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THE WEEKLY PULSE

  • Jul 23
  • 6 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

With Janine Rotter, Women's Health Coach
With Janine Rotter, Women's Health Coach

This week: Hormone plot twists, gut glow-ups,

and the estrogen therapy shift no one’s talking about...


The first Weekly Pulse! I'm so excited to offer this to my circle of women who want to stay in the know... So here it goes!


My Period Gaslit Me (And Might Be Gaslighting You Too)


I was five months into the official 12-month countdown to menopause.

 

FIVE. FREAKING. MONTHS.

 

I had a candle ready. A Spotify playlist. I was this close to loving life without having to shop for organic tampons at Sprouts...

 

Then guess what showed up like a toxic ex who doesn’t understand boundaries?

 

Yep. Period. Back from the dead.

 

Those last few eggs saying, "Wait... don't leave me in here!"

 

Now, here’s where it gets interesting…

 

A month before, I switched from an estrogen troche to a patch. And let me tell you, the science behind this move is fascinating (and wildly under-shared). Turns out, the patch delivers a steady stream of estrogen directly through the skin, bypassing the liver and avoiding the rollercoaster hormone spikes that troches can cause. That means less stress on your nervous system, cleaner hormone signaling, and yes, sometimes it’s just enough of a shift to trigger a bleed.

For women like us, especially with sensitive detox systems (hello COMT gals), that switch can feel like flipping a breaker. Suddenly, the lights come back on.

 

Here’s the deal no one tells us: 

99.9% of us are not taught the logistics of menopause. Not in school. Not in practice (I even pulled out all my nutrition textbooks to make sure I didn't skip that section... nope! Maybe because MEN wrote them🤔). Twelve years ago, my middle-aged clients would come to me, stuck.. and I'd just tell them it's their diet. "Eat more protein/fat, less carbs. You'll get there." Cring....

 

Hell, even when I was growing up, I never heard the word. I did hear about men and their 'mid-life crisis', but what we as women go through... crickets. Even when I landed myself in my gyno's office over 15 years ago with depression and zero testosterone, he never mentioned it... he just sent me out the door with a prescription for Prozac! Or

how about the male 'hormone specialist' who put me on testosterone shortly after gaining 20 pounds on the Prozac, and me saying, "ENOUGH, there has got to be a better way!" And it was, the testosterone totally saved sanity.... and my marriage. Giving him credit, my estrogen/progesterone levels back then were stellar.

 

NO ONE. EVER. Mentioned that BIG word "MENOPAUSE."

 

My god, this is the stuff we need to talk about, loudly, honestly, and way earlier than we think. We need to yell this off the rooftops so my 30-year-old daughter and all of her friends, and their friends, can hear this shit!

 

This is the stuff we need to talk about, loudly, honestly, and way earlier than we think. Because you’re not crazy. You’re cycling. And it matters.

 

I dive deeper into this topic, keep reading...

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The Gut-Estrogen-Glucose Triangle (WTF, Right?)


Let me introduce you to my new gut buddy:

 

Akkermansia muciniphila. (Say it with me now: "ACK-er-MAN-see-uh.")

 

I started taking Pendulum Akkermansia PRO, and no, I’m not an affiliate. I’m just curious, cautious, and desperate for answers like you. And it's promoted for perimenopause and menopause, for when estrogen levels start declining.

 

All of my hormones tanked during my mold detox... so we upped my estrogen patch a month ago, and while the night sweats stopped immediately, here came 10 very unwanted pounds and a lot of bloating! Yes, this is a side effect of hormonal fluctuations, and now my body is adjusting to yet another level of normal.

 

And the difference?

🔥Flatter belly

🔥Less bloating

... still only a few weeks in, but my stomach does feel much happier. WIN!!

 

I’m also tracking my glucose with a Dexcom G7 monitor. And what an eye opener...

 

It's truly addictive to watch this monitor go up and down. What's spiking my blood sugar, and what's making me crash? I've always felt like I had low blood sugar, since I had all the symptoms, so I love to see if those correlate. I just ordered my second month's supply through Stelo, no prescription necessary; so that's awesome.

