Wellness In Every Season

Episode 158: Functional Medicine and Hormones

• Autumn Carter/ Vanda Aubrey • Season 1 • Episode 158

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When your body’s signals feel loud but the answers feel out of reach, this conversation brings light to the fog. In Episode 158, Autumn sits down with Functional Medicine Nurse and Board Certified Nurse Coach Vanda Aubrey to unpack what’s really going on with hormones—from irregular cycles and draining PMS to the confusing shifts of perimenopause.


Vanda shares the personal journey that led her into functional medicine and the practical, compassionate framework she now uses with clients. You’ll hear how timeline-based care, mineral balance, and stress mapping can change the story, why “common” doesn’t always mean “normal,” and how tests like HTMA and, when appropriate, DUTCH can replace guesswork with clarity. We explore real before-and-afters, the power of cycle-synced nutrition, and what to prioritize if you’re feeling off but don’t know where to start.


If you’re ready to dig deeper, Vanda offers a 12-week one-on-one program, a Quick Start Hormone Audit, and a cycle-synced meal plan with her “Get to Know Aunt Flo” mini class. HSA/FSA payments are supported. Connect with her at wellnesswithvanda.com and on Instagram at @wellness.with.vanda, where you can grab her free Hormones 101 Secret Podcast via the link in her bio. For coaching and on-demand programs from Autumn, visit wellnessineveryseason.com.



For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Episode 158: Functional Medicine and Hormones

[00:00:00] Autumn Carter: This is episode 1 58. We are going to be talking about functional medicine and hormones .

[00:00:09] Welcome to Wellness In Every Season, the podcast where we explore the rich tapestry of wellness in all of its forms. I'm your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach, turn wellness coach, as well as a certified parenting coach dedicated to empowering others to rediscover their identity in their current season of life.

[00:00:28] My goal is to help you thrive, both as an individual and as a parent.

[00:00:32] Thank you for joining me today. I have vanda Aubrey and she and I have been circling each other for a couple years now. She also is in the wellness space and I am just Vanda.

[00:00:45] I'm so grateful you're here and I loved one of your episodes came out about hormones, and I begged you to talk about this. Because so many people are asking me questions about hormones. I'm of that age where I'm asking questions [00:01:00] too, and I don't feel like there is enough of the right information out.

[00:01:05] And knowing that you are a functional medicine nurse, I am just so excited to talk about this with you. Can you tell us more about you and why you are also a functional medicine nurse and then you are in the wellness industry as your own business?

[00:01:27] And then we will dive in from there. 

[00:01:29] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to get to meet you face to face today and get to chat a little more. 'cause we've always just been chatting on socials and in email and different things, so this is very exciting. Like you said, I am a functional medicine nurse and a lot of people don't know what that means, and sometimes I struggle to know what that means.

[00:01:49] I have been a nurse, just a regular registered nurse for a little over 11 years. We'll be coming up on 12 years. Not that long from now. And when I was. [00:02:00] Probably six years ago now, seven years ago. It was right before me and my husband got married. We'll be married for seven years in April. So about seven years ago I decided that I was done being on birth control.

[00:02:12] I was having a lot of side effects, random breakthrough, bleeding, migraines that were just absolutely debilitating, and we finally tied it back to one of the big. Issues being my birth control. So I stopped the birth control, decided one day I'm done with this, and I stopped cold Turkey, which knowing all the things that I know now, I wouldn't recommend for anybody to do.

[00:02:32] But anyway, that's how we got here. And when that happened, I lost my cycle for almost, it ended up being almost 10 months in total. But initially when it happened in those first one month went by, I wasn't too worried. Two months went by and I was like, eh. Maybe that's normal. That third month came and I didn't have a period and I was freaking out and I called my O-B-G-Y-N that I had been seeing for a long time.

[00:02:59] [00:03:00] Made an appointment, went in and they were so dismissive, honestly, of my concern that I wasn't having a cycle. And my mom had struggled with some fertility issues and thankfully was able to have me and my brother, but that had always been in the back of my mind that. I was worried that because she had struggled, I would also struggle and I had always wanted kids.

[00:03:23] And even though I wasn't at that point, I just knew. And from my nursing education, I knew that I should be having a cycle every month. Women are meant that's what we're meant to do and I felt like it was not normal. Again, just got dismissed and only solution for me was if you wanna have a bleed every month, then go back.

[00:03:42] On the birth control and I was like no, low dose birth 

[00:03:45] Autumn Carter: control. 

[00:03:46] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. I was like, no, that just doesn't sit well with me. I'll keep waiting it out. Thank you. Couple more months go by. I make another appointment. I go in kind of the same result. At that point, they give me medicine to try to induce a period.

[00:03:59] [00:04:00] It still doesn't work. Still their only option for me is birth control. And at this point I'm like, okay, I'm clearly gonna have to like figure this out through another avenue. And I just started doing my own research and you know, I feel like in today's times, I don't know if it really has shifted or if I am just more aware of it now, but I feel like there's a lot more information.

[00:04:23] Out there on the internet, on Instagram, on socials about this type of thing. But back then there really wasn't. So I was just at Google's mercy searching. Thankfully I did find some helpful blogs and podcasts and I found, Dr. Jolene Brighton and all of that introduced me to functional medicine and I was like, I have got to learn more about this.

