Rethinking Blanket Menopause Advice: Hormones, Injury, and Finding Your Pace - Episode 293

Email me your questions, topics, or comments to be featured on my show - whether anonymous or not - your choice.  sandy@sandyknutrition.ca.

Follow me on all of my socials - @sandyknutrition everywhere.

Who am I? I don’t define myself by my past, but it’s a big part of my story. In 2010, my five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and just a year later, I was too, but with thyroid cancer at 41. Fast forward to now, at 55, I’m navigating menopause and constantly learning what it truly means to thrive - body, mind, spirit and soul - to this next chapter of my life.

Along the way, I went back to college, became a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, earned numerous certifications, and started this podcast just before the pandemic. I come to you not only as a practitioner and a podcaster, but as a woman who’s lived it, someone driven by passion over profit, and a genuine desire to help others heal, grow, and live with more vitality, purpose, and joy.

In this episode, I question the blanket “lift heavy” mantra for women in late perimenopause to menopause, and share a candid story of osteonecrosis, hormone changes, and smarter training choices.  I also set a clear line on ethics in wellness media and why trust matters when health is at stake.

• solo format launch and listener Q&A invite
• why I refuse pay-to-play guest spots
• how editorial integrity protects your health
• late perimenopause symptoms and real-world pain
• osteonecrosis vs bone density and why it matters
• hormones do not go flat after menopause
• testing frequency and working with practitioners
• biased ratios, dose adjustments, and symptom tracking
• rethinking “lift heavy” during midlife changes
• collagen, physiotherapy, red light, and recovery
• protein for your workload, not by hype
• honouring old injuries and movement mechanics

Please share this episode with another woman in perimenopause or menopause. Be sure to follow my show, rate it, review it, and share it. Join me next week for a new topic, new guest, new exciting conversation to help you live your best life.

Chapters

• 0:00 Solo Debut And Listener Invite
• 9:10 Ethics: No Pay-To-Play Guests
• 13:35 Balanced Wellness Over Hype
• 16:26 Perimenopause Realities And Lifting Heavy
• 19:50 Diagnoses: Osteonecrosis And Pain
• 24:45 Hormone Fluctuations Aren’t “Flat”
• 28:30 What I’d Do Differently
• 33:05 Practical Adjustments: HRT, Collagen, PT

