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Tamsen Fadal was an experienced news anchor when heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, and severe brain fog left her on the bathroom floor of her newsroom. Despite spending decades in the media, she had no idea she was experiencing menopause.
In this episode of hol+ with Dr. Taz MD, Tamsen shares how that frightening experience led her to investigate why so many women remain unprepared for perimenopause and menopause.
Tamsen reflects on losing her mother to breast cancer and later realizing that her mother had experienced medical menopause following chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. Nearly 28 years separated their experiences, yet both women suffered without the information or support they needed.
That realization inspired Tamsen to step away from a three-decade career in television journalism and devote her work to menopause education and advocacy. She explains how social media revealed the scale of the problem and gave women a place to share symptoms and experiences that had been ignored or dismissed.
Dr. Taz and Tamsen also discuss the confusion surrounding hormone replacement therapy, the importance of personalized care, barriers to finding informed doctors, and the role telehealth may play in improving access. They explore how brain fog, anxiety, sleep disruption, and other symptoms can affect women’s confidence, careers, relationships, and sense of identity.
Tamsen also shares the story behind The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause. After being told there was no audience for a menopause documentary, Tamsen and her partners self-funded the project, brought together leading experts and women’s personal stories, and ultimately secured national distribution through PBS.
The conversation turns toward reclaiming menopause as a powerful stage of life rather than a period of invisibility or decline. Tamsen discusses her book, How to Menopause, and the practical lifestyle changes that have helped her take better care of herself at 54.
In this episode:
- Tamsen’s frightening menopause experience in the newsroom
- Heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, and severe brain fog
- Why she did not recognize her symptoms as menopause
- Her mother’s experience with medically induced menopause
- Why menopause care has changed so little across generations
- Leaving a three-decade journalism career for women’s advocacy
- The fear and financial uncertainty of making a major midlife change
- How social media helped women begin sharing their experiences
- Creating The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
- Being told there was no audience for a menopause documentary
- Why hormone replacement therapy remains confusing
- The need for personalized menopause treatment
- What to do when a doctor dismisses or minimizes your symptoms
- Improving menopause research, education, and access to care
- How menopause symptoms affect women in the workplace
- Reframing menopause as a powerful new stage of life
- The sleep, exercise, protein, stress, and alcohol changes helping Tamsen at 54
About Tamsen Fadal:
Tamsen Fadal is a 13-time Emmy-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and menopause advocate.
After more than three decades as a television journalist and news anchor, she shifted her work toward helping women understand perimenopause, menopause, and life beyond midlife.
Tamsen is the author of How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better Than Before. She is also a co-producer and executive producer of The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause, a documentary exploring the medical, emotional, social, and workplace effects of menopause.
Connect with Tamsen Fadal:
https://www.tamsenfadal.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tamsenfadal/
Get How to Menopause:
https://www.howtomenopause.com/
Watch The M Factor:
https://themfactorfilm.com/
About Dr. Taz:
Dr. Tasneem Bhatia (Dr. Taz) is a triple board-certified integrative medicine physician, bestselling author, and founder of hol+, a multi-location integrative medicine practice.
Learn more: https://doctortaz.com/about
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