Not Crazy Just Menopause

Why Your Blood Work Says You're Fine (When You Know You're Not)
What if the reason you've been told "everything looks normal" is because your hormones were only measured on one day?
In perimenopause, hormones don't sit still—they rise, fall, and shift from day to day. A single blood draw captures only one moment in time. It can't reveal the patterns where many women first begin to experience brain fog, anxiety, poor sleep, mood swings, hot flashes, and other frustrating symptoms.
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Amy Divaraniya, molecular biologist and Founder & CEO of Oova, to explore why longitudinal hormone monitoring is changing the conversation around women's health.
We discuss why hormone patterns—not just individual numbers—matter, how technology is helping women better understand what's happening inside their bodies, and why the future of menopause care may lie in combining hormone trends with wearable data, lifestyle habits, and personalized insights.
If you've ever been told your hormones are "normal" while feeling anything but, this episode is for you.
In This Episode
✔ Why one hormone test often isn't enough during perimenopause
✔ What longitudinal hormone monitoring actually means
✔ Why hormone patterns tell a more complete story than a single lab result
✔ How daily hormone fluctuations can impact symptoms
✔ Why so many women feel dismissed despite "normal" blood work
✔ The exciting future of personalized menopause care
✔ How wearable technology and hormone tracking may work together to give women a clearer picture of their health
✔ What every woman should know before assuming she's "just getting older"
About My Guest
Dr. Amy Divaraniya is a molecular biologist, entrepreneur, and the Founder & CEO of Oova, an innovative hormone testing platform helping women better understand their bodies through quantitative hormone tracking. Her mission is to empower women with better data, better answers, and a deeper understanding of their hormonal health across fertility, perimenopause, and menopause.
Interested in Tracking Your Own Hormones?
One of the reasons I was so excited to have Dr. Amy on the podcast is because I've been using Oova as part of my own observational case study.
As a FLAG-certified coach, I became an Oova affiliate, but instead of simply recommending it, I decided to become my own case study. I've been tracking my hormones alongside my Oura Ring data, sleep, readiness, HRV, fasting, movement, nutrition, and symptoms to better understand how all of these pieces work together during post-menopause.
If you're curious about tracking your own hormone patterns, you can learn more using my affiliate link below.
🔗 Order Your Oova Kit Here:Feel free to use code FLAGNCJM10 and receive 10% off your first kit
Disclosure: I am an Oova affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through my link. There is no additional cost to you, and I only recommend products I personally use and genuinely believe can help women better understand their health.
Connect with Karen 
🌐 www.notcrazyjustmenopause.com
🎙️ Subscribe to Not Crazy Just Menopause for expert interviews, practical strategies, and real conversations that help women navigate midlife with confidence.
📘 I'm Not Crazy, You're Not Crazy, It's Menopause: A Girlfriend's Guide to Survive
Final Thought
Perimenopause doesn't happen in a single moment—it happens in the pattern.
The more we understand those patterns, the better equipped we are to ask informed questions, advocate for ourselves, and partner with our healthcare providers. Women's health is moving beyond one-day snapshots and toward understanding the whole story—because you deserve more than being told you're "fine."

When I was a little girl, I had three imaginary friends. Their names were Jance, Brince, and Since. Not Jennifer, not Sarah — Jance, Brince and Since. Years later I found the pages where I'd written out who they'd become as grown women, and it stopped me cold: they weren't imaginary friends at all. They were three parts of me.
In this episode I introduce you to all three — the planner, the caregiver, and the dreamer — and the part nobody warns you about: in midlife, they stop politely taking turns and all start grabbing for the wheel at once. That's the rage, the 3 a.m. spiral, the "what's next?" restlessness. It isn't a breakdown. It's an identity shift — and there's a new map waiting on the other side of the chaos.
It's funny, it's a little embarrassing (six-year-old me had imaginary friends with retirement plans), and it might be the most seen you've felt all week.
What you'll take away
Why midlife so often feels like three versions of you yelling at once — and why that chaos is a doorway, not a malfunction.
The real reason a woman who was never anxious suddenly can't make a decision without three guarantees (hint: it's a hormone, not a personality flaw).
Why "running on empty" shows up as the snap and the guilt that follows — and what to do with both.
How to spot which "inner woman" is loudest on any given day, and how to start scheduling your life around your cycle instead of fighting it.
The one question to sit with this week — and the honest answer that's allowed when it feels like nobody's driving.
 
Subscribe + follow
If this one made you laugh or feel a little too seen, follow the show so the next episode finds you — and send me a DM on Instagram telling me which one you are: Jance, Brince, or Since.
Join us at Uncorked (September)
Come spend a real day with women who get it — connection, wine, wellness, and the conversations you can't have anywhere else. Details + tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/uncorked-midlife-finally-out-loud-tickets-1991007710659
Get the tools
Want more than the episode? Get on the list at karen@notcrazyjustmenopause.com  and I'll send you the good stuff first.
 

