Her Next Chapters

68. Empowering Midlife Transformation: Carin Luna-Ostaseski’s Journey from Entrepreneur to Menopause Advocate

• Christina Kohl

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Carin Luna Osseski joins us to share her transformative journey from founding a Scotch whiskey brand to creating "Hot or Just Me", a resource dedicated to supporting women through perimenopause. This episode emphasizes the importance of advocacy, understanding common symptoms, and fostering open conversations about the often-taboo topics surrounding menopause.

• Carin's transition from graphic designer to entrepreneur
• The birth of Hot or Just Me as a resource for menopause
• Common symptoms associated with perimenopause
• Importance of advocacy and open dialogue with partners and doctors
• Practical tools and products to manage menopause symptoms
• Navigating menopause in the workplace and self-advocacy
• Resources available for women seeking support during this journey
• Carin's mission to empower women through education and community support

Where to find Hot or Just Me:

https://hotorjustme.com
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For help finding medical resources: 
http://www.myalloy.com
https://www.joinmidi.com
https://www.evernow.com


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Christina Kohl:

Hi and welcome to Her Next Chapter's podcast. I'm your host, Christina Kohl. I'm a mom of three and soon to be an empty nester. I'm also a certified HR pro who restarted my career after being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade. I created this podcast to connect with moms who have an empty nest on the horizon and are wanting to redefine their identity outside of motherhood, which might include a job search. On this show, we'll have raw conversations about our ever-changing roles as moms. We'll hear from women who restarted their careers and share tips for a job search after a career break. So if that's you, you're in the right place. Friend, let's get started.

Christina Kohl:

Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of Her Next Chapters. I'm really excited to welcome our guest this week, Carin Luna- Ostaseski. She is the founder of Hot or Just Me, which I love that name, by the way. It is a comprehensive online shop and go-to resource for managing paramenopause and menopause. The site offers a wide range of trusted products, expert advice, a gift shop and a bookstore and a supportive community ensuring women have everything needed to navigate this transformative stage and feel empowered.

Christina Kohl:

Carin's journey with paramenopause symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog, anxiety, insomnia and night empowered. Carin's journey with perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog, anxiety, insomnia and night sweats Anyone else have any of those symptoms? I bet you do that all inspired her mission to find a solution. So Carin is a serial entrepreneur and she is a first American woman and Hispanic person to create a Scotch Whiskey. It's SIA, scotch Whiskey. Sia. The award-winning blend launched through a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign has left a significant mark in the industry. She also founded the Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund by SIA Scotch, which has provided over $350,000 in grants to underserved entrepreneurs, making a tangible difference in their lives. She continues championing the next generation of entrepreneurs in her ongoing commitment to helping people thrive and we are so glad to have Carin join us on the podcast today. Welcome.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Oh, thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be here with you.

Christina Kohl:

Oh, wonderful. Well, I have a feeling you didn't start out as a whiskey founder. No, if we can kind of start, I love talking about pivots on this show. I think it just is so inspiring for people to hear other people's stories and to know what's possible for them. If they had a dream like, oh, I could actually make that happen. So tell us where you started and your journey to where you are today, both in the whiskey and then, of course, the menopause conversation.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Oh, well, thank you. I'm calling this my third act in life, or a chapter, if you will. So my first business, or I should say my first career, was that of a graphic designer. So that's what I studied in art school and I made a beautiful living for 17 years and towards the end I was having a lot of just anxiety going to work.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

I was just unhappy with my job and, coincidentally or maybe not, it happened around the same time I was going through a divorce and as divorces and breakups do, they kind of shake you up to your core and make you rethink who you are without this person and what makes you happy and unhappy in your life.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

And so I was realizing that it was probably time to quit my job, and I had this idea for a few years. Then that kind of started one day when I was staring at my computer screen again, designing things so that other people could stare at their little screens all day, and I thought this isn't what I want my legacy to be could stare at their little screens all day and I thought this isn't what I want my legacy to be, and I was finding a lot of joy over a glass of whiskey at the time with friends and you know, just really taking the time and having a moment and going slow, and I thought it's these connections in real life that I want to leave behind. So I spent about three years deciding like, okay, can I do this? That imposter syndrome constantly in my head. Like you know, you're not Scottish, you're not from the liquor industry, you've never even like really worked in the industry. I think I worked at a restaurant in college, but that was basically it.