[00:04:45] And not even just for myself, but the functional medicine. Perspective on health and wellness and medicine was very different from what I was seeing in my everyday [00:05:00] job at the hospital, at the bedside, taking care of patients. And what I had been brought up in nursing school taught was like how we approached health and wellness.

[00:05:10] It was totally different and so. Like I got my period back. Things kind of settled down for me personally. We got married, I had my first kiddo, and then my hormones were very wonky again in that postpartum period. And again, I found myself like really reaching for functional medicine, leaning into those principles so that I could get back to a place that I was more balanced.

[00:05:33] And there were so many women that were around me at the time. I was still working bedside at the hospital. And you get really close with the people that you work with and it's a primarily woman led field that I work in. So we talk about our periods and our cycles and what's going on with our bodies, and they would be like, tell me more about how you're fixing these things because I'm struggling with all of these symptoms and I'm not getting anywhere.

[00:05:57] Tell me what you did. And it was kind [00:06:00] of at that point that I was like, there's so much of this knowledge that's missing and things that as women, we really should have been taught about when we were. Probably in high school when we were starting to have our first menstrual cycle, and that that education piece is just missing.

[00:06:16] And then it's never given to us along the way in our twenties or thirties until we seek it out for ourselves. So that's kind of how we got here.

[00:06:26] Autumn Carter: Welcome. Are you craving moments that nourish both your soul and family amidst the blur of daily tasks? I understand that desire for a life that brings peace, balance, and joy, not just endless to-dos. That's why I created a range of programs that wellness and every season to help you transform daily routines into meaningful experiences.

[00:06:47] Recently, I've launched a variety of offerings designed for busy budget conscious individuals, some free and others starting at just $7. Many can be completed in a few minutes or hours while others [00:07:00] dive deeper into exploring your dreams, desires, and unique strengths. These programs focus on practical self-care, creating equity in your home, and building trust with yourself.

[00:07:10] Imagine stepping into your day with confidence and ease, feeling supported by a community on a similar path. Whether you're looking to reclaim time, pursue your dream job, or simplifying joy in the little moments, there's something here for you. All resources are available on demand at wellness and every season.com.

[00:07:31] You can also book private coaching sessions for more personalized support on your journey.

[00:07:35] I feel like now that I'm at the perimenopause stage, and I feel like that even with pregnancy, there were things that nobody told me about pregnancy and postpartum, like how your body responds when you're first nursing your baby because it's trying to suck everything back in.

[00:07:52] I would've liked to have known that before my body started doing that, and I'm going, what the heck is going On? 

[00:07:57] Okay. Thanks for the warning. [00:08:00] We don't have enough of that stuff and for me. I have sexual abuse in my childhood, so I started my period at nine years old.

[00:08:09] So maybe even starting in elementary school. Because by the time high school would've hit for me, a lot of that stuff would be like, yeah. Cool. I figured that out. Thanks. 

[00:08:18] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. Kids now are starting their period younger and younger, but even growing up, my best friend started her period when we were in fourth grade and I was like, we were super close.

[00:08:28] So I was aware of that. Like I remember my mom like sitting me down and talking to me about it and what it meant. And then I was late, I guess to start, I didn't start my period until I was over 16, so there was like this big gap of time where my best friend was going through all these things month after month, and I was just like.

[00:08:46] I don't know. I don't I didn't have any context yet. 

[00:08:51] Autumn Carter: Let's go back a little bit and can you define in your own words, you don't have to be a Webster's dictionary here. What is functional medicine? What is it and what isn't [00:09:00] it? 

[00:09:01] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: So I try to give people a more tangible example when I try to explain what functional medicine is, and I try to keep it a little visual so people can hopefully grasp it.

[00:09:12] Because I think calling it functional medicine sounds really intimidating, confusing. A lot of people don't know what it is. 

[00:09:17] Autumn Carter: Like how we function, I guess is probably where that word comes from, right? 

[00:09:21] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. So if we think of functional medicine, if you you're in a room, maybe you're in a kitchen and you have a sink that is overflowing and there's water getting all over the floor, and you're trying to mop up all the water that's on the floor.

[00:09:39] The functional medicine approach to that would be. Well, we're gonna unclog the sink and let the water drain down the sink where it's supposed to go, the way it's supposed to operate in the first place, instead of with traditional medicine, a lot of times we are slapping a bandaid on symptoms or we're throwing a pill at something to mop [00:10:00] up the water, when really if we just unclog the sink.

[00:10:04] The water could go where it's supposed to go and we wouldn't have water all over the floor. Does that make sense? 

[00:10:09] Autumn Carter: Yeah. There's so many times where we've gone, like with my dog, I was telling you about her a little bit earlier, let's get to the root cause. Let's not just throw a bunch of meds at it. Yes. We need to sedate her and help her pain management wise, but let's figure out what's actually going on.

[00:10:26] And that's what you were trying to do with your missed periods. I've been there with my health, so. many people have felt this way about traditional medicine. 

[00:10:36] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: I bring a unique perspective because I have worked traditional medicine and I still work in a traditional medicine sense, but I also bring the functional side of things and I think that there are providers that stand on the extremes of both sides, where it's like, no, everything needs to be functional.

