168: Dr. Maryann Prewitt on A Proactive Approach to Aging & Sexual Health

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Wellness Mama » Episode » 168: Dr. Maryann Prewitt on A Proactive Approach to Aging & Sexual Health
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168: Dr. Maryann Prewitt on A Proactive Approach to Aging & Sexual Health
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I feel very fortunate get to talk to so many doctors who are changing healthcare for the better. I’m here with Dr. Maryann Prewitt, a functional medicine physician and gynecologist based in Dallas, Texas. You can find her at HealthWellnessMD.com. She’s going to introduce us to a lot of really cool anti-aging science and some great holistic, non-invasive options for being your best self at any age.

If you’re feeling your age (or older) or just want to take a preventative approach for the future, definitely check out this episode!

Feel Your Best With HealthWellnessMD

Just because we reach a certain age doesn’t mean we can’t look and feel healthy. I love how Dr. Prewitt focuses on aging not just “gracefully,” but proactively.

Rather than resorting to temporary fixes to manage symptoms, Dr. Prewitt combines the best of anti-aging medicine and natural methods to nourish and optimize the body from the inside out. Her protocols include science-based nutrition, physician-guided fitness, laser medicine, thyroid management, and hormone therapy for the best sexual, emotional, and physical health.

This is a super-packed episode with a lot of information, so don’t forget to check out the resources below if you want to dive deeper into some of the things we talk about.

(A quick heads-up: We will be talking about natural ways to improve sexual health problems, so use your judgment if you’re listening with kids around.)

In This Episode You’ll Learn

  • some shocking statistics on hypothyroidism in women (that apply to 70-80% of us!)
  • why sexual intimacy shouldn’t be left out of the doctor/patient conversation
  • the little-known role of testosterone in women’s health
  • how only 20% of physicians know how to treat the thyroid
  • which country ranks 28th in health but spends the most on healthcare (you can probably guess)
  • the new science called gerontology and what it’s doing to solve problems associated with aging
  • a painless and non-invasive treatment for incontinence that actually works
  • why a return to sexual wellness should be a regular part of postpartum care
  • how to rejuvenate the pelvic floor using sound waves
  • the connection between heart disease and erectile dysfunction
  • downsides to pharmaceutical solutions to ED
  • vaginal rejuvenation solutions for women
  • whether or not hormone therapy is safe
  • which lifestyle factors and supplements to optimize for hormone balance and thyroid health
  • why you might want to avoid statin medications, and what to do instead
  • how to cultivate a healthy understanding of sexual health (and help your kids to, also)
  • and more!

Resources We Mention

Do you have questions for Dr. Prewitt? Let her know in the comments and we will try to help! And please, take two minutes to leave a review on iTunes. I value knowing what you think and this helps other moms find the podcast as well.

[toggle title=”Read Transcript”]
Child: Welcome to my Mommy’s podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. My kitchen is always stocked with their coffee mushroom blends, their Matcha mix, and their straight mushroom drinks. Four Sigmatic has figured out how to get the benefits of mushrooms like chaga, lions mane, cordyceps and reishi into delicious instant drinks. My current favorite is their adaptogen coffee blend that has tolsi and astragalus. But I love all of their products. They have options with or without caffeine so if you’re not a caffeine person you can find products that you will love. And I find that even their coffee blends that do contain caffeine have less than a normal cup of coffee. But don’t let this fool you. I have found that I get so much more focus and mental clarity from these mushroom blends than I do from regular coffee, and without the jitters. The addition of the mushrooms, which are considered nootropics, meaning that they are good for the brain makes these super food blends more effective and much healthier than just regular old coffee. I love them with a dash of macadamia milk personally. I also love that many of their drink mixes are instant and packaged into individual servings so they are perfect for travel or on the go. If you’re listening to this, then you can get a special offer just for listeners of this podcast by going to wellnessmama.com/go/four-sigmatic.

