47 symptoms, 10 episodes, one local lifeline

★The Pause Podcast is your local menopause lifeline★

Everyone and their dog seems to be talking about menopause these days. Celebs, politicians, salesmen hawking creams and pills that claim to reduce symptoms.

What has been missing are local answers. Where can people get help around Castlemaine right now? Who is making an impact and who can I actually get in to see?

Lucy Armstrong and Kya Moore have the intel. Their 10-ep podcast, called The Pause, features interviews with health practitioners, experts and passionate advocates all making a difference in the menopause space, locally.

The Pause launches today at the Phee Broadway Theatre and hits the airwaves on Sunday, 7 Sept.

"It started at parties, talking to women in the kitchen or out by the fire, about the symptoms we were all going through," says Lucy.

"I think it's been a slow build and we're riding a wave that's been brewing and crashing on the shores for many years."

Lucy and Kya ran a community survey and the responses shaped the podcast's guest list. “In this town, there's such an amazing collective wisdom and people were really generous in sharing their experience with us,” Lucy says.

Both Lucy and Kya are in the thick of the menopause transition. They said they have learned so much about what they have gone through, while working on The Pause, like how wide the spectrum of symptoms can be.

“I learned that there are at least 47 symptoms related to perimenopause and menopause. I know that my itchy ears, that I had chronically for years, was related to perimenopause. Lucy learned that her shoulder pain was related to perimenopause.”

And it’s not just the body that takes a hit — it’s the timing. "Many of the symptoms seem similar to stress and hit when you're sandwiched by kids coming up from one side and the aging parents coming from the other side. You've got mortgages. It can be a time when women are really entering their peak wise years in jobs, and so they're going into leadership roles right when their bodies are making life very hard," Lucy says.

"The more you know going into it, the more informed you are, the better you know your cycle and the way your body works, puts you in a position to be able to manage the transition."

And that’s really the point of The Pause: knowledge, solidarity, and knowing you’re not going mad. Or alone.

The big question for me is, how do we manage the menopause transition well in a regional town that lacks the services that you can access in a big city.

My attempt to get help for perimenopause symptoms from a local GP went badly.

He told me it wasn't possible for me to be in perimenopause, I was too young, and that peri symptoms don’t last long anyway.

It was heartbreaking to realise that I knew more about perimenopause than the doctor.

Raging against the patriarchy, I went to the Royal Women's Menopause Clinic to get answers where it was confirmed: The Castlemaine doctor was woefully uninformed, I was indeed in perimenopause.

Like Lucy, I thought I could just fix everything with Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT).

"MHT on its own isn't enough," Lucy says.

"I still have really, really bad brain fog and I still have joint pain, though it's not as bad. There are a whole bunch of different things that I feel like it's dulled, but it hasn't solved everything. And then there's the whole issue of actually being able to get it.

"You go to the chemist and they've run out. Or the particular type you need isn't available. It's about access to support. There are online options if you can't get to Melbourne. But people in regional areas are definitely disadvantaged."

Cue the local support crew. On The Pause, Lucy and Kya introduce us to a host of people who can help: a psychotherapist, a medical nutritionist, a yoga practitioner, a pelvic floor physiotherapist, a Chinese medicine practitioner and more.

"Sharing information and solidarity were two big things that we wanted to bring," Kya says. "We want people to go, oh, okay, this support is available in my community, and I've got a starting point."

And it’s not just women who should be listening. "We hope men come to the launch. We hope men and families listen to the series. Part of the problem is that only the people in perimenopause and menopause are listening to this, but really, they're living in spaces with other people and it'd be really great if everyone was on board and got a better understanding about what people are going through," Kya says.

At least one man is going to tonight's launch event. Shout out to Leslie from my book club. Maybe more will be inspired to come along or listen in.

Tickets to the launch event are free, but you have to book and they've been running hot. Local health hero, Bron Grieve, plus five of the podcast’s guests will be on stage with Lucy and Kya, and I hear there is going to be a surprise performance from the same dancers who blew the power at Hot Moves No Pressure a few weeks back. 

You can listen to the first episode this Sunday at 11am on MainFM. Episodes drop weekly on all podcast platforms on Sunday nights.

• Follow The Pause Podcast on Instagram for news and pearls of wisdom from local experts

• Listen to The Pause Podcast on MainFM on Sundays at 11:00 AM

• Listen to our interview with Lucy and Kya

❀ Get your choir on ❀

Seven choirs will be singing the roof off the Castlemaine Town Hall on Saturday afternoon. Join them in the sea of happy hormones they will be spreading around the room.

♡˖ EVENTS ˖♡

• 🎨 Crafter-noon, Mondo Lounge, Fri, 5 Sept, 3:30 PM - 6:00 PM *For ages 15-18

• 🧺 Op Shop Spring Fling, Fri, 5 Sept, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM *50% Off Sale at Windarring, Salvos and MAAW

• 🎵 Radiothon Live, Shedshaker, Fri, 5 Sept, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM *Live broadcast by What’s Golden and Love Storm + prizes!