[00:10:53] We don't need the conventional model at all. And then there's other people that think. The functional and holistic side of things is [00:11:00] just like witchcraft or something, and then it's nonsense and there's no value in it, and I get to stand in the middle of both of those and be like, you know what?

[00:11:07] There are absolutely times that we need truly medical intervention. And then there's other times where we need to take a step back from the medical intervention point of things and tune into our own bodies. And what is the real, like you said, what is the real root cause? What is the real driver of what's going on here?

[00:11:26] Because when we can get down to that, that's really where we make the most progress in helping someone to feel better, whether that's with their hormones or anything. 

[00:11:35] Autumn Carter: And I feel like with the function medicine side, totally correct me, is that you're looking at somebody individually a lot more than maybe traditional medicine does because there's so many things.

[00:11:48] We're women here, so let's just look at the diet culture for a second. Just take a peek. There are so many diets out there that it works for that person. Why won't it work for me? Because we have our [00:12:00] own unique needs, our own genetic makeup there. There's so much there, and it's the same thing with.

[00:12:08] Anything else that we look at, there's certain things that will work amazing for me that don't for my husband. Maybe it's the gender gap. Maybe it's because of the way generations back, they treated their bodies and you know how all of those nutrients come down to who we are today. Sometimes it's lifestyle factors or I hold my stress differently than this person does or different things like that.

[00:12:33] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Absolutely. in functional medicine, one of the biggest principles is taking the time to really listen to someone's history, their story, what their current symptoms are. And you know, we often take the time to create, a timeline of a person's health. And when you sit down with a functional practitioner to do that for the first time, a lot of people are so surprised because we sometimes even wanna go back [00:13:00] as far as.

[00:13:01] When you were born, how did you come into the world? Was it a cesarean delivery? Was it a vaginal delivery? Were you breastfed? Were you formula fed? Then walking through the rest of your life, you might be 40 years old and they're asking you this in an appointment. You're like, well, how does that tie to today?

[00:13:19] And it's really taking that. Bird's eye view at someone's whole history and their whole life to pull the pieces together of how we've gotten here today. I think that sometimes people think they don't give enough credit, I guess is what I'm trying to say every choice that we've made up to today has led us to where we are.

[00:13:40] You know, sometimes I think because we hear so much of a conventional medicine model, like, take this pill and get rid of this symptom, we expect everything to be like a quick fix. And we forget that we've spent 30 years getting to this point and it's not always a. [00:14:00] Overnight quick fix or a immediate obvious answer.

[00:14:04] Sometimes we have to spend a little time digging into the deep nitty gritty stuff. 

[00:14:09] Autumn Carter: I noticed that with somatics. I started with my somatics coach and I was just wanting relief and make it faster, and I've been that way with therapy. I'm that type. If something feels good, I'll lean into it until it doesn't feel quite right, and then I kind of, okay, does 

[00:14:25] it feel better here? And it's hard when nothing feels like it's fitting quite right. So I totally, I'm right There. 

[00:14:37] so tell us more about, you have a lot of offerings, so let's just start with that. What's going on in your world? And then let's go back to, the hormones part, just because I feel like right now is a good place to put this in because I know you have so many offerings that are related to this so that people, if they're ADHD like me, can start looking while they're [00:15:00] listening.

[00:15:01] Hi. I hope you are enjoying this show, and I just wanna take a quick minute to share with you two things that are going on in the background that I'm very excited to announce. The first one is that if you are interested in experiencing any of these healing modalities that the guests that I'm interviewing or that even I'm speaking on during my solo episodes.

[00:15:30] I'm now offering that chance, and let me show you how to get there.

[00:15:38] If you go to my website, you go to wellness and every season.com/listener. Wellness guest here. This is an automation that starts through my newsletter. Here you are putting in your first name and your email address and three different things that you are interested in, and you are welcome to explain a little bit more [00:16:00] after that, and then you hit apply right now.

[00:16:02] This is your chance to take something that feels just so out there and it sounds great if you work with that person and bringing this into, I have needs right now. How can I have them met? This sounds amazing what this person is talking about, but I wanna see this actually happen with one of my peers that has something similar.

[00:16:27] This is your opportunity to have that happen. So wellness center season.com/listener, wellness guest is how you get here. From here, there are three people chosen at random. There's the first guest. And if they say no or their scheduling doesn't work out, it goes to the second guest. Same thing, and then it goes to the third guest.

[00:16:48] It's randomized. Who's chosen? Do you want this? The second thing that I have to announce is that I'm now offering sponsorships. So this is so people can have ads like this [00:17:00] one in my podcast. They can also have ads in my newsletter. And there are very different tiers that you can be in for this. If you know a business that wants this, here's interest form for this and it's wellness season.com/podcast/podcast sponsor.

[00:17:20] And you can find this easily on my homepage too. So don't worry about getting that right. And the point of this is so you get deals from aligned wellness branded companies and so that I can offer sliding scale coaching. We all know people who need coaching so badly, who are so ready to put in the work, but they don't have the finances to go along with it for whatever reason in life.

[00:17:46] This allows me to offer more coaching to people in that category. By having people sponsor gets you deals, gets me the opportunity to work with more people who can't afford it. [00:18:00] So. Those are my two things and I'll let you get back to the show. Love you so much and happy healing and happy wellness.

