Women Like Me Stories & Business

Andrea Buckley - The Hidden Language of Female Hormones

• Julie Fairhurst • Episode 121

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Why are so many women struggling with unexplained fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, and disrupted sleep patterns—even when their doctors insist everything is "normal"? Hormone health expert Andrea Buckley illuminates this frustrating reality while sharing powerful insights gained from both professional expertise and personal experience.

Andrea's journey into hormone health began with her own perimenopausal symptoms in her mid-40s. Finding little support from conventional medicine, she discovered natural solutions that transformed her well-being, ultimately launching her into a new career dedicated to helping other women navigate these challenging transitions.

We explore why women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond experience those frustrating symptoms that seem to appear overnight—the mysterious belly fat despite no lifestyle changes (no, it's not your dryer shrinking your clothes!), the 3 AM wake-ups that leave you exhausted, and the mood fluctuations that make you feel like a stranger in your own body. Andrea explains the complex dance between estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, and why chronic stress makes everything worse.

Most importantly, Andrea offers practical wisdom for women seeking solutions. From essential supplements like magnesium bisglycinate to understanding the gut-hormone connection, she outlines accessible strategies while emphasizing that true healing requires addressing multiple aspects of health simultaneously. While hormone therapy may help some women, it's just one piece of a complex puzzle that includes nutrition, stress management, and self-care.

If you're tired of feeling dismissed by healthcare providers or confused by contradictory advice, this conversation provides clarity, validation, and a roadmap toward reclaiming your vitality. As Andrea powerfully reminds us: "You're worthy of feeling like yourself, and it'll take time and work, but you are worth it."

Want to reach out to Andrea, you can do that below:


 hormonehealthmatters.com

https://www.facebook.com/hormonehealthmatters

https://www.instagram.com/hormonehealth_matters/



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Who is Julie Fairhurst?
Julie Fairhurst – Speaker, Author, and Founder of Women Like Me

Julie Fairhurst is a champion for women’s empowerment and the founder of the Women Like Me Book Program. Since 2019, she has published 30 books and 300+ true-life stories—at no cost to the writers—giving women a platform to heal, inspire, and reclaim their power. Dedicated to breaking generational trauma one story at a time, Julie’s mission is to uplift women emotionally and financially, helping them create better lives for themselves and their families.


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Speaker 1:

Well, hello everyone. Thank you for being here for another episode of Women Like Me Stories and Business. I am your host, julie Fairhurst. I am the founder of the program Women Like Me. Now, today we have Andrea Buckley with us.

Speaker 1:

Now I heard this lady speak in person actually only a few days ago, and she was fabulous, and she has so much wisdom and so much information. I invited her to come on the podcast and she agreed to do it. So she is on a mission to help women to decode the often misunderstood languages of their own bodies. She is the founder of Hormone Health Matters, a practitioner, educator and passionate advocate for women's wellness. Now, it doesn't matter how old you are If you're 30, you're 45, 60, if your mood swings are crazy, you're putting that weight on around your waist, or your energy has gone MIA, your sleep's a disaster, your body feels off. You guys know what I'm talking about. So Andrea is our guide for the next little bit here, and she's going to help us with all of those things that we, as women, are dealing with, and we're going to deal with it, if not now, sometime in our life. So, andrea, thank you so much for being here. Would you like to tell us a little bit more about yourself Sure.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for having me. So my journey with perimenopause started, if I'm correct, probably in my mid-40s, and now that I understand more of the symptoms, I'm realizing that this might have gone back even further. I actually visited a local holistic health doctor, thinking I would need help with my immune system, but, lo and behold, I was in perimenopause and had no idea. I basically didn't feel like myself, and this was really only 10 years ago, so you can imagine how the information has now increased substantially since then. So I went through this woman's program, did really well, listened to everything she told me to do. I was one of those patients that she liked because I basically did everything right and I was quite motivated when I was 45, I think that was the best year of my adult life because I was running, I felt fabulous and I felt like I had that midlife turnaround.

Speaker 2:

So one of the things that bothered me with this experience was the cost. I felt like it was an exclusive service and I really felt that it was something that everybody needed to know. Everyone needed to know that there was a way to feel better. People needed to know about perimenopause, something that I didn't even know about. So it took a couple of years for me to find a course that I really was interested in, that actually was specific to hormone health, and I took advantage of it and since then I've been learning. I've been taking functional nutrition courses I'm actually on my third one right now and quit my job a year ago to pursue this full time and here we are, wow.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's exciting. Anytime you can quit your day job to do your passion, that's amazing. So well, good for you. Congratulations, thank you. So let's just jump right into the, the symptoms. So so many women feel exhausted, anxious, out of sync, and a lot of times their lab tests will not show anything. It'll. It'll show what they're fine, that they're fine. So what do you think is really going on and why? Why are things maybe not picked up? Oh dear is that a big chunk? So?