This podcast is brought to you by Nutrition Genome. This is the most comprehensive genetic analysis on the market. They cover 85-plus clinically relevant genes across all of the major biochemical pathways. And what that means is that they’re testing all the important things that can actually make an epigenetic difference for you. The test also includes a 50-plus page report that really goes in-depth and gives feedback on your personal gene function and how to enhance your own gene expression. The analysis also provides foods that are best to emphasize and minimize, talks about toxins you’re more likely to be sensitive to, your genetic stress response, and even recommended blood work to optimize your genetic blueprint for long-lasting health and longevity. This testing doesn’t have the privacy concerns that some of the other popular genetic tests have, and we just did this with all our children. Their results have been really helpful for customizing their diets and supplements. And basically for our whole family I, kind of, took everybody’s results and found the common denominators of food, and we start there now with our shopping list each week. You can check it out and learn more and get the test at wellnessmama.com/go/nutrition-genome. That will also be in the podcast show notes at wellnessmama.fm for this episode.

Katie: Hello, and welcome to the “The Healthy Moms Podcast.” I’m Katie, from wellnessmama.com, and I’m here today with Dr. Maryann Prewitt who is a functional medicine physician and gynecologist at healthwellnessmd.com in Dallas, Texas. She knows that your quality of life is as important as your symptoms, especially as you age. And we’re going to be talking about a lot of really cool anti-aging science and hormone balance today.

Her protocol emphasizes science-based nutrition, position guided fitness, laser medicine, thyroid management, and optimizing hormones for sexual health and wellness. She believes, and I love this, in aging proactively, not just gracefully, and she offers solutions to help people do just that. She augments functional medicine with the emerging fields of precision medicine and age management to treat the patient as a whole, and her approach goes far beyond simply prevention to optimizing the body in a cellular level for any age.

I know it’s gonna be a super-packed episode. One note before we jump in, for any parents listening with kids, that we are gonna be touching on some natural ways to improve sexual health problems, so use your own judgment, for sure, if you have kids listening if they wanna listen to this episode or not. Dr. Prewitt, welcome and thanks for being here.

Dr. Prewitt: Thank you, I’m happy to be here.

Katie: I think it’s gonna be a very helpful episode. And like I said, I wanna jump right in. I’d love to hear, to start, kind of, what you’re seeing as some of the biggest problems because you see a lot of patients. What are some of the biggest things women are coming in to you for these days? Is it thyroid or hormone, what seems to be, kind of, on the rise?

Dr. Prewitt: Absolutely, thyroid is an epidemic right now. In the United States, approximately about 70% to 80% of people have secondary hypothyroidism due to nutritional problems. It seems that our food just does not have the nutrients in it that it used to. So, we are now astronauts on planet Earth and we must take supplements, and those supplements should be medical grade and not over-the-counter supplements.

Katie: That’s awesome. So what are some of the things that…I know that, obviously, it depends very much on the person when you’re working with them individually, but what are some of the things that you see, kind of, really help women in those situations?

Dr. Prewitt: Optimizing their thyroid, getting their nutrition set. The thyroid is a huge influence and indicator in optimizing our sexuality. Sexual intimacy is key to a man and woman and is so much more important than is talked about. I’m very comfortable, I get teased I’m the queen of the pelvic floor, but it really, intimacy in a relationship, it just changes the dynamics of the lifetime.

Katie: That makes sense. And I know, like, firsthand because I have Hashimoto’s as well, that managing it correctly can make a complete like night and day difference in how you feel. And I would assume, also, I’m still pretty young, that it would also really make a difference in aging because when you have any hormone out of balance like that, that would affect how fast your cells age. Is that right?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes. And what I’m seeing in my clinic is we absolutely have to balance all the hormones. The top five are taking care of your thyroid first, optimizing testosterone and estrogen in men and women, and a lot of women aren’t familiar with that we need our testosterone as well. Testosterone, in both men and women, prevents dementia, lowers heart disease, lowers breast cancer, lowers prostate cancer, and we build much stronger bones.

In addition, our estrogen, our progestin, and our adrenals all need to be addressed. And only about 20% of physicians really address the thyroid in the correct manner. One of our problems are lab parameters that report out. When we do a blood profile and give it to our patients, those are not optimal levels.