[00:18:09] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Sure. Yeah, I do have different offerings, different ways that people can work with me because like you said, this is a very individualized experience. So my, main offer is to work with me one-on-one that runs for 12 weeks. We dig into functional testing there. Everybody gets an HTMA test.

[00:18:29] That's a hair tissue mineral analysis, and that lets me assess your mineral levels. And if we need to do any like heavy metal detoxing type of stuff, there's an optional add-on for Dutch testing, which is where we get the hormone levels and cortisol levels. It's optional because it's not the best fit for everyone.

[00:18:48] We have to be careful with how we time that test. So if we've got somebody on birth control, we don't wanna do that test just yet. If somebody's been breastfeeding and there's not been a certain period of [00:19:00] time go by, we don't wanna do that just yet. So I typically am having a conversation with someone whether they need that part of the testing or not.

[00:19:07] And then like I said, that runs for 12 weeks. We get into the nitty gritty of this is what your test. Show, this is what your unique body needs. This is where we're gonna focus our energy. And you have my support through those 12 weeks to, to tweak things, to get support, to have your questions answered.

[00:19:25] Then I have some kind of smaller offers. It's not really a course per se, it's a meal plan to help you start eating in sync with your cycle. I'm sure we'll talk about cycles in a little bit and some of the different phases, but there is certain meals and a meal plan to follow when you're in your luteal phase versus your follicular phase.

[00:19:49] With that comes a, recording of a class that I call get to know ant flow, and it's, that crash course we all wish we would've gotten when we were in. School at some point teaching us what [00:20:00] is the follicular phase, what is the luteal phase, how do I know what's normal during these times? And then I also offer a, quick start hormone audit.

[00:20:09] And what this is, it's a really detailed intake form that you fill out. Like you've already heard me talk about somebody's history and their story and their perception of their symptoms is one of the most important pieces of functional medicine. And so I take that information. And I record a video for you and say, these are like the three biggest things that are like sticking out to me that I would address right away.

[00:20:33] Sometimes that's diet pieces, sometimes it's sleep, sometimes it's stress, sometimes it's supplements. It's course different and personalized to everybody, but that is a quick way for somebody that's maybe not quite ready to do testing yet. Maybe just. They're unsure about it or financially they can't make that investment yet.

[00:20:55] It's a really great place to still be able to get some traction and get started. If you guys are [00:21:00] interested in any of those options you can always find those on my website 

[00:21:05] Autumn Carter: and website. Go ahead and list it Now. it's wellness with vanda.com. Perfect. And then do you work with men at all or is it just women?

[00:21:13] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: No, I don't work with men other than my husband and my sons. But no, I don't take men on as clients 

[00:21:20] Autumn Carter: Okay. Now, you know, but I'm sure you can contact her and she refer you.

[00:21:24] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: I have friends I can refer you to.

[00:21:26] Perfect. 

[00:21:27] Autumn Carter: And then I have somebody who I have been working with who. Has not been to a doctor for a while and she still needs this kind of help. What is your recommendation there? For me, I was just getting her started with, okay, let's find you a primary care physician. 

[00:21:44] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. I think it's important to still have a primary care on board.

[00:21:49] It's not a must, I wouldn't say like it's not something that I require of my clients that they have a primary care physician. There are. [00:22:00] Guardrails on what I can do with my licensure and my training. So there may be times in that type of case where somebody, if they haven't been to a primary care in a really long time, we might get to a point that I'm like I think you need a visit with a doctor.

[00:22:18] Because as I mentioned before, I definitely marry both pieces of functional, holistic, and conventional medicine. But I have a lot of this is not something that's you can't just go to my website and like purchase this, but I also have the ability to order lab work. So if somebody's just like, you know what?

[00:22:38] I'm young, I'm healthy. I don't want a primary care doctor, but I would like to get some labs that I would normally get if I was going for a visit. I just kind of like don't wanna have to pay for it twice. Then I can order labs and things for those clients of mine that are working with me one-on-one.

[00:22:53] Autumn Carter: Perfect. I don't feel like she's made progress in that field, so at least here, try this one instead. It might feel [00:23:00] easier, and I know there are a lot of people out there who have different types of neuro divergencies that don't feel like they are seen or heard or understood in the traditional field.

[00:23:11] So it's helpful to know that there are alternatives where they're still getting the care that they need. 

[00:23:16] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah, of course. 

[00:23:18] Autumn Carter: So here's a question that everybody's gonna ask you, so we'll just go ahead and throw it out there. 

[00:23:22] How does this work with insurance? Can you do HSA cards or FSA cards? And for those who don't know those acronyms, those are the health savings plans.

[00:23:32] Can you submit through insurance with the super bill 

[00:23:36] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: I can't do any insurance billing and I don't issue any super bills. But I do take HSA or FSA, on my website. Anybody like if you're listening to this and you go through to try to. Buy something with your HSA or FSA account and it denies you, please take the second to send me an email or an Instagram DM or something and say, Hey, I'm trying to purchase this, but my card won't go through.

[00:23:59] [00:24:00] Sometimes I need to give you an individualized link for that purchase because of the requirements on the backend of the company that your H-S-A-F-S-A is through. But I haven't had a client yet so far to use that and it not work. 