Speaker 2:

no, no, no. I think of all, we are all going to go through this change and I always put myself in a position where I'm putting the doctors down in how they practice with menopause, perimenopause, women's health in general, but it seems to be a theme that women go to their doctor, they don't get answers and they walk away feeling dismissed or defeated by their visit. I think it's improving because we are becoming more knowledgeable through social media, books, podcasts like this, that we're learning about ourselves and what's happening so that we can go into our doctors. So it's going to happen. But there's all these factors and what we talked about this past weekend that affect and make the journey more difficult. So that may be eating habits, that may be stress, lack of movement, environmental issues, what we're using in our homes everything will add to that transition of making it worse.

Speaker 1:

What about cortisol?

Speaker 2:

Cortisol yeah, that is a hot topic, isn't it? Yes, yes, yes. So we have the sex hormones that help us kind of adapt to changes from day to day. Chronic stress, acute stress, and the adrenals are there also to support us If life gets busier than normal. So I define our life nowadays as chronic.

Speaker 2:

We're all chronically stressed, yes, I agree. And then every single day, acute stressors come our way, from being late from work, maybe a traffic jam, a traffic accident. Of course, some acute stresses are greater than others. So if you're sitting in a chronic stress daily, in the fight or flight, whether you're hovering low or hovering high, your adrenals will be producing that cortisol to keep you going. And if you're not burning, so to speak, if that cortisol is not being used up for the fighting, the tiger, so to speak, it then does? It basically is converted into fat, yes, and it kind of sits in your body, the glucose and so forth. So we need to be able to lower our cortisol. So that's when meditation, that's when different tactics of lowering your stress comes in handy, and I think a lot of us are starting to learn about breath work and so forth. That can come our way. We can utilize it through our day, when we have a hard time at work or a difficult conversation.

Speaker 1:

There are breathing techniques that you can literally lower those cortisol levels yeah, yeah, we, we do sure do need to lower them and you're absolutely right, our I don't know what it is about our society, but we're under a lot of stress yeah, I don't think we know any different, unfortunately that's probably.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yeah, yeah. Sometimes I look at those, at those little videos that you see on on Facebook and Instagram and that's the you know in Italy, where everybody's just like sitting back and having a glass of wine, enjoying their dinner, and they just all seem, like you know, looking out at the ocean, and I'm like I think they don't have any cortisol problems over there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it is interesting. I really, I really do think that North America in particular is hyper about everything, whether it's all the trends of health, hormone health, menopause of health, hormone health, menopause, perimenopause, hormone therapy everything is just heightened, and thanks to social media, it's even more so.

Speaker 1:

For sure, yeah well, what about myths? So what do you think the biggest myths you would hear about? Perimenopause or menopause? Are there myths out there?

Speaker 2:

oh, you know what that's. It probably there's a lot, and if I were to say to anybody that's watching or listening, is that it's really important to find, find what you believe in. So if you do believe in hormone therapy and you are wanting to go that route, then just stick with that route. And you know, if you follow a lot of people on social media, just keep who you follow narrow, because you can get very, very confused about the information that's coming your way. So, to answer your question myths I'm just trying to think of something Because with the hormone therapy industry right now, there's so much confliction and, um, maybe if I were to, I I feel that a lot of people don't understand that the foundations of health that have been around for centuries will indeed improve your life and will indeed help you with your hormone imbalances.

Speaker 2:

And we've come to a point where we don't even believe in the basics, we don't trust the basics because we've relied so much on the medical world to fix our problems. So if I were to create a myth, my myth that I keep encountering is people don't. They don't associate hormone health with health and they don't associate taking care of themselves with is equal to taking care of your hormones.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I agree with you about that Absolutely. I think that's definitely definitely one for sure. So the weight gain around the midsection is is a complaint for women, usually 40 and up, and I would like to say that I was gaining some weight there when I was about 39, 40, 41. And I went to my doctor a female doctor and I said, you know, like I don't know, like why, I'm just like I'm not doing anything differently, but I just gain, and I'm just gaining this weight and and she and I said, like is it, you know? Do you think it's my hormones?