A physician really needs to do continuing medical education. I’m a big fan of the A4M Meeting to make sure that we are bringing cutting-edge medicine without using medicine to our patients, instead of waiting for 40 to 50 years before it filters through medical schools, through residencies, and into clinical practice. And that is a huge problem in American healthcare. We rank 28th in the world in healthiness, and yet we spend the most.

Katie: Yeah, that statistic has always blown my mind because I’ve seen it along with birth statistics, as well, as a doula. Same thing there, we spend so much more money than the rest of the world, which does not tend to be paying off, apparently, at least not the things that most doctors are doing.

And I love that you talk not just about aging gracefully but aging proactively. So, I’d love to hear your approach for this, and when someone comes in, kind of, what you’re looking at because I come from a nutritional background, so my focus has always been choosing sources of very nutrient-rich whole foods and supporting the body from the inside out. But you get a lot more scientific and targeted, so can you talk about your approach to, as you call it, “aging proactively?”

Dr. Prewitt: Yes. In order to age proactively, the newest science out is actually the longevity diet which Dr. Longo, out in California, optimized. And from a very young age, he coined a new science called Gerontology, and it’s the study of youth. So, how can we keep our cells youthful and preserve our DNA and protect it from many insults? From the foods we consume to toxins in our environment, and to lack of health from poor physician counseling?

So, I approach it the same way he does. I assure exercise is essential, nutrition is essential, sexuality is essential and it’s so underserved. And whence women get through childbirth, they tend to neglect the obligation that we have to our significant other to maintain a sexual wellness.

And for a man to have sexual health prostate, he must have intercourse, in minimum, three times a week, and that has been published in Mayo Clinic’s literature. So, I’m a big fan of educating my women that it is so very important, if they love their spouse, to be very active sexually and to help and assist each other in maintaining their sexual wellness.

And many people don’t know that your sexuality can be optimized. This goes from patients to providers. Many people are suffering needlessly, causing shame in both men and women, and hormone optimization has been contributed to our longevity. Women suffer from consequences of childbirth, illness, injury, physical or emotional, and the pelvic floor can be rejuvenated in both men and women.

Men lose their pelvic floor integrity because of aging, sports injury. Many people don’t know that men who are cyclists have chronic crushing of their blood vessels that lead to erectile dysfunction or poor performance. Also, toxins from war vets, illnesses and weight gain.

And also, probably my favorite part of taking care of people is that I teach them the many benefits of laser and energy medicine for maintaining sexual health that are largely unknown and underutilized.

There are many very noninvasive and natural alternative to surgery and medicine. For example, incontinence affects approximately 80% of women, and men get benign prostatic hypertrophy that causes them to have urinary frequency. There are medical devices that we can use that absolutely cure incontinence.

Katie: That’s amazing because you hear the jokes especially women who have had children about how they, you know, can’t jump on a trampoline without peeing themselves, or just you hear those jokes pretty often among women who have given birth. And I know I hear a lot of questions from women with pelvic floor issues or incontinence, post pregnancy.

So you mentioned, you touched on a couple of these, but I’d love to go a little bit deeper because I felt like this is a kind of touchy subject and it’s not one that women will just us talk about quite as much in their social circles like we’re pretty good about talking about our hair care and our skin care. All those things are pretty good open topics, but this is not one that women talk about often, so I think it’s an important one to touch on.

So, when a woman maybe has had several children, or even one child, and is having incontinence or pelvic floor issues, what are you looking for when she comes in and how are you addressing that?

Dr. Prewitt: Well, only about 20% of patients will respond, and even if you ask them they won’t always be honest with you, so I give them statistics. You know, 25% of women under 25 don’t play volleyball or sports that require them to jump. So I always ask them, “What sports did you play in high school?” And then I ask them how frequently they are sexually active, and then I tell them the normal statistics.

And then when they give me their statistics, I ask, “Well, why do you shy away from intimacy?” And you wouldn’t believe it but a lot of the complaints are that they feel after they’ve had a baby, they are embarrassed, they feel less sensations, they don’t want their spouse to know that they’re not having orgasms. And also, they want more sensation that leaves their sensitivity.

