What the menopause

Your BFF for the years when you and your body go WTF!

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Episodes (13)

November 2, 2025 ∙ 17 mins

The Sex Series: Part 03 with Karen Bester

In this episode, Mandy wraps up her conversation with Karen Bester, diving into how to get the help and support you need during perimenopause and menopause. From advocating for yourself in the doctor’s office to embracing the confidence and clarity of “menopausal zest,” this is an empowering finale to our three-part series. Expect: How to […]
September 1, 2025 ∙ 17 mins

The Sex Series: Part 02 with Karen Bester

In this episode, Mandy continues her conversation with Medical Training Manager at Lamelle Research Laboratories, Karen Bester but this time looking at what we can do to keep intimacy alive in menopause and perimenopause. From lifestyle shifts to medical interventions, it’s about taking charge of your sexual health now to protect your future self. Karen […]
August 12, 2025 ∙ 20 mins

The Sex Series: Part 01 with Karen Bester

In this episode, Mandy chats to Medical Training Manager at Lamelle Research Laboratories, Karen Bester, about sex, sexuality, and the menopause years and why our Gen X upbringing shaped how we think about intimacy, and what’s really going on with our bodies and brains. Expect: Why Gen X women grew up with a conservative view […]
July 20, 2025 ∙ 25 mins

Sleep Series: Part 03 with Dr Alison Bentley

In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin wrap up the Sleep Series with Dr Alison Bentley, one of South Africa’s top sleep specialists and the woman who just might save you from another 2am internal TED Talk. Expect: The truth about the eight hours of sleep myth and why your brain might only want five How […]
July 8, 2025 ∙ 13 mins

The Sleep Series: Part 02 with Dr Alison Bentley

In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin are back with Dr Alison Bentley for part two of the Sleep Series and this one is a total eye-opener. They’re talking sleep apnea, restless legs, and why bad sleep isn’t just annoying, it’s dangerous. Expect: Why untreated sleep apnea can speed up diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and more […]

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Your BFF for the years when you and your body go WTF!
  • The Sex Series: Part 03 with Karen Bester

    In this episode, Mandy wraps up her conversation with Karen Bester, diving into how to get the help and support you need during perimenopause and menopause. From advocating for yourself in the doctor’s office to embracing the confidence and clarity of “menopausal zest,” this is an empowering finale to our three-part series. Expect: How to […]

  • The Sex Series: Part 02 with Karen Bester

    In this episode, Mandy continues her conversation with Medical Training Manager at Lamelle Research Laboratories, Karen Bester but this time looking at what we can do to keep intimacy alive in menopause and perimenopause. From lifestyle shifts to medical interventions, it’s about taking charge of your sexual health now to protect your future self. Karen […]

  • The Sex Series: Part 01 with Karen Bester

    In this episode, Mandy chats to Medical Training Manager at Lamelle Research Laboratories, Karen Bester, about sex, sexuality, and the menopause years and why our Gen X upbringing shaped how we think about intimacy, and what’s really going on with our bodies and brains. Expect: Why Gen X women grew up with a conservative view […]

  • Sleep Series: Part 03 with Dr Alison Bentley

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin wrap up the Sleep Series with Dr Alison Bentley, one of South Africa’s top sleep specialists and the woman who just might save you from another 2am internal TED Talk. Expect: The truth about the eight hours of sleep myth and why your brain might only want five How […]

  • The Sleep Series: Part 02 with Dr Alison Bentley

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin are back with Dr Alison Bentley for part two of the Sleep Series and this one is a total eye-opener. They’re talking sleep apnea, restless legs, and why bad sleep isn’t just annoying, it’s dangerous. Expect: Why untreated sleep apnea can speed up diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and more […]

  • The Sleep Series: Part 01 with Dr Alison Bentley

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin kick off the Sleep Series with Dr Alison Bentley, GP, sleep specialist, and the woman who’ll finally explain why you’re wide awake at 2am plotting your grocery list and escape. Expect: Why your hormones aren’t the only reason you can’t sleep Restless legs, snoring, and the hidden epidemic of […]

  • The HRT Series: Part 03 with Dr Sumayya Ebrahim

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin are back with the final episode of the HRT Series with Dr. Sumayya Ebrahim to decode the chaos around bioidentical hormones, blood tests that don’t work, and tubs of cream with mysterious vibes. It’s the HRT chat that clears the fog (and confirms your rage is valid). Expect: What […]

