In The Ladies' Room With Dr. Donnica

Today we’re talking with Dr. Alison Escalante about one of the biggest epidemics facing Americans: Anxiety. Chances are pretty high that you’ve experienced anxiety first hand; as we’ve discussed previously in episode 61 of this podcast with psychologist Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg, a survey done by the organization HealthyWomen revealed that 96 percent of American women say they have suffered from anxiety.  More alarmingly, 81 percent said they suffer from it at least weekly. Dr. Escalante has an interesting perspective on the anxiety epidemic as both a parent and as a pediatrician who counsels parents on a daily basis about what she calls the “Should Storm”, which I will let her tell you all about.

Today we’re talking about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in young women.  Our two guests, Katie & Reese were diagnosed at the ages of 29 & 22. They are both passionate athletes who are committed to continuing their high level of fitness and overall quality of life. They also share a commitment to connecting with others who have been diagnosed with MS, particularly an online resourcewww.GatherMS.com.

I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but all I had to hear about August McLaughlin’s new book was the title Girl Boner, and I knew we had to have her as a guest “In The Ladies’ Room”!  August McLaughlin is a nationally recognized health and sexuality writer, media personality and creator of the female sexual empowerment brand Girl Boner™. Her feature articles have appeared everywhere from cosmopolitan.com to the Huffington Post, and livestrong.com, who named her “Nutrition Writer of 2010.” She is the host of a weekly web radio show and podcast, Girl Boner Radio, where she explores women’s lives and sexuality, just like we’re going to do today!

Dr. Kelly Culwell a.k.a. "Dr. Lady Doctor" is a fellowship-trained OB/GYN who is passionate about women’s health care. She’s here with me today to dispel any shame or misconceptions women have about their bodies and to debunk the myths about a broad range of female health questions. Dr. Culwell received her medical degree at UC Davis, did her residency at UC San Diego and her fellowship in Family Planning (along with her MPH) at Northwestern University. She's currently based in San Diego where she is the Chief Medical Officer of Evofem Biosciences, a company committed to developing products which may improve the health of women worldwide.

Feeling disgruntled by her Maine federal elected officials’ lack of responsiveness, sky-rocketing health insurance costs for herself and her patients, the opioid crisis, Congress’ failure to pass meaningful gun safety laws, and their willful ignorance of environmental issues, Dr. Cat London decided to run for US Senate as the only Democratic challenger thus far to incumbent Senator Susan Collins.  Dr. Cat has worked with Doctors for America serving as a State Director and is currently the women’s delegate from Maine to the American Academy of Family Physicians. She is also on the legislative commission & public Health commission of the Maine Medical Association and serves on the Maine Democratic state committee.   You may have seen her on all the major networks as a medical contributor, but today she joins us “In The Ladies’ Room”!

I met today’s guest a few weeks ago at the introduction of our episode #48 guest, with four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, who said “Trust me, you will love her!” Dawn Fitch is the founder and CEO of Pooka Pure and Simple, a handmade bath and body company. Dawn is also a health advocate who uses her platforms to support women suffering from auto-immune diseases, to explore natural healing and lifestyles.

I met my next guest, Dr. Regina Hampton, on Twitter! Tune in to hear the story! Let’s just say it was about breast cancer, long work hours, and lingerie, so of course I had to invite her to the Ladies’ Room!  Dr. Hampton is the Medical Director and Founder of the Breast Center at Doctors Community Hospital, the first comprehensive breast center in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is a board certified general surgeon who has focused her practice on breast health and breast cancer. But most recently, she is also the founder of Cherry Blossom Intimates, the first retail store in the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia to carry custom-made mastectomy breast prosthesis around the clock. 

Rabbi Robin Nafshi of Temple Beth Jacob in Concord NH spends a great deal of time counseling her congregants about spiritual healing.  But helping them deal with issues related to physically healing from health challenges is also a frequent focus. Unfortunately, she has had a lot of personal experience with this, having had to manage the challenges of Sjogren’s Syndrome and fibromyalgia for many years.  She is also an endometrial cancer survivor. Today we’re talking with her about all of the above, as well as how she is helping her congregants heal in the aftermath of the recent massacre in which an anti-Semitic gunman killed 11 worshippers and injured several others (including 4 police officers) at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

My next guest, Martha Buttenheim, is the first guest I’ve had who was a college classmate! Over the years I heard she had married her college sweetheart and had children, but I didn’t see her in person again until our 25th college reunion, when she introduced me to her partner, who is also a woman. In addition to Martha, I also knew four other women in my age group who were previously married to men & now divorced, but in happily committed relationships with women.  We talked to psychologist Dr. Drema Dial about figuring out she was a lesbian after her own divorce briefly in episode 29 about the psychosocial causes of migraine, but I thought this topic was worth a much deeper dive, especially after our interview with Vivian Fransen in episode 56 about her book, “The Straight Spouse”.  Martha is the owner of Guidelight Coaching, and works as an executive coach, helping women and entrepreneurs achieve their goals, perform at their peak, and manage work/life balance with minimal stress, striving, and sacrifi

All you have to do is watch the news for an hour on any given day & you’ll see why It’s no surprise a new study reveals 96% of American women are suffering from anxiety. Interestingly, 87 percent of the women surveyed have already gone through menopause or are currently perimenopausal, and 80 percent believe that menopause can cause anxiety.  And this is what we’re going to talk about with our guest today, Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg.

