496: Brain Fog & The M-Factor: Tamsen Fadal on the Truth About Menopause
The Adult Chair Podcast with Michelle Chalfant
Michelle Chalfant
4.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, I'm joined by Emmy-winning journalist and menopause advocate Tamsen Fadal, whose own unexpected journey through perimenopause and menopause led her to create a global movement of education, support, and empowerment for women. After years of brain fog, exhaustion, misdiagnosis, and silence from the medical system, Tamsen began using her voice and platform to help women understand what is happening in their bodies and how to advocate for real care.
In this episode, we talk honestly about symptoms, hormones, relationships, sex, confidence, and why so many women feel blindsided by this transition. Tamsen brings clarity, humor, and compassion to a life stage that has been ignored for far too long, and she offers real guidance for women who want to feel informed, supported, and empowered.
In this episode, we explore:
- The symptoms most women miss in early perimenopause
- Why brain fog and sleep issues are among the most debilitating changes
- The impact of hormonal shifts on mood, libido, skin, hair, and body composition
- Misconceptions about estrogen, the WHI study, and hormone therapy
- The role of testosterone and why it is often a missing piece
- How to communicate with your partner about what you are experiencing
- Why advocating for yourself and finding an educated provider is essential
Resources from this Episode:
Learn more about Tamsen Fadal: https://tamsenfadal.com
Menopause Society Provider Finder: https://menopausesociety.org
Get Tamsen's book, "How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better than Before"
MORE MICHELLE CHALFANT
Website: https://www.michellechalfant.com
Membership: The Adult Chair Collective
https://www.michellechalfant.com/collective
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themichellechalfant
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMichelleChalfant
The Adult Chair® Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theadultchair
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, ladies, I've got a really important show for you today. |
| 0:07.8 | And I want to say to all of you gentlemen out there listening as well, pay attention. |
| 0:14.8 | I want you to listen to the show too, because this is a topic that everyone needs to understand better. |
| 0:23.4 | And that is the topic of menopause. |
| 0:26.6 | Because men, let me tell you something. |
| 0:28.7 | You've all got mothers, sisters, aunts, friends that are women. |
| 0:33.6 | You want to understand this. |
| 0:36.1 | Understand it for us. |
| 0:37.5 | Please. |
| 0:39.7 | So today on the show, I'm really, really excited to have on Tampson Fidel. |
| 0:46.2 | She's an Emmy-winning journalist and menopause advocate. |
| 0:50.2 | And she's leading a global movement to normalize, educate, and empower women through menopause and perimenopause. |
| 0:59.5 | And ladies, I just want to say this. |
| 1:01.6 | If you are 35 or older, you need to be listening to the show today. |
| 1:07.0 | Because many of your symptoms that you might be having, I'm talking issues with sleep, hair loss, |
| 1:15.9 | anxiety. And let me tell you, the list goes on and on and on and on. I'm just letting you know |
| 1:21.5 | what you're feeling might be due to hormone shifts linked to perimenopause. Nobody was talking about this when I was |
| 1:32.6 | 35. And I am so glad that really truly in the last year or so, it has become an international |
| 1:41.0 | topic. Everywhere I turn now, people are talking about this. So I'm excited to have |
| 1:47.4 | Tampson on the show. She's going to share her own experience in how it ignited her mission, |
| 1:53.8 | beginning with years of unexplained symptoms that were repeatedly dismissed as, yes, of course, |
| 2:01.4 | stress. |
... |
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