Beyond painful sex: Understanding and healing Vaginismus

Conflict for healing and transformation, embracing death and loss for life, with Myrna Lewis

Myrna Lewis is a clinical psychologist and an inspiration. Fresh off of her experience at Africa Burn, we explored her fascinating early life story, how that galvanised her passion for psychology, mental health literacy, collective change and using conflict as a tool for reconnection. This multifaceted conversation traverses everything from psychedelics to leveraging loss and death for aliveness, the paradoxes that are implicit in all of life and how we are beginning to think about mental health and it's treatment differently. You can read more about Myrna and her incredible international work at Lewis Deep Democracy, https://www.lewisdeepdemocracy.com

From the Emergency room to Menopause, Dr Bianca Visser's personal story

Dr Bianca Visser is a brilliant emergency medicine specialist. She spent years working on the frontline of emergency medicine, thriving in a world driven by urgency, adrenaline, and high-stakes, life and death decision-making. Like many healthcare professionals, she was trained to put patients first, push through exhaustion, and keep going no matter the personal cost. What she wasn't prepared for was her own experience of premature menopause following a hysterectomy; and the profound impact it would have on her health, identity, family life, and understanding of medicine and healing itself. In this candid and deeply personal conversation, Dr Bianca shares how her own health journey led her to become a certified menopause expert and advocate. She reflects on the culture of healthcare, the dangers of chronic stress and work addiction, and the sacrifices many high achievers make in pursuit of professional success. Together, we explore the reality that menopause remains significantly underrepresented in medical training, leaving both doctors and patients navigating this transition with limited knowledge and support. Honest, vulnerable, and inspiring, Dr Visser's story is a powerful reminder of what can happen when we stop chasing the next adrenaline rush and start listening to what our bodies have been trying to tell us all along. For healthcare professionals, workaholics, and anyone striving to balance ambition with wellbeing, this conversation offers both a wake-up call and a hopeful path forward. You can book an online appointment with Dr Bianca Visser for expert support in navigating your own (peri)menopause transition at www.hormoneswithheart.co.za

Screening Radiology with Dr Mitch Kaplan of Scanforlife

Dr Mitch Kaplan is a specialist radiologist and the founder of Scanforlife, he is a highly respected radiologist with a particular interest in screening radiology and the role it plays in early disease detection and preventive healthcare. Screening radiology focuses on identifying disease in people who are well and symptom-free, with the aim of detecting conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses at their earliest and most treatable stages. Scanforlife does not recommend blanket screening and selecting patients for referral appropriately refines the results that are yielded. In this conversation, Dr Kaplan helps us understand the important distinction between screening and diagnostic radiology, who may benefit from screening, the limitations and controversies surrounding screening programmes, and how advances in imaging technology are changing the landscape of preventive medicine and longevity and healthspan. Whether you're a healthcare professional or simply interested in taking a more proactive approach to your health, this discussion offers valuable insights into the growing role of screening radiology in modern healthcare.

Beyond painful sex: Understanding and healing Vaginismus

Before I introduce you to this episode, I have to apologise for my failing microphones. In spite of the imperfect audio, I have decided to publish this episode because it is full of insight and understanding into a topic that we don't talk about enough. Many women don't even know their is a name for their symptoms. Talya Chemel is a pelvic floor physio with a joy and passion for the work that she does that is infectious. Her special interest is women's health and she works with women in ameliorating pain associated with vaginal penetration often caused by the involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles in response to any kind of penetration. This conversation explains clearly what is happening in the pelvis, what we can do about it, other conditions that may contribute to this picture and the importance of nervous system regulation as a vital component towards healing. Talya talks us through what women can expect from a visit to a pelvic floor physio and how you can even do your own dilator therapy at home. Please share this episode with all the women in your life so that we can make this diagnosis early and give women the education and support they need to prevent shame and isolation. You can book an appointment with Talya or her team here +27 11 440 1412

Will the new GLP 1 drugs end all obesity and make us all thin? With Dr Patrick Bennett Episode 2.

I'm with Dr Patrick Bennett again, the founder of Flourish Obesity online clinic and we are going a level deeper looking at the hype, the risks, the benefits of the GLP 1 drugs that we have already and the new ones on the horizon. Since our last episode we have a lot of real world experience and the access to this class of drugs has exploded. We unpack the physiology and the limitations and how these drugs are changing medicine, habits and often, body size and shape. In a culture where smaller and thinner is often applauded as better, it's no wonder that people are getting these drugs from legitimate and non legitimate sources even before they are approved by the FDA. If you are obese, overweight or using these drugs to keep off that extra 2kg that caught up with you in middle age or menopause, we are speaking to you. We will answer your questions about muscle mass, brain preservation, micro-dosing and whether or not you will land up with Ozempic face or go blind from your next dose! Please support the show by giving us some stars, subscribing and sharing this episode so that Health with Heart can bring you more empowering health content. You can find Flourish online clinic at: https://flourishweightloss.co.za/