Christina Kohl:

Just a second. You're in Napa Valley now. I am. Were you in Napa Valley then.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

No, no, I was actually in San Francisco. Yeah, it's funny Now that I was living in Napa being surrounded by so many winemakers in the whiskey industry. So I finally, you know, I asked about 80 different people through the years for, you know, resources, support, advice, and was just rejected again and again and again, and at each rejection it was like is this even something worth pursuing? And then finally, it was the 81st yes that said yes, we can help you. And I was off to the races. You didn't say 81st, 81, yeah.

Christina Kohl:

So you went through until you had 80 rejections.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

You kept going. I just kept going. I really believed in it, and, you know, all the while, still, like you know, saving up money it's hard. And you know, all the while, still, like you know, saving up money it's hard. Like you know, I was in my thirties and so much of my identity was tied into what I did for a living and so, but I really just kind of kept going. I really believed in the idea and it was to, you know, bring this this drink that people thought was just an older man's drink to a younger generation. And so, yeah, I was able to crowdfund it on Kickstarter, made it the first crowdfunded spirits in history, and then that made me the first woman to ever create a Scotch brand as well.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

So off to the races. The brand won numerous awards through the years and grew to commercial success enough that it was eventually acquired by one of the largest spirit companies in the world, and one of the biggest things that I'm the most proud of is just the give back that you know. From day one, I said I want to help other minority entrepreneurs. You know, women entrepreneurs, minority entrepreneurs, people from the LGBTQIA plus community, people that really need a leg up. You know there's money for venture, but what about all these small businesses? Right, they can't get funding. So I started the grant program and the first year, I think, all I could contribute was like a hundred bucks, the second year like $200. And to date we have given over $350,000 in the form of grants, $10,000 each to entrepreneurs that I personally mentored for six months as well.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

That is amazing, thank you. Are you still doing that work? Yeah, so I still have the grant program going and then I also, you know, I want to do the same thing now with my new business, so to make sure that there is a social cause. I think having a why to your business is really important. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so yeah. That brings me to my third chapter.

Christina Kohl:

How long were you with the SIA brand? How long?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Almost 10 years in total. So, uh, yeah, it was about six years through acquisition, and then I spent four years hand in hand with, um, our parent company, Diageo. So, um, it was great to kind of you know, see my little baby if you will go off to college and do its own thing. Um, but you know more and more, I just had a lot more free time during the days while my kids are in school. So I just kind of you need to figure out, like, still have a lot of gas in the tank and horsepower to to run with the new idea, and I knew it wasn't the end for me, right? So how old are your kiddos? Uh, so, I have a nine-year-old, an eight-year-old and a five-year-old.

Christina Kohl:

Okay, all in elementary school.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, fourth grade, third grade and kindergarten.

Christina Kohl:

So yeah, it's a lot, yeah, so is that part of the timing, because you've started this new venture it looks like just very, very recently. Is that the?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

timing because your youngest is in school now. Similar, yeah, I think it comes down to just you know, I was in that same boat where I was just tossing this idea around for a little bit and again there's that inner critic that shows up and says you know well, who are you to do this. You're not a doctor, you know. And so just kind of like shushing that voice and telling it like, hey, I've got this. I'm going to figure this out and realizing that there wasn't anything like this for women out there. You know, a one-stop resource to navigate all of the symptoms of perimenopause, with resources, products and advice and support to navigate these. You know, anywhere from three to 10 years of our lives.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, so what? Why this particular venture? Like, I'm sure that there's a personal why behind it. So if you could share that, it's like I'm sure different ideas are percolating around like oh, I could do this or do that, because if you're an entrepreneur and you're helping other entrepreneurs, there's probably a lot of ideas that have come. Definitely so why don't you land on this one?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, it kind of started in my early 40s. So I'm 47 now and my hot flashes kind of kicked in around, I think, say 41, 42. And it started with a simple and very often asked question to pretty much everyone around me was is it hot or is it just me? And that led me to realize first that it was mostly just me, and also that I was really deep into perimenopause and I had other symptoms that followed, like brain fog, anxiety, hair loss and more, and started having conversations with doctors that kind of led me nowhere at first, and then eventually found a great doctor that we've had great conversations about HRT and it's not quite yet an option for me. I have found some really amazing products and services that made a big difference in my life. So I realized that this is something that I could bring to women as well, right, and I'll have to say, because I'm a little bit older than you, I'm 56.