And that’s where the GAINSWave increases sensitivity in both men and women. And that’s a medical device that increases blood flow to the pelvic floor. It reinstitutes spontaneity between a man and woman, increases sensitivity in both men and women. So we have the GAINSWave for men and FEMIWave for women. It also increases the angiogenesis, so new blood flow comes to the pelvic floor in both men and women. The penis actually increases in girth and length.

And it’s a long-term solution rather than short-term, and male pelvic floor health and rejuvenation is just as important as female pelvic for health and rejuvenation. And we use laser, energy-based medicine, and medical devices to optimize as well as rejuvenate the pelvic floor.

Katie: So, what does that process look like? Is it pretty noninvasive as far as not surgical at all and is it…what’s the recovery like for that?

Dr. Prewitt: There is no recovery, there is no downtime, takes about 20 minutes. And it’s acoustic sound waves that we trace over the skin using an ultrasound gel, just like most women have experienced when they have their ultrasound when they’re pregnant. And we place these sound waves in packets of 3000 units to the areas where the blood flow is most capacious.

And what a lot of people don’t realize is that 70% of men are gonna have heart disease. Well, the coronary arteries in the heart are no different than the arteries in the penis, so if you have coronary artery disease, you are absolutely gonna have erectile dysfunction. And it’s preventable. And I even offer an executive male physical as well as a physical for females who have had children or are having problems in which we do a preventative GAINSWave or FEMIWave to prevent these kinds of things from happening.

Katie: That’s fascinating. And I know I’ve heard that statistic about the higher correlation of heart disease and ED, but it makes sense. And since we touched on that, I know we’re getting, also, a lot of questions from women whose husbands are struggling with ED, and I know that there are a lot of…we see all the commercials, a lot of different treatment options, but they seem to have a list of side effects as long as my arm. So, can you talk about, like, let’s go deeper on ED? What are the root causes and what are these other therapies, and are they even effective, or would GAINSWave be a much more safe and effective alternative?

Dr. Prewitt: Yeah. Let’s start out with Natural remedies. Everyone’s heard about Ginseng. It’s got an anti-inflammatory blood flow increase. There’s Rhodiola rosea, and that increases energy and reduces fatigue because ED is more common as we age. Then there’s the African Yohimbe tree, it increases blood flow, but the heart rate can also be increased and the blood pressure, so that’s negative. There’s Ashwagandha that is excellent for maintaining brain health, as and zinc and Ginkgo biloba which all have been reported to have some effect on ED.

However, if we don’t address the cause, it doesn’t matter what we give you. So, I’m a very big believer in I am not a traditional physician or a conventional physician that treats symptoms. I wanna hone in and go right to the cause. So in men, floor issues, as well as to women, that cause sexual dysfunction or lack of optimization is, one, their thyroid has to be optimized. Because the thyroid is your master hormone, and if your thyroid is not working at its maximum capacity, you are gonna have decreased production of estrogen and testosterone, which is gonna lead to poor performance in both men and women, vaginal dryness in a woman and a man who can’t engorge to the full amount to maintain and permit a penetration.

The third thing is obviously your testosterone level. The best-kept secret in the world is Dr. Prewitt knows how to get every man to make his own testosterone if he follows my program and the nutritional benefits. Women’s testosterone starts falling at age 21, men, it starts falling at age 30. So, I tell my women who are in their 30s to start now working on sexual health to prevent that huge inconvenience and embarrassment of the ED. Women love their husbands, but they really crave the intimacy and penetration, and that can’t happen.

And then fourth is the GAINSWave for men, the FEMIWave, and I also do a FemiLift. The FemiLift goes inside the vagina, and we actually rejuvenate the vagina and put that boa constrictor back into the pelvic floor.

Katie: Wow I didn’t know that testosterone started declining that early. And that’s really staggering. I have read that, for instance, men today have, like, a third of the testosterone of probably their great, great grandfathers just because there are so many lifestyle factors that seem to be leading to a decline.

