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Steel Roses Podcast
Steel Roses is a podcast created for women by women. Social pressures for women are constant. Professionals, stay at home moms, working moms, we are here to tell you that you are not alone! This podcasts primary focus is providing real honest content shedding light on the daily struggles of women while also elevating women's voices.
All women are experiencing similar pressures and hurdles, and yet, no one is talking out in the open. If these topics continue to only exist as whispered conversations then we further permeate a culture of judgement and shame.
Join Jenny weekly as she discusses topics that effect women in a relatable, honest way.
Steel Roses Podcast
Empowering Women's Health: Dr. Soma Mandal on Advocacy, Navigating Challenges, and Owning Success
This episode tackles the pressing health challenges faced by women, particularly those in the sandwich generation balancing work, family, and aging parents. Through personal stories and expert insights, Dr. Soma Mandal encourages women to take charge of their health and advocate for their needs in the healthcare system.
• Exploration of the sandwich generation and its unique stressors
• Personal stories illustrating healthcare disparities women face
• Importance of self-advocacy in medical settings
• Insight into menopause and its complexities
• A discussion on weight management medications and their implications
• Need for education and training on women’s health in medical fields
• Empowering the next generation of women through health literacy
Looking for more?
https://www.somamandalmd.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/somamandal/
@drsomamandalmd
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Hello everybody, this is Steel Rose's podcast. This podcast was created for women, by women, to elevate women's voices. I'm very excited to introduce all of you to the guest we have with us today, dr Soma Mandal. She is a board certified internist and one of America's top women's health specialists. She's an author and a fellow podcaster. Her passion is to help navigate health and wellness for women in the sandwich generation with a living parent, 65 or older. This is a very difficult stage of life where women are often in a position of taking care of their own families, working and taking care of their aging parents. Often these stressors are unspoken, but it can affect career, family and, worse, your health. Dr Soma, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for having me on your show.
Speaker 1:Jenny. Oh, it's truly my pleasure. Having any woman on the show and elevating your voices is really the thing that brings light into my life. But having someone come on that works in the healthcare space and is really a pillar, and somebody who's trying to bring truth out there about women's health and issues that affect women, it's really my honor. So I would love for you to introduce yourself to the audience. You're an author, you're a podcaster, like you have so much to say, so I would love for you to just introduce yourself to the listeners.
Speaker 2:Thank you. So I'm a board certified internist and I have a passion and niche in women's health and practicing for 24 hours now. And I discovered I had a passion for women's health several years ago which I didn't realize when I was in medical school or even in residency, which I didn't realize when I was in medical school or even in residency. And since then I've really been focusing on helping women of all ages navigate their health as best as possible. So it can, you know, range from anything from pregnancy or trying to get pregnant to menopause, perimenopause, menopause and, more recently, being in the sandwich. And, as you can imagine, you know I've had to know things from my. So saying that, you know, in medicine we doctors go into medicine, medicine thinking that they can save the world, but it's really to like save themselves. So if I help one person you know, feel better, do better, prevent something, then you know that's. That, you know, serves the purpose of being a doctor.
Speaker 1:I love what you said there about doctors a lot of people going into that space thinking they're going to save the world, but then in reality it's really saving themselves as well. Um, I, I, I could see the shift with you know, as you get into the space, wanting to focus more in on women's health. Um, I know that I didn't really think anything about it. I didn't really even realize there was a disparity in women's healthcare until I was, I want to say, about 31. So I was a little bit older, which is a little crazy because I actually I work in healthcare myself. So not as a doctor, but I'm in this space. But I hadn't really encountered it.
Speaker 1:And my first experience seeing that there was a gap happened after one of my cousins had her baby, and it was an emergency situation. Her baby was premature and she had a rare blood disorder that she discovered while she was trying to get pregnant and it caused her to go into labor. I think she was about two months earlier, so it was. She almost died in childbirth and at the end of it she had her blood pressure had skyrocketed so badly that it actually affected. What they told her was that it affected her vision. She left the hospital with her baby and NICU and she couldn't see, so she couldn't even drive herself to the back to the hospital to see her baby.