[00:24:15] Autumn Carter: Perfect. I know people will be asking, I've had people ask me about the insurance questions, so I figured I'd just throw that out there now.

[00:24:21] Absolutely. Thank you. So now that we have some of these things for people who are A DHD and wanna know it now, you know you're welcome. Let's dive in more with the hormones. 

[00:24:32] And can you tell us some stories of before and afters of people that you've worked with? 

[00:24:39] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Sure. So let's see. The first client that comes to mind was a younger client.

[00:24:44] She was. In her mid twenties and she, like me, had started her period around 16 and it had never been regular. She had been on various different forms of birth control because she really struggled with spotting and she would start a birth [00:25:00] control and things would be okay for a while, but then she would start spotting again.

[00:25:04] She was spotting almost every single day of the month. And that is number one, not normal, but number two, it's aggravating. You know, it's a frustration for a woman to have to be, you know, wearing pads, panty liners, worrying like, I wasn't spotting when I left the house this morning, but am I gonna start in the middle of my work day?

[00:25:19] You know? That's just frustrating. 

[00:25:21] Autumn Carter: Especially because they stick to your skin better than your underwear. The pads so annoying. 

[00:25:26] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. So when she came to me, she was just really frustrated because she felt like she wasn't getting answers about why that had happened. She had recently gotten married, was at a point that her and her husband had started trying to get pregnant.

[00:25:41] For several months weren't getting any luck. And she was being dismissed about that too because they had not been trying for over a year. And she was like, I understand like why they have that guideline in place. But she's I've been dealing with these same symptoms and irregularities since I was 16 years old.[00:26:00] 

[00:26:00] And she was almost 26 at this point. So it's 10 years basically. And she's I don't think that in a few more months, anything's gonna be any different. And they're basically like, stonewalling me on any further workup because I haven't been trying to get pregnant for over a year. And she was like, I just, I want answers.

[00:26:17] I want help in another way. We did HTMA testing and, we were going to do Dutch testing with her in about three months time. 'cause I wanted her to be off the birth control for a certain period of time before we did it because birth control shuts down your hormones. And if we're gonna invest in a Dutch test, I want our results to really be reflective of what your body is doing and what that communication between your ovaries and your brain.

[00:26:47] Has established and not been so affected by the birth control. But before we hit that three month mark, she got pregnant. We went from. It was about two months [00:27:00] that we worked together. She had two cycles and then she got pregnant on the third cycle. So that was fabulous.

[00:27:06] Like that's my favorite kind of success story to have, like what a blessing it is to get, to play a part in that portion of somebody's life. 

[00:27:16] Um, but you know, I have clients that come to me for so many different reasons you've mentioned that you're in the kind of peri menopause.

[00:27:23] Stage of life or getting into that. And that's another big knowledge gap that exists in our world because it's like these things just start happening to women in their late thirties, early forties, sometimes late forties, depending on who you are. And you're like, what is happening? And I'll be honest, I resisted working with perimenopausal clients for a long time because I was like, I am not at that stage of life yet, and I don't feel like I can relate to it yet because I haven't been through it.

[00:27:56] And I just kept having these women come to me and they're like, I'm [00:28:00] desperate for help because I feel terrible and I just cannot continue to deal with these symptoms all the time. And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna investigate, I'm gonna take some courses, I'm gonna do some further education to do the best I can do to support these women.

[00:28:14] Because I have friends that work specifically in menopause and perimenopause, but these women wanted to work with me specifically. And I'm like, I can learn this even though I haven't been through it yet. So, you know, a lot of women. Come to me in that perimenopause stage of life, dealing with a really slowed down metabolism.

[00:28:35] They're frustrated with their weight because they are either unable to lose weight or they are gaining weight, even though they're doing all the right things. They're starting to get more moodiness. They're starting to have hot flashes or night sweats. Their sleep is a struggle. Like they're waking up in the middle of the night, they can't go to sleep.

[00:28:56] The first step that we take with those clients is an [00:29:00] HTMA test, because what I have found is that a lot of times it is normal to expect some hormone fluctuations at that kind of stage of the game at that age, and we can't always influence that. We can influence it, but we can't take firm control of it.

[00:29:20] I don't prescribe HRT in my practice that's outside of my scope, so I can't do any type of hormone replacement therapy. So with what I can do with clients, where we can really make the biggest impact is how are we gonna support your mineral levels Because the minerals are what drive. How your body is functioning.

[00:29:43] There is this either, I don't know if you call it a trickle down effect or like a snowball effect that happens with your hormones. It's like once one thing gets out of whack, the others fall in line and also get out of whack. 

[00:29:56] So with women that are in that perimenopause stage, we [00:30:00] focus a lot on how can we support your thyroid?

[00:30:03] So that your metabolism is supported because that is a big driver of how women feel at that age. And then because of that snowball effect, it positively impacts the hormones as well to the best that you can at that point. And then of course, there's specific like supplements and sometimes detoxes that are really helpful when you're hitting that perimenopause, menopause stage of life.

[00:30:29] Autumn Carter: That is so helpful and I'm still thinking of that one person. I'm definitely gonna be sharing this episode with her and I'm sure there are others that are listening that you are thinking of people too. So now is your chance. Share this episode please. Because like I said in the very beginning, I've had tons of people come to me asking, I'm starting to ask questions.

