Okay. We’re going Down There.

In this episode, Jeni and Amy talk vaginas and what happens to our pelvic floors in midlife.

We kick things off with our shared post‑pandemic impatience — why do manicures feel like a hostage situation now? Why are jeans staging a full invasion into “vagina lane”?

Jeni’s grandma, Venus, calls it down there. Amy’s mom calls the entire area her bottom.

Let’s talk about VAGINAS:

Vaginal dryness.

Painful sex.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Vaginal estrogen cream and now needing lube.

Leakage - like peeing when we don’t mean to.

UTIs, urinary frequency, bladder prolapse.

Pelvic floor therapy after childbirth — years of exercises that did absolutely nothing for leakage — before but there is an answer! Just ask Jeni.

Women are dismissed when we bring this stuff up to doctors.

This episode is honest. It’s funny. It’s uncomfortable. It’s liberating.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this normal?” — you are not alone.

Let’s talk about it.

On socials at: @thedismissedpodcast

Write to us at: thedismissedpodcast@gmail.com

Let us just say this upfront: perimenopause is REAL.

In this episode, Jeni and Amy are talking about what really started happening to our bodies before anyone officially called it perimenopause — the bloating, the sudden bloat, the hip pain (who knew estrogen receptors lived there?!), the sore boobs that felt like my milk was coming in again, and the mood swings that went from “meh” to full-blown rage in 0.4 seconds.

Fun times.

In this episode we get into the real symptoms of perimenopause and menopause — the stuff women whisper about but don’t always say out loud:

• Breast swelling and tenderness
• Feeling puffy and inflamed for no reason
• Hip and joint pain linked to dropping estrogen
• Random flushing and night sweats
• Brain fog and losing words mid-sentence
• The sudden disappearance of your emotional filter

And can we talk about the rage?

Because no one prepared us for the raaaaage. Or the clarity that comes with it.

It’s like midlife rips the filter off your brain. Things you tolerated for years? Suddenly unacceptable. Conversations you avoided? Now happening. Perimenopause doesn’t just shift your hormones — it shifts your tolerance.

We also talk about HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and how confusing and frustrating it can be to get real answers.

For us? Game changer.

We share exactly what worked for us.

We also discuss:

• HRT patches
• Why did my doctor give me birth control
• How wildly inconsistent doctor’s guidance can be
• Why advocating for yourself matters

If you’ve been told “this is just aging” or “your labs are normal” but you feel off — this conversation is for you.

Perimenopause is real. The symptoms are real. And the solutions are real too.

And if you’re in the thick of sore boobs, hip pain, brain fog, hot flashes, or increased irritability — you’re not crazy.

You’re hormonal.

Come sit with us.

Write to us at:

thedismissedpodcast@gmail.com

Or visit us on the socials

@thedismissedpodcast

Welcome to the very first episode of dismissed. The Empty Nest Era. — a podcast for women navigating midlife transitions, empty nest life, perimenopause/menopause and everything in between.

We’re Jeni and Amy, friends who realized that our four‑hour-long lunches — part therapy session, part humor-laced reality check — were actually the conversations we wished more women were having out loud. So we decided to start a podcast.

We bonded over parallel lives: stay‑at‑home moms who gave up our careers to raise our only children (daughters). And when the empty nest hit, it shocked and surprised us in many ways!

This podcast exists because we believe this time of life deserves more visibility, more honesty, and more humor. No one is talking about the reality of how our homes, bodies, minds and lives are so different now.

We want this podcast to be a two-way street, so let us know what you want to talk about too.

We’re also introducing an unserious recurring segment: PMO (Piss Me Off) — where we vent about the little things driving us crazy. In this episode? Speakerphone in public. Enough said.

If you’re craving real talk from women who are IN IT NOW, we want to hear from you. If you are navigating or prepping for the empty nest or experiencing peri/menopause symptoms — you’re in the right place.

Subscribe, follow along, and send us your PMOs. We’re just getting started.

Write to us at:

thedismissedpodcast@gmail.com

Or visit us on the socials @thedismissedpodcast