Speaker 1:And I remember her telling hearing the story and I was like, well, what do you mean? Like well, how long is this going to last? And the doctors basically told her like we don't know, we don't know when this is going to resolve, we don't know if it will resolve, we don't know anything, but we're going to discharge you. And that situation like kind of shocked me and it led me to. It didn't kind of shock me, it shocked me and it led me to going into research. So I looked up medical journals, I was trying to find anything I could and there was like no information for me to like grab, to say, hey, like look at this study, maybe we can do this for you. And that was my first time seeing that there was like a big disparity in women's health care. And you know studies related to women's health and like things that are focused in on helping us through what we go through. You're right.
Speaker 2:And I remind patients of this because you know when we have certain calculations to estimate things like heart disease, but we're often misrepresented or underrepresented in those trials because there are not enough women in the studies. So you know, the calculations that we use are often not accurate. So it's really a shame. But there's more of an awareness now and I'm at least here to you know. Try to spread knowledge that we have to advocate for ourselves as much as possible.
Speaker 1:That and honestly, that's like a big thing that I have talked about on a lot of episodes is educating yourself and making yourself aware of, like, what's happening and what are you doing. I'll use myself for an example here. So I'm probably like the pain in the butt patient for my doctors. I'm certain of it because I always come in armed with all my like studies and they're like okay, ma'am, please. But, like most recently, I went to the doctor and I basically kind of went in there just wanting to speak to the doctor to say, listen, this is everything that I'm feeling right now. I feel like maybe is this perimenopause or is it something else, like I really don't know, because I was feeling the PMS was like I'm turning 41 in one week, my birthday's in one week and um, um. But the past year, um, I noticed this shift in my monthly cycle and to the point where, like the week before my cycle would start, my family kind of really just didn't want to be around me because I was becoming this raging, ridiculous person, and so I had that going on. I had extreme fatigue. I had these days where, like I felt like I was dragging a dead body around and there was all these symptoms that I was like, oh, I think this is pointing towards perimenopause, but I don't really know, like I don't really know how to determine that, like I'm not really sure.
Speaker 1:So I went into my doctor and I'm a little bit, I was a little bit manic at this point. I was like I don't really know what's going on, I just need some testing done, please, like do blood work, do something? And the doctor kind of gave me a little bit of a hard time and was very visibly irritated Might not be the right word, but visibly was like bothered by me, because I was like something is not right here, like I need to figure something out. And so I pressed to have blood work done. I was like, just please, do blood work, please. So I go back in for my results.
Speaker 1:And lo and behold, behold, it's not so much well, perimenopause is happening because of my age. But I'm anemic and I had no idea. And if I hadn't pressed for that blood work I still would have no idea. So if one of the like something like that is, I think, really critical, because a person who isn't thinking about advocating for themselves will go into the doctor. The doctor will say you're fine, you look, okay, you know, and send them on their way. And it's really crucial to take that step and say I really need to have something looked at.
Speaker 2:And you know, as a woman myself and being a physician, it does make me I don't know what the word is, you know enraged really that we do have to advocate for ourselves.
Speaker 2:You know you go in not feeling well, you know, whatever it is, you're not taking it seriously.
Speaker 2:And even as a physician and you and I offline, were talking about, you know, not using your doctor title there was a time in my life when, you know, maybe I didn't own up to, you know, want to be proud of myself, but I wouldn't necessarily introduce myself as Dr Mandel or Dr Sol. And then I've learned in certain situations to introduce myself, especially, you know, when I'm patient, because then people take you at least a little bit more seriously, because then people take you at least a little bit more seriously. But I've had that experience, unfortunately many times, where people did not realize that I was a physician and it was other health care workers who were questioning why I was saying what I was saying. It wasn't until I said, you know I'm a doctor, right, that they backed down and I was like, why do I have to come to that? And in my mind I was like what do other people do that are not physicians, that are not nurses, that are not in the healthcare field. They get intimidated and they don't necessarily speak up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. I mean I will say my mom you know she's in her 60s Over you know the course of me growing into an adult, and especially me in this space there's been many instances where I'm like prompting her and pushing her and telling her like you really just can't take it face value when they say, oh, you're fine here, do this, or here's your medication. And I started to encourage her. I'm like, when you go to the doctor, if they give you a prescription or if something you know, let me see it, let me look it up, I can tell you some things about the medicine before you start taking it. So that way you're prepared for, like, whatever's going to come next.
