https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/sqamxw/hirschfinal_-_1_9_23_455_PM9ennc.mp3
EPISODE SUMMARY:
As the Chief of Clinical Quality at Midi Health, the first virtual clinic designed to cater to the needs of midlife women, Dr. Heather Hirsch is an expert in women’s health, including menopausal hormone therapy, gynecology, breast health, and more. In today’s episode, we sat down with Dr. Hirsch to discuss social media, menopause treatments, the virtual clinic Midi, and the inspiration behind Dr. Hirsch’s upcoming book, Unlock Your Menopause Type.
First, we asked Dr. Hirsch about the positive impact her social media presence has had on menopause awareness. She told us how she first joined Instagram in 2016 as a way to help spread important information on menopause. While it took time to grow her audience, she’s grateful for the midlife community social media has brought her. Through her platform, Dr. Hirsch is able to engage with others and discover what aspects of menopause women want to know more about. In her direct messages, some of the most commonly asked questions Dr. Hirsch gets are about symptoms. Due to a lack of information and misdiagnoses, menopausal women come to her seeking help on whether or not specific symptoms they’re experiencing are normal or indicative of menopause. Patients also come to her seeking answers about menopausal treatments. When asked about the most common treatment plans, Dr. Hirsch said that most of the women she sees were prescribed antidepressants by previous doctors as a way to treat their menopause symptoms. While antidepressants are a common form of treatment, the only menopause treatment that is FDA approved to prevent and relieve menopause symptoms is hormone replacement therapy. Antidepressants are often used when menopausal symptoms are misdiagnosed as anxiety.
Dr. Hirsch is the Chief of Clinical Quality at Midi Health, which is the first virtual clinic designed to help treat midlife women. Dr. Hirsch discussed how through her position, she is in charge of the quality of clinical guidance given at Midi. She helps train nurse practitioners and clinicians, develop protocols, and sees patients of her own. Midi accepts both cash payments and insurance, which helps make it accessible to more women nationwide. As a menopause expert, Dr. Hirsch knows a lot when it comes to menopause treatments. We asked her to help explain the differences between them, and she explained how one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding menopausal treatments is the term “bioidentical”. “Bioidentical” is not actually a real medical term; it is a made up slang word used for marketing. For menopause treatments, “bioidentical” is equivalent to estradiol, which is a more plant-based estrogen chemically similar to what the body produces. Another misconception Dr. Hirsch addressed is Premarin. Many people believe Premarin is dangerous. However, much of the information out there surrounding the dangers of Premarin is not based on any evidence. Dr. Hirsch even had a client come to her saying how she was on Premarin and was seeing great results but was afraid to continue due to what peers had told her about the product, portraying how the spreading of misinformation surrounding menopausal treatments can contribute to unwarranted concerns and fears.
Ozempic, a drug used for weight loss, has become a controversial topic in the media. Many celebrities have apparently been taking the product to lose weight despite not actually needing it. When asked her opinion, Dr. Hirsch said that Ozempic is used in cases when a woman is clinically obese or is struggling to lose weight on her own. Weight loss is a complex issue, and when used properly, Ozempic can be a helpful tool. However, many people see the use of Ozempic as unnecessary medical intervention. For Dr. Hirsch, every patient is different, and their treatment depends on the patient history, their situation, and their relationship with their doctor. Ozempic can also be used to treat diabetes, though there is no data shown suggesting the drug is effective in preventing diabetes from occurring. However, there is evidence showing that hormone replacement therapy reduces the chances of a diabetes diagnosis. Some side effects of Ozempic are nausea, lightheadedness, and dizziness, and because of this, doctors will prescribe the lowest dose to patients for the first month of taking the medication. We also asked Dr. Hirsch about her hopes while working for Midi, and she told us that she strives to create a space where women feel they have access to a non-judgmental, knowledgeable, evidence-based doctor to help guide them in the right direction for their menopause treatment.
Finally, we spoke to Dr. Hirsch about her upcoming book, Unlock Your Menopause Type. Her inspiration for the book came from a decade of seeing her own menopausal clients and noting similar patterns between them. She realized she could use a book as a way to help tailor treatments and lifestyles based on the different types of menopause symptoms she was seeing in patients. Her book discusses six menopause types: premature menopause, sudden menopause, full throttle menopause, mind and mood menopause, lingering menopause, and silent menopause. With each menopause type, Dr. Hirsch discusses the causes and how to treat it using HRTs, lifestyle changes, supplements, and more. Unlock Your Menopause Type is currently available for preorder and will be available in June 2023.
Dr. Heather Hirsch
Dr. Heather Hirsch is the Chief of Clinical Quality at Midi Health, the first virtual clinic designed to meet the unique needs of women in midlife. After completing residency at Case Western Reserve University Hospital, she began a two-year clinical women’s health specialty fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Her Training focused on menopausal hormonal therapy consultations, abnormal uterine bleeding, osteoporosis, breast health, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, endocrinology, preventive cardiology, and general office-based gynecology.
In this episode, we discuss…
- [0:01] ThePerfect3
- [2:03] Guest Introduction
- [5:02] Start of Interview
- [6:27] Dr. Hirsch’s Social Media Presence
- [9:48] Common Menopause Treatments
- [11:40] Midi
- [15:44] Different Menopause Treatments
- [22:52] Ozempic
- [31:09] Dr. Hirsch’s Hope for Midi
- [32:15] The Inspiration Behind Unlock Your Menopause Type
- [35:52] Closing Thoughts
- [36:17] Outro
Useful Resources:
Heather’s Website I [https://www.heatherhirschmd.com/]
Heather’s LinkedIn I [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-hirsch-md-ms-ncmp-161556168/]
Heather’s Facebook I [
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Heather’s Instagram I [https://www.instagram.com/heatherhirschmd/?hl=en]
Heather’s Twitter I [https://twitter.com/heatherhirschmd]
Heather’s YouTube Channel I [
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Heather’s Podcast
Health By Heather Hirsch I [
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Heather’s Book Available for Preorder
Unlock Your Menopause Type I [https://www.amazon.com/Unlock-Your-Menopause-Type-Personalized/dp/1250850827]
TRY THEPEREFCT3’S PURE COLLAGEN AND GET 10% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER AT https://theperfect3.com/ !
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Mail I [[email protected]]
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YouTube I [https://www.youtube.com/@HotFlashesCoolTopics]
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