You almost flipped off the driver who took your parking spot this morning. By 10 a.m., the colleague clicking her pen in the boardroom is suddenly the worst person in the building. You've led teams for twenty years. None of this is who you are. So what changed?
 
In this episode, Karen walks through the Personal Code of Honour she co-built years ago — the four-anchor leadership toolbox of Integrity, Excellence, Communication, and Passionate Intensity — and what happens to it when the hormone imbalance symptoms of perimenopause quietly arrive at the peak of a high-performing woman's career. She names the biology nobody told you about (estrogen decline symptoms running erratic, progesterone imbalance symptoms showing up first as nervous-system noise), pushes back on the 131-symptom overwhelm with her signature "I'm not here to teach you symptoms — I'm here to give you tools" pivot, and hands you the first tool: cycle mapping. The four-week map. The colour-coded calendar. The line that's becoming her trademark — schedule your life around your cycle.
 
This is the leadership conversation menopause in the workplace should have been from the start. Honest, practical, zero filter, and built for the executive woman who's done with trouble concentrating at work and ready for a tool she can use on a Tuesday.
 

What it actually feels like when perimenopause comes for the part of you that built your career — and why nobody at work is allowed to see it happen.
You walk into a meeting you used to run in your sleep. You say something with your usual confidence. And the woman across the table — ten years younger — corrects you. She's right. You were wrong. And the recall you've trusted for twenty years just didn't show up.
This episode is about that moment. The one almost nobody at work talks about. The slow erosion of the professional self high-performing women built across two decades — happening quietly, around 47, with no warning, no language, and nowhere safe to name it. Karen walks through the lost-recall moment, the self-trust spiral, the timing cruelty of perimenopause arriving right at the peak of your career, and the silence that costs Canadian women $3.5 billion a year. Honest, practical, and zero filter.
 
If this landed for you, the easiest next step is the email list — that's where I send the patterns, the scripts, and the resources I would've killed for at 47. Sign up at notcrazyjustmenopause.com  o
 
 

Have you noticed it?
 
Midlife hits. Menopause begins. Kids grow up. Careers shift.
And suddenly… there’s a puppy in the house.
 
Is it random?
Or is it a placeholder?
 
In this episode, Karen Roy explores what’s really happening beneath the surface. Not hormones. Not loneliness. Not a trend.
 
Purpose.
 
Menopause isn’t just a biological transition. It’s an identity recalibration.
 
For decades, many women have lived inside roles — mother, partner, caregiver, high achiever, peacekeeper. Roles that were necessary. Roles that were expected. Roles that were built around everyone else.
 
Then something shifts.
 
Your tolerance changes.
Your energy changes.
Your clarity sharpens.
 
And the question gets louder:
 
What am I actually here for now?
 
The puppy becomes symbolic.
 
Not because women “need something to nurture.”
But because they’re redefining themselves.
 
A puppy represents newness. A chosen responsibility. A fresh beginning that feels light instead of heavy. It can be the first visible sign that something inside is waking up.
 
This episode is about recognizing that awakening before you rush to fill it.
 
Menopause isn’t the end of relevance.
It’s the end of autopilot.
 
Midlife is not decline. It’s leadership — leadership of self.
 
And sometimes, that redefining comes with paws.

Sharpening Your Edge in Midlife 
Hormones, Leadership & Menopause for High-Performing Women
You're smart.  You're capable . You've built a career, a business, a life.  And then midlife hits and suddenly what used to work, doesn't.
This podcast if for women who don't have time to guess.
Sharpening Your Edge in Midlife is where hormones, leadership, and real life collide without fluff, fear-mongering or medical overwhelm.
We talk about what's actually happening in your body, why midlife can feel like you've lost your edge, and how to use hormonal awareness as a strategic advantage instead of a setback.
You'll learn: 
why menopause and perimenopause impact focus, energy, confidence and leadership
how hormones influence decision making, performance and burnout
practical tools to adapt fast, without overhauling your entire life
how to lead, work and live smarter by aligning with your biology
why midlife isn't breaking you it's revealing a sharper, wiser version of you
This is real talk for high performing women - leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals who want clarity, solutions, and direction, not another thing to fix.
If you're ready to stop wondering what the hell is going on and start leading with confidence again, you're in the right place.  
If this episode hit home, DM CLEAN on Instagram @notcrazyjustmenopause
About the Host:
Karen Roy si a spearker, author and the creator fo the CLEAN METHOD, a hormone aligned framework designed for high-performing women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and leadership.
With a background in health and wellness, Pilates, Fasting and women's leadership, Karen helps women stop fighting their bodies and start working with them - without shame, restriction ro burnout.  Her work focuses on clarity, self-trust, and practical strategies that support both performance and well-being in midlife.
Through education, coaching, and real conversations, Karen challenges the narrative that women are "breaking down" in midlife - and replaces it with one that honours biology, intelligence and lived experience.
 