  • The HRT Series: Part 02 with Dr Sumayya Ebrahim

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin sit down with Dr. Sumayya Ebrahim, gynaecologist, menopause warrior, and HRT expert, to pull apart the big fears and even bigger facts about HRT. Like, did you know the most-feared HRT study got a lot wrong? Or that modern oestrogen might actually help prevent breast cancer, not cause it? […]

  • The HRT Series: Part 01 with Dr Sumayya Ebrahim

    In this episode, Mandy and Tamsin sit down with Dr. Sumayya Ebrahim, gynaecologist, menopause warrior, and HRT expert, to ask the big questions: What is HRT? Do we need it? Will it make us grow beards or just help us sleep? Expect: Oestrogen in a patch, gel, or oral Testosterone for your libido and your […]

  • Sitting down with a GP: Part 02

    In this episode, we dive headfirst into the oestrogen void with Dr. Chrissy du Plessis and discover that menopause has no official end. Expect: Zombiefied lady parts (hello, atrophy) Brain fog and brittle skin Heel pain and itchy ears Mood swings courtesy of progesterone And zero fanfare when it’s theoretically over Basically, your body’s running […]

  • Sitting down with a GP: Part 01 Remastered

    In this episode, we bring in actual medical muscle — Dr. Chrissy du Plessis — to answer the big questions: what’s the difference between perimenopause and menopause, and why is your period ghosting you? Expect: Sleep chaos and rogue hormones Mood wobbles and menopausal maths Puberty flashbacks (sorry) HRT and hot takes While Chrissy is […]

  • Episode 02: What are perimenopause and menopause?

    In this episode, your hosts Mandy Collins and Tamsin Mackay try to figure out what menopause actually is with no medical training, but plenty of personal trauma. Expect: Brain fog and midnight wees The Golden Girls  The menopause stalk (not a typo) Saggy bits and survival skills Get in touch: whatthemenopause@gmail.com More chaos here: https://whatthemenopause.substack.com/

  • Episode 01: What is it?

    In this episode, your hosts Mandy Collins and Tamsin Mackay wonder if they’re losing their minds, their hormones, or just their patience. Expect: Doctors who say “It’s just stress” Estrogen vs Progesterone: Dawn of Confusion Get in touch: whathemenopause@gmail.com or visit us on Substack: https://whatthemenopause.substack.com/

  • Most replayed moment: What your wearable is really telling you | Dr Malcolm Finlay

    From smartwatches to fitness trackers, more of us than ever are monitoring our health in real time. With just a glance at our wrist, we can check our step count, sleep quality, heart rate and, more recently, something called HRV. But what do these numbers actually mean? And more importantly, how can we use them […]

  • 235 | Want Less Belly Fat? Stop Throwing Away Your Good Weeks

    What if the healthy habits you’re tempted to dismiss are already changing your body? You planned three workouts but finished two. You ate well most of the day, but dinner went sideways. You walked three times instead of every day. When the week wasn’t perfect, you decided it didn’t count. But it did count. In […]

  • 354 🪞 How We Lose Ourselves in Love: Trauma Bonding, Self-Abandonment & Breaking Free with Jessica Anne Pressler, Author of “Traitor Within”

    Have you ever looked back at a relationship and wondered, how did I lose myself like that? In this powerful episode, Wendy sits down with Jessica Anne Pressler — a Columbia-trained psychotherapist, hospice grief counselor, and author of the new psychological suspense novel Traitor Within — to talk about self-abandonment, trauma bonding, and the hidden […]

  • Why I changed my coaching process for women over 50, in menopause.

    I’ve completely changed my mind about how I approach fat loss for women in menopause, and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. I used to believe slow, steady weight loss was the best and only sustainable approach. But I kept watching women struggle to maintain a calorie deficit for months, then […]

  • Begin Again Moments: Growing Up With A Narcissistic Parent

    In this episode of Begin Again Moments, Simon Squibb and psychotherapist Kathleen Saxton examine how the behaviour of a parent can shape the person you become long after childhood is over. Simon shares the reality of growing up with a mother he describes as a narcissist, from being left to find his own way home […]

  • Liz Houghton: Losing My 20-Year-Old Son & How To Keep Living When Your World Ends

    How can you really support someone you love when they’re going through unimaginable loss? In this moving episode of Begin Again, Mint Velvet co-founder Liz Houghton joins Davina McCall and shares the heartbreaking story of losing her 20-year-old son Will after a cycling accident, and the moment she learned his injuries were unsurvivable.  She opens […]

What the menopause

Your BFF for the years when you and your body go WTF!

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