Wake Up With Marci

We never really address the way that it should, which is with hormones, but it’s frequent UTI. Women when they start getting that dryness, they start getting more recurring UTI more often. Nowadays, we even say see young women getting them and it’s actually when they’re losing their hormones, okay? and they’re getting less lubrication, more dryness, and now they’re more prone to UTI. And they haven’t. This is Wake Up with Marcy, a space for honest conversations about healing, recovery, and women’s wellness. I’m Marcy Hopkins. Take a breath. You’re safe here. Let’s begin.

Hello all. Welcome back to Wake Up with Marcy. I’m your host, Marcy Hopkins, and I am so grateful you are here today. I am actually here at Relive Health in Delray Beach, Florida, and I am with Paula. And I recently came in because I have been hearing so much about HRT, hormone replacement, and I’m so interested in it. And I came in and you guys were phenomenal. So, I just wanted to bring all of you, invite you in with us to have this conversation because this is a conversation that so many really aren’t having or understand and we need to be having it. And Paula is truly amazing. She is a doctor of nursing practice. She is also a boardcertified family practitioner. She is certified in functional medicine, anti-aging, and also peptide therapy, and the list goes on. So, thank you, Paula, for being here with me today. And it’s my pleasure inviting me here at Relive. It’s such a beautiful space. No, it’s our pleasure to have you. Thank you.

So, tell us a little bit about how you got into this world of medicine and why it’s so important to you. when sometime back when I started I started in primary care and I saw all the patients coming in a lot of them older and they were struggling. It was like they had all those issues and and you send them to different specialists and you got everything involved and no one finds what’s wrong. Yeah. But they they’re suffering. They’re not feeling well. They have joint pain. They have uh mental like they they don’t have energy. They can’t work out anymore. And libido problems, body composition, brain fog, a frozen shoulder. You send them to the orthopedist and now we’re injecting steroids back to back and nothing helps. And u I started to a lot of them would come back and the specialists would be there’s nothing wrong like we’re just going to give this medication call it a day and I started to think like there’s got to be something better there’s got to be something that we have to find the source we have to find this the root cause and help them not to just give a bandana with a medication but address what is causing it and have a better quality quality of life. Absolutely. And that’s how I yeah enter into the journey of functional medicine, finding out the root cause, treating hormone imbalances either from different causes from toxins, from things we’re exposure to like aging. As we age, we also have the aging process that we lose those and we don’t need to suffer it. this day and age, we have so many things that we can do to Well, that’s the thing. Yeah. I mean, quality of life, having a good quality of life and understanding that there is help and like you said, not putting a band-aid on and going to all these doctors and we’re being treated but not knowing really what is wrong, what is happening to our bodies, right?

So let’s talk about HRT and what that is exactly. So HRT is hormonal replacement therapy. And I just wanted to touch because there’s a lot of stigma, a lot of belief. Back in the days, we had studies that indicated that hormone replacement could give cancer, could cause cancer. And that generation lost so much because everyone now didn’t want to replace their hormones. They were afraid of cancer. And back in the day, yes, we had ecoin hormones which were very high. Their dozing was like super physiological, not not like the ones we have today that are bioididentical that are like physiological doses that we replace. But those studies were done with with a synthetic like uh derivative from horse urine and they were very strong. And then yes a lot of these women one they were too late in replacing their hormones and second a lot of them had very high doses of estrogen which now we don’t have that. So fortunately um FDA had removed a lot of the blackbox warning saying that it causes cancer. I think now we have a bright future for many men and women because men have andropause, women have menopause and now we’re seeing um even young patients. I see young patients that are losing their hormones because of toxins, because of things that we’re exposed to, but we’re eating the exposure. Everything is different today. Everything is different. Yeah. And our bodies are responding to that. Yes. and these young girls even starting their cycles so much earlier. And like you said, I mean, I feel like these poor young girls, I have a daughter that’s 20 and I felt like she was going through menopause the same time I was because we were having the same um side effects if you will. Yes. Yeah. And and they are. And it is true. Yeah. like and we see every day here even young patients that they they’re losing their hormones and we try to find the root cause because they shouldn’t they shouldn’t just their hormones they’re young. Yeah. uh which is different when a woman go through menopause then yes we have ovarian failure and then we do have to replace um it’s part of life but it we don’t have to suffer anymore I think it’s amazing and I mean when those reports came out and I’ll tell you women still talk about it women that I am around and they’re still fearful of it I hear every day yes and so anyway I’m 56 and I decided I had been interviewing some people on HRT and also met someone at another event and they were like it’s lifechanging. You have to do it. And so let’s talk about what happens um when when you come in to let’s say relive um because the process was was very easy and I I’d love to even show what you guys shared with me of course um and what I’m now using and I’m already starting to see differences. I’m happy feel the differences. I’m happy to hear. That’s what I live for. But um pretty much when you come in, we’re going to evaluate first if you have any symptoms, your history, um risk factors. We have to evaluate all of that. Making sure your lifestyle because depending on your age bracket, we want to make sure what are you doing? If you’re younger and you’re losing your hormones, what is it that is causing? What are the lifestyle modifications that we have to do? And also even if you’re already hit menopause, we need lifestyle modifications because our bodies handle hormones like the same way we have toxins. We have to metabolize them. We have to excrete them. We have to detoxify from them. So we need to make sure everything is working like a symphony and everything is working. So we have to assess where you are, risk factors, the blood work. Um once we replace the hormones and everything’s going doing good, we evaluate how you’re excreting them, how you’re metabolizing them. So there’s a lot of steps, a lot of steps.

