Emmenology (MENOPAUSE & PERIMENOPAUSE) Part 1 with Dr. Monica Christmas, Dr. Mary Claire Haver and Dr. Lara Durgavich
Hormones. Mood swings. Brain fog. Night sweats. And why doesn’t your shoulder work? The time is here for this whopper of a 3-part series on menopause with a total of five Ologists. No matter what your age or gender, you owe it to the people in your life who go through this to understand it. Brilliant and charming Dr. Mary Claire Haver is an OB-GYN who wrote bestsellers “The New Menopause” and the just-released “The New Perimenopause” and hosts the podcast unPAUSED. The wonderful and warm Dr. Monica Christmas is a professor and clinician with decades of experience in menopause treatment, and repeat guest Dr. Lara Durgavich is a primatologist who has some answers about why our species goes through “the change.”
Part 2 covers what to DO about symptoms of menopause, from vagina creams to hormone replacement therapy to libido to brain clarity and the importance of lifting heavy stuff.
And finally, Part 3 has advice for loved ones to help support people in their lives who are sailing the stormy seas of hormonal change.
Listen via Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Ad-free episodes available by subscribing to SiriusXM Podcasts+. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
Browse Dr. Christmas’s papers on ResearchGate and follow her on Instagram
Visit Dr. Haver’s website and follow her on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Substack
Buy Dr. Haver’s books, The New Menopause and The New Perimenopause
Follow Dr. Durgavich on Bluesky
Donations went to the Center for Food Equity in Medicine and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Links to things we discussed:
Frozen Shoulder - American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Frozen shoulder: Diagnosis and treatment of adhesive capsulitis - The American Journal of Medicine
Frozen Shoulder: Causes, Symptoms, and the Link with Menopause | Brown University Health
Hormone Therapy Appears to Reduce Risk of Shoulder Pain in Older Women | Duke Health
Characterization of reproductive hormonal dynamics in the perimenopause - PubMed
Perimenopause: The Zone of Chaos - YouTube
Menopause basics | Office on Women's Health
Menopause Fact Sheet - World Health Organization
Myths and facts about perimenopause and fertility — Clearblue®
Pregnancy still possible during perimenopause | UCLA Health
Can You Get Pregnant During Perimenopause?
Births in the United States, 2024
Advanced maternal age - Wikipedia
List of oldest mothers - Wikipedia
UK woman, 59, world's oldest natural mother
Oldest mother to conceive naturally | Guinness World Records
National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 74, Number 3, March 6, 2025
How Many Eggs Do You Have? At Birth, Age 30, 40, More
Diminished Ovarian Reserve: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Duration of Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms Over the Menopause Transition - PMC
Hot Flashes| The Menopause Society
75% of people experience hot flashes during menopause, fewer than 50% get treatment. | UCLA Health
What Are Vasomotor Symptoms (Hot Flashes)? - Menopause
Understanding brain fog and menopause | UT Physicians
Is Hormone Replacement Therapy a Risk Factor or a Therapeutic Option for Alzheimer’s Disease? - PMC
The impact of estradiol on serotonin, glutamate, and dopamine systems
Understanding brain fog and menopause | UT Physicians
Brain fog - The Menopause Charity
Why am I gaining weight so fast during menopause? And will hormone therapy help? - UChicago Medicine
Neurobiological Underpinnings of the Estrogen – Mood Relationship - PMC
Postmenopause: Signs, Symptoms & What To Expect
What Is the Link Between FSH Levels and Menopause?
Menopause | Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness
Sex-Based Differences in Odds of Motor Vehicle Crash Injury Outcomes
Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies
Overview of the National Institutes of Health Investment in Women’s Health Research
Total NIH Budget Authority: FY 2024 Operating Plan
Menopause occurs late in life in the captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) - PMC
Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees | Science
Menopause in Nonhuman Primates? - PMC
The evolution of menopause in toothed whales | Nature
Sumatran Orangutan Merah | Saint Louis Zoo
Baby orangutan pictures! L.A. Zoo welcomes new addition - Los Angeles Times
56-year-old chimp gives birth at zoo in Kansas
Grandmother hypothesis - Wikipedia
Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: A review of findings and future directions
The Grandmother Effect: Implications for Studies on Aging and Cognition - PMC
Granny killer whales pass along wisdom—and extra fish—to their grandchildren | Science
Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Neuroendocrinology (SEX & GENDER)
Biological Anthropology (SEXY APES)
Evolutionary Anthropology (METABOLISM)
Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD)
Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS)
FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery
Ologies info:
400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!
Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky
Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok
Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