Transcript

Sandy Kruse: 0:00

Hi everyone, welcome to Sandy K Nutrition Health and Lifestyle Queen. Today I have me, myself, and I, this is my very first official solo episode in my new format. So I decided I would do this every so often to mix things up and ask you, the audience, to send me questions, send me comments, send me information, anything that you want to talk about that you want to address that relates to aging better body, mind, spirit, soul. Email me sandy at sandyknutrition.ca or DM me on Instagram or TikTok or Facebook. You can find me anywhere, and it's just Sandy Knutrition. Today I'm going to talk about all of the advice that we women are given around perimenopause and menopause. There's a lot of it out there, and a lot of it is great advice, but I always like to say nobody should be giving you personal advice from social media. Nobody is giving you personal advice from social media. Yet somehow, as a society, we take the words of all these wellness influencers as gospel. And then we go and do it, do it, dude it. Then we go and do it, and then we go and hurt ourselves. I am a perfect example. And actually, today I'm seeing one of a couple of surgeons for advice on an injury, which I'm going to talk about in this episode about how everywhere we are hearing, lift heavy, lift heavy. It's great for your bones. Lift heavy. Well, my beauties, I'm not saying it's not right for you, because maybe it is, but what I am saying is I would love for you to think about it before you go ahead and do it. Please share this episode with another woman in perimenopause or menopause who's kind of trying to figure things out. It's so helpful if you share my podcast, either message somebody with it from Spotify or from Apple or anywhere that you're listening, because my podcast is available anywhere and everywhere. Go to sandycruz.ca to find out where. A lot of my episodes are posted on YouTube, on Rumble, and it's S-A-N-D-Y-K-R-U-S-E.ca. Also, reviews help tremendously. My gosh, that's how I started. I just asked people to give me reviews on how my podcast has helped your life, has helped you in whatever way it has helped you. If you do that on Apple or Spotify, it really helps me to continue to get these amazing guests that I've had for almost six years now. Be sure that you are following me on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you do social media, because I'm very active there. So, and and you're gonna get all the announcements and everything. So it's just Sandy Knutrition everywhere. And one last announcement before I get on with this episode. I want to make it very clear that at Sandy K Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle Queen Podcast, every single guest I have is invited for their stories and their insights, never because they are paid to be here. My conversations are authentic, educational, and always in service to you. The reason I say this is this world of wellness has really changed, as has the podcasting world. There are numerous amazing podcasters out there that I know for a fact do not charge their guests to be on their show. I mean, look at Joe Rogan, look at Diary of a CEO, Stephen Bartlett. Um, there's quite a few, and I know for a fact that they do not charge their guests. And let me explain to you why this is important to point out. There is a conflict of interest and an erosion of editorial integrity when a podcast charges a guest to appear because it blurs that line between editorial content and advertising. Listen, there is a way in which a podcaster can ethically monetize their podcast. I'm trying to do that right now, but I'm being very selective about how I do that. And in the past, I have had sponsors and they've all been long-term sponsors versus these one-offs, because my whole thing is I want to create trust and integrity and authenticity with my show so that you listeners understand that everything I do is passion over profit. I'm not trying to make money off of this. I'm trying to help the world be a better place first. I mean, making money is definitely an essential thing in this world. So I'm not discounting the importance of that, but there are ways in which a podcaster can do this. For years now, I've been bringing to you conversations about wellness from incredible guests from all over the world. Discover a fresh take on healthy living for midlife and beyond, one that embraces balance and reason. Without letting only science dictate every aspect of our wellness. Join me and my guests as we explore ways that we can age gracefully with in-depth conversations about the thyroid, about hormones, and other alternative wellness options for you and your family. True Wellness nurtures a healthy body, mind, spirit, and soul. And we cover all of these essential aspects to help you live a balanced, joyful life. Be sure to follow my show, rate it, review it, and share it. Always remember, my friends, balanced living works. Hi everyone, welcome to Sandy K Nutrition Health and Lifestyle Queen. Today I have me, myself, and I, this is my very first official solo episode in my new format. So I decided I would do this every so often to mix things up and ask you, the audience, to send me questions, send me comments, send me information, anything that you want to talk about that you want to address that relates to aging better body, mind, spirit, soul. Email me sandy at sandyknutrition.ca or DM me on Instagram or TikTok or Facebook. You can find me anywhere, and it's just SandyK Nutrition. Today I'm gonna talk about all of the advice that we women are given around perimenopause and menopause. There's a lot of it out there, and a lot of it is great advice, but I always like to say nobody should be giving you personal advice from social media. Nobody is giving you personal advice from social media. Yet somehow, as a society, we take the words of all these wellness influencers as gospel. And then we go and do it, do it, do it. Then we go and do it, and then we go and hurt ourselves. I am a perfect example. And actually, today I'm seeing one of a couple of surgeons for advice on an injury, which I'm gonna talk about in this episode about how everywhere we are hearing, lift heavy, lift heavy. It's great for your bones, lift heavy. Well, my beauties, I'm not saying it's not right for you, because maybe it is, but what I am saying is I would love for you to think about it before you go ahead and do it. Please share this episode with another woman in perimenopause or menopause who's kind of trying to figure things out. It's so helpful if you share my podcast, either message somebody with it from Spotify or from Apple or anywhere that you're listening, because my podcast is available anywhere and everywhere. Go to sandycruz.ca to find out where. A lot of my episodes are posted on YouTube, on Rumble, and it's S-A-N-D-Y-K-R-U-S-E.ca. Also, reviews help tremendously. My gosh, that's how I started. I just asked people to give me reviews on how my podcast has helped your life, has helped you in whatever way it has helped you. If you do that on Apple or Spotify, it really helps me to continue to get these amazing guests that I've had for almost six years now. Be sure that you are following me on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you do social media, because I'm very active there. So, and and you're gonna get all the announcements and everything. So it's just Sandy K Nutrition everywhere. And one last announcement before I get on with this episode. I want to make it very clear that at Sandy K Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle Queen Podcast, every single guest I have is invited for their stories and their insights, never because they are paid to be here. My conversations are authentic, educational, and always in service to you. The reason I say this is this world of wellness has really changed, as has the podcasting world. There are numerous amazing podcasters out there that I know for a fact do not charge their guests to be on their show. I mean, look at Joe Rogan, look at Diary of a CEO, Stephen Bartlett. Um, there's quite a few, and I know for a fact that they do not charge their guests. And let me explain to you why this is important to point out. There is a conflict of interest and an erosion of editorial integrity when a podcast charges a guest to appear because it blurs that line between editorial content and advertising. Listen, there is a way in which a podcaster can ethically monetize their podcast. I'm trying to do that right now, but I'm being very selective about how I do that. And in the past, I have had sponsors and they've all been long-term sponsors versus these one-offs, because my whole thing is I want to create trust and integrity and authenticity with my show so that you listeners understand that everything I do is passion over profit. I'm not trying to make money off of this. I'm trying to help the world be a better place first. I mean, making money is definitely an essential thing in this world. So I'm not discounting the importance of that, but there are ways in which a podcaster can do this. So the problem with charging guests is that listeners expect guests to be chosen for their expertise, the value, the authenticity, not their wallet. So, you know, this is that whole pay-to-play model. So once money enters the equation, it becomes that. It becomes pay-to-play and it undermines the credibility of the content. And so basically, it shifts the role from the interviewer to a marketer, which compromises the trust that makes podcasts powerful. And I'm going to add another very important point to this. It's one thing if you have a podcast out there to, I don't know, let's say empower people to make money. It's another thing when we are talking about people's health and wellness. And this is probably one of the most important points. I have had clients, I have had people DM me on Instagram. I have had people send me messages through my podcast in a state of desperation, some health challenges more serious than others. And this is why I believe playing with this pay-to-play model when you're in a space of health and wellness of the body and the mind and the spirit and the soul. And right now, with the way the world is, it's hard to know what is real and what isn't anymore. So my entire preamble here is to tell you that I am real and I am transparent, and I don't like the deception that I've been seeing and the credibility issues. It's it's it's not okay and it's misaligned. And for me, ethics always drives what I do. So I wanted to give you that little, you know, the preamble because I just think it's so so important in the world that we live in. And now please welcome myself in my first solo episode. Thank you, thank you so much for being here. Today I'm gonna give you some information about late stages of perimenopause to menopause. I'm gonna talk to you about things that you might hear online and things that you might want to think about before you go and say, Oh, that's for me. I have to do that. I'm close to menopause or I'm in menopause. I need to lift heavy, I need to do all the things that these doctors are telling me to do because it's gonna help my bone health. So I started working out with a personal trainer at age 48. I stopped, um, I'm gonna say it's just over a year ago, and I just joined a gin. The reason I did that because all of the research that I had heard about how it's important to increase muscle and how good it is for your bones and all these things before you reach menopause. I was recently diagnosed with two similar issues with my bones, and both of them involve it's called osteonecrosis, which is basically a lack of blood supply to the bone and causing bone death. So one is in my wrist and one is in my foot. The foot is called Freiberg's disease or Freiburg's infraction, and they're pretty serious issues. Now, this