Dr. Prewitt: That is absolutely true. And I’ll give you some statistics. If the man has a testosterone under 300, he’s at risk for depression and erectile dysfunction starts accelerating. If a man’s testosterone is under 600, all-cause mortality increases, type-2 diabetes, fatigue, libido loss, and acceleration of coronary artery disease. And if a man’s testosterone is under 900, we have rapid progression of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, aggressive prostate cancer in men. And if women’s testosterone is below 150 to 250, all of those things that I mentioned occur in her and metabolic syndrome. And osteoporosis is 100% preventable if we maintain our testosterone level.

It also, our testosterone being optimized and our thyroid being optimized, helps fight the crisis in the United States, which is obesity. Seventy percent of our population is obese. And I tell my patient, and it soothes them quite a bit, it’s not your fault that you’re obese, and that you’ve got diabetes, and you’ve got hypertension, it’s your physician’s fault because we are not doing the state-of-the-art blood test across the board. Only about 19% to 20% of physicians truly understand thyroid and hormones, and it is killing America.

Katie: I absolutely agree with you on that. It took me years and years and multiple doctors to find someone who actually understood the thyroid. And I’m really curious. I know you have a whole system, and we’ll definitely have a link to your website in the show notes for anyone who wants to come visit you, but can you talk about some of the things that you do lifestyle-wise, and you mentioned nutrition to help address that testosterone because, I think, most people have, kind of, a passing understanding, but I know a lot of people have turned to hormone replacement which has some serious risk associated with it, from what I understand.

Dr. Prewitt: And that, you, like many, many women and men are basing your decisions on myths and not the latest technology.

Hormone replacement therapy in men and women is mission critical. It prevents dementia, lowers heart disease, lowers breast cancer, lowers prostate cancer, and osteoporosis doesn’t exist.

So, hormone replacement therapy, in pellet forum, has been around since 1939, and it has proven to not only prevent breast cancer and prostate cancer but to lower the recurrence rate, and lower dementia. I think everyone should visit a provider who does the BioTE hormone replacement pellets and get the right information because the news in the media, they’re just trying to sell their publications and they want hype, they want scare, they want fear.

I never once, when I’m sitting watching the news, hear anything about health and nutrition and anything about the real skinny on life. And hormone replacement therapy for women is a must or you will not live long and you will have many, many diseases that could absolutely be prevented. So, I base my care of all of my patients, first in nutrition, second in nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals are medical-grade vitamins and minerals that are very prier and used in research.

Then I insist on an exercise program. Unlike our traditional exercise program, they’re based on strength training, injury to joints pounding away. There is a new technology of exercise which is called Muscle Activation Technique. They basically isolate the weakest muscles in your body. So, the majority of women will die with a rotator cuff tear because they’ve never developed their deltoid and their triceps, so there is no stability to the rotator cuff tear.

The number two injury in men and women is lower back injury. And the best cardio in the world is a rowing machine because it’s low-stress to all joints and it exercises every muscle in your body. And you can interval train on it. So that is very, very critical.

Katie: That makes sense. And I think you’re right. I think that’s something that all of us should be addressing, probably, much more than many of us are. And that’s interesting, too, because I definitely heard some of those statistics about hormone replacement. I know there are different types as well. You’d wanna gonna go, I’m assuming Bioidentical versus…are there some that are dangerous out there that, like products that are, kind of, marketed to increase testosterone? Are there ones to be wary of?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes, I am…I do not like using Viagra, it’s a temporary solution. There’s eliminate spontaneity. Pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapies do not treat anything but vaginal dryness and hot flashes. They have never become therapeutic to the levels that they need to be. And in terms of medications, I much prefer to use human identical. I do not do any Bioidentical.

Katie: Got it. That’s good to know. I’ll make sure we note that in the show notes. And you said BioTE hormone pellets, is that the one that you typically used?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes.

Katie: Okay. Very cool. What other lifestyle factors do you feel like really come into play here? Do you do a nutritional component as well, and if so, like what kind of things are you focusing on? I’m sure there’s a personalized aspect as well, but just for those who are listening, what kind of things would you address there?