Speaker 1:

or something and she just kind of you know, god love her. But she kind of flessed me away and said oh no, that's a myth, you know. So basically what I kind of felt like when I left her office was well, Julie, you're obviously doing something to be gaining weight. Yeah, I wasn't doing anything different.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it's so common. I I mean, I was in the same position, um, so, basically, with the fluctuating of the progesterone and estrogen, usually during the 40s, when you're entering perimenopause, and right up until the end it into menopause, all depending on what's happening in your life, your estrogen will be higher and then it'll dip, and then it'll spike and then it'll dip. So your metabolism is obviously being conflicted as well, and this is a time when you're extra sensitive about everything. So your stress, your chronic stress, just seems to feel heightened and worse than it was, you know, two or three years prior, before you entered or before things started to shift. So again, everything is a little bit confused in your bodies. Your ovaries are trying to figure out okay, should I stay or should I go? Your adrenals are trying to kick in and they're also helping you, but they're confused as well. So when we talk about sensitivities, that also has to do with your food, and that's what I was missing in my days, even though because I had a background and I kind of knew what I needed to do Although you feel like you're doing everything right, sometimes you just need somebody like a hormone health coach or nutrition coach to just steer you along.

Speaker 2:

And what I normally do is I help women with their food. It's called a food mood journal. So we understand. I see you know when they're eating. When they're eating certain foods maybe their sugar intake is a little bit higher and they had no idea. Digestion maybe you're not going to the bathroom enough and not drinking enough water. So those the process of fine-tuning things in those years is very important. And the belly weight gain it's almost inevitable.

Speaker 1:

But over time, once you kind of put the puzzle pieces together, you do eventually feel like you're a little bit more in control and that that will go down yes, well, and I've certainly felt that way that I've yes, but but I'm just remember in the beginning this is going to sound totally stupid and I'll just put it out there to the world, because this is sometimes how, how it just seems I thought I had bought a brand new washer and dryer and I'm not even joking. I said to my girlfriend, I think my dryer shrinking my clothes. I did. I thought that because I'm like I've been the same weight for the same weight, the same body type for so many years and I'm, and I seriously thought, the dryer.

Speaker 2:

I know, I obviously don't think you're the only would be the only one, and I really that you know they used to say that your eyes changed overnight when you entered your 40s, and I really think that, physically, women quite often feel that way. They literally wake up and all of a sudden they have a belly that they've never had before. Yes, yes, so that estrogen. Estrogen is powerful in that it helps with metabolizing, it helps with your temperature regulation, it, I mean it. It's a wonderful hormone, and so is progesterone, obviously, and these things are fluctuating and progesterone goes down. It never really goes back up, but then the estrogen is always so high, uh, too high. So, yeah, it's so fun I know well.

Speaker 1:

I finally realized after a few weeks no, julie, your dryer is not shrinking your clothes as much as you'd like to think, that, that it is, um, the other thing I I I made a note of that I really wanted to ask you about, is women waking up at that 3 am now now I don't, luckily I I've never had hot flashes and um uh, and I tend to sleep pretty good, but I started maybe six, seven years ago waking up 3 am.

Speaker 1:

Still doing it. It drives me, it's crazy. I can just lay in there wide awake. Yeah, we should have a 3 am Facebook group out there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I used to say the 4 o'clock club.

Speaker 2:

I used to wake up at 4 o'clock and I still do, and I call them spells, where I go through certain phases. It really has a lot to do with my stress and how much I wake up in the night, and then, of course, how much you know if I drank too much water before I went to bed, and so forth. That is probably the most difficult part of that change, because we need our sleep and a lot of women will go in to the doctor for hormone therapy just to resolve their sleep. So when the progesterone dips and the progesterone is the one that keeps you asleep in the night estrogen is part of help you get to sleep and so when your progesterone is low, you're going to have difficulty sleeping. So if I were to work with somebody again a food journal we talk about I don't like to push supplements, but there are some that are absolutely necessary, even if you are a great sleeper, to supplements, to maybe your dinner, from fasting to maybe not fasting, having a snack.

Speaker 2:

Every woman is different and how that can help with your sleep. Some women, it could be blood sugar levels going down.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, um, some women it's cortisol is too high, or a little bit of everything yeah, it's um, and I know it happens a lot because I talk to you know I talk to a lot of women yeah I mean, I've met a couple that haven't had trouble sleeping at night, um, um. But the majority of the women definitely go through this yeah, and it's no wonder then we're exhausted because we're not getting enough sleep out there.

Speaker 2:

No, yeah, no, exactly yeah what there are ways definitely to help.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yeah what do you, what do you think about the connection between gut health and hormones? Oh, it's massive. It is massive.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and scientifically, scientifically, I can't and nor I will go through you know the details of it, but it has a lot to do with it and and I usually work with women with their gut health, more or less, to help them eliminate you wouldn't believe how many women are chronically constipated um, or the opposite ibs. So we work through that just to support their overall health. Boy, that's poor women, eh, you know well. And estrogen is significantly helpful again in that process. So it's just one of those things that everything needs to be taken care of and your whole body is extra sensitive. The gut health is extra important through this stage.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, so, in a world full of quick fixes, what does true healing look like when it comes to hormone health, and how long does it really take? Like, like you know, can we just start and it's going to fix us fairly quickly, or is it a long?

Speaker 2:

process. Well, every woman is different, right and um, sometimes I did work with one lady, um, when I was first starting and she, she was struggling so much with hot flashes and insomnia and so forth. And when we worked together and she showed me what she ate and the supplements that she was taking and her activity and so forth, she was doing everything right, but she just wasn't eating enough. Oh, okay, so she was so incredibly healthy and minding everything that she ate and I just said to her you know what, you're doing a really good job, but I don't think you're eating enough. And after that she, within a few days of her, just increasing what she was eating and adding a few more supplements. It was night and day. She was so incredibly thankful, wow.

Speaker 2:

And then there's some people that it takes some time. So if I, if this was our last conversation and you said, what can I do, I'm absolutely desperate. Magnesium, biglycinate is massively important for every woman A minimum of 400 grams taken at night and that will help you settle with sleep. And vitamin d is super important, and omega-3s and a b complex.

Speaker 2:

it's not going to solve everything, but it's part of the process and I think there's a lot of people out there that also struggle with even taking supplements.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah so if you're absolutely desperate, um, you can go into your doctor and you can talk about hormone therapy as well. Um, I don't disregard it, but what I do say is that hormone therapy is just part of the equation. You still need to take care of your body, mentally and physically. Yes, a lot of times you take the hormone therapy and you continue on with your life, but we're still at a stage in our life where we are sensitive and we still need to eat well, move our bodies, yeah so what happens?

Speaker 1:

so what happens when, when a woman comes to you and and says oh, what's going on? Like, what do you, what's your stages of helping people? Like, how does that just a little bit of how that process works? What do you do for us when we come to?

Speaker 2:

you. So I have some questionnaires. I don't I don't necessarily believe in testing right away. Some people do. I do have access, access to, like the dutch test.

Speaker 2:

If people really want to know what's going on, uh, I make sure that they get a blood test done by their doctor and we check their iron and hopefully the doctor will agree to take a full thyroid panel test. And then we just begin and this is probably the hardest part for people is called the food mood journal and that's when we literally dissect what they eat and how they feel from morning to night. I want to see, I even want to know. We go to the Bristol stool chart and it goes from numbers one to five in what your poop looks like and that will tell me if you're dehydrated, if there's some food intolerances, and we really work through everything through the day stress levels, you name it, and if I see some flags, then I also recommend a naturopath and anybody else that might have any additional support, like acupuncture if somebody is wanting to get pregnant and they're having a hard time, which I've had, that before, yeah, and we just basically sometimes it happens within a couple sessions and sometimes it takes longer so it's.

Speaker 1:

It is really from what. What I've gotten from this is it's just not one thing. It's like, it's like don't, not one supplement is going to fix you. Not a hormone treatment is going to fix you, because your whole body is gone a little out of whack and so you need to work on sleep and food and energy and vitamin D and and the hormones and all of that other stuff, that and your poop and all the other stuff that comes along with it.

Speaker 2:

It's a really a holistic thing 100%, and I always say to people this is a backpack, like when they work with someone like me. You are filling your backpack up with knowledge and resources that you can use far into your later years. And every day we almost need to have a little bit of a reset. You know, so many people say get a journal out, write about your day and a gratitude journal. I also believe in a daily reset. It's like okay, I feel really crappy today. Okay, well, I didn't sleep very well, and you know. And not to say that I want women to beat themselves up for no, maybe you know having a big plate of french fries, but no, you will understand. Okay, um, now I get it.

Speaker 2:

We, we don't digest things as easily as we did. Yes, um, it takes a lot longer. So those kind of things, we need to know it. We need to know what and why we feel the way we do. Yes, and even for me, it's still a journey. I still have weeks where I don't sleep well, I still have days where I feel yucky and it's it. Just, you need to commit to looking at your, your, your habits and your choices that you make on a daily basis, and that is the hardest thing for people.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and that's what we talked about on the weekend, yeah yeah, is the influences that we have in the habits we have created again aren't what I said on the weekend is they're not our fault, but we still have the option to make the changes yes, we do absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Wow, it's um, it's not a, it's not a little conversation.

