Painful Sex, Dryness and Menopause with the Vagina Whisperer

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver continues her conversation with board certified pelvic floor physical therapist Dr. Sara Reardon, known on social media as The Vagina Whisperer — and this time it’s the toolkit: what you can actually do, starting today, to protect and rebuild your pelvic floor. They begin with pessaries, the internal support devices so few women are offered, why getting one fitted properly is harder than it should be, and the over-the-counter silicone supports that let women run, lift, and travel leak-free while they strengthen. From there they get into the everyday habits that quietly weaken the pelvic floor: pushing when you pee, straining on the toilet, scrolling past the five-minute mark, and holding your breath while lifting — plus hemorrhoids, what healthy stool should look like, and why a simple toilet stool changes everything.
They then take a deeper dive into genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), why nearly three quarters of women with symptoms never mention them to a clinician, and why hormones alone aren’t enough — you lose urinary sphincter strength every year after age 35, so the muscle training has to happen too. Dr. Reardon covers keeping vaginal tissue healthy with or without a partner, what vaginismus is and why “just relax” fails, the woman who endured ten years of searing pain — and surgery to remove her labia — when the real culprit was a compressed pudendal nerve, the $5 billion vaginal rejuvenation industry, her five free daily pelvic floor habits, and the message she wants every woman to hear: it’s never too late, with patients in their 80s and 90s still getting better.
Guest links:
Dr. Sara Reardon (Instagram) instagram.com/the.vagina.whisperer
Dr. Sara Reardon / The Vagina Whisperer (Website) thevagwhisperer.com
NOLA Pelvic Health (Website) nolapelvichealth.com
The V-Hive App (The Vagina Whisperer) thevagwhisperer.com/membership
Books:
“Floored: A Woman’s Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage,” by Dr. Sara Reardon thevagwhisperer.com/floored
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-b…
“The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver amazon.com/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z
Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: 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.