[00:30:51] I know that there are other people in your world who are asking questions as well, who are struggling and. It's horrible. 

[00:31:05] I struggled with very heavy periods and like very heavy cramping and all that for years. And then after having children, it just became heavier. Thankfully tampons came out that were, could absorb more at that point, thankfully.

[00:31:22] But it took me until a few years before I had surgery to fix it. I thought I was just turning the faucet a little down. Apparently I turned it all the way off the surgery I had nice though too to get my life back in that way. It took me until a couple years before that to realize that I need to start eating red meat about this time of month and I need to start having more peanuts during this time of month and I need to start having more plant fiber, like a lot more during this time of month and start really meal planning for our family based off of what my [00:32:00] needs were during the month.

[00:32:01] And I wish I had figured that out so much further back in my journey than I did. I know that there are so many other people like that, so I love that you have a whole meal plan around that. And I find that to be, it sounds stupid oh, it's a meal plan, it's just another diet plan, whatever. But when you actually dive into it, it is so necessary because for me, with how heavy my periods were and they lasted the whole seven days that I would be wiped out for another week after that.

[00:32:33] So it's basically two weeks that I can't do a whole lot. That's a lot of time. 

[00:32:39] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. And then if you have people that are like that and, they also have pretty significant or extreme PMS symptoms. That's the week before. That's three weeks of your month, 

[00:32:50] Autumn Carter: so you get one week. 

[00:32:51] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Woo. Yeah.

[00:32:52] That's very debilitating to some people. 

[00:32:55] Autumn Carter: And I knew people in school, they would miss school because it was so bad. [00:33:00] Yeah. So let's really look at what are the effects and how does it affect so many people in society? And if we're looking at attendance records, I wonder what it is. Males compared to females.

[00:33:16] I mean, the ones who are administrating, mm-hmm. Administrating people compared to those that don't maybe would be the more correct term to use here, we've talked about this when I was in elementary school, how it would not be a good idea to have a woman president because with her PMS symptoms and blah, blah, blah, now being a little, a lot older and a lot more aware.

[00:33:42] Wow. No, but I remember how hard it was having those changing hormones during my. Middle school and high school and early twenties, and if I could have any type of guidance or help, yes, [00:34:00] please this is something that's very important. So then it comes to my other question of what age ranges do you see?

[00:34:07] Like what's the youngest that you're willing to see maybe would be the best word. 

[00:34:13] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah, that's a great question. I don't think anybody's ever asked me that before on a podcast episode. Yeah, so I typically see adult clients. I haven't had a client formally that was a minor.

[00:34:26] I range from 18 up to someone that is in menopause. Once someone hits the menopause point, like I said, I've got good friends I can refer you to. 

[00:34:36] One of my passion projects that rolls around in the back of my mind is I would love to create a space where moms and daughters, teenage daughters can come together to get this type of hormone education.

[00:34:50] Like I have talked about maybe hosting a free event here in my community. I've thought about doing it virtually. I don't know exactly what it looks like yet, but [00:35:00] I think that that would be so nice because. My best friend and I talk all the time about, we both are raising daughters and her daughters are in middle school at this point.

[00:35:10] My daughter's just about, she'll turn six in December, so she's hopefully far away from starting her menstrual cycle. But we talk all the time, like, how wonderful is it that we have this knowledge now so that we can have these conversations with our daughters? Once they're hitting these points, because it's conversations we never got to have with our moms.

[00:35:30] And that's not a dig at, like, our moms like, oh, you dropped the ball. They never had the knowledge either. They didn't drop the ball. They didn't know any better. They didn't know to pass it on, so I don't know to formally answer the question. I guess I could work with a minor with parental consent.

[00:35:50] That would be just like an inquiry. Hit me up on my email or something if that's, if you have a daughter that you'd like for me to work with. 

[00:35:58] Autumn Carter: Oh [00:36:00] so many, things rattle outta my head over that. So first of all, I did not have that either, but my mom had a hysterectomy really young. So there are so many things and she had a lot of trauma in her life.

[00:36:10] So she has those whole, those memory gaps. I dunno if anybody has suffered or knows anybody that suffers with trauma, you, you should know what I mean with the memory gaps. So she was not for able to offer a lot of support there. And then it also reminds me of my mom was feeling very guilty when I was talking to her about car seats saying I didn't have that type of car seat for you.

[00:36:33] And I've seen pictures. I was in a car seat when I was a little kid, so I had to have that. That conversation with her of All right, let's break this down for a second. Let's talk about what car seats were like back in. I was born in 85, so back then and what they are now and how much cars have even changed since then, and the laws, and you had, I know you had the best available option and you chose that for me, I wasn't, and people who are [00:37:00] older listening to this, they'll remember those days I was not in a pack and play in the back of the sedan by any means, I was in a car seat. We do the best with what we have at the time, but when we know better, we do better. So I love this. And it also is reminding me, I dunno if anybody's watching the video, but I have braces. Hopefully this is my last week.

[00:37:23] I thought it was going to be last month, that it was gonna be my last week. But we'll see. I got these on when my oldest was getting braces, so I can see so many other parents and I've heard that there are quite a few parents who they get braces on when their kids are getting braces on. 