Dr. Prewitt: In terms of nutrients?

Katie: Yeah, just from, like, a nutritional perspective. That’s my background, so I’m always fascinated to hear.

Dr. Prewitt: From a nutritional background, I place all my patients on iodine. Your thyroid is producing a hormone that is prohormone T4. And that’s tyrosine and four iodines. 74% of the population is iodine-deficient.

Iodine also cleans the receptors off on your cells so that when I optimize your free T3, which is the active hormone, it has a place to land. So I explained this to my patients, it’s much like sending some supplies up to space shuttle. If that lock is obliterated by a meteorite, there’s nothing that’s gonna happen. So chloride in our water, fluoride in our toothpaste and mouthwash, and bromide in bread, makeup, hair coloring, they permanently block your free T3 receptors. And that’s why we exponentially age. When we’re 30, we age 3 years in 1, by the time are 70, we’re aging 7 years in 1.

The other supplement I use is Omega-3 DIM. DIM is Diindolylmethane. It is the phytonutrient that’s in cruciferous vegetables. And it works by three ways. One, it is anti-inflammatory. All disease starts with inflammation. So, if I have someone with a very bad LDL small particle cholesterol, if they don’t have any inflammation in their heart, they’re never gonna get coronary artery disease. So, every cardiologist should make sure that their patient’s testosterone is therapeutic, 900 to 1100 in men, 150 to 250 in women, and that they take DIM once or twice a day and that their Vitamin D level is at 100.

A lot of doctors are happy with Vitamin D levels below 60. All patients that have heart attacks have a Vitamin D level below 60.

The other stuff, the one that I use is a probiotic. The probiotics that people buy over-the-counter at Whole Foods are not protected from the hydrochloric acid in our stomachs, so we lose up to 90% of that probiotic. Probiotics have been shown to decrease neurologic diseases, MS, dementia. A happy gut is a happy brain, so we all need a probiotic.

Eighty percent of the population is Vitamin ADK2 deficient. So I have all my patients on that. I also have a very good multivitamin. And as I mentioned before, I encourage Ashwagandha for brain health and blood flow.

I use Meriva which is very pure, highly intense in turmeric, which is a wonderful anti-cancer. For sleep, I usually use Progesterone Prometrium. It does have peanut oil in it, so we have to be careful with our patients with peanut allergy, but it is beautiful for sleep. It also works in conjunction with testosterone to prevent dementia and also to lower the risk of breast cancer. We use a thorn product. It is their highest grade of multi-vitamins and minerals. And then I use an assortment of other supplements. LipoCardia is something that people can take for a month and it actually, naturally, lowers their LDL cholesterol without lowering their HDL cholesterol.

I have great objection to Statins because they actually decrease our cholesterol levels so low, and what a lot of people don’t realize, your brain is cholesterol and fat. So, a lot of doctors dangerously lower. I have patients that brag to me that their LDL is 50. I educate them that they’re more than likely gonna have dementia, very quickly.

Katie: I love that you brought that up because I am definitely a science geek, and so I’ve read a lot of things on PubMed and just look at correlations. And that was one thing I noticed years ago is that, especially in women, but men too, that Statin seem to actually not have the intended effect. They do lower cholesterol, but then you would see those women with higher rates of all kinds of problems after that, and that, statistically, if you graph it, having high cholesterol for women, if it’s in the right ratios, it was actually correlated with longer life whereas reducing it too much was correlated with an early death. Have you seen that as well?

Dr. Prewitt: Absolutely. That is 100% true.