 

Should I Tell My Boss or HR About Menopause? How to Talk About Menopause at Work
Many women going through perimenopause or menopause quietly ask the same question:Should I tell my boss or HR that menopause is affecting my work — or should I stay silent and push through?
In this episode, menopause educator and leadership coach Karen Roy explores one of the most searched and emotionally complex topics around menopause at work. This honest, conversational discussion helps high-performing women understand when disclosure can be helpful, when it may not be necessary, and how to talk about menopause professionally without oversharing or risking career credibility.
This episode is especially relevant for women in leadership roles, professional environments, or corporate settings who are experiencing symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, or confidence changes at work.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
Why “should I tell my boss about menopause?” is such a common and difficult question
How menopause symptoms can impact work performance and confidence
The difference between talking to your manager vs HR about menopause
When disclosing menopause at work may be supportive — and when it may not
How to ask for workplace support or accommodations without sharing medical details
What to say (and what not to say) when discussing menopause professionally
Why hormonal awareness is an essential leadership skill for midlife women
 Key Takeaway:
You don’t have to disclose menopause at work to be supported. What matters is knowing what you need to do your job well — and advocating for yourself with clarity, confidence, and intention.
Why This Conversation Matters:
Menopause is a biological transition, not a personal weakness — yet many workplaces still lack understanding and support. Without the right language or strategy, women often suffer in silence, leading to burnout, disengagement, or self-doubt. This episode helps normalize menopause in the workplace while empowering women to protect both their well-being and their careers.
Resources Mentioned:
I’m Not Crazy, You’re Not Crazy, It’s Menopause by Karen Roy - available on Amazon
The CLEAN Method — a hormone-aware framework for lifestyle, leadership, and menopause support 
IG NotCrazyjust_Menopause
www.notcrazyjustmenopause.com 
Who This Episode Is For:
Women navigating menopause at work
Women in leadership or professional roles
Employers and HR professionals seeking insight
Anyone searching for guidance on how to talk to an employer about menopause
 
About the Host 
Karen Roy is a menopause educator, speaker, health and wellness expert, and leadership mentor who helps high-performing midlife women understand their hormones so they can lead, work, and live with clarity, confidence, and calm.
Through her work, Karen bridges the gap between menopause, leadership, and real life, translating complex hormonal changes into practical tools women can actually use — at work, at home, and in their relationships. She is the author of I’m Not Crazy, You’re Not Crazy, It’s Menopause: A Girlfriend’s Guide to Survive, co-author of Leadership It is Not Just for Leaders, and the creator of the CLEAN Method, a hormone-aware approach to menopause, lifestyle, and leadership.
Karen is passionate about normalizing menopause in the workplace, empowering women to advocate for themselves, and helping organizations better support women through midlife transitions. Her approach is grounded, compassionate, and science-informed — without fear-based messaging or overwhelm.
On this podcast, Karen brings honest conversations, practical guidance, and real talk for women who are done pushing through — and ready to lead differently.

Karen Roy explains why brain fog in perimenopause and menopause is a neuroendocrine transition—not a personal failure—and shares research, personal stories, and reassurance.
She offers practical strategies for leaders to manage work demands with hormonal awareness, boundary-setting, delegation, and simple tools to stay effective and compassionate with themselves.
Hormonal Awareness download = synching your hormonal schedule with your work calendar - link below 
https://notcrazyjustmenopause.myflodesk.com/bossupandflowhormoneguide
www.notcrazyjustmenopause.com 
 

In this insightful episode of "Not Crazy, Just Menopause," Karen Roy invites listeners to explore the profound connections between reflexology and hormonal health. With an engaging narrative, Karen shares her personal journey of discovering the language of her body, emphasizing the importance of listening to these subtle whispers during menopause.
Join Karen as she dissects the CLEAN method, highlighting the "L" for Listening, urging women to attune themselves to the body's internal messages for hormonal clarity and emotional balance. Unveil the mysteries of reflexology as an entryway towards hormonal healing and personal empowerment, and navigate the pulsating landscapes of hypothalamus and pelvic reflex points.
Discover how these revelations can redefine your personal rhythm, joy, and creative power in your post-menopausal life. Whether it's embracing intuition over obligation or softening one's nervous system for productive rest, this episode provides practical strategies for leading with purpose, clarity, and joy. Tune in to reclaim your body's intelligence and join the movement of hormonally aware living.

Welcome to my podcast. This is short introduction about who I am and what I’m gonna be providing throughout these podcasts.