Speaker 1:Because I think another thing is you know, again, people are going in, women are going in trusting you, know the doctor and what they say, and definitely not to take anything away from the physicians. They have the education, they have the background. We do need to listen because they have that baseline. I can Google to my heart's content, but the reality of it is that's just Google. Like you're, you're taking a lot of information, but coming prepared for the conversation and having information to back you up is something that, like, I encourage a lot of women to do, because you're feeling not good, you don't want to go on like that. That's where I got to the point where I was like I can't.
Speaker 1:And honestly, because of all the guests on the podcast, I was even prompted even further to do this for myself, because if you just sit back and be like, well, I'm uncomfortable this is another problem with us, with women is you go, you have this issue and it's like, well, I'm uncomfortable, but I can deal with it, I'll put it to the side and you kind of just keep going on with your life.
Speaker 1:And that's how I've operated for most of my life. I just push things to the side, I'm like I can cope, I can deal with this pain, it's fine. It only happens once, once in a while. But if you continue your life like that, I started thinking to myself gosh, out of the 30 days in a month, only 40% of the time do I feel good. And I'm like what kind of odds are that? Why am I letting myself walk around 60% of the time, which is majority of it, feeling like crap, being moody, being depressed, like the whole gamut? And I think a lot of women have that issue of like putting themselves to the side and really not stepping up and saying I don't need to feel like this, I can actually improve my life and the quality of my life.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're so right and you know I I can totally relate because I remember and this was a while ago, um, I I I've battled anemia for a long, long time due to various reasons and there was a time I was in my 30s and I had blood work done and I don't remember how it was related to me, but I was told it was mine and it wasn't a while ago. There wasn't necessarily electronic versions of the lab results. I asked, you know, for the results to be sent to me, emailed or faxed to me.
Speaker 2:And when I looked at it I was like, oh my gosh, this is iron deficiency anemia. How am I being told that this is fine? You know? So, unless you really step up and use your voice, you know some things don't get done. And as a mother of a daughter, I have two kids, but as a mother of a daughter, I think it's my responsibility to educate the next generation to speak up, because I already see things already with my daughter, where you know I'm like okay, and she sees it too. She was like if I was a boy, I wouldn't be treated this way.
Speaker 1:So, uh, you know, I for her, I teach her, advocate for herself, use her voice, obviously politically, anditely and you know in a way that you know, but I think it's our job as mothers to be able to educate our daughters to you know this pattern that's what I've thought quite a bit about that I have twin girls and, um, I have twin girls as well and they're still young enough where they haven't really encountered anything too glaring. That would be different for them between their brother. They have a brother. But I've started now to lay the baseline of speak up. It's okay to speak up, and I started it in like small ways at home where, like you know, if their brother, like takes their toy or whatever it is, like I, I'm basically telling them, like you can ask for that back. You don't have to just take that Like this is okay, cause when I was growing up, it was very much like, much like, oh, your older brother did something like whatever you know, and he kind of got off easy. Um, so I, I agree with you. I think we have a responsibility to this next generation to make them aware and make sure that they understand like you don't have to just take my word for it. The other way I do it too is I've been encouraging them, like when they ask me questions, um, they come to me quite a bit with like, oh, what about this, what about that? I always say I'm like oh well, let's look that up. You know, I'm like, I think I know, but let's look it up, because if I can get them into the habit of that, then they will just start looking things up on their own. They're not going to take anything at face value and be like okay, well, did you fact check that? And they're like Google it, mommy.
