 3 times, 30 minutes at the very least. You're worth it! To the gal who has no mystery in her marriage, have you gone on a date lately? GI: I'm trying. But discuss the family issues, which is good but always stressful. Dearest: Sunny, I have one last question that's not related to menopause - but to midlife. I wonder what your thoughts are. What are your thoughts on collagen and Botox injections -- plastic surgery? Why are we so obsessed with looking young? Sunny Hersh: Cosmetic stuff is great if you do it for the right reasons, to make you feel great! If you do it to keep your man that's the wrong reason. I'd love to do it just to like myself more in photos. (date your husband) I actually applied for an Extreme Makeover -- me and 20,000 other people. Why not? Dearest: Sunny, thanks so much for joining us tonight to field our questions. I highly recommend Sunny Hersh's book, "Midlife Mamas On The Moon". You can also visit her Web site at www.midlifemamas.com. Disclaimer: Every guest in Power Surge is a highly respected professional whose opinions are his/her own. An appearance in Power Surge does not constitute an endorsement of a guest's views. None of these transcripts may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Power Surge™ and the respective guest. Read other transcripts by returning to the Library. Dearest aka Alice Stamm Power Surge Founder, Facilitator, Host Copyright©1994- by Power Surge. All Rights Reserved.