Christina Kohl:

And when you did the things you were describing brain fog, fatigue, being a little warm I just thought there were signs of being older, of just getting older. Like you know, my brain fog. I've got three kids, we're going in different directions and of course, my brain is like a little unqueer because there's so much going on. Yeah, really, attribute those things to perimenopause. So that's interesting. Like was that queer to you? That that's what was happening, or?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Not at first. The first Google search I remember was why are my periods so heavy? Suddenly, you know, or you know, why am I waking up in the middle of the night and sweat Like I really didn't know perimenopause, even as a word or a concept, and growing up it's not something that my mom knew or talked about either. So I think, just you know, in a generation we've now learned, you know to identify this and still it's. You know it's hard to even put it all together when you're in it, right. But when you take a step back and you start seeing all the symptoms as a whole, it starts to become more clear and there's not like a set test that you can take to say yes, you're in perimenopause.

Christina Kohl:

It's just more you know, are you experiencing all of these symptoms or some of them? Yeah, I just had a flashback. I remember one of my neighbors at a neighborhood party. She's maybe five to 10 years older than me and she's like, yeah, I went to the doctor and last year they're asking me any chance you can be pregnant? She's, but this year they're asking me are you, you know, have you started menopause? And she's like wait a minute, one year that was a while back, so you're being more you know, more educated, or more connecting with patients on that. But she was just like taken aback, like I'm not that old, like how can I be pregnant? And now I'm like in menopause.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, and it's hard. I mean, doctors in the US only have about three hours of training on menopause in their residency, and so, unless you know, a doctor has taken extra interest and certification in this category, it's really hard to find the person that knows you, know enough to be insightful for you or helpful Right.

Christina Kohl:

So that is a mind blowing number because, as a woman, I you know, maybe I've learned three hours of it because I've read up on it and I'm not a doctor and they think that the medical profession, that that's the limited amount of training that they are getting for half the population, that yeah, that is in blowing.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

It's really scary. Yeah, there is. I like to send people to a website called menopauseorg it used to be the north american menopause society and they have a list of where you can find a practitioner that is certified on menopause topics. And if one of the practitioners isn't in your zip code, you have some telehealth options now, like Alloy or EverNow or MidiHealth, that can offer some telehealth solutions.

Christina Kohl:

Okay, great, so tell us more about the business. So you had this idea because you personally were experiencing symptoms, maybe weren't getting a lot of help, so you did a lot of research. But what is the business Like? What have you created to help not only yourself but everyone else?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah. So the website is Hot, or Just Me and we have a collection of products categorized by the top symptoms, so hot flashes and night sweats, vaginal dryness and low libido, insomnia and fatigue, hair and skin changes, irregular and heavy periods, brain fog and concentration issues, mood changes and irritability, anxiety, urinary incontinence. And then we also have a bookstore and a gift shop and we also have some of the products grouped in bundles. So we have like a welcome to the club bundle. For example. It has some books and gift card. We have a stay cool and calm that has some cooling jewelry and fan and a cooling blanket.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