• 🎨 Landmarks III Exhibition Launch, Artpuff, Fri, 5 Sept, 5:00 PM *Paintings by Lars Stenberg & Graeme Galloway

• Menopause Talk and Discussion, Phee Broadway Theatre, Fri, 5 Sept, 5:30 PM *Includes the launch of The Pause, a locally produced podcast on all things peri and menopause

• 🎵 Frente, Theatre Royal, Fri, 5 Sept, 7:30 PM

• 🎵🎤 Castlemaine Chorale Eisteddfod, Castlemaine Town Hall, Sat, 6 Sept, 1:30 PM *Feat. 7 choirs, proceeds to MainFM

• 🎵 DJ Jen Moore, Table Records, Sat, 6 Sept, 7:00 PM

• 😂 Laugh Shack comedy show, Love Shack, Sat, 6 Sept, 7:30 PM *Feat. John Cruckshank of Redfern Electrical fame

• 🎨 Father’s Day Printmaking Workshop, Buda Castlemaine, Sun, 7 Sept, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM *For adults and kids aged 8+

• 🧺 Castlemaine Farmers Market, Camp Reserve, Sun, 7 Sept, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM *Temporary location

• Public Stitching, Castlemaine Safe Space, Sun, 7 Sept, 10:00 AM *Chatting, stitching, all welcome

• 🎵 Troth / Glen Rey, Red Hill Hotel, Sun, 7 Sept, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM *Minimal pop, immersive ambience

• 🦘 Living with Wildlife talk by Tanya Loos, Castlemaine Senior Citizens, Mon, 8 Sept, 6:00 PM

• ⚡Flashdancercise, Campbells Creek Community Centre, Mon, 8 Sept, 7:15 PM

• 🏋️ Powerbar, Castlemaine Scout Hall, Tues, 9 Sept, 9:15 AM *1hr drop-in class, weights to music

• Castlemaine Safe Space, 74 Mostyn St, Tues, 9 Sept, 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

• 🎨 Art Hang, Newstead Arts Hub, Weds, 10 Sept, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM *Bring a project to work on

• Taco Bar Workshop, Mondo Lounge, Weds, 10 Sept, 3:30 PM - 6:00 PM *Age 12-14

• 🎵 Open Mic, Shedshaker Taproom, Thurs, 11 Sept, 7:30 PM

• 🧠 Trivia! The Bridge, Thurs, 11 Sept, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

• ✍️ Our Words Have Power writing workshop, Castlemaine Community House, Fri, 12 Sept, 12:00 PM *Pay what you wish

• 🎨 Hope is the thing with feathers, Lot 19, Fri, 12 Sept, 6:00 PM *Group exhibition launch feat. Bridget Farmer, Jonathon Lane, Diane Thompson, Eleni Rivers, Ken Killeen & more

• 🎵 CW Stoneking, Theatre Royal, Fri, 12 Sept, 7:00 PM

• 🎵 Club Unity, Boomtown, Fri, 12 Sept, 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM *Feat. MzRizk, Jen Moore, Luqman

• 🎵 Daisypicker, The Bridge, Fri, 12 Sept, 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM *Celebrate the band’s folk-grunge album launch ‘Mess Around’

• 🧺 art, books, castlemaine, Castlemaine Art Museum, Sat, 13 Sept, 10:00 Am - 4:00 PM

• 🧝‍♂️ Spring Ball: Enchanted Realms, Castlemaine Town Hall, Sat, 13 Sept, 7:30 PM - 1:00 AM

• 🎨 Inspired by Nature print workshop, Red Shed Arts Workshop, Sun, 14 Sept, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM *Make prints from original specimens

• 🎵 Gerry’s Well Oiled Machine, The Bridge, Sun, 14 Sept, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

• 🎵 the shops, Table Records, Sun, 14 Sept, 4:30 PM *Live band in the record shop!

• 🎵 Garden Seat presents Ryosuke Kyasu, Red Hill Hotel, Sun, 14 Sept, 7:00 PM *Avant-snare drum soloist

• Worn Again Youth Fest, Mechanics Lane, Sun, 21 Sept, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

• Books at the Brewery, Shedshaker, Tues, 23 Sept, 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM *Feat. Toni Jordan and Jayne Tuttle

• Branch Out: A day in the Oak Forest, Oak Forest, Harcourt North, Thurs, 25 Sept, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM *For ages 12-17

• Run the Maine, Camp Resesrve, Fri, 26 Sept, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM *5 km, 10 km and half-marathon distances

𖥔 TALK TO MOI PLOISE 𖥔

Hi! Kindly drop me a line at [email protected] to let me know:

• all about your upcoming event, and

• who I should interview next. xx