But like who’s a good candidate and who’s not? I mean, is it is there any one way that we can figure that out? There’s many different things that we take into consideration when we place someone on HRT. Um, most of the people are I would say everyone that has hormonal imbalance is a candid. I don’t want to say for hormonal replacement but for hormone optimization. One way or another. Okay. We can always like And can you do that when you’re in pmenopause or is it when you’re in menopause? No, you should do it when you’re in perry menopause. It was a nightmare for me. Exactly. I was put on anti-depressants. A lot of women are. I was drinking alcohol excessively. I mean, that’s a big part of my story. I I mean, it was awful. It is. It is real. A lot of women got placed on and in all honesty, even when I was in primary care, when we saw, okay, you have those your blood work doesn’t show anything. And when you’re in pmenopause, it’s like a roller coaster. So depending when we check, your blood work might come back saying you’re beautiful, you’re not in menopause, you have all your hormones, but it fluctuates. And then if I check on the right amounts that you’re taking, like you’re dipping, then I’m going to see that you look like a menopausal woman. And that’s per menopause. It’s almost like going through puberty again. It’s that roller coaster of hormones. Everything’s changing and I think it’s harder than when you’re either on menopause or you’re not there yet. Yeah. Because it’s absolutely it’s crazy. It was It really truly affected my life in a in very negative ways. Yes. But that’s the time that when you have especially when you’re starting to have the symptoms to have the changes, then we start supporting that loss. So we kind of give that support so you’re because you haven’t lost it yet and you’re going to have periods in pmenopause that your ovaries will try to make hormones and then they’ll fail. So you have the roller coaster when and we’re when we’re supporting it’s not a full replacement dose but it’s like a supporting dose and it mitigates all those symptoms and everything that we go that women go through. Yes.

So when I came in, we had a blood test and and then from that you were able to read what was happening within my body. Um, one of the things that you mentioned, I want to I want to expand on that, but one of the things you mentioned is family history. So what would inhibit you from not being able to do it due to family history? We would approach differently. If you have a family, especially a strong family history of um cancers that are sensitive to estrogen or to hormones, then we do have to do it in a different way. We have to make sure we’re checking you first. Um make sure you’re up to date with all um your preventative um screenings. Okay? um make sure you don’t have like the genetic predisposition to develop anything because we don’t want to trigger anything but still with that we can help with hormones. Okay. All right.

So anyway, I came in had my blood work done and you said that my brain was triggering for the hormones to Right. Yes. Right. So what is it to to go to my brain for different reason signals? Yeah, your ovaries to produce. So, we saw at the time that your brain was trying to signal very strongly to get your ovaries to produce the hormones and your body w was trying to give you the building blocks uh which sometimes we see a light increase in cholesterol and certain markers in the in the blood work. But your ovaries, that’s what was happening, right? Of course, my ovaries weren’t responding and also my my cholesterol has been higher and I even had multiple tests done on that and I didn’t have to go on medication. But that is something to look into, right? I mean, and that has never been mentioned to me that that could be a possibility. No, but it’s it’s a common one of the common findings when women and men start losing their hormones. One of the building blocks for your body to make um hormones is cholesterol. And when your body sees because your body is very inspiring, it’s going to see that you no longer have that hormone. It’s going to go, “Okay, let me raise a a little bit, give you the building block, see if you can make it.” Oh yes, isn’t it incredible? Our our bodies are so fascinating. They’re the machines.

So anyway, so you provided um for those listening, these are creams. Those are creams. Um compounds that have been created specifically for meat. So everyone would have their own compound, their own Yes. According to their own needs, right? Uh we monitor with symptoms and how you deal with them. Right. So we you start with a certain dosage and then see how your body would respond. Yes. And um and you also help men with this. Is that correct? Okay. Um because that’s I tell us a little bit about that. So men also go through something very similar to menopause which is called andropause and with aging they start losing their hormones too. Male ma u main hormone is testosterone. It’s very interesting because um once men start losing their testosterone, it actually predisposes them to diabetes, to um high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease. It does all of that. I don’t hear anybody talking about that woman too. So we Yes, we should because we can be preventing a lot of disease, chronic disease of aging be. Yes. when we replace the hormones. Yeah.

So, and also I just want to say so I’m about three and a half weeks in now. And today Mhm. I realized today was my first day like I’ve always been a napper needing rest. And today was my first day that I have felt alert. I have felt awake. I have felt good. And I it’s amazing. It is amazing. I I haven’t felt like this in I can’t tell you how long I I I am blown away by the fact that I feel clearheaded and that I just feel so alert and happy. Yes. So it has been just incredible. Yeah. That’s I was saying that’s when patients say that it’s lifechanging. It is. And Yes. And I and that that’s what makes me so excited about what’s to come. Yes. Not even considering the changes that you don’t see and you don’t feel but they are happening because now you’re preventing osteoporosis. You’re preventing sarcopenia meaning like you’re not going to be losing your muscle mass. You’re going to have more like less of the brain fog. A lot of women complain of like frozen shoulder, frozen joints. So they’re now able to exercise to be active without hurting every day. So there’s so much. Yes. I also had problems with my legs when I would sleep. Um and I and meaning that I would have what is that called when your your legs will like jolt and and they have like hyperactive and you feel like I don’t know it really affected my sleep. Yes. Yes. That’s another thing. Like a lot of patients see such an incredible change in sleep. Yes. Um how restorative and better quality sleep they have after they start replacing their hormones.

What are some of the side effects of pmenopause menopause that that isn’t normal? Like we all know about the hot flashes and we talk about the brain fog and such, but there are definitely some side effects that women are really not aware of. And I mean I’ll just say vaginal dryness is one. Vaginal dryness is a very common and with vaginal dryness there is one that is very common. I saw a lot in primary care and we never really address the way that it should, which is with hormones, but it’s frequent UTI. Women when they start getting that dryness, they start getting more recurrent UTI more often. Nowadays, we even say see young women getting them and it’s actually when they’re losing their hormones, okay? and they’re getting less lubrication, more dryness, and now they’re more prone to UTI. And they A lot of women feel uncomfortable to talk to their gynecologist about these things. So, they’re not being honest. They’re not. No. And sometimes the visit is so quick, right? They’re like, you’re in and out in five minutes. Yeah. So, sometimes they don’t even have time.

So functional medicine, a functional medicine is is where would we would receive the hormone replacement, right? I mean, you’re not going to your general practitioner. It could be someone that specializes in hormones, but functional medicine is when we’re looking you at your health as a whole and we’re addressing the root causes of everything. So, not only we going to do hormones, but we’re going to make sure your body is handling the hormones well, that you’re doing all the lifestyle changes, that we’re addressing anything else that could be causing your body not to be optimized, okay? Because you should be optimized. You should you should sleep well. um wake up energized, have energy throughout the day, not needing several cups of coffee or other things to stay awake, to have clarity of mind, to be able to exercise, to be active. All the quality of life that everyone should have. Amazing.

So, let’s let’s talk about some of the the negative side effects, though. Maybe someone has started HRT and I mean what’s something to look for that maybe it’s not working right. Um there’s a lot of dozing adjusting in the beginning it is true. So sometimes let’s say if progesterone when we start with progesterone and estrogen some women might um retain a little fluid which sometimes is normal. It activates a system that it’s like a diuretic system and as your body adjusts to it sometimes you retain fluid in the beginning and then you start diaring normally again. Okay. So sometimes that can happen breast tenderness if you have excess hormones you’re going to have symptoms. So you start getting a little some mood swings some breast tenderness. Some women might even have like breakthrough bleeding. So those are problems. There’s there’s a nuisance that can happen and it’s it’s really easily fixable with that’s about the dose. Yes. The dosage. Okay. Right.