And this is an example that I'm wearing today. It's a hot girl pearls, a freezable bracelet that helps with the hot flashes. We have a spice things up. We have some self-care essential bundles, so just kind of grouped, and then each category also has some tips. So you know, for example, insomnia, we have a lot of sleep tips and advice that we can get into. And then you know there's a personalized quiz that you can take as well to see you know what you might need if you don't know where to start.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, okay, that sounds amazing All of it, and then we're just going to kind of follow from that email, so all right. So, corinne, when I was in perimenopause again, I'm 56. I believe I'm in menopause I didn't really necessarily know that was what was happening. What are some of the most common symptoms for women? I mean, a lot of people in the audience are in this age range of you know. If they're looking at next chapters and the kids are getting older, they themselves might be either in perimenopause or approaching menopause. And if we're not totally tuned in and our doctors aren't exactly tuned in either how can we know what's happening? What can we be looking for? And then also, I'm giving you a lot of big multilayered question here what can we be looking for? And then maybe, as you talk about those symptoms, what are some things that can be done to alleviate the symptoms?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, so menopause just some terminology is the day that you haven't had your period for 12 months and then every day after that is post-menopause. And then the time leading up to it can vary for women it could be very short, it could be long, but it tends to be, on average, somewhere between three and 10 years. And you know, symptoms can vary woman to woman, right? So it could be different levels of severity or some like not at all, but the most common the top 10, I would say are irregular periods. So you know, for me it was like monsoons were happening every month and I was like what is happening here. It could be just different timing or different flow, hot flashes, so that's, you know, a feeling of warmth in your face and your neck and your kind of your chest and your back. When your estrogen declines, it controls a part of your brain that regulates body temperature, so your body thinks it's warmer than it is, and then followed by night sweats, which is basically, it can happen at any time, right, but the sweating is your body's response to that overheating to try to cool you down and, you know, realizing that you're just like, suddenly like soaked right, you've soaked the sheets or something. It's another one Insomnia, so waking up in the middle of the night, you know it could be just anxiety keeps you up. Afterwards. There's vaginal dryness and low libido that comes during this time in life, mood changes and irritability. Some people might call it menorrhage, which is. It's very real Joint and muscle aches and then weight gain. So just that kind of stubborn weight gain or change in body shape that you know the exercise that you did before is not working the way that it used to. And then post-menopause, some of the other, some of these symptoms again, but add on urinary incontinence and frequency, so having to go to the bathroom, a lot, bone density loss and heart health concerns. So those are definitely some of the main symptoms. There's about 100 different symptoms, but I would say also there's some really obscure ones, like phantom smells. You might think that you're smelling smoke, when it's not there. There's, you know, burning tongue sensation ringing in your ears, frozen shoulder. There's like all these very obscure kind of symptoms, but common enough that women have reported them. And then, yeah, I think, from symptom to symptom it just depends, you know.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

For, say, I like to touch on insomnia and fatigue as a big one, because that kind of affects everything else, right. So if you have a bad night's sleep, for example, it affects everything. You have this domino effect. You wake up and you're groggy, you've got brain fog and concentration issues, you're grumpy, so you're kind of a little bit extra moody, and then you make bad food decisions because you're tired and you might skip the gym. So you're not getting that endorphin rush either. And then when it's time to be with your partner, you're just not in the mood, is not in the mood. So all of this kind of if you go way back in your time machine, if you had just had a good night's sleep, then that solves for quite a few things, right. So I like to optimize for sleep.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

So on our site we have cooling sheets, cooling blankets, we have a cooling eye mask, we have tips like keeping your bedroom somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit and you can also drop the temperature somewhere around like 1 am. Ear masks for blackout, blackout curtains, earplugs to knock out. You know any sound of your husband or partner snoring, and then you know everything from just some dietary and lifestyle changes. So, being someone that was in the liquor industry for 10 years telling everyone to drink, now I'm like kind of telling people, hey, maybe you should drink a little less. Or yeah, maybe, like, don't have, like, don't drink heavily at night, because then your liver's not processing at 2am and making you wake up. And then same thing, cutting out caffeine if you can, or just limiting it to just a morning cup of coffee so you're not wired. And then you know, same thing like making sure that if you're exercising it's in the morning or earlier in the day. So we have a lot of, you know, advice and support, as well as just products on the site.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, when I was looking at the site I looked at, there's a lot of articles that were very in-depth and helpful, with tips and everything. I'm really curious the bracelet that you're wearing and for, with tips and everything. I'm really curious. The bracelet that you're wearing and for those that are listening, only, it's beautiful. It's like blue stones what are they about? An inch or so, an inch, I don't know and they're polished and have different colors to them. So you put that in the refrigerator or the freezer In the freezer.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

So it's made by a company called Hot Girl Pearls, a woman owned and operated, so always happy to support other female entrepreneurs and it's great it it's. Basically they come in different um sizes, so size six or seven depending on your wrist size. We have in two colors. This is like the blue lapis, and then there's also a beautiful sand color, but basically you pop them in the freezer and, um, it takes about four hours for them to kind of like activate and they provide enough, you know, cooling relief, you know for a couple hours or less, depending on your environment, right, if it's like a really hot day, if you're outside gardening or, you know, playing tennis or something. But yeah, they're elastic and just really easy to wear and comfortable and yeah, I think that they're a wonderful product. They also have a necklace as well To pull you. I remember the first time I had. I think that they're a wonderful product.

Christina Kohl:

They also have a necklace as well. Yeah, to pull you. I remember the first time I had I think it was a hot flash I was at Costco, I was in the cart and all of a sudden I felt lightheaded. You know, costco's really hot today, yeah, it's really hot today.

Christina Kohl:

But like whoa, that might've been a hot flash and because now you know, and then of course it's more regularly, for me it's under the cover, it's under the sheet, and we live in colorado so we keep it till, you know, kind of cool at night in our room. But all of a sudden I'm like, get these covers off of me. And even now my husband, like you know, in the winter, like sleeping with like flannel sheets, and I'm like I just I can't, I can't and I need what? Here's an invention. If you, you see this, the bed sheets are like cool cotton or whatever and the other half can be like the flannel. Oh, that's fun, I love that. You'll get like a twin sheet from one of the kids' beds or something and give him the flannel that he wants and keep it off of my side.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

So together, that's brilliant. I love that because I had to switch sides of the bed. I moved to the side that has the vents next to it, so I was closer to the air. There you go.

Christina Kohl:

You know, my foot does that like cold seeking thing where you kind of like start with your foot to get more full all the time I'm, like, always on the side of the bed, not to be away from my husband, but to be able to, like you know, have my foot out for a little bit and then back in. So yeah, never talked to anyone about that before.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, so the cooling blanket that we have on our site is great for that reason because it doesn't take up the whole bed. So I kind of have my own blanket, you know, and that way I'm still under the covers, but it's like my individual one that keeps me cool. Yes, I will have to check that out, because yeah, because yeah.

Christina Kohl:

So since I brought up my husband, how do you recommend, like, talking to your spouse, your partner, about the changes that you're going in your body?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

I think, with my situation, my mood swings were so obvious that it was I was definitely going to get my period in the next coming days, and usually I said something regrettable I'm sorry, babe, that was just my PMS. He's like, yeah, I know, so it's funny, I put my period on, like our shared Google calendar. Yeah, yeah, so I'm tracking it. He's tracking it, we're both aware. But then, for the same reason, of just a little bit more patience with me that week, if you will. And then, yeah, I think, because women have this journey, right, it's like puberty hits, we have the spike in our sex hormones and then it kind of plateaus and it kind of like on the way down, it goes up and down as we approach menopause or the end of our reproductive era, right. And so men follow a similar path, right, like their rise in, let's say, testosterone, and then, like it peaks suddenly in puberty, kind of plateaus, and then through the years, it declines around this age, but not as drastically as it does for women. I think it's about 1% decline each year.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

But so men do experience a version of menopause called andropause, and it's basically, you know, a lot of similar symptoms, if you will, right, there's hair loss, there's extra weight gain.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

In the middle, there's mood swings, depression, insomnia, there's like a lack of energy and focus, and in this time in life, also appears some mild to moderate erectile dysfunction. So, coupled with this happening to both people at the same time, it's no surprise that it's, you know, a very common time in life for divorce. Or you know problems because you know women and men are just dealing with a lot of changes internally and just trying to navigate that, sometimes in a vacuum. And so I think it's really important to be able to talk to your partner about like hey, this is what I'm noticing is happening for me and your partner is, you know, hopefully a good mirror to you to say like I'm noticing that too. Or, yeah, you know like you seem a little bit more depressed than usual. Or you know, just to be able to have those conversations about your vulnerability and you know what's happening, so that you know you open up a like an avenue to have a two-way conversation.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, very interesting. Well, I'm curious in shifting a little bit. So we're talking about perimenopause. Well, I'm curious in shifting a little bit. So we're talking about perimenopause. So people like in their forties and fifties, you know going through these changes.

Christina Kohl:

But as a woman, our bodies go through changes. You know, from when we're girls, like obviously there's puberty and getting those first periods, and then you know having to show up at school as a student and I've got my cycle going on today and I've got. I'm bloated and I'm uncomfortable and whatever. You know, for me I was nauseous all the time. I mean literally throwing up, not just nauseated. I have to go run down the hall and just barely make it to the bathroom, come back to my English class afterwards, and then you know being pregnant, showing up at work, and you know being nauseated, but not telling anybody yet that I'm pregnant because it's too early.

Christina Kohl:

And then you know all the things that we, our bodies, are constantly changing and evolving, but yet we still show up at work as our professional selves. And then, like you know, okay, now I'm having hot flashes or I'm having all these weird symptoms that I don't know what's going on, but yet here I am at work. I'm showing up If you have any advice for that. And then also that story you were telling me before. We were like when you were in the whiskey industry.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, I mean it's it's. It's interesting, it's like navigating pregnancy, which is, you know, this is how we all got here, right? So it's not like you know, like, oh wow, why is this so taboo about, you know, pregnancy? But in the liquor industry, where I was involved for so long and also while I was pregnant, I'm going to liquor stores and restaurants and bars with this huge belly and giving like people are giving me the side eye, like who's this pregnant lady? I'm thinking like this is my business, right, Like, if I'm not working on it, nobody is, and so I would, you know, do demonstration events where I'd have to like hand out little shots of whiskey. Meanwhile I've got this giant belly, so I'd stack up boxes in front of me like they would do on TV shows when they're trying to hide someone's presence. It was comical At one point. I'm like, oh, screw it, you know, like this is just what's happening.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

And you know, again, it was similar, like you know, now being in this perimenopause space and menopause space talking with a lot of women about menopause in the workplace, right, that you know.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

As we age, we continue to, you know, work, we live longer lives and we still want to, you know show up as our best selves, and you know having some of these symptoms and making sure that our workplace is accommodating us right Like being advocates for ourselves, and making sure that we have control over the temperature where we're working, you know, if it's a uniform job, making sure that there's some kind of like alternative or some breathable fabrics or layers that we can wear.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

As we're dealing with, you know rising temperatures and also rising internal temperatures as well, and just you know mental breaks, right. So as a cause for this business you know I mentioned with my other business I want to make sure that menopause in the workplace is something that we highlight, bring to the forefront, as well as an organization called periodorg, which gives menstrual products to young women. Yeah, it's really important. You know something we don't think about you know young women not having access to menstrual products, either financially or maybe it's something that's limiting them from getting an education at school and they're sitting out from going to school for that reason. That's just not okay.

Christina Kohl:

No, no. And then I, just as I was asking you that question and hearing your answer, I'm like, okay, I'm going to put my human resources hat back on. I've spent 17 years in the career and people can. I don't know if they would realize they might be eligible for, like ADA, the American with Disabilities Act, which is providing accommodations and you would so you could go to your HR department and, if you're having severe symptoms, get accommodations, and so that's a conversation with your employer. Your doctor would have to chime in on it. You can't just say give me accommodations, you have to have some medical documentation behind it. But those are reasonable accommodations to say that I need to take more frequent breaks Maybe they're smaller breaks but more frequent or I need to be able to go get ice packs or keep ice packs in a refrigerator nearby, or maybe it's having my own refrigerator, whatever. But there's a lot of little accommodations that could be made that lawyers legally have to engage in that dialogue with you, but you have to be the one to bring it forward.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

They're not going to.