We’re going to do something a little different today. I have no guests on the line. Instead, I’m sharing comments from hundreds of women—and men—who have posted on Twitter in the number one trending hashtag thread #WhyIDidntReport. This thread spontaneously erupted after President Trump tweeted about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the clinical psychology research professor who has come forth at great personal risk to disclose that when she was 15 and current SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh was 17, he allegedly sexually assaulted her at a party. This is not just about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. . .this is about all of us. This is about living in a culture where sexual assault has been tolerated, minimized, swept under the carpet, overlooked & even ignored.

Today we’re talking about one of the greatest gyn mysteries:  the location, anatomy, physiology & function of the clitoris. We’re calling this segment “Becoming Cliterate.”  To guide us is Dr. Becky Kaufman Lynn, Director for the Center for Sexual Health & Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as the Assistant Director of the medical student clerkship at St Louis University in St. Louis MO.  She generally talks about all things involving sexuality & says that the two most common things she hears from her patients are complaints about decreased libido and painful sex, particularly in her patients who are either menopausal or in various stages of treatment & recovery for various cancers.

Today we’re talking with noted sex therapist Dr. Shannon Chavez about “The Sex Talk You Never Had.” Dr. Chavez is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Sex Therapist specializing in the treatment of sexual disorders, sex education for conservative religious and cultural groups, and out of control behaviors surrounding love and sex. She is the Clinical Director of SHAPE (Sexual Health and Pleasure Enhancement) Center in Beverly Hills, California where she provides individual and couples therapy, sex and relationship coaching, and workshops on sexual health and wellness. She frequently appears on national news, radio, and media as a sexual health expert and I had the pleasure of doing a media tour with her several years ago on menopause and sex.

Nancy A. Shenker, is a publisher, author, and self-described Chief Disruptive Idea Officer at SheBoom.com. She is also the founder & CEO of theONswitch marketing, a professional writer/speaker, HuffPost contributor, and co-author of Don’t Hook Up With the Dude in the Next Cube and Embrace The Machine. We will be talking with her about her book, which coaches young women on how to navigate the workplace. . .and also includes a section on in-office romance, which we will definitely focus on!

Today's guest, Vivian Fransen, is a writer, a thinker, and a self-described human shock absorber. She has worked with a wide range of organizations as a communications officer, a director of development, a hospital grants administrator, a university development officer, a hospice care administrator, a family planning counselor, and a houseparent in a residential treatment center for troubled girls. Little did she know that when she worked as an intern in a crisis intervention center during her senior year at college, Vivian Fransen would later utilize all all of those skills she learned—defining the problem, ensuring personal safety, providing support, examining alternatives, making plans, and committing to positive action—years later when her own marriage was in trouble. Despite her personal struggles, she finds her fine-tuned capacity for empathy, acceptance, and positive regard toward others remains strong. We’re going to hear about all of that today from the author of The Straight Spouse: A Memoir. For in

Today’s guest is New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Diane Chamberlain. Just as she gives us in-depth, inside looks into the lives of her characters in her 25 novels, today she will give us insight into her personal journey with Rheumatoid Arthritis. She will also discuss her feature story on Arthritis.com. More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which changed the way she works: she wrote two novels using voice recognition software before finding a medication to better manage her RA symptoms and being able to get back to typing. She feels fortunate that her RA is managed and that she is able to enjoy everyday activities like playing the guitar as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.

Dr. Nicole Saphier is a board certified radiologist with fellowship training in Oncologic Imaging. She works full time at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is the director of breast imaging at their regional location in Middletown, NJ. You may know her as a frequent medical contributor for Fox News. She has also appeared on MSNBC, HLN, Fox Business, and Dr. Oz discussing a wide variety of medical topics. But I know her from Twitter! We’ve both posted & sometimes even ranted about many overlapping medical topics, most recently the revelation that the Trump administration tried to DEFEAT a UN affiliated World Health assembly resolution which called on all world governments to "protect, promote, and support breastfeeding" and to limit misleading marketing of formula milk. This resolution was based on based on decades of research, showing that mother’s milk is healthiest for moms and their babies.

Rachel Saintfort is a gifted singer who will be releasing her next single “The Harvest” as well as an accompanying music video in October; the rest of the album is coming out in December. While she is most well known for her music, Rachel was also featured in People Magazine’s "How We Lost 100 Pounds."  She says she was always confident, so her weight — which hit 200 lbs by the time she was in high school— didn’t really bother her. But in January 2017, her daughter, now 10 years old, got in the car and said that a classmate had called her mom “fat.”  The pain she saw in her daughter was the catalyst for her journey. . .which you will hear all about in this episode.

You are going to LOVE my guest today: Shannon Boodram. Widely known as “Shan Boody," she is a certified sex educator, dating expert and lifestyle personality. She has been featured in numerous media outlets including “The View,” MTV, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, Forbes and Time Magazine. But today she really hits the big-time by joining us for the second time “In The Ladies’ Room”. Today we’re going to talk all about periods. . .and how they sometimes turn into exclamation points! We’re going to touch on everything from how to talk with your mom or daughter about getting your periods or period problems, when to see your doctor, sex while having your period, what to do if you don’t get your period, and when your period is more accurately referred to as a Crime Scene!  

Jennifer Rawlings is an award-winning writer and performer who grew up in Salina, Kansas, went to college to study biology, and decided to become a stand-up comedian instead. Jennifer is the proud mother of five children and lives with her family in Los Angeles. You may have seen Jennifer on Comedy Central, CMT, PBS, FOX, VH-1, A&E, CNN, HLN, CURRENT, Joy Behar, or her recent TEDx talk. I met her in New York City at a Read650 event in NYC. She was such an engaging speaker I invited her to be a guest...before even hearing the women’s health challenge she had lived through: a ruptured uterus during the birth of her third child.