[00:37:39] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. 

[00:37:40] Autumn Carter: I can see that being, I'm coming to you for PerMon menopause help.

[00:37:44] Oh, I'm also seeing my daughter needs help type of thing. So I love this idea and I can see it really bringing unity between both of being able to open up that discussion more and talk about health and talk about [00:38:00] how. Generational things happen. So for me, I have a hereditary condition that came from my mom and my grandmother had it, and I don't know how far back it goes.

[00:38:11] And there's things like that will show up in your hormones as well. So I love that opportunity to open that type of family tree discussion, so to speak. 

[00:38:22] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it also helps remove some of the. Embarrassment or shame or feelings As teenage girls. We had a lot of feelings and I remember comments being made to me like if I was in a bad mood for whatever reason.

[00:38:41] I hate when somebody's oh, you must be PMSing. Like I had that said to me so many times. Are you, about to start your period? It irritates me so bad. I'm like, I will not do that to my daughter. I'm determined like, we'll not talk to her that way. But I think it removes some of that because it [00:39:00] just helps both the mom who may have never gotten the education before and then she can pass along to the daughter, or maybe I'm passing it along to the daughter to say.

[00:39:09] It's normal sometimes in your cycle to feel more down than you normally do or feel like you don't have as much energy or as much stamina as you do at other times of the month. And, also helping create that awareness around this is a normal fluctuation versus, no, this is a more extreme and that's not normal.

[00:39:31] We need to investigate that further type of thing. 

[00:39:34] Autumn Carter: I love that and I, just thinking back over my menstrual journey, I guess is what I call it, is it really prepared me for being pregnant because wow, those symptoms are stronger. You get all the period symptoms minus hopefully the bleeding. For those of you who had bleeding while pregnant too, I'm so sorry.

[00:39:57] That's not fair. You should not have both. [00:40:00] But I feel like that's allows us to better understand and having the cramps and everything helps. For childbirth and postpartum. But I really love that it allows that opportunity to open up with a functional medicine nurse and with your mom.

[00:40:17] Whereas most of my education came from the classes in school. That's so awkward. And it's not individualized because it can't be. So I love that this opportunity is very individualized and it's very. It's individualized because you're talking to you, but you actually then have the data from us of what's going on based off of our hair analysis, our blood analysis, that really makes a big difference.

[00:40:48] And I know that there were times I can still go back in my life and pinpoint the times where I felt very seen by people and how much that meant to me. And I know [00:41:00] that's exactly what you're trying to do for people, which I think is amazing. Thank you. Is there anything else I should be asking you?

[00:41:07] But I'm not. 

[00:41:09] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Gosh, no, I don't think 

[00:41:10] Autumn Carter: Is there anything else that you want to leave people with that you feel like is on your heart as we close up? 

[00:41:17] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: I just encourage people to always say that just because something is.

[00:41:24] Common doesn't mean that it's normal. So you know, if you're hearing parts of this conversation today and you're thinking like I just thought that everybody struggled with that. It's because these things have been so normalized in our society and there is such a big push for women to still show up to work, still take care of our kids.

[00:41:44] Still do all the things, even though we might be really suffering with our period or with our PMS symptoms or whatever it might be, and you don't have to just take that as this is how it's always gonna be. There are [00:42:00] a lot of different ways that you can get started and taking steps as soon as this afternoon to start making some progress towards getting rid of some of those symptoms, or at least lessening them.

[00:42:11] Autumn Carter: Can you list out what some of those symptoms would be? So for me, I was thinking even when I had a miscarriage and I called my OBGYN's office. Yeah. When I called them, they just, I'm just another number, you know, and I understand that it's common. I'm freaking out in this moment.

[00:42:33] This is my first time ever. I don't know what's going on. I would love you to turn up that compassion, please. I stopped going to that office because of that. My ob, GYN was great, but that person at the desk and I got her several other times, just never liked her. Complained about her and I was like, you know what?

[00:42:50] If you guys aren't gonna listen, I'm done. Especially because I had several miscarriages and there are several times where you'll be told that's common. [00:43:00] I feel like that's one of 'em. 

[00:43:01] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah, that is true. You will get told that, you know, it's common for people to have miscarriages and that could be like probably a whole other podcast episode, all of its own.

[00:43:12] But, even just the most basic things like cramping with your cycle, really our period. Maybe the easier way to answer this question is like, what should our standard of normal be? Our standard should be that a woman gets her period, and it kind of comes and goes without much drama.

[00:43:34] Like it just kind of comes and goes with a breeze, is what I usually say. Like there's definitely something to be said for being in tune with your body so much that you know. Your period is coming, but that doesn't mean you should know it's coming because, oh my gosh, today I've yelled at my husband five times.

[00:43:54] I snapped at my kids before they went to bed. I feel like a monster, like I feel like I can't even [00:44:00] control my emotions or I'm cramping so bad on my right side or my left side. Like it shouldn't be stuff like that that lets you know your period's coming. You should know your period's coming because you notice a difference in your basal body temperature that you take in the morning or the cervical mucus that you're discharging.