Christina Kohl:

I can't imagine yeah. They're not going to say something's going on with you, let's talk about it. Yeah, we have to advocate for ourselves. Yeah, you have to advocate for yourself.

Christina Kohl:

But they would engage in that accommodation discussion with you and your doctor to find out what makes sense and what they can do to accommodate you if it's. Whatever the different things would be depending on your symptoms. But just know that that is a legal requirement of your employer to engage in that conversation with you if you're having symptoms that are impacting your work and you need the assistance.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

And then hopefully that forces you know companies to create a policy right, Like those same way there's maternity leave policies or, you know, bereavement, like that should be, yeah, yeah.

Christina Kohl:

There's breastfeeding policies and breastfeeding rooms. Maybe there's a room of like to go cool down. Yeah, yeah, um, interesting, okay, um, I think what else, if you have any like kind of tips, like for those that are maybe they haven't really identified in themselves. This is what it is and they're listening in today and they're like oh, oh, my gosh, that's me. Yeah, yeah, any advice.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Absolutely. Yeah, I would say definitely. You know, first talk to your doctor, right? And you know, make sure that that's the right doctor for you. You know, ask them like are you, are you certified on? You know, in menopause, Is this an area of expertise for you, before you kind of go forward with that conversation? Or, if not, you know, is there someone that you'd refer me to in your practice? And you know, if not, check out, you know, menopauseorg, again for a list of practitioners. Or again, telehealth, like um, midi health, ever now, alloy um for resources.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

And you know HRT is such a personal choice and so it's definitely something worth exploring if you're into um, but knowing that it's similar with birth control, right, you might have to try a couple different kinds. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone and you have to make sure that you're a candidate for it based on your own medical history. Start having those, those bigger conversations, you know, versus trying to think like, oh my gosh, I'm anxious and depressed, I need, you know, antidepressant medicine or I'm tired, so I need Xanax, and it's like whoa, whoa, whoa. Take a step back and see if there's, you know, something bigger going on. Right, and you know, talk to if your mom is still alive. You know there tends to be a pattern of following. You know maternal history as well, so just start having those conversations. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Christina Kohl:

So how can people find you and your services, like that beautiful bracelet and those sheets and the cooling things, all the things you talked about? Where can they find you?

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Yeah, so our website should be in the show notes. It's Hot or Just Me, and then if you go to the show notes, you'll see there's a discount code for you to receive 10% off. And that's her next chapters. And we could also be found on all social media at Hot or Just Me.

Christina Kohl:

Okay, wonderful, and yes, I will include the discount code. Thank you, that is so generous of you to offer that to the listeners. I'll include that and the links in the show notes, and then I'll also the places you've talked about where you can work with doctors through telehealth. I'll grab those from you as well and put that in the show notes so that people can access that. And well, I loved our conversation, Carin. I appreciate hearing about all of your pivots. Talk about graphic design to you know, creating whiskey and being a trailblazer in that regard. And then now, here you are, you've pivoted and you know, is it hot or is it me? And making a difference for other women in their lives and their journeys through the woods. It's a very natural part of life, right? So thank you for all of that and I'm so excited that we connected and I really appreciate you being on the show today.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

Thank you so much for letting me share my story. I hope it's an inspiration for all of your listeners that they can change the chapters anytime. That's right, you can change your chapter anytime.

Christina Kohl:

There's more than just one chapter that's coming up next. No matter how old you are, there's more chapters to be written, all right.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski :

That was so fun. Thank you so much, you're welcome.

Christina Kohl:

Okay, everyone, that is it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for joining in and we will talk to you next time. And we will talk to you next time. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope this episode hit home for you and, if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello so I can personally thank you for listening. Until next time. Remember, your story is uniquely your own, and your next chapters are ready to begin.