Speaker 2:

No, and you need. I'm not the only person that someone should rely on. You need to buy the books and be educated and be proactive with your own health and I even go to the doctor just to see what he knows and it's just really important for you to have a plan. If you don't want to buy all the books, go to the library. There's so much information that there's podcasts out there, and we are at a wonderful time. It can be a curse, but it's also a great time for you to seek the information that you need. Yes, yes, it's everywhere. Yes, but keep it streamlined. Again, if you do like the holistic journey, then keep with all the holistic doctors out there and there will be a theme, and that's the only ones that I follow now. Yes, yeah, for sure?

Speaker 1:

Well, andrea, wow, that is. That's a lot of information and we've just touched on it. I would like to sort of just move in a different direction, if that's okay. In a different direction, if that's okay for a minute. I have my favorite questions that I like to ask my podcast guests. So is that okay with you? Please do All right. Okay, this is just to get to know you a little bit better, All right.

Speaker 1:

So my first question is if you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go and why would you go there?

Speaker 2:

well, I've never been to Mexico, but if I could go somewhere and stay, I've always been very curious and drawn to Norway. Interesting, yes, wow. Now what would be Mexico? Just because I've never been there and I, you know, I got to be part of everybody else's. I'm in the Mexico club.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yeah, yeah, for sure yes, and why Norway?

Speaker 2:

I just think I've always been so impressed by how they take care of their community and their people and their values, how they take care of their community and their people and their values. And yeah, my daughter is also quite drawn to Norway as well. Wow, yes, they do.

Speaker 1:

They do, okay. What is your favorite way to unwind after you've had a very busy day?

Speaker 2:

I have a bath. Yeah, every night I have a bath. I get sad. We don't have air conditioning, so I I miss my baths in the summertime. Yeah, because that is my way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, lights go off and I'm in the tub, oh, nice, okay, do you have a favorite motivational quote that keeps you going?

Speaker 2:

Oh yes, absolutely, by Anne Wigmore. Basically, the food you choose can either be your medicine the food you choose can either be your medicine, or it can be I'm not quoting it completely correct or your poison.

Speaker 1:

That's a good one.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Oh my goodness, if I had it in front of me, I could read it correctly, but it is by Anne Wakemore.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, I think we all need to have that tape to our fridge, yeah, yeah, wow, wow, okay. And what about a favorite book that inspires you? Do you have one?

Speaker 2:

I always read books about health and wellness. I probably the one book that I've really, really liked and valued is Just Like a Girl by Dr Mindy Peltz. Which one was it Fast Like a Girl? By Dr Mindy peltz. Which one was it fast like a girl? Oh, by dr mindy peltz, interesting yeah it basically she.

Speaker 2:

She basically talks about fasting and, okay, the health benefits and the healing benefits of fasting, and it really opened my eyes because I had a I have a good friend that has been fasting for quite some time and I didn't quite understand it and I felt like I needed to know more about fasting, given me an option for my coaching as well, to help anybody that is interested in fasting, or I may see that fasting may benefit them down the road.

Speaker 1:

Okay, now, if you could have dinner with any woman in history, who would it be and why In history?

Speaker 2:

Who would it be and why In history? I actually would really like to have dinner with Dr Mindy Peltz Because I think it would be really good. A really tasty dinner, healthy dinner, and I could pick her brain Perfect.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely Okay, absolutely Okay. So here is my last question. If you could whisper one truth into the ear of every woman who's struggling right now, what would you say?

Speaker 2:

Something I have to say to myself almost every day is you're worthy. You're worthy of feeling like yourself, and it'll take time and work, but you are worth it and worthy oh, I love that.

Speaker 1:

That's a that's a good one, wow. Well, I appreciate you coming on and doing this with us. I, our audience is almost all female, so, um, I hope that, uh, that everyone will take the opportunity to listen or to watch it so that they can get a little bit more. I mean it's you know, there's so much to it, but I think that you've given everybody a really good sort of just a baseline of understanding and what they could possibly do to go and get help. So very, very, yeah, very informative. Now I want everyone to know that if you want to reach out to Andrea, all of her details will be in the details section of the podcast and the video, so links will be there if you want to reach out to her. So you just go ahead and do that. And, andrea, do you have one last word of wisdom that you would like to share with everyone?

Speaker 2:

Just take health seriously. You know we always hear your body is your temple. You only have one body and once you tune in and become intuitive to what you eat, how you move, what you need, you won't go back Like it'll be part of who you are and it does feel good.

Speaker 1:

Yes, thank you for that. That's a great piece of advice and motivational as well. So thank you. Well, everyone, that's it for this episode. So again, feel free to reach out to Andrea if you, if you have questions or you're needing some assistance. Don't suffer in silence and alone, everybody. Okay, we'll see you again next time. Bye, bye, thank you, bye, bye.

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