[00:44:17] It shouldn't be mood related so heavily. And then while you're on your period. Minimal cramping is to be expected. We are expelling something from our body. There is a lining there that's being shed, and the cramping is the, muscle movements in our body that's getting that out. It shouldn't be something that you're like, I have to take Tylenol, Motrin, whatever you're taking on the dot every four hours. Or I have to go sit down or lay down. It shouldn't be like, I'm cramping so bad that I'm having these like aches and cramps in my lower back and going down my legs and in my thighs.

[00:44:56] Your period shouldn't be something that impacts your [00:45:00] day so heavily that you're. Altering what or how you're doing something you should be able to go on about your normal day to day without much change other than, oh, I need to go change my whatever type of product you're using. It really shouldn't be any more drama than that.

[00:45:22] And if it is, then. Definitely dig in and try to fix that for yourself because you're going to thank yourself for that time and time again because your whole life is gonna be so much more pleasant. It is one to two sometimes for some people three weeks of your life that your hormones in your period is impacting.

[00:45:45] And you want that to be a positive experience. You don't want it to be a negative experience month after month 

[00:45:50] Autumn Carter: especially realizing that this will last for decades. Yeah. Wow. Where were you when I was nine? Or like any of those other years. [00:46:00] Wow. 

[00:46:01] So what I actually ended up having was a vaginal ablation for those of you who are wondering, and it's like this mesh that they put up in you and then they scrape it all out.

[00:46:11] So it would be catastrophic if I got pregnant. Good thing we figured out, or we decided we were done. We have four kids. We are, we're really good. So I just was trying to lessen my period. I did not expect it to totally disappear. And I was told, and they don't even, this is the way they treat women in science.

[00:46:30] They have not done studies long enough to know if my aligning will grow back before I hit menopause, if I'll have periods again or not. They've only studied women for the first couple of years afterwards, so they don't know anything else. And I've had two ovarian cysts in a couple months, and my last ovarian cyst, and the only other one that I've had was when I was 18, so I don't know if it's related to this.

[00:46:55] And talking to my gynecologist at this point, she doesn't know because there aren't [00:47:00] studies, 

[00:47:01] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: the research in general in women's health is so limited and it, thankfully they are trying to do more now, but. There is so much unknown and I know a lot of women that have had ablations and I think that they can be a good option for a lot of people, but it also impacts your ability to.

[00:47:24] Be in tune with your own body later on in life. If you're somebody that has an ablation in your thirties, you're not at that perimenopause stage yet, but you're still at some point going to go through menopause and your menstrual bleed every month can tracking that can help you see the trends.

[00:47:43] We've mitigated the bleed with an ablation. So now we don't have that like touch point with ourselves to be like, okay. This is where I'm at, these are the changes. I'm noticing you, you lose a little bit of that insight into your body. 

[00:47:57] Autumn Carter: That's why I think I'm near [00:48:00] perimenopause, but I don't know.

[00:48:00] Not sure. Yeah. I don't get the cramping. That part is amazing and I know my body well enough to know that I could not do birth control, that my body doesn't handle it well. So my husband did the birth control and then I did this part. And I firmly believe that is good for you to have periods.

[00:48:20] It's that kind of flushing of your body. That's the time going in cycles. That is the time of month when I would really be doing that within myself and outside of myself, of, okay, what things do I need to let go of? That I've been carrying on. What things do I need to change within my life? Like, it was a very reflective time for me as well, and I don't really have that as much.

[00:48:44] So I kind of have regrets about it. I love that I fixed a lot of the issues that I had before, but I still firmly believe that we should have periods and that they are good for us. So I've never been on board with, let's turn it all the way off. In any way. Shape or [00:49:00] form. So I think it helps level out our hormones and it does a lot of other things that are really good.

[00:49:05] So yeah. Thank you for this. This was amazing. And thanks for getting on the soapbox several times with me because there are so many things that aren't talked about and there is so much lacking in women's health and women's studies and so much, and I know some of it stems from, there were studies that were done against our will way back in time.

[00:49:30] So now we're overcompensating for it and I know that. Science is still very patriarchal where it's more about the white man and conversations like this help a lot. So thank you for being on with me. 

[00:49:47] Vanda Aubrey- Wellness with Vanda: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I enjoyed our conversation. Good. Me too. 

[00:49:50] Autumn Carter: Thanks for tuning into this week's episode. I am your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach dedicated to empowering individuals to rediscover their identity, [00:50:00] find balance, miss chaos, strengthen relationships, and pursue their dreams. My goal is to help people thrive in every aspect of their lives. I hope today's discussion inspired you and offered valuable insights.

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[00:50:55] So please spread the word about our podcast and about our newsletter. Thank you [00:51:00] for being a part of our podcast community. I look forward to continuing our conversation, sharing stories and exploring wellness in all of this aspects. Take care until our next episode. You can also work with me one-on-one or on demand through one of my programs by visiting wellness in every season.com/programs.

[00:51:22] One last thing to cover the show legally, I'm a certified life coach giving general advice, so think of this, this more as a self-help book. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, so this podcast shouldn't be taken as a replacement for professional guidance from a doctor or therapist.

[00:51:43] If you want personal one-on-one coaching from a certified life and parenting coach, go to my website, wellness and every season.com. That's where you can get personalized coaching from me for you. See you in next week's episode.