unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Fran Haydanek — board-certified OB/GYN and the voice behind Paging Dr. Fran — to get practical about perimenopause. They break down what’s normal when your periods change, the bleeding patterns that mean you should get checked — including why PMOS carries a five-times-higher risk of endometrial cancer — the growing overlap of postpartum and perimenopause, and the “just a tired mom” trap that delays diagnosis.
Then it’s treatment: birth control vs hormone therapy through the transition (and why Dr. Fran calls the IUD “a three-for-one”), what the guidelines actually recommend, workarounds for the estrogen patch shortage, GLP-1s and PMOS, and the real Women’s Health Initiative numbers behind two decades of fear. They close with the three things every woman in her late 30s and 40s should do for her health right now.
Guest links:
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Website): https://www.pagingdrfran.com/
Dr. Fran Haydanek (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@PagingDrFran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (TikTok): https://www.tiktok.com/@pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Threads): https://www.threads.com/@pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/pagingdrfran/
I Did My Own Research (Apple Podcasts): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-did-my-own-research/id1879906055
Books:
The New Perimenopause: https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
The New Menopause: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter
Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.

What happens in the gap between your last baby and your first hot flash? Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Fran Haydanek — board-certified OB/GYN and the science communicator behind Paging Dr. Fran — to connect the dots most women are never shown. They unpack “reproductive hormone sensitivity”: why women whose brains react to hormone fluctuations with PMS, PMDD, or postpartum depression face a dramatically higher risk of depression in perimenopause — in the largest study to date, almost 13-fold — and why that history sits unread in your own chart.
They also get practical about diagnosis: why there’s no blood test for perimenopause, the conditions that mimic it — iron deficiency (and the new ferritin guidelines), thyroid disease, sleep apnea, diabetes — and what your pregnancy history predicts about your future health, from gestational diabetes to preeclampsia and heart disease. Because knowing your own history means you never have to be blindsided by symptoms that were completely predictable.
Guest links:
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Website): https://www.pagingdrfran.com/
Dr. Fran Haydanek (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@PagingDrFran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (TikTok): https://www.tiktok.com/@pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Threads): https://www.threads.com/@pagingdrfran
Dr. Fran Haydanek (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/pagingdrfran/
I Did My Own Research (Apple Podcasts): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-did-my-own-research/id1879906055
Books:
The New Perimenopause: https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
The New Menopause: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter
Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.

Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is the most undertreated condition of midlife — and one of the easiest to treat. In this solo episode, Dr. Mary Claire Haver breaks down the symptoms most women never connect to their hormones: vaginal dryness, painful sex, urinary urgency, getting up at night to pee, delayed orgasm, and recurrent UTIs — infections that, in older women, can lead to sepsis, falls, and hospitalization. Affecting 50–80% of postmenopausal women (and effectively all of us if we live long enough), GSM can also strike at any low-estrogen stage of life, from postpartum to breastfeeding.
Dr. Haver shares her own story of missing the diagnosis in herself, then walks through exactly how to treat it: why vaginal estrogen — not lubricants — is now the frontline treatment, how the FDA’s November 2025 removal of the black box warning changes the conversation, how to apply it (“treat the whole neighborhood, not just the block”), and the options beyond estrogen, from vaginal DHEA to pelvic floor PT. It’s never too late to start — and you never have to just live with this.
Books:
The New Perimenopause: https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
The New Menopause: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter
Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.

In part two, Dr. Mary Claire Haver and breast oncologist Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky shift to breast cancer risk, prevention, and early detection: dense breasts, family history myths (only 5–10% of breast cancers are hereditary), risk assessment from age 25, who needs genetic testing, and why previvors in surgical menopause can use hormone therapy without raising their breast cancer risk. Plus life after treatment — bone density, chemo brain, heart health, fear of recurrence, and body image after mastectomy.
Guest links:
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Website) https://interludecancerstories.com/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drteplinsky/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Substack) https://drteplinsky.substack.com/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (TikTok) https://www.tiktok.com/@drteplinsky
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/drteplinsky/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleonora-teplinsky-md-fasco-220aa02
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@drteplinsky
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (X) https://x.com/drteplinsky
INTERLUDE: Cancer Stories with Dr. Teplinsky (Apple Podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interlude-cancer-stories-with-dr-teplinsky/id1451816690
Living Beyond Breast Cancer https://www.lbbc.org/
Books:
“Beyond the Pink: Navigating Life, Health, and Breast Cancer,” by Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dr-eleonora-teplinsky-m-d/beyond-the-pink/9781538777145/
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
“The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter
Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with breast oncologist Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, author of Beyond the Pink, to take on the dogma that women with breast cancer — or a family history of it — can never take estrogen. They cover why estrogen does not cause breast cancer, who is and isn’t a candidate for hormones, the script for a dismissive appointment, vaginal estrogen and DHEA for survivors, and the NCCN’s shift on testosterone from “contraindicated” to “use with caution.”
Guest links:
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Website) https://interludecancerstories.com/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drteplinsky/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Substack) https://drteplinsky.substack.com/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (TikTok) https://www.tiktok.com/@drteplinsky
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/drteplinsky/
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleonora-teplinsky-md-fasco-220aa02
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@drteplinsky
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky (X) https://x.com/drteplinsky
INTERLUDE: Cancer Stories with Dr. Teplinsky (Apple Podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interlude-cancer-stories-with-dr-teplinsky/id1451816690
Living Beyond Breast Cancer https://www.lbbc.org/
Books:
“Beyond the Pink,” by Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dr-eleonora-teplinsky-m-d/beyond-the-pink/9781538777145
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
“The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter
Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.