Menopause.

And that shift in hormones affects every system in your body.

So all these crazy symptoms that seem to have no connection actually are connected.

Welcome to the Taboo to Truth podcast.

Unapologetic conversations about sexuality in midlife.

I'm your hostess, Karen Bigman, certified life and menopause coach and sex educator.

Whether it's a dwindling libido, a dry vagina, a challenging erection, or the emotional ups and downs of midlife, we're here to talk about it all.

I'm going to bring the often quiet into the light to create a safe space where no question is too awkward or taboo.

Together, we're creating a community of support and education where you can learn, share and laugh about the intricate beauty of sex in midlife.

So grab your favorite drink and put me on speaker.

It's time we broke the silence.

Hello and welcome.

I am Karen Bigman, your host of Taboo to Truth and a newly certified sexual health alliance sexual educator, a menopause coach, and a curious woman who wants to learn as much as she can about the field of sexual health and impart that wisdom on to you.

This podcast has been an incredible journey for me.

At the age of 60, I launched this and it is really truly my purpose in life.

Not just for me, but for you, to really help educate all genders about what options there are for you and to make life much more interesting and exciting and to have great sexual health, which is very much part of your overall health.

There are three areas I tend to cover the most, the first being issues around women's health, in particular menopause.

The second is how to expand and grow and have a more robust and healthy and enjoyable sex life.

And then lastly, I talk about my own journey, my personal, my relationships, my dating.

And each one of those topics is super important to me on every level.

And it's also information that you have been asking for when it comes to menopause.

Every vulva owner will go through menopause, and that includes trans men.

If you have been born with a uterus, you will go through menopause.

And so it's important that you understand that those changes are perfectly normal.

I recently heard somebody saying that it's the reverse of puberty.

So it's puberty where all the hormones are going up.

Menopause is when all the hormones are going down.

And there are a lot of changes in the science and has shown more recently, there's been a lot more research around it that menopause and that shift in hormones affects every system in your body.

So all these crazy symptoms that seem to have no connection actually are connected.

And your physical body, how you feel, your joints, the night sweats, the heart palpitations, the, you know, dry mouth, the itchy ears, frozen shoulder, there are so many things that they now know are related to menopause.

And so there's a lot to be learned about it.

And the most important thing is, as women, you need to know that you are not alone, that these are things that we are all experiencing from one extreme to another.

Not everybody has suffers terribly from symptoms, and some people suffer really, really badly.

And they're debilitating.

And there are treatments out there.

Whereas 20 plus years ago, there was a whole bunch of information that linked breast cancer to hormone treatments.

For us, that is no longer the case.

They have learned a lot more and there's a lot more information.

And I try to impart that information to you in the many of the episodes I've done, some of the experts that I've interviewed, and some of the live events that I have had and will have coming up.

So stay tuned for more of that.

The second topic, which is not unrelated to menopause, is a subject of sexuality in midlife, of your sex life, of having a healthy and happy and fulfilling sex life, because it is not something you really want to put on the back burner.

Your sexual health is super important for your overall health.

It helps with your cardiovascular health, helps with your muscle health, it helps with your immune system.

Just think about the pleasure you get from having a sexual encounter, an intimate encounter.

All those happy hormones are fluctuating all around and it's making you feel good.

All these things are critical to help you live a long and healthy life.

Good sex has been linked to healthy and long, happy relationships.

So just think about, you can be having sex with your partner forever, and if you're not partnered well, you could be having great solo sex for the rest of your days as well.

So that information on how to spice up your sex life, how to address sexual issues, how to introduce new modes of sexuality, new.

Whether it's changing the way that you have sex or opening up your relationship, there are a lot of things that I talk about to help you just really be aware that there are things out there that are Beyond Vanilla.

As Dr.

Chris Donahue just said at the conference I was at as vanilla monogamous Sunday morning, lights on or lights off, however you do it, sex that we've been having for our whole life, there's really a whole world of possibility that and I talk about that a lot.

And I really am on a mission to make sure that everybody's having some really great sex.

And then the last thing I talk about is a little more personal to me, which is my dating life and my singledom, which I have been on, in and out of relationships for the last 10 years.

And there's something therapeutic about talking about it and whether it's oversharing or not, it's who I am and what my struggles are.

And I think that a lot of people can relate to them.

I've been on and off the dating apps for quite a while and I've learned a lot.

I've learned a lot about the technicalities of the dating apps, but I've also learned about a lot about myself and about where I want to be and how I've grown and how I've changed.

Recently someone said to me, the person who shows up for you shows up where you are in life.

And I feel like that has been so true for me because when I have been in a bad place, somehow I've been in a bad relationship.

And as I get better and stronger and clearer, I find that the partners that I'm dating seem to be much healthier as well.

And I will say that it has not necessarily been this journey without some tears.

But for every tier, there's at least one, if not more, funny stories.

And more importantly, there is a learning with each experience, with each experience.

In the businesses that I've had.

This is now my third venture, and I believe my last.

Because I just want to be doing this for the rest of my days.

In every relationship that I've had and even in every date and conversation that I've had, I've learned something.

And then just what I'm learning about this topic is so interesting to me and so exciting.

And the field of sexuality is really growing.

And there's more research, there's more research into women's health.

All this is.

It's just such a great time to be doing what I'm doing.

So I just want to thank you for tuning in.

I want to let you know there's so much more to come.

I have some incredible guests coming up that you won't want to miss.

Some really, really big and well respected names in the sexual medicine field.

I have some great sexperts coming up, really interesting people that I've met along the way that have changed their lives and their sexuality or their sexual repertoire.

And I want to share all that with you.

And if there's topics that I haven't covered or that you would like to cover, or questions you have about episodes that I've had, please feel free to reach out to me.

You can go over to my website.

I've got a little download there called the Pleasure Playbook if you're interested.

If you want to give me your email address.

If you just want to ask me a question via email, you can reach out to karenabootruth.

Follow me on Instagram.

I've actually got two handles, but my main one is Taboo to Truth.

I also have another one called Sex and Menopause which kind of feeds into that, and I'm here to help support you through your sexual journey for the rest of your life.

And so I hope it will be a really wonderful, pleasurable and enjoyable one.

So grab your favorite drink and put me on speaker because it's time we broke the silence.

Thanks for joining me on the Taboo to Truth podcast where I'm spicing up midlife one episode at a time.

If you've been enjoying the sizzle, why not turn up the heat by giving me a scorching five star rating and leaving a steamy review?

It's the best way to help others discover pleasure in their sex life.

So don't be shy, show me some love and keep the midlife adventure alive.

And until next time, grab your favorite drink and put me on speaker.

It's time we broke the silence.