40ish | The Funny Podcast on Perimenopause, Menopause & Midlife

Brain fog, anxiety, weight gain, poor sleep: is it always perimenopause? This week on 40ish we ask whether we're blaming everything on our hormones, and whether that means other health issues get missed. A recent article questioned whether every symptom in a woman in her 40s should be put down to perimenopause. After decades of women's symptoms being dismissed as stress or "getting older", recognising the impact of oestrogen and hormonal change is vital. But not everything is menopause, and persistent or unusual symptoms deserve proper investigation. Plus: a listener from the sweaty-underboob contingent refuses to join the no-bra movement, and this week's 40ish dilemma asks whether it's rude to leave someone on WhatsApp blue ticks for days. One listener now matches everyone's reply time exactly. Fair play, or WhatsApp weirdo? 40ish is the podcast about the funny, messy and ridiculous reality of life in your 40s. 💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected] 📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast & Substack @The Midlife Club Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30-day money-back guarantee. Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a 40ish Midlife News Special, and this week we're asking a fairly important question: how much do doctors actually learn about menopause? An ITV News investigation into medical schools in England and Wales found that some student doctors receive as little as one hour of formal menopause teaching during their entire five-year medical degree, with around 20% of universities that responded reporting less than 90 minutes of dedicated menopause teaching. There's also a brilliant new midlife comedy-drama to talk about. Sharon Horgan's new series Youth follows Alex, a recently divorced middle aged woman who is juggling a teenage son, ageing parents, work and the pressure to find a new relationship before she gets "too old". It's the sandwich generation, dating, ageing and midlife anxiety wrapped up in a comedy-drama, and we are obsessed!  💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected]📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee.  Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.  Finally, we investigate the booming menopause supplement industry. A new review published in Climacteric looked at 201 menopause supplement products available in the UK and found huge variation in their ingredients, doses and prices, with products ranging from around £1.50 to £95 per month. The researchers also found that fewer than half contained vitamin D and only 23.9% contained calcium, despite the importance of both nutrients for bone health. With the global menopause supplement market predicted to reach billions of dollars, we ask what women are actually getting for their money and how to separate evidence-based menopause advice from clever marketing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Midweek Meltdown Show, where we're talking midlife meltdowns, 3am anxiety and the wildly irrational thoughts that hit in your 40s. Proper, deeply middle-aged meltdowns. Lauren wants to know why on earth she thought she needed a pair of white kitten heels. We get into the psychological damage social media does to women in midlife. And there's a double-bagging pillowcase situation that has become far more important than it should be. A primary school teacher shares one of the most spectacularly awkward moments we've ever heard. Another listener has developed a completely separate personality at 3am. At 7am? Completely normal again. If you've ever lain awake overthinking, you'll know exactly what she means. If you've ever had a midlife meltdown, a 3am anxiety spiral, an embarrassing social moment or a thought that seemed completely reasonable at the time, this episode is for you. What's your most ridiculous 40ish meltdown? Tell us in the comments. 💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected]📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee.  Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices #40ish #MidweekMeltdown #MidlifeMeltdown #WomenInTheir40s #Midlife #Perimenopause #3amThoughts #Anxiety #Overthinking #Sleep #MiddleAge #MidlifeWomen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on 40ish, Nicole hits a major midlife milestone as she drops her eldest child off at university. We’re not crying, you’re crying. Meanwhile, Lauren is experiencing a very different kind of midlife humiliation: changing from heels into flats on the Tube because comfort has officially won. We hear from a listener struggling with unpredictable energy levels and fluctuating hormones. She can feel full of energy and excited to make plans one day, then reach the day itself and want to cancel everything and hide under a duvet. So how do you make plans when you genuinely have no idea which version of yourself is going to turn up? In Midlife News, three 40ish stars have all welcomed new babies. Finally, this week’s dilemma is a big one. A friend has cancelled their girls’ weekend just five days before they’re due to go. Is this the end of a friendship? Have your friendships changed in your 40s? Do you have less energy for nights out than you used to? And how do you deal with making plans when your energy levels are completely unpredictable? #40ish #Midlife #Perimenopause #HRT #WomenInTheir40s #MidlifeFriendships #Friendship #Menopause #MidlifeWomen #University 💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected] 📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee.  Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on 40ish: Nicole has bought a steam mop and it's love at first swipe. Lauren, meanwhile, is about to celebrate her silver wedding anniversary ( surely that's for old people?) This week's listener feedback brings an enthusiastic leggings recommendation (sorry, Lululemon). Then Mary-Anne gets in touch from deep inside perimenopause brain fog; words? Gone. Executive function? Also gone. If you've ever walked into a room and forgotten why, this segment is basically a support group. This week's Dilemma: Rosie's best friend has gone full doomsday prepper. Six months of food, industrial quantities of water, head torches, a camping stove, a wind-up radio - the lot. Completely unhinged, or the only one who'll be laughing when civilisation collapses? And finally, Meltdown of the week: a listener rings her husband to ask what flavour cake he wants for his birthday. One small problem: it isn't his birthday. Perimenopause symptoms, memory loss, marriage milestones, friendship dilemmas, panic buying, doomsday prepping, activewear obsessions and the eternal question: why did we walk into this room again? This is 40ish. You're welcome. 💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected]📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee.  Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on 40ish: Nicole is becoming allergic to everything and has to reign in her dad as he brings new meaning to “life begins at 40” when he insists on walking a marathon for charity for his 80th birthday. Lauren has been spending too much time alone and queries what quantifies a gift after being given a toilet brush. We have feedback from 44yr old rave queen and a very special surprise from DJ Penelope, who has taken things one step further and actually made us a 40ish song. Yes, really In Midlife News, M&S has entered its saucy era. Crotchless knickers have appeared on the nation's most trusted high street retailer and Britain is absolutely beside itself. Has M&S gone S&M? Our dilemma this week comes from a woman whose mother-in-law lives abroad, which sounds lovely until you realise that every visit involves several uninterrupted days of being talked AT by someone who appears to have forgotten that conversation is supposed to be a two-way activity. So how do you tell a beloved but exhausting relative that perhaps they could occasionally STFU?  If you’re enjoying 40ish, please share this episode with a friend who you think will love it too.  💌 Send us your dilemmas and rants: [email protected]📱 Follow: @40ish.podcast Donate to Food Bank Aid: https://www.charityextra.com/hub/foodbankaid/tony-singer Try AG1 now at https://drinkag1.com/selfcare and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30- day money-back guarantee.  Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices