Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to Hormone Heroes, where I share testimonials from real people who have experienced bioidentical hormone therapy. Men and women share the symptoms they have experienced and the difference proper hormone replacement has made. I'm your host, dr Kelly Hopkins, and I have been in the functional medicine space for over 30 years, with a focus on hormones for 20 years. Please keep in mind this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician or practitioner for medical advice. Let's get started with today's guest. Guest Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today we have Debbie Shirey. She is a family nurse practitioner and she's also has a very important role as the clinical associate professor of nursing at Baylor University, and she is also a certified health and wellness coach. Welcome, debbie, thank you. I'm glad to be here. So just give us a little bit of your background, and you're currently living in Hot Springs Village in Arkansas. Just walk us a little bit through your life up until this point.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Yes, I was born and raised in Camden, arkansas, and have lived between Arkansas and Texas over the course of my adult life. After college and we decided, after being in Dallas for six years, it was time to come back home, and this is where we plan to retire. I started out as a broadcast journalist back in the early 80s and I had a premature baby in 1986, a 26-week baby, and he was in NICU for at least four months and then in and out of hospitals for the first year. So while he was in NICU, his primary nurse said have you ever thought about going to nursing school? I said, oh gosh, no, I'm not smart enough to do that.

Speaker 2: 2:00

All my friends had to read a lot of heavy books and, yeah, I'm not into that. But long story short, I went to nursing school and once I got in there, I loved it and I just kept wanting to advance my education and I went all the way through and completed my doctorate in 2013. And so I've been teaching in nursing programs for about 25 years now. Yeah, it's all very rewarding, in addition to working as a family nurse practitioners. It's the best of both worlds for me.

Speaker 1: 2:27

So as a nurse. What sort of clinical work did you do, or did you go straight to teaching?

Speaker 2: 2:34

Well, I did a little bit of both, but I worked in urgent care and I also did community health work. I've done a lot of volunteer work with homeless shelters and domestic violence centers while I was in Dallas that my work home has primarily been urgent care, because I like procedures and I like kind of the you know quick fixes and it makes me have to think fast. So yeah, I kind of like that chaos. I was an emergency room nurse so it kind of fit me to a T.

Speaker 1: 3:01

Uh-huh. And now your focus is you've kind of gone a different direction with the health and wellness coaching. Tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 2: 3:09

Now I realize the longer I've been in this, the more things that I realize that we don't learn in nursing school and even though we know how to interview patients and we know how to talk to patients and use therapeutic communication and all that kind of stuff, we don't learn motivational interviewing and we also don't learn to embrace the wellness aspect and when you're looking at the person as a whole, there's so much that goes along with that and that includes nutrition, and we get one nutrition course in nursing and I think that we are really underserved in that area, because nutrition is the foundation for everything.

Speaker 2: 3:47

It truly is To really sit down and tell our patients and our clients about good nutrition, not just about diets and weight loss and fat, but about why processed and ultra processed foods can be so harmful and cause inflammation and heart problems and diabetes. And so I felt like this was a good role for me to kind of switch and as I decide to transition to a retirement I'm not going to retire completely I would like to work with clients one-on-one and help them develop goals and strategies for making better choices.

Speaker 1: 4:22

That's fantastic. So I'm sure, with all this new information, that the United States, especially, is being made aware with our new administration and things. Seed oils are bad, right, you mentioned the processed foods, the food dyes. You know a lot of things that we are allowed to eat and buy in the United States are not allowed in other countries without warning labels on them. So your expertise is very much needed. So tell us a little bit about your own hormone journey and then I want to talk a little bit more about your future with your coaching. So when did you start to notice symptoms of hormone deficiency?

Speaker 2: 5:07

That's where it started on my 42nd birthday. I had a hysterectomy when I was 30 years old, after my second child was born, and why did you have to have a hysterectomy?

Speaker 2: 5:17

I had from the traumatic birth with my first child. I did have a traumatic birth with him. I had placenta previa, I had eclampsia. I was actually not supposed to have a second child. They had told me not to have any more kids, and you know that's what the smart nurse does she goes and gets pregnant for the second one five years later. But I had her. She was a little bit early. I still had preeclampsia with her and a lot of health complications. But I also had tremendous scarring of my uterus and I just could not hang in there. And he said well, we can do two things. You know, I thought I was hemorrhaging to death. He said we can either put you on birth control pills or we can take it out. And I said, no, I want to just take it out. So I opted for that. I did keep my ovaries, however, but as you may know, when you have a hysterectomy, even if it's only the uterus, the ovaries tend to die out earlier. So, about 42 years old, I had moved to Arlington. I was teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Speaker 2: 6:16

I woke up in the middle of the night and I was having the worst sweat attack I've ever had in my life and I was completely soaking wet, sweating in places. I didn't know. You had sweat glands Like what is this? Yeah, it was like a tsunami. No-transcript. I said this must be a hot flash. This is what my gynecologist was telling me about. And so I went and started, you know, doing over-the-counter stuff. I did some compounding things, I tried many things. I got on Premarin and those things worked a little bit but nothing really fixed it. So I just kind of lived with it and suffered with it for, you know, about nearly 20 years. I just because I didn't realize that there were so many options available.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Uh-huh, and I noticed in your notes that you had said you'd tried Premarin in the beginning and as we've gotten more and more education about that, it's a little bit difficult to to want to use those equine estrogens. And then you add the synthetic progestin to the Premarin and that becomes PremPro, and you know that takes us over to the WHI study that showed so many women were getting more breast cancer, blood clots, all that good stuff so. But you know lots of people have tried Premarin and it works for some, but I was glad to see that you weren't on that currently.

Speaker 2: 7:44

Yeah, you know, and I think I had a little bit of an advantage being a practitioner and having prescribed, because I understood what the consequences were of long-term Premarin use and when I turned 50, I knew it was time to come off of it. Even though I didn't smoke or anything like that, I thought I don't want to have a blood clot and I knew that I was more prone for that if I continued to take it.

Speaker 1: 8:05

Yeah, so you had mentioned hot flashes, central body weight gain. Do you mean thickness in the middle, or Right?

Speaker 2: 8:12

around my gut. Yep, it's like, from the waist down, everything started thickening and it was hard to lose. That was a real challenge trying to get that weight off. And then I noticed being fatigued. Well, I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism somewhere along the way, but you know, it was just that you notice you're having things like vaginal dryness and the thinning of the skin and the you know, the genital region and zero libido there. You know all those things that go away and intercourse and nobody wants to live with that. You know. Not fair to your partner for sure. So yeah, it was. It was pretty terrible.

Speaker 1: 8:51

So tell me what is your current hormone regimen.

Speaker 2: 8:54

Right now I am on pellets, pellet treatment, and I started that when I was in Dallas and, of course, then when we moved, I hadn't had them in a while. And I'm going to tell you, I noticed the difference and I looked you guys up because I'm like I need to find someone that does pellet therapy and I was so, so happy to find you. So I've gotten back on pellets. So I'm on testosterone and estrogen, as well as a progesterone tablet at bedtime and I'm telling you I think my husband would pay you to not ever let me get off of it, because I mean, I'm a different. The energy level, it's not just the woman part, but the energy level and the focus and all of those things that I didn't even realize were not there. I realized I had it back. When I got it back, I'm like, wow, that I didn't even realize were not there. I realized I had it back. When I got it back, I'm like, wow, I didn't realize I was feeling that bad.

Speaker 1: 9:44

Yeah, it's a fantastic change and a lot of people will get to feeling better after that first one or two pellet procedures and think I don't need this anymore. And then it takes them going back to baseline to really understand what they're missing again. Because there's that I feel great. So your husband, we got to meet as well. What drove him into the office? Was him wanting to keep up with you, or what?

Speaker 2: 10:14

Maybe. Well, when I had actually suggested, I ran a men's health clinic when I lived in Rogers and I had brought him and said let's do your blood work, you know, just for kicks and grins. He wasn't having any, he's never had the first health problem. But it was interesting when we did all of his labs to see that his testosterone level was low. And he's low. I wouldn't have ever believed that and I said no. So we started him, of course, back then it was injectable and he started feeling so much better and he started losing weight and realizing that he had more energy there. Well, that clinic.

Speaker 2: 10:48

Well, we moved to Dallas and I started teaching with a very good friend of mine who's a nurse midwife, who owns a clinic in Allen, and she said oh, I do pellet insertion. You want to give her a shout out? Absolutely, dr Amy Giles. And she is just amazing. She's in Allen, texas, she owns the Allen Birthing Center and they do pellet treatment in her office. And she's just, she's one of my dear friends and I just love her to pieces.

Speaker 2: 11:15

But I was a little bit familiar with the pellets because I had worked in a clinic in Rogers or in Bentonville where they did pellet insertion, but I never did get trained to do it. So I had a little bit of knowledge and I knew people kept coming back regularly wanting those pellets and I thought that's just the darndest thing and but I didn't feel like I needed anything like that at the time. But, like I said, when I got here after I had been off of him for a few months and then moved here, it was like you were the first person I was looking for. I'm like who does pellets? Who does pellets, right? Yeah? And with John he was like well, I want to do him again, because I had gotten him to go to Amy's clinic, also because we knew his testosterone was low, because we knew his testosterone was low. And so once he got on the pellets himself, he was like he's like, oh my gosh. I mean, within a week he was feeling like a different man. Oh, good, good. So what benefits specifically did those were?

Speaker 2: 12:16

The first changes that I really observed were my ability to focus and to get things done, and I'm a morning person anyway, but I was like a real morning person. I noticed I was starting to sleep better and not have like weird dreams, because I have like really vivid dreams, and so so my sleep corrected. It's like when I wake up at three in the morning now I don't tend to lay there and think of all the things I need to do tomorrow. It's more like I'm able to learn to take some deep breaths and to coach myself back into my sleep cycle, which is different for me. Yeah, also noticed a difference in how I felt sexually.

Speaker 2: 12:56

I mean, that's one of the big things right there. You know, I don't know if men ever really fully lose it, but women do. You know women, you know, if you don't have any hormones in your body, you just couldn't care less about any kind of relationship. Yeah, that has been rekindled. I'm in my 60s, so you know there's hope for women. I'm telling you there's hope for women of all ages. You know, to get that back, because that's the fun part of life and of sharing life with someone that you love.

Speaker 1: 13:25

So were you surprised that testosterone was such a big piece of pellet therapy.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Yes, I knew that women made testosterone. I know that we make it from the ovaries, but probably small amounts. And if that's gone, I mean that is such a critical component to go along with estrogen. My voice isn't deep. Yeah, I don't want to grow a beard, I don't want to. You know, I don't want this or that. It's not. You don't get enough of the testosterone to really have a lot of those. You may have some little new little side effects like acne, maybe a little bit of facial hair or things here and there, but to me the benefits far outweigh the side effects.

Speaker 1: 14:11

Yeah, and you know, when we're young and healthy females in, let's say, 20s, we are making 10 times more testosterone than we are. Estrogen Men make 100 times more. So all we are doing is giving you back the dose you had when you were young and youthful. So now you did mention, besides your butt, cheek being a little sore because that's where the pellets are implanted. How long did you feel? So walk us through the being a little sore because that's where the pellets are implanted. How long did you feel? So walk us through the procedure a little bit.

Speaker 2: 14:42

Well, shout out to Honey Hull, who's my hormone pellet inserter and she's fantastic. She's so gentle and she's so kind and funny. I didn't feel anything, you know, when the pellets were inserted at all. But you know, when the lidocaine wears off you feel a little bit of soreness. It didn't last, but about a week for me. I mean, yeah, and it's only if I bumped myself or, you know, sat down too hard or anything like that. It's not anything that's like excruciating pain. Right, wasn't uncomfortable at all, like to sit down, except for, you know, that first little bit because you got a big gauze bandage on too, and that's. I think the tape and the gauze are probably worse than the pellets themselves.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Yeah, yeah, once that's over with and the little incision is healed back up, nothing to it, nothing to it, and you're good to go for about three or four months, right? So tell us in your own words how hormone therapy has changed your life in general.

