+ Happy 40-something to Britney Spears, Tiffany Haddish, and more

+ 5 of the best books about the midlife experience • Meet Joanna Strober, founder of Midi Health

Meet Joanna Strober, founder of Midi Health

I’m the founder of Midi Health, the fastest growing virtual clinic solely focused on providing care for women navigating midlife hormonal change. Unlike others in the menopause telehealth space where the focus is more on products and prescriptions, Midi was built around the concept of providing expert, holistic, and personalized treatment for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause symptoms — covered by insurance — and delivered via specially training clinicians. 

The idea for Midi Health was inspired by my own midlife health journey. I found myself in the midst of perimenopause without knowing it because I still had my period, but started noticing other symptoms that my body was really “off.” It started with hot flashes in my mid forties, and by 47, I stopped sleeping.

Insomnia had never been a problem for me, but suddenly, I was having terrible night sweats that would wake me up at 3 a.m., and I couldn’t fall back asleep for an hour or more. The next day I would be exhausted and crabby. I gained weight because I was eating in an effort to energize myself, literally snacking to stay awake!

“The best thing I’ve done for myself in midlife has been to embrace estrogen in all different forms to improve my life – from protecting my brain, my bones, my cardio health, my libido … even my face via new estrogen face cream.” 

— Joanna Strober, founder of Midi Health

I’m a big researcher, so as with most problems I’ve faced in life, I got to googling for solutions and talking to friends and my primary care doctor, who prescribed sleeping pills, which I rarely used because of concerns they would be addictive. I tried CBD, melatonin, and nothing worked. It wasn’t until I finally found a menopause care specialist who prescribed the right combination of hormone replacement therapy that has literally changed my life. 

Looking back, I now see how hormone transition affected not just my sleep, but also my energy, weight, mood, sex life… and how all of it improved with treatment. That experience made me ask questions: Why wasn’t expert care for women at midlife easily accessible and covered by insurance? Why didn’t more women know about hormone transition, and all the potential ways to manage it—whether with hormones, or non-hormonal prescriptions, or supplements? I saw that women could not reach their potential without access to great healthcare at midlife.

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#HBDGAL

Happy birthday to these Grown-Ass Ladies redefining modern midlifedom

Isla Fisher celebrated 48 on February 3.

Krysten Ritter celebrated 42 on December 16. From her iconic portrayal of Jessica Jones to her versatile roles in hit shows like Veronica Mars and Breaking Bad, Krysten has repeatedly proven that she’s not one to blend into the background.

• Britney Spears celebrated 42 on December 2.

• Tiffany Haddish celebrated 44 on December 3.

• Margaret Cho celebrated 55 on December 5.

• Michelle Obama celebrated 60 on January 17.

• Kerry Washington celebrated 47 on January 31.

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5 of the best books about aging and the midlife experience

By

Jessica Smock

of

Midstory Magazine

My bookshelves are overflowing, and I’ve felt an urgent need to make room for new books that better reflect where I am right now in midlife.

I collect books about topics that I’m struggling with. (This quirk may make more sense once you learn that my personality type is INTJ and my Enneagram type is Investigator.)

So it’s interesting to me that I own very few nonfiction or memoir books about understanding midlife. I’m not sure why that is. Is it because there aren’t that many books out there and the ones that are out there aren’t publicized widely? Is it because my wonderings and struggles are less precise (“is this all there is? why do I feel alone in this? Am I too late to reach my goals?”) than other big challenges from earlier periods of my life?

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“Being single is so much more fun than being miserable in a relationship.
Don't hang out with mean people, even if they're your family.
You are not required to spend your time and energy with people who make you hate yourself.”
— Maysoon Zayid

Thanks to our friends at Embr Wave, makers of the personal hot flash prevention tool.