all began in the latter stages of perimenopause. The first issue began in 2022, which was the first year I went from having 12 periods down to only four periods. And I started having chronic pain. I'm like, what the hell? I never hurt myself, I never did anything. So this was age 52. The only thing I had been doing regularly is lifting very heavy now. The research shows how important it is for your bones, for your muscle, for everything to lift heavy. And so I was doing exactly what the research showed I should be doing. But I guess I injured myself without knowing. Well, during these latter stages of perimenopause, it became chronic. And same thing, necrosis, which is um, it's osteonecrosis, which is basically bone death. And it's in my foot, and that one happened, it's probably about a year and a half now. So I have only technically just entered menopause officially because in March it was one year of no periods. However, I'm one of those people that tends to or tended to have very extreme fluctuations of estrogen progesterone, and I'm gonna actually provide you with even more information. So I'm like, how is this? I eat to support my health, I eat whole real foods, I was lifting heavy according to the doctors, I was doing all the things, but I still got these issues, and now because I have them, there ain't no getting rid of them, and this is kind of a chronic pain that I deal with. And you're like, Jesus, you know, if a nutritionist who went on HRT on time is doing this, I mean, we're all at risk when you're doing all the right things, including HRT, lifting heavy, eating whole real foods, doing all those things. So there are factors involved here. One is sometimes I think instead of pushing on through, maybe we need to treat ourselves with a little bit more gentleness versus pushing on through to make sure that everything that we're doing supports a healthy menopause. Because I I'd say I'm the only thing with me is that I I feel like I have one of the very longest perimenopauses in the history, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this. So what can you do? What would I do differently? This is the question. Had I known then what I know now, what would I have done differently? First of all, I would not have been lifting or pushing, pressing 255 pounds plus my body weight. Because if that's not putting pressure, extreme pressure on my feet, I don't know what it is, what is. So aside from you know, avoiding injuries and making sure you have proper posture when you're lifting heavy, those are all really, really important. But the causes of these things that I have are repetitive trauma, hormonal changes, genetic predispositions. Those are the three main causes of these bone issues, which are not osteopenia or osteoporosis. I have to get regular bone mineral density tests because I have no thyroid gland. It all relates to the parathyroid gland, which actually helps distribute calcium through your body. It's right, it's I I still have my parathyroid glands, but they, you know, they took away my thyroid. Anyway, it also relates to thyroid medication. If I'm a little bit too high medicated, it can affect my bones. So that's why I get them. And my bone mineral density is great. So this is something totally different. And so I'm going, okay, well, number one, I was on HRT in a timely manner. I did go on, I started taking estrogen. It would have been in March or February of 2023. Remember, my wrist first started giving me problems. It and I still remember I was in Miami at a conference. It was October 2022 when I was like, what the hell? This isn't going away. And then February 2023, I was still getting periods, just not very many. Um, I went on a baby dose of estrogen. Maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe it wasn't enough to help me heal from that chronic problem with my wrist. I don't know. So what would I do differently? I'm gonna go back to that. Number one, I probably would have had my hormones checked a little bit more often because the one thing that I have noticed is that I have extreme fluctuations, and I still do. You hear a lot of doctors who think HRG is one and done. It's not. So I personally can feel in my body when my estrogen goes a little lower. Because guess what happens? The wrist gets a little more sore, the foot gets a little more sore, I have vaginal dryness, I have other issues that might include mood. I have a lot of noticeable things like my skin might be a little more dry. So for people or women to think and doctors to think that after menopause, we're flat and we're always the same, it's wrong. It's downright wrong. Because if you look at the research, you will see that anything, even stress, can change your hormone levels. And you don't go flat, you don't go like, oh, I got no hormones left. If you had no hormones left, you'd be okay, you wouldn't turn into a man. I'm genetically born as a female. However, I'd probably have all sorts of things going on because the androgens would still be there. I'd have all kinds of black hairs coming out of my face. Listen, the facts are women do not go flat, meaning flat, and we don't lose our hormones after menopause. However, what you can do is make sure you work with a practitioner who checks your hormones at least during, you know, perimenopause latter stages and early menopause. I would say every three months. Yeah, it's that often. Because, and and the other thing is, what I do, and I'm not giving you medical advice, what I'm saying is find a hormone practitioner who will do this for you, who will check this for you. So, this is my number one. What I would say I would have done differently because during that time I was up, I was down, I was all around, I was lifting very heavy, it was repetitive trauma. I was not taking a full spectrum collagen. Go ahead and do the research. So hydrolyzed. So now what I do is I take a full spectrum hydrolyzed collagen. The one I