Speaker 1:I wanted to touch on something else that you mentioned and we talked a little bit about right before we started recording was owning that, taking ownership of your doctor title, really and something that I think and I just did this recently. Obviously I'm not a doctor, but I had a scenario where I was talking with a guest we're recording and I mentioned to her in advance. We were just chit-chatting and I said something about my daytime job and I said, oh, my daytime job. And then I referred to my podcasting work as almost like, oh, my little podcast, she, she, she stopped me and I was sort of surprised because I wasn't expecting this from her. And she stopped me and she said you know, jenny, I want you to know that when I, when I work with men in the space, and she was like and I've had a lot of men pitch to me, you know that they can, that they work on podcasts. They'll manage my podcast. They've sent over proposals, this and that.
Speaker 1:Next thing, she was like they do everything that you do. She was like, except, they've not once ever said, oh, my little podcast. And she was like you are basically downplaying everything you do. She was like you really need to recognize that you are doing this fantastic job here. You're working really hard. This is not your little podcast project, this is your podcast and you're really working. And I was like, oh my gosh. And I hung up from her and I was like, oh my gosh, I've literally been downplaying the whole thing and really haven't been advocating for myself in that way to say like, no, I'm working really hard at this and this is something that, yes, it brings me a lot of joy, but it's also something that, like, it takes time, it takes expertise, and acknowledging that amongst ourselves as women is sorely lacking, and even for yourself, yeah, sorely lacking, and even for yourself, yeah, yeah, I mean, as a fellow podcaster, I do know what it takes to build a podcast.
Speaker 2:You know I didn't go to school to learn podcasting. You know. I basically went to the library, read a couple of books, sat there for several hours and then I was like, okay, I think I could do this, and it's not easy. So, you know, not everyone can do it. There are lots of, you know, pieces to it and getting guests and, you know, researching topics and being able to talk about that. That takes a talent. I'm not saying, you know, I'm not boasting myself, I'm talking about you. It takes a talent to be able to do that. So I, I've, I've been in that same uh, space where I've I can't remember what I said, but I I downplayed the podcast itself, um, my podcast itself and my podcast itself. And you know, I'm learning, even even at this age. You know, not to, you know, put things in a negative light. I think that we take our positive, you know issues and talents and space and we spin it differently because we're too afraid to be boastful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in general, men have no issue. They really don't. And it's like the craziest thing because even like I have to tell you and I imagine I want to openly admit this because I feel like this is all of us going through it, and I want to openly admit this because I feel like this is all of us going through it it's almost every single night I'm battling back the imposter syndrome with like a huge bat, because every night I lay down and I'm like so excited about season three, I'm so excited about I'm doing this. Well, by the time this episode airs, it would have already aired, but I'm working on all these special projects on the side and live streams and all these things. And at night, during the daytime, I'm like I got this, I'm on fire. And at night, right before I fall asleep, I'm like what are you doing? Who are you? Who do you think you are Trying to do all these, these things? And the reality of it is, every time I spoken to yourself and other guests, they're always telling me this is amazing. This is a great platform, like your podcast.
Speaker 1:I was looking through your episode topics and listeners. I'm going to link Dr Soma's podcast in the description so you can check it out. Very important podcast because she is talking through medical issues that really now there's more awareness but it still needs to be discussed further and there's still so much to be said. There's still so much to learn and I'll pick out like menopause, for example. There's a menopause episode coming up on Steel Roses on December 4th and the sheer fact of the matter is that we are not educated on any of these things before they happen. And even our periods, like the period talk I got was you're going to have a period, that's it. That's the education.
Speaker 2:I got it's going to happen. Here you go, here's some pads. That's it. That's the education I got it's gonna happen here you go. Here's some pads, that's it I'm not here to bash our mothers, okay, no, no, not at all, not at all. But uh, yeah, the what I was told. Now you shouldn't sit so close to boys, I was. I was even more confused because I was like, okay, what will happen if I close the door?
