Dr. Mary Claire Haver: Demystifying Menopause after Decades of Subpar Care for Women

Dr. Mary Claire Haver
Demystifying Menopause after Decades of Subpar Care for Women

Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist, LSU Medical Center alumna, and UTMB residency graduate. She’s also a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist and Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner. In 2021, she founded Mary Claire Wellness, focusing on menopausal patient care. Her debut book, The Galveston Diet, launched in 2023 alongside ThePauseLife.com, a global menopause resource. With 4+ million social media followers, Dr. Haver is renowned for her insights and #1 New York Times Bestseller, The New Menopause, aiming to empower women and demystify menopause.

After the flawed interpretation of the WHI study in 2002, women have received substandard care during perimenopause and menopause. All that is finally starting to change as the word for better treatments is getting out thanks in large part to doctors like Dr. Mary Claire and the “Menoposse”, a collective of clinicians working hard to dispel pervasive disinformation from the study. This episode is for everyone, including women, practitioners treating women, coaches, and anyone interested in improving women’s healthcare.

For more information on Dr. Mary Claire, check out her website and follow her on Instagram.

Points of interest in the episode: 

07:46  The New Menopause is a #1 New York Times bestseller
09:20  Background as an OBGYN
10:10  While treating women in menopause, a gap in care emerged and Dr. Haver realized that she was providing bad care
11:00  Blindspots in education
12:05  Why this book and why now?
13:00  The Galveston Diet
13:50  Menopause if more than hot flashes
14:35  The Menoposse, a group of clinicians and thought leaders committed to moving the menopause message forward
15:46  The Lancet Article Controversy
17:20  NYT article on menopause
20:50  The WHI (Women’s Health Initiative) is a great data set, but also the biggest medical mistake in modern medicine for menopausal women
22:00  Heart attack is the most likely killer for women
22:43  Does hormone therapy protect against heart attack
24:00  Flawed study in 2002 states that estrogen causes breast cancer
27:00  The AMA went back through all the WHI data and much of it was walked back, but that never made it to the mainstream media
29:58  Clinicians aren’t doing a good job of giving women the whole picture
30:38  “Women are not just small men” – Stacy Sims
31:17  We’ve genderized hormones – Testosterone is a human hormone, not a male hormone
33:28  It’s your responsibility as a partner to be educated
34:00  Woman that started hormone therapy within 10 years of menopause had tremendous cardiovascular benefit
35:10  Many symptoms of menopause are not identified by clinicians
35:50  Women on HRT have less symptoms
36:40  Perimenopause
37:50  SSRI use doubles in women in the perimenopause transition, but estrogen is a more efficient treatment
43:20  Does Estrogen cause cancer?
45:52  Corrine Menn
46:55  Testosterone therapy in females
51:55  Sexual intimacy is a vital sign
53:03  The desire to be thin
55:08  Menopause symptoms are vast, i.e. unexplained fatigue, sleep disturbances, mental health changes, weight gain, body composition changes, hot flashes, tinnitus, frozen shoulder, vertigo, musculoskeletal syndrome, heart palpitations, gut changes, libido changes, etc.
59:09  Actionable advice on talking to your doctor
60:40  What care looks like in Dr. Mary Claire’s clinic
62:30  HRT can be beneficial even in women that don’t experience symptoms of menopause
65:15  How do women know if symptoms are enough to necessitate hormone replacement therapy
66:33  What about women that have had cancer and don’t want to do HRT?
67:00  Musculoskeletal issues during menopause
68:25  Peri and menopausal weight gain, visceral fat, and GLP1s
76:15  Listener submitted questions
77:45  Advise to practitioners: Don’t provide menopause care if you aren’t certified by the Menopause Society
78:40  How do you get HRT? Where to go?; Menopause Society
79:20  Resources: Evernow; Midi Health; Alloy
80:00  Do you stay on HRT for the rest of your life?
80:15  Can you experience perimenopause symptoms while on the pill?
81:23  How do you know if you are taking the right dosage of HRT?
82:40  Marie Claire’s socials @drmarieclaire, www.theapauselife.com
83:15  On the horizon

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