take, and I have zero affiliation, is ancient nutrition Dr. Josh Axe. I love his because he is marine, he has bovine, he has bone broth in his. I love it. I mean, it's kind of gross. People tell me to put it in my coffee. I'm like, I can't do that to my coffee. I can't. I have like one cup of coffee a day. I can't ruin it, I can't make it change consistency. No, no, it's just a no for me. So those are the things I would have done differently. Now, what do I do now about these fluctuations that still happen? They still happen. One thing I do, and this is something that I would suggest you speak with your practitioner, because I'm not giving you advice. I'm just telling you what I do. One thing I do is I have various doses. So I have 6040. So estradiol is the most potent of the estrogens, and women tend to see the most resolution in their symptoms when they take estradiol. So I was on these little baby doses that were like 80-20. 80 initially I was on an 80% estriol. Remember the weaker, 20% estradiol. Then I was switched to 60% estriol, 40% estradiol. These ratios can be changed. I am on biased. Okay. Work with your practitioner. They are this is a bioidentical hormone because she can change these ratios. So she can go 50-50 on those two estrogens. For now, I'm on this. I have some of my other prescription, which is a lower dose. And when I feel like I'm having more pain in my wrist and my foot, I'm having vaginal dryness, I'm having skin issues, I'm having mood fluctuations. I might be feeling a little more hot at night. And I'm like, hold on a minute. I thought that my hot flashes were resolved. That's when I'll add a tiny little extra baby dose once a day. And I speak with my practitioner about it, and I get my hormones checked every three months. Yes, the Dutch test is great. But lately, due to costs, I go with blood work from my practitioner. Like going on certain days, you know, back when you were menstruating, you'd have to do these tests to get an accurate reading on day 19 of your cycle. Well, if you don't got a cycle, well, then you just go and get your blood work done. But I think it's very important to come and talk to you about those factors that even when you think you're doing all the right things, it may not be right for you. And I truly wish I'm not regretting going to the gym. I'm not regretting all those years of working with a personal trainer. I'm not. What I am questioning now is did I really need to go that heavy? And did I have repetitive trauma as a result? Maybe it was too much for me. Maybe I didn't have the right form. Maybe I didn't have the right shoes. Maybe I have genetics that predisposition me to this, but this is what I've got. And so now what I'm doing is I am taking that hydrolyzed full spectrum collagen that I told you about. You can check it out. Again, I have no discount, no affiliation with Dr. Josh Axe. It's ancient nutrition. It's a great collagen. I am doing physiotherapy. So the reason I'm doing physiotherapy is I'm trying to learn how to balance my weight so that I don't put undue pressure on these areas where I have the osteonecrosis in the bone. The facts are I've had, you know, a couple of different opinions, and eventually it'll probably result in surgery. So for now, I'm doing those two things. I still eat well. I don't, I, I, I also, you know, you hear a lot of doctors going, protein load, protein load. And I'm like, no, I believe in balanced amounts of protein in the diet. I'm a nutritionist, a functional nutritionist. And while protein is very important, I think that we need to take in as much protein as we need for what movement we're doing. So I've kind of taken a little break from anything heavy. I'm focusing on my physiotherapy exercises to help strengthen the parts where I'm compensating. So the other thing that happened was back in 2010, I broke the heel bone of my opposite foot. And so, you know, if you go back in history, you can go and do a whole historical analysis even before I hit menopause. And so for many, many years, I was probably compensating because I was one of those asshole patients that never saw, went, never went to the fracture clinic, never got a boot, like a proper cast. Um, that was actually two days before my daughter was diagnosed with cancer, I broke my foot in our pool. Like seriously, what the hell, right? So I didn't, I didn't take care of myself. And so that's the other thing that I'm gonna say. If you do have an injury, especially around menopause, because you're working out, it's really important to take care of that injury and heal properly. I've done many shows. I've done shows on red light therapy, by the way. I am doing red light therapy as well in this area to try and bring more blood flow. But like I think I'm a little bit like I normally don't say that, you guys. But now having had ultrasound, x-ray, MRI, I see that you know, the only thing I can do is take pressure off where I've got damage that's there. So anyway, I hope this was helpful. I hope I helped you just to think about things in a different way. Think about, you know, the fact that we are not robots, our hormones don't go flat. I mean, I have one of my best friends, and she went into menopause quite early, and she says she still feels like she's simulating a period. And maybe I'll put the link to my article where I wrote about that. I feel as women, we are gifted with I'm gonna say such an innate ability to feel anyway. I really, really hope you enjoy this episode. Please share it, like it, let me know what you think. Have a good day. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Be sure to share it with someone you know might benefit. And always remember, when you rate, review, subscribe, you help to support my content and help me to keep going and bring these conversations to you each and every week. Join me next week for a new topic, new guest, new exciting conversation to help you live your best life.