 

This isn’t just about abs. And this is why.

 

Estrogen loss affects your microbiome. And your microbiome affects your insulin. And your insulin affects EVERYTHING. So yeah... It’s all connected. And if you're like me and don't want to jump to a GLP-1 for a quick fix, but instead want to learn exactly what your body is doing and how to manage these waves naturally, this is a must.


ree

FDA + Vaginal Estrogen = Progress??


Speaking of women getting LOUD!

 

This week, the FDA dropped a major update...

Their expert panel wants to remove the black-box warnings on low-dose vaginal estrogen.

 

They’re finally acknowledging what research has said for years: estrogen therapy can protect the heart, preserve bones, and improve quality of life.

Side note: I've been using vaginal estradiol cream on my face at least three times a week for 18 months... with GREAT results!

 

Back to the news.. of course, there’s backlash. Critics say the panel was biased and overlooked key risks. But either way, change is coming. Hopefully, this will open the door for new unbiased case studies with women who are actually in the pre- and perimenopause age range.

 

Because here's what was missed in their study: Most women in the study were well past menopause (average age 63), meaning the data didn’t reflect effects on women in their 40s or early 50s who might begin HT earlier. I know a beautiful soul who is 30 and is in menopause. What about her? No more hormones...'Just ride this wave alone, and good luck with that.' ?!?!?! No wonder peri and menopausal women are up to 7 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, and suicide rates peak for women aged 45 to 54, making this hormonal transition not just emotional, but life-threatening for too many.

 

Later analyses showed that age and timing matter; younger women closer to menopause may benefit from hormone therapy with a lower risk.

The system is finally catching up to what our bodies have known all along. All I have to say is that if this were for men... it would've been FDA approved yesterday, as testosterone is only approved for men.


ree

The MAHA Movement Is Loud (And Messy)


Now… let’s talk about the MAHA movement. And buckle up, because this week? It got LOUD.

 

RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign is gaining momentum and controversy.

 

Teen influencers on TikTok are spreading crunchy health messages tied to the movement. Some are helpful. Some… are spreading misinformation while posing as experts.

 

Behind the scenes, RFK’s PAC held a big organizing Zoom, hinting at a 2028 run.

And inside the Department of Health? Staffers are BAILING OUT over internal power struggles.

 

Oh, and just to spice things up, RFK shared the stage with Tony Robbins... and Russell Brand. Yep. That happened. Three of my top favorite people on one stage!

 

Movements need momentum, but they also need integrity. Do your research. And don't just put a lame ass prompt into ChatGPT and think it's true... Lazy prompts get you lazy answers. You might as well just use Google if you don't know how to use ChatGPT.

 

... Oh boy, that is another newsletter, probably one worthy of diving into!


This Week’s Sacred-Fire Action List 🔥
This Week’s Sacred-Fire Action List 🔥

Alright, so what do we do with all this?

 

Here’s your sacred-fire action list for the week:

 

✅ One: Track your cycle. Start now, even if it’s irregular. Regardless of your age, ladies, if you're thirty and above, TRACK!

 

✅ Two: Check in with your gut. Try fermented foods (those make mine worse, so tune in when you ingest those) or ask your provider about probiotics.

 

✅ Three: Experiment with glucose tracking. Dexcom is changing the game for me.

 

✅ Four: Stay informed on MAHA, but keep your bullshit radar turned ON.

 

✅ Five: Talk about perimenopause. Loud. Proud. And often.



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That’s your Weekly Pulse, beautiful.

 

Estrogen... gut bugs... glucose curves... political chaos, it’s all here, and it’s all sacred.

If this hit home, share it. Respond back. Let me know if this is news you are interested in weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly.

 

We’re building something here, and it’s fierce.

 

Next, I’m diving into food-dye bans... why I think artificial sweeteners are going to be next... hormone therapy updates... and whatever juicy topic might take us by storm...

 

Stay clear.

Stay sacred.

I love you.


ree







For My Fellow Research Rabbitholers + Proof I’m Not Just Making This Shit Up🤓

 


 
 
 

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