Speaker 1:The part that I always think is interesting and I've lightly researched it. I have to do more of it. Ages ago, in other cultures, when women had their periods, there was one culture that I read about where they were regarded as almost closest to God when that was happening, because that's the life force. This is the vessel. We're the vessel that's bringing life into this world.
Speaker 1:But here in the United States, and probably in most places, period is like a dirty word and it's actually a little bit funny, and my husband doesn't listen to this podcast, so I'm going to say this it's a little bit funny because men have this idea of periods being dirty, and I remember a comment that he had said to me within the last couple of years was like yeah, because it's cleaning out your system. And I was. A comment that he had said to me within the last couple of years was like yeah, you know, because it's cleaning out your system. And I was like, no, that's not, that's not what it is, and he's 49. So I was like hold on a second, that's not what's going on here.
Speaker 2:You know, but I'm sure supportive in other ways. But yes, you're right, you know, I feel like there needs to be learning, you know, about bodies in all sorts of ways. I do think that there's more of an understanding, you know, but even then it's not enough. Puberty, pregnancy, and then I always say and then you know, you get into your perimenopausal and menopausal years and then it's like almost like you fall off a cliff. And it's not just perimenopause and menopause itself, it's all the other health issues that exist with it, about the understanding, about the risks of heart disease and dementia, and you know. So it's not just about HRT, hormone replacement therapy, and you know, should you do it, should you not do it, it's about all the comprehensive parts to it.
Speaker 2:You know I'm always still amazed, doing this for more than two decades, how women just don't not their fault, because again, we've been underrepresented in these trials, have, you know, been there? And the other part of it and I was thinking about saying this before is that in medical school there's not enough. That's really, you know, taught about women's health, at least in my time. And you know, when you stretch out to now the other part of medicine, that's very, very challenging and as you were talking about your own health experiences is we run into doctors who are often buried because they're running against the clock. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Self included. We only have so much time to, you know, to spend with patients on the insurance model, so there are a lot of things that are, you know, very, very important in our healthcare system.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, I had actually heard from somebody at one point that when they were in medical school and this is not a, I want to say like yeah, I guess older doctor and he said that the course on the part where they learned about menopause was like one class, 45 minutes, like that was. That was the, that was the extent of the education and I was kind of, I was surprised. And that's the other part where that led me. I mean, I have a great fortune where I'm able to work in the medical space and learn about everything that, like you know, I have a great fortune where I'm able to work in the medical space and learn about everything that, like you know, interests me.
Speaker 1:But, you know, looking into perimenopause menopause more deeper has it's empowered me to be able to address these issues and I mean, for example, the you know, the mood swings or like that kind of stuff. I mean there is no shame in going in and raising your hand and asking for help. But, as you said, most women won't even realize that this isn't you. This is a change in your body, it's a change in your biology and you don't really have to live your whole life feeling like that I've had a couple of guests come on that have said like they went years, decades just feeling really bad and not feeling well.
Speaker 1:And you know we're basically told well, there's no, there's no real end to menopause. I can't give you any answers here. This is what it is and you just have to deal with it. And they weren't able to do anything to help themselves. There was a woman I mean, not was a woman but there's a lot of women who struggle with severe depression and anxiety during menopause and there's some women that don't get affected at all. So it really runs the gamut. But it's a matter of paying attention to your body and recognizing like I don't really quite feel like myself.
Speaker 2:Right it. You know there's many women that I see on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:You know who experienced this and I, you know, I have to tell them that you know a lot of these symptoms are very, very vague and you've probably been, you know having these kind. These symptoms are very, very vague and you've probably been, you know having these kind of things. You just weren't even able to notice it because it coincides with with just life, right, you know, professional woman or you know being a mom or being in the sandwich generation and the stressors that come with all of that. It often just all kind of becomes a whole big mess and you have to be able to tease that apart. But that often involves having a practitioner who, a understands it, b has the time and patience to be able to listen to you and also I think this is the key point is believe you. I think a lot of women feel like they're not believed, that they're brushed off.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, especially women of color, where it's even more women of color, where it's even more so it's a shame, but these are the things that we we do have to deal with, and I want to touch on that too, because I actually have. I give that quite a bit of thought that when you are a woman of color and that's like, um, I'll use uterine fibroids as an example here. Majority of women who have uterine fibroids are African American females. And uterine fibroids if you're not aware of what it is, it's basically fibroid Dr Soma correct me here fibroid tumors that grow on the outside of your uterus.