Speaker 2: 15:41

Well, it's made me feel like I'm not 63 years old, for starters.

Speaker 1: 15:46

That's a mouthful right there. It truly is.

Speaker 2: 15:49

Yeah, it's made me feel more like I'm back in my 40s maybe, which I thought 40s was a good era for me, but I feel more like I'm about 20 years younger and my body feels like it's about 20 years younger. I'm having more ability to go do things like Pilates and yoga and exercise and I do want to get up and go for walks and you can't see it because my screen's blurred out but I have this thing I call the beast over here behind me which is an elliptical, and it's like I feel like getting on that, even if it's for 10 minutes, just to get up from the desk and move during the day, but it's just put me back into a place where I feel normal.

Speaker 1: 16:28

Yeah, and I see where you feel more patient and kind.

Speaker 2: 16:33

I feel more patient and kind. Not that I wasn't patient and kind, but I feel like I'm even more patient and kind. I don't feel like I get as edgy as I maybe did about things or stress out. I've turned into like lower stress, which is good. Sometimes you still have anxiety for no apparent reason, and I think that has something to do with hormone depletion and the waking up in the middle of the night and, oh my gosh, what am I supposed to be? I'm supposed to do something. I can't remember what it is. I need to make a note in my phone and then you pick up your phone and now the light hits your eyes and then stimulates your brain. You know it's a terrible cycle, right, just a cascade of it is yeah. So I haven't been doing that, I've been just learning. I've just, you know, I'm chilling, I'm chill, chill.

Speaker 1: 17:18

Yeah, and I've seen your motorcycle get up too, so you are very cool and chill. The thing I was going to mention as females, we're trained to exude patience and kindness, and sometimes we have to fake it until, if our hormones are not balanced, we're truly. It's a lot of effort to fake it, and so pellets or hormones in general just give you a buffer, I think, for managing our stress and our world. So you are definitely, debbie, a hormone hero. What would you like our audience to know?

Speaker 2: 17:57

Well, I think the biggest thing is, if you're afraid of it, I feel like it's beneficial to come in and at least get tested it's not going to hurt you to at least get your labs run and just see. I mean, you know, you may not realize that that's something that's going on in your body or not going on in your body, and there are so many different options. But for me the pellets are top. I mean, I've tried topical, I've tried other things that just did not work and I feel like you know, because you keep the pellets in your system, you're going to absorb it better. And I'll just say don't be afraid of it. You know, if it's not for you, you don't have to do it again. But I think once you try it because I didn't know how it was going to affect me when I did it and I was a little bit scared and skeptical I thought this isn't going to work. But once I've done it, it's like I don't know how I can ever live without it.

Speaker 1: 18:47

Yeah, yeah, that's so true. So we in our clinic here at Restoration Healthcare, debbie, is doing some consulting for us in the world of health and wellness coaching. Give us a little more detail, debbie, about what a visit with you might look like, okay.

Speaker 2: 19:06

Well, you know, with health and wellness coaching, it's everything we did not learn in nursing school, about nutrition, about caring for the whole person. And so for an initial visit, an initial visit is going to take somewhere around an hour to an hour and a half and it's going to depend on you know where you are in life and what you want to do. So we'll set what's called SMART goals and we'll work on some SMART goals and see what it is that you want to achieve. If it's weight loss, if it's better nutrition, if it's to stop smoking, it could be any number of things that's for that client. It's going to be client tailored and the client actually leads what they're doing.

Speaker 2: 19:50

And I'm going to support that client through motivational interviewing and through support of their goals and positive reinforcement and have them come back. Again. They're going to be the ones who call the shots Do they want to come back weekly or do they want to come back every other week, or what works best for them? We'll meet for 45 or 50 minutes at each successive visit and find out, kind of how they're doing on their goals. I'm going to be their cheerleader, I'm going to be their sidelines person and everything is positive. We don't judge how they're going to do things. We let the client be the driver of that car, so to speak, and tell us how they want to proceed.

Speaker 1: 20:29

So I was just going to follow up with what you said on. So many people are now relying on the GLP-1 medications semaglutide, ozimbic wagovi, ozimbic Wagovi, monjoro, terzepatide, all those things and I think what the missing piece is is exactly what you are offering, debbie. You're there to help them make a life change and make it an educational process and a habit forming process and things like that. And if you need to use some of the GLP-1 medications as a tool for a while, that's fine, but the value that you bring with your expertise anyone that would take on a consultation with you is going to be a hundred times more successful in the long run, I would believe.

Speaker 2: 21:25

I think it's important to educate and I'm also in the process. I'm in a course right now to become a certified holistic nutritionist and so that actually go on top of what I've started about 30%, you know, into the course right now, but that and then I'm going to also get a certificate in gut health, so all those things when we realize how the gut and the brain work together. You know it's such a, it's such a cool thing to unlock that knowledge but to be able to educate people who are on GLP once and any kind of weight loss medications, because you know you can't just rely on the weight loss medication to do its thing and not help it, and sometimes it does take somebody who would be like in my position to help coach them on things.

Speaker 2: 22:06

Let's look at what you ate this last week. Tell me how you did. Maybe you ate chocolate cake. Maybe you went to a graduation party and you know you feel like you blew it. Did it really hurt you to do that? No, just, you know you'll get back on track, but I'm going to be that person that helps them realize that's normal, it's okay. Did it taste good, you know? Did you enjoy it? It's not going to be. Oh, I can't believe you ate that pizza and chocolate cake. It's going to be. You know, did you enjoy it? Because it kind of teaches them also, when they do eat, to enjoy their food and not just eat. You know, like, rip open a bag of chips and scarf them all down because you're starving, chew those chips up and taste them. You know, really, if you're going to eat the chips, enjoy the chips.

Speaker 1: 22:50

That's right. So can you give us just an overview of what the Holistic Nutrition Course Certification is teaching you?

Speaker 2: 22:59

It teaches about metabolism and how the metabolism works and all the different. It gets into some pretty heavy chemistry and pathophysiology, which I enjoy, but also I'm getting ready to get into the part about the different nutrients and different food groups, and so you know it really focuses heavily on macronutrients and micronutrients so you learn how the carbohydrates, the fats and the proteins really work at the cellular level. Not say I just love all this. This is like going back to microbiology. We get pretty intense on things like the Krebs cycle and ATP and how everything works at the cellular level and I just think that's so fascinating because our bodies are such intricate machines. Yeah, and it fascinates me how the body works. Yeah, it just gets very deep into all of that, so it'll help me be a better educator for those purposes.

Speaker 1: 23:54

Well, restoration Healthcare is a very lucky clinic to have you and your expertise joining us, and expanding our horizons is definitely into the holistic nutritional world as well. Well, in closing, debbie, I just want to thank you for coming on, taking the time out of your busy day. I know you've got meetings back to back and you're running Baylor University from your desk, from a computer, from a laptop.

Speaker 2: 24:22

Yeah, thank you for having me. This has been such a treat and I look forward to being a part of a restoration healthcare and seeing where this takes us in the future. I'm ready to help people. Yeah, I've had to have help too, so it's kind of like I understand it from my own perspective and I want to help others. Fabulous Thanks.

Speaker 1: 24:40

Debbie. Thank you, fabulous Thanks, debbie. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Hormone Heroes. Take a moment to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode. While you are there, help us spread the word by leaving a rating and a review. If you would like to share your bioidentical hormone story or need help finding a physician in your area, please email us at drkelly at hormoneheroesorg that's D-R-K-E-L-L-Y, at H-O-R-M-O-N-E-H-E-R-O-E-Sorg. We want you to be a hormone hero.