So let’s talk about um the peptide therapy. I don’t know a lot about peptide therapy, but I hear that’s a game changer, too. Yes. I think it’s becoming very popular. It is becoming very popular. It’s been around for a while, but lately we’re just catching on here. Yes. Yes, it’s it’s been around. But pretty much peptides are are shortchain amino acids and they signal things. Peptides, what I love about peptides is that they respect the mechanisms that your body have, the safety mechanisms. So let’s say when I replace hormone, I have to be very careful because I’m telling mandating your body to do something that it needs to do. When I give you peptides, I’m asking kindly your body to do something. And if your body is not ready for it or if you don’t have the terrain for it to happen, it’s not going to do anything. So sometimes I see people that use baptist like, I haven’t seen anything. I’m like, well, it’s probably because your body were not ready to receive the peptides yet. Well, tell me what exactly are there for? What are tell us when when do we need them? A lot of different peptides. There’s peptides for healing, that are peptides to improve your mitochondrial health, that are peptides that help with gut healing, somes help some help with tendon and ligaments. Some actually help with bacterial fungal infections, you name it. Like there’s so many different ones. Um it’s incredible. It is it is a a whole world. The most common one, you know, is the weight loss one, right? Which is now very popular, the GLP ones, right? The Zampic, the Mangaros, the Zapound. Yes. Uh but we have many others. some help with visceral fat, fatty liver. Now, are you using all the same kind of peptides for that or we have many different types? You have many different Yeah, many different types of peptides. Some help with libido. Um, many peptides are already FDA approved, some are not. So, there’s a lot of gray areas. uh we never here we really try to go for pharmaceuticals. So we use compounding pharmacies. We don’t use any labs. We want to make sure our patients are getting uh quality. They’re not they’re getting what it’s written in the vial and there’s no fillers. There’s no contamination. But unfortunately nowadays we do have peptides everywhere like and you Google it and you can get it. what you’re getting. Yeah. You don’t know what you’re getting. You don’t know what you’re getting. Exactly. So that’s the danger.

So tell us Relive, Relive Health. What what is it overall? What is the the mission of Relive? And what all are you offering here? What what can someone come in and you know regain a holistic and and happy life? So, our mission, our goal is to really get you optimized, get you have to for you to have the best quality life that you can have, to be your best, to feel your best. Yes. Amazing.

And what about for a woman out there that is just feeling really low and maybe she’s afraid? What would you say to her? I would say come see us because we will help you. Yeah. And we have a many different We really have a variety of treatments here from um we have a hormone replacement, we have peptides, we take a full dive into functional medicine. So we have specialty testing that will look into your microbiome. Uh we’ll look into micronutrients, food sensitivity, mold toxicity, um lime disease, uh fungal and bacteria, overgrowth, you name it. Amazing. We’re addressing everything so you live your best life. It’s amazing. Well, I’m already feeling better and the gut health one I’m I It’s actually getting a little better already. Okay. I will say uh um but that that is something that I struggle with and I think a lot of women especially with age um we have a lot of issues actually I don’t know I if I think back I think it’s most of my life something no amount of patients when I ask them if they because sometimes they don’t even stop and think but when I ask if they have constipation or if they have abnormal stools or more diarrhea or bloating ing or reflux or stomach issues. It’s a lot. Yes, it’s a lot. And especially now with all the toxins that are in our in our foods and our foods are just different today. Yes, they are just different. And I mean, our our gut is a brain and and how our gut is is functioning is affecting our entire body. And I don’t think people realize that so much. Everything starts in the gut. It does. It starts with the gut and then it signals to the brain and how our brain works and our hearts and Yeah. So, I mean it is incredible. It’s very very important.

So, well, I just have to say this has been an incredible conversation, Paula, and thank you for the all that you do and I absolutely love it here. We’re here in Delray Beach, but can you can you find Relive Health in most parts of the United States? Yes, you can. We’re everywhere, right? And it was a pleasure to have you. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it’s always a pleasure to talk to you. Well, thank you so much and thank you all for tuning in. If this resonated with you, please like, share, comment. Please share this with someone that could use this information. It’s so important. Maybe it’s not for you, but it it is for someone else. And especially for the men in your life that we we touched on this, and that’s something that I I want to I want to take a deep dive into that also because women’s health is so important to me. But the men in our life, it’s important to make sure that they are healthy, too. Absolutely. So, remember, you are not broken. You are becoming. And it’s time to wake up to your worth. and I’ll see you every Thursday with a new episode. So, have an incredible week and I’ll see you next time. Bye.