Speaker 2:They can grow inside, they can grow within the uterine wall. They can grow outside of the uterus, but they're benign growths that occur inside and outside of the uterus itself.
Speaker 1:And these are growths that cause infertility. There's a lot of pain and cause heavy menstrual bleeding, and majority of the time, this is a hereditary thing and most of the time, women throughout generations will have uterine fibroid issues, and sometimes they don't even realize it and it's because of the whole. You're going to get gas lit. When you first go to the doctor, you tell them you know, my period is really heavy or my period is really painful. What we're told actually at these appointments is well, periods are like that, periods are uncomfortable, and it's like well, yes, they are. There is some pain associated with a period, but it's not meant to be. You're doubled over in pain, right, right, and that's that whole. Like paying attention to your body and paying attention to your gut and saying like I really don't think that this is right.
Speaker 2:I need to understand and yeah, I've gone down that road too, where, even as a physician, I was not given the right advice and I had to really advocate for myself. And exactly the right doctor and surgeon who knew what to do and you know to give them, you know credit both of them were men, by the way who, who believed me, knew exactly what to do and yeah me tremendously.
Speaker 1:And you know that's a great. I want to. I want to highlight this too just because your doctor is a male doesn't necessarily he's not mean he's not going to listen to you. And just because your doctor is a female does not mean she's got, she's going to know intuitively and be able to help you. So it really is.
Speaker 1:It's hard because it is about like finding that right fit for your physician and that in itself is tough. I mean, when three years ago my family, we bought a house and we moved like an hour and a half from where we were and so that meant moving all of our doctors, which fell gracefully into my lap to manage. When we were moving and I, it took me forever to find somebody and you have to deal with the health insurance and figure out all that stuff. And then I identified some doctors. I got all my appointments set up and everything in the kids appointments.
Speaker 1:I don't like some of my doctors now and I'm like oh no kind of have to go through this whole process and figure out like other people and it's it can be, it can feel almost just frustrating to the point where you're like, whatever, I just need to get a checkup. I really don't care who it is and I'll just figure things out. But there there is something to be said for making sure that you do feel comfortable enough to talk with your doctor, that you do feel like you're being heard by your doctor and that there's a shared decision making happening at these appointments, where you are feeling like you're being listened to.
Speaker 2:Yes, you know, I don't want our listeners to think that and I'm not bashing my own field in any way, but you know, just being a woman physician doesn't necessarily mean that you know they, as you said, that they're going to be the ones who will you know, understand and give you that time and space men and women in negative ways and I've had also positive experiences with both men and women but it was the individual who had the understanding and the ability to listen and understand what I was going through and and help me immensely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and honestly, yes, agreed, and I have the utmost respect for physicians Like I. Yes, agreed, and I have the utmost respect for physicians like I. I value their opinions. I think there's so many great ones out there, and it's really just a matter of finding one that fits you, because it's not a, it's not a one-size-fits-all uh, dr Soma, in your work and obviously you have your podcast too is there a women's health issue that you're seeing pop up, that you think is coming up and that needs to be addressed, or that's being recognized or not being recognized, that you think, like this is something that people should really be paying attention to?
Speaker 2:I think there's a lot going on in the menopause and HRT world and I think, you know, there needs to be a whole lot more, not just, as I mentioned, not just about hormone therapy, but there are hopefully many other different types of therapies that will be coming out that will be available for women. So I'm excited about that but also the knowledge and understanding of what to be aware of during these years and increase risk, and it's really important to work with preventatively. Involved is all the weight medication. You know people are very, you know, excited to get their hands on one of them. So I have two ways of describing it.
