Your Vagina After 40: What's Normal, What's Not, and What to Do with Dr. Sara Reardon
Stronger Bolder WiserShow Notes
Leakage when you laugh… Dryness that makes sex uncomfortable. Your vagina is telling you something…
Nobody explained to us what happens to our bodies when estrogen drops. Nobody taught us what normal actually looks like and we have accepted it. But here’s the good news. Most of it is treatable.
This week I chat with Dr Sara Rearden, board certified pelvic floor floor therapist and known to many as the Vagina Whisperer, for the most honest, practical and genuinely important conversation about our vaginal and pelvic floor health.
I wish I'd had this conversation ten years ago. And I want you to hear this before we start.
None of this is normal. It's common. And almost all of it can be fixed.
Key moments:
00:00: What pelvic floor health actually is, and why so many women are suffering in silence
3:23: Leakage, dryness, soreness… the most common pelvic floor issue and why they happen
4:49: Leaking when you laugh is not normal. It’s just common. And you can fix it
6:45: What is a fragile vagina actually is and whether you have one
8:57: The solutions for vaginal dryness that actually work
12:09: Why vaginal estrogen is not the same as HRT…and why you likely need both
18:05: Every peri-menopausal woman should be using vaginal estrogen. And this is how
20:47: What optimal pelvic floor health actually looks like
28:37: Coffee, alcohol, sugar. What to avoid to protect your bladder health
32:40: Why vaginal dryness has nothing to do with arousal
39:21: 75% who do pelvic floor training can fix their leakage… this is not just kegels
48:14: How pelvic floor health directly improves your sex life
50:13: How to keep your vagina healthy without a partner
54:12: The one thing Dr Sara wants women to know about their pelvic floor health
To continue learning about pelvic floor health, you can find Dr. Sara Rearden via:
Website: thevaginawhisperer.com
Instagram: @thevaginawhisperer
App: The V Hive. Download free for one week on Apple or Google
Book: Floored: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage. Available wherever you buy books
Follow along and see the behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch/?hl=en
Is it possible to feel energised, strong, light and full of life in midlife? Absolutely! Join my Science-Backed Program Thrive After 40 here to ditch sugar cravings, promote fat loss, increase energy and optimise your health in your 40's, 50's and beyond!
Find out more about my other programs here https://sarahrusbatch.com/
If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same as you,join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here.
And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here.
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Taking 30 days off alcohol in midlife rarely feels the way social media promises. Boredom, flatness and broken sleep often come first, and none of it means you're doing it wrong.In this video I share the five most unexpected things women discover in their first 30 days without wine, from the 5 to 7pm boredom to the friend who suddenly goes quiet. I explain why your brain can feel flat once alcohol stops lighting up your dopamine reward centre, and why sedation is not the same as restorative sleep. Most importantly, I explain why all of it settles.Key Topics Covered- Why boredom hits hardest between 5 and 7pm when you stop drinking, and why taking alcohol out means adding something in, like an evening walk, a class or a hobby.- Feeling flat after quitting alcohol: how years of drinking dysregulate your dopamine receptors, and why it evens out with time.- What to do when friends get weird about you not drinking, and why talking to your closest friends first helps.- Why sleep without alcohol can get worse before it gets better, and how to ride the emotional rollercoaster of the early weeks.Timestamps What Happens When You Stop Drinking For 30 Days (00:00) Thing 1: Boredom Between 5 And 7pm (00:40) Thing 2: Feeling Flat After You Stop Drinking (02:01) Thing 3: When Friends Get Weird About You Not Drinking (02:44) Thing 4: Why Sleep Gets Worse Before It Gets Better (03:37) Thing 5: Feeling Emotional Over Nothing (04:40) Free Support To Change Your Drinking (05:20)Also Watch My Previous Episodes:- Seven Signs You Are a Grey Area Drinker- Six Reasons Successful Women Are Quietly Quitting Alcohol- Three Reasons Women Cannot Metabolise Alcohol as Effectively as Men***Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw***Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze
Nobody walks into a marriage planning to leave it, yet so many midlife women are quietly asking whether to stay or go. Your body often knows the answer first.