Being Menowashed?

Profit before people, everywhere.

When I got a personal email from a well known sex toy company, (hint- Love and the stuff that bee’s make) full of highly dodgy claims, telling me that their fresh to the market, clitoral stimulator is going to remedy all the menopause symptoms. Whaat? Show me the Pub Med research on that if you will? (and not the one you funded, and gave out free sex toys to the ten participants- I made that bit up, call me cynical, I am.)

Don’t be thinking I am a prude tho, I’m extremely positive about enjoying the good things in life, especially the sexy ones. And if you have a collection of sex toys that you are having fun with, fill your boots my loves! This post is about being wary of false claims.

Because it’s Easter and no one wants a picture of a sex toy.

Now don’t get me wrong, giving yourself some ‘me time’ is always a good idea. Free fun is the way to go. Sex starts in the brain for women, there is a school of thought that says if you don’t use it you loose it, (likely) and if you can be bothered, or get the urge, go for it as soon as possible! Of course the urge can be hard to find, as libido is often one of the first things to lessen in perimenopause, but is a very necessary precursor to any kind of sexy time of course. For many women struggling with genito-urinary symptoms of menopause, sex is painful, which may make the use of a hard piece of vibrating and or sucking plastic a terrible idea. (topical estrogen every time btw, safe, easily available, works..) What we don’t need is marketeers, selling future landfill as a cure all. Don’t be lying!

Supplements

So many of the supplements that are being sold to women as the cure they need for hair loss, weight gain, low libido, etc etc, do not contain a therapeutic dose of the adaptogen/ vitamin or mineral to make a difference. They often contain lots of good things, but in such small amounts I can not see how they would work, it’d have to be in a pill too large to swallow, a bit like the claims on the bottle. BTW a therapeutic dose is the amount shown to produce results.

Lets use Maca for an example: The root of a plant grown in Peru, full of magical qualities, a great antioxidant too. It is best to start with a small amount, a teaspoon for instance, as some women find it really stimulating, see how that goes then work up to half a tablespoon- which is what I have. Great for energy, and libido, said to help balance estrogen, and help with testosterone (adaptogenic means it adapts to what you need). This is in many of the mixes I see marketed as ‘all you need to feel amazing in perimenopause’ but the quantity is always very small.

Then there are the sheets, pyjamas, underwear, tea, you name it, they are all jumping on the trend. It’s all expensive and tbh, in my view you are better off getting a really good understanding of what is driving symptoms, and then adapting things to help. I work with women 1-1 to do just this, using lifestyle, nutrition, stress management, we work together to boost energy, mood and sleep and in turn minimise symptoms, with or without HRT.

If this feels like you right now, Book a call to find out more!

Back to the sex toy debacle

The fact that this company is selling a bit of kit, that may well give you an orgasm super quickly (not always the best in my view) and saying it will result in less hot sweats, blows my mind! Less inflammation will result in less hot sweats, better stress management, nervous system regulation, low sugar, no alcohol, tackling insulin resistance- now we are talking. A therapeutic dose of Maca might help too, and help with your libido!

Which is another thing, many/most women feel less horny as they go through menopause, that is ok! Sleep can be so much less satisfying, life can ramp up with caring for elders, children, working- with brain fog, anxiety etc etc. Of course libido goes out of the window. Women need the right conditions, something or someone has to ‘float our boat’ before we feel frisky, am I right?

So don’t be telling me that my menopause symptoms will magically disappear if only I splash more cash on some more plastic. The commercialisation of every thing for crying out loud.

What are your thoughts on this? Hit reply or leave me a comment below.

You may have noticed that I have been AWOL of late, I am now sending this out once a month, as I do spend time on these and I need to get my business act together, so I have been doing some exciting stuff within my biz which needs my focus. Going forward I will be posting monthly. I know we all need less to do, and -quality over quantity!

I have also made a new, really useful freebie as a thank you to my wonderful ‘In it Together’ members. My new symptom checker will show you what your hormone levels are right now, and as it is a PDF, into the future too. It is yours to keep! Included in the welcome email which arrives in your inbox when you subscribe. When you become a member you also get to join the monthly ask me anything sessions, get access to my quarterly menopause masterclasses, and we can talk in the members only chat on the substack app! All for just £7.00 a month. What are you waiting for?