Speaker 2:One is you know there is a concern that they may not be used, you know appropriately, and you know used. You know appropriately, and you know people may not be doing all the right things while they're on these medications, but in a positive way. I do think that you know we have a tool to combat obesity and being overweight, but, more importantly, I do think that that these medications have a positive benefit in many, many ways that we're seeing heartways and, you know, cognitively. So I'm excited to see what unfolds. As you know, these medicines, you know, continue to evolve.
Speaker 1:I go back and forth on the products for obesity.
Speaker 1:Well, and not so much products for obesity.
Speaker 1:I personally, like, I've struggled with my weight my entire life, so I have really done a lot of research on, like you know, the best path forward and what concerned me this year when um, I was concerned this year in January when Ozempic became like the big topic and everybody was jumping on this bandwagon and it worried me because of the.
Speaker 1:I got worried about it because of the possibility for women to overuse the product, especially for women who, I'm like, if they're not pre-diabetic and they're just looking to lose like 10 or 15 pounds, and you know what does this mean for you long-term? Because my thought there was you're taking a product that technically is not indicated for you. And if you're over, you know overdoing it with taking the product because you're trying to rush your weight loss, what, what potentially would that mean for you in five to 10 years? Because our we only have this one body and I never thought of it before, but now I think about it and I'm like everything I do now today is going to affect what's going to happen to me in five or 10 years.
Speaker 2:No, you're right, you know one thing about these medicines is they have been out for two decades now.
Speaker 2:So we you know, we do know, you know some of the long term, you know effects of the medications, but more of a concern for me is, you know, sometimes, the psychological aspects of why women want to use it. I'll have patients who call me. They're like I need to fit into this dress and I need to lose 10 pounds, and I'm like that's not a reason though to use this medication, to use this medication, and, you know, if I don't prescribe it, someone else will right. But yeah, I do get concerned about the mental health aspects of this, of these medications and the abuse.
Speaker 1:Frankly, yeah, yeah, and I will say this I mean I know, I actually know quite a few other moms who I mean, actually majority of them had. I mean, they were morbidly obese, they had the pre-diabetes cleared. So there was there was a larger reason there, because, I mean, I know me personally. After I had my all my kids, I was pregnant in 2016,. Pregnant in 2017. So my body really took a beating during the pregnancies. I was not one of those glowing moms, dr Soma. I was not. I was not, you know. You see, the mothers that are like really leading into pregnancy, that wasn't me, me. I suffered a bit and I, with my twin pregnancy, I gained a significant amount of weight and post the pregnancy, I was like, oh great, I'm not pregnant anymore, I'm not going to have any more kids, it's going to just fall off, it will be fine.
Speaker 1:And two years later, I was still at my heaviest and mentally, for me, I couldn't live like that. I was having pain in my joints, I was having pain in my back, I couldn't really move around, and then for me it was becoming an issue with depression, where I didn't want to leave the house anymore and I was uncomfortable going outside because I was embarrassed. I was at a point where I didn't want to leave the house anymore and I was uncomfortable going outside because I was embarrassed. I was at a point where I remember my husband and I were at the grocery store and kids little children will just say stuff and this little it was like a little two-year-old was in the cart with its mother and they rolled by and I don't know what the little kids said, but they said something in reference to me being obese and the mom was like mortified and really, like you know, jetted out of there. And I just remember thinking to myself like my God, I'm at a point where, you know, young kids are like making fun of me and if you're listening to this and you're like Jenny, that's not that big of a deal. But for me I was like I'm at this point where I am so uncomfortable in my own skin that I don't feel like I'm myself. And so for women who are in these situations where you are really obese and you really need to seek out help, I am a huge advocate of that, because the health issues related to obesity are astronomical. You're saving your life when you do lose weight in the appropriate way.
Speaker 1:So now, like flash forward I don't know how many years I've been I had to work with a nutritionist to re-educate myself because I had totally skewed views of diet, Like there was a lot that I had to go through to be able to shed the weight, to get to a healthier spot, and so that I don't want to take away from anybody. If you're really looking for support, go and get that support. I did like there was no way I was going to be able to stay like that, but it's also because you need to be healthy. You know, and, dr Soma, like I think you were sitting, you're, you're getting there too is that like it's not to shed five pounds? These, these medications are not like, oh, I need to fit into this dress or I need to have a flat stomach for the summer. This is for people that really need the support to be able to get their life back together right, exactly, and you know that.
Speaker 2:that's that's what concerns me, that that you know we're already living in this world where we're expected to look a certain way. I'm not necessarily one of those physicians whose goal is always to get your BMI under 25. I feel we need a totally different metric when it comes to a healthy weight, and I think those changes will be happening.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, there are times when I see these medicines being abused and it makes me concerned about the mental and physical aspects of health, because every medicine has certain risks and people who use these medicines. They need to have a very detailed discussion with their doctors about the risks and benefits. But there are times when side effects happen, so you have to weigh those risks and benefits and wanting to lose five to 10 pounds to get into a dress, for me at least, does not equal starting the medication.
Speaker 1:Right, right, yes, absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree, because it's a whole different ball of wax when you have a significant amount of weight to lose, versus five or 10 pounds which could be done in a much healthier way. You know five or 10 pounds which could be done in a much healthier way, and that's another thing that, like I think, when you have children, is giving them leading by example and giving them that example of you know it's okay to want to change. You know something of yourself, like my kids know that mommy, mommy does intermittent fasting. They don't know that mommy does intermittent fasting. They don't know that phrase, but they know mommy doesn't eat after six o'clock.
Speaker 1:And I always say to them like nope, it's because I don't like to eat at night, because that your body needs to rest at night, and I give them the spiel to the best of their understanding, but it's giving them the education and the perception of well, I'm just trying to be healthy. It's not so much about like I'm just trying to be healthy. It's not so much about like, oh, mommy has to be skinny. And so I'm very clear with them that, like, mommy is who she is, this is okay. Like I am who I am and I'm just being healthy and let's go on a hike, let's go do that. And making them understand that part is really important because even though my girls are only seven, they're already getting affected by the images that they see out there. And you know there have been discussions already with them about like well, if they don't like how they look or they were comparing themselves to their friends, I'm like wow, it's already happening at seven years old.
Speaker 2:It's the craziest thing to observe and then have to try to navigate with them through which is scary to me because I know, you know, I'm not perfect at it, but yeah, they do. They do watch us, and so you know we do serve as role models for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, it's very interesting and it's all. It is a little bit scary because I see things that they do that I'm like, oh my gosh, they got that from me. Like they hear my son I mean I've worked from home for their whole lives and so they've heard me on conference calls. They hear me debating, they hear me doing things, they hear me podcasting they all are very aware that mommy podcasts and then I hear my son when he negotiates with people and I'm like, oh my God, oh he sounds just like me For one, that he negotiates and then that you will negotiate too, because that's the other part, women we accept things too readily.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, absolutely, and it's, you're right. It's very interesting, Cause when he wants something, he um, he makes it happen. It's very, it's very funny and you're right, and I do see it already in my daughters will, where they will back off, and I actually have said to them like I'll pull them to the side. I'm like you know you don't have to do that and I make sure that they understand. Like it's okay that you did it now and I understand why you did it, but just so you know you don't have to act like that. And I like make it a point. I'm like they need to know that this is not something that needs to be part of them as they get older. So I'm trying to disrupt it a little bit now so that in the future they have a better path.
Speaker 1:Dr Soma, I've had such a wonderful time chatting with you and I feel like we covered so many topics. I greatly appreciate you coming on to the podcast and joining us for this season. It's been really fabulous and I hope you enjoyed the recording. Oh, thank you so much, Jenny.
Speaker 2:It was a real pleasure talking with you and thank you so much for inviting me.
Speaker 1:Of course, and listeners, I hope you enjoyed the discussion. I'm going to link Dr Soma's information in the podcast description so you can check out her podcast. I really really highly strongly encourage everybody to do that, and then I'll have her links in the description so you guys can check her out and engage with her. Until next time, take care everybody.