Katie: Wow. And I love that. I love everything that you just said and I made a ton of notes that will be in the show notes.
This podcast is brought to you by Nutrition Genome. This is the most comprehensive genetic analysis on the market. They cover 85-plus clinically relevant genes across all of the major biochemical pathways. And what that means is that they’re testing all the important things that can actually make an epigenetic difference for you. The test also includes a 50-plus page report that really goes in-depth and gives feedback on your personal gene function and how to enhance your own gene expression. The analysis also provides foods that are best to emphasize and minimize, talks about toxins you’re more likely to be sensitive to, your genetic stress response, and even recommended blood work to optimize your genetic blueprint for long-lasting health and longevity. This testing doesn’t have the privacy concerns that some of the other popular genetic tests have, and we just did this with all our children. Their results have been really helpful for customizing their diets and supplements. And basically for our whole family I, kind of, took everybody’s results and found the common denominators of food, and we start there now with our shopping list each week. You can check it out and learn more and get the test at wellnessmama.com/go/nutrition-genome. That will also be in the podcast show notes at wellnessmama.fm for this episode. But one more time, that’s wellnessmama.com/go/nutrition-genome, G-E-N-O-M-E.
This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. My kitchen is always stocked with their coffee mushroom blends, their Matcha mix, and their straight mushroom drinks. Four Sigmatic has figured out how to get the benefits of mushrooms like chaga, lions mane, cordyceps and reishi into delicious instant drinks. My current favorite is their adaptogen coffee blend that has tolsi and astragalus. But I love all of their products. They have options with or without caffeine so if you’re not a caffeine person you can find products that you will love. And I find that even their coffee blends that do contain caffeine have less than a normal cup of coffee. But don’t let this fool you. I have found that I get so much more focus and mental clarity from these mushroom blends than I do from regular coffee, and without the jitters. The addition of the mushrooms, which are considered nootropics, meaning that they are good for the brain makes these super food blends more effective and much healthier than just regular old coffee. I love them with a dash of macadamia milk personally. I also love that many of their drink mixes are instant and packaged into individual servings so they are perfect for travel or on the go. If you’re listening to this, then you can get a special offer just for listeners of this podcast by going to wellnessmama.com/go/four-sigmatic.

Katie: I love that you also talked about Vitamin D being above 100 because not only do a lot of doctors think like 30 to 60 is great, they’re actually afraid of higher Vitamin D levels. But like you said, there’s so much research on that. I’ll link to a few studies that I’ve seen about it but, truly, it’s correlated. Having optimal Vitamin D levels is correlated with health in so many different areas. In fact, vital, I love that you addressed that, what metric are you testing for Vitamin D because there’s a couple different test?

Dr. Prewitt: Blood.

Katie: Okay. So, like hydroxy, the blood hydroxy?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes, D3.

Katie: Awesome. And could you talk a little bit more about, you mentioned Viagra in passing, but I know that’s a common solution. That, and there’s a few others, as well, that are similar. And we see those commercials all the time. They’re in every magazine, and they’re definitely, like presented as if there’s no problems with them and they’re great for you but you, kind of, eluded to there being some longer-term problems with taking those. Can you just touch on those and why someone might wanna think twice before they take them?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes. Cialis and Viagra are probably the most popular ones. They’re incredibly expensive and men do report lots of side effects with them. Headaches, erections sustained for a long period of time, and just the mental stigmata that comes with him needing to take a little pill and wait 30 minutes.

So again, pharmaceutical should be avoided at all costs, especially when we have natural remedies. It’s the same as when women have urinary incontinence, doctors start with medications that cause dry mouth, dry eyes, dry vagina, and slings that don’t last for a long time, when we have a medical device that cures 99% of women. But if that’s not on the TV, the blue pill is.

Katie: Yeah, exactly. I know there’s the pelvic floor mesh that was popular for a while and now there’s all these lawsuits related to it. And that seems so much more invasive as well. To me, this would seem like a no-brainer to try something more natural like addressing diet and lifestyle and also like GAINSWave long before you’d be willing to go through surgery. So I love that you’re spreading the word about this kind of options.

Dr. Prewitt: Absolutely. And I’m a gynecologist, I did my fair share of meshes. When I discovered medical devices and optimizing the hormones in the body, I have not had one failure from urinary incontinence. I had a fourth-degree tear when I delivered my baby, I have only one child, and I would have to put a tampon in my rectum and my vagina to be able to go to yoga class, and this device has cured me so, from hands-on, been there, done that.

Katie: Wow, that is astounding. I know this is a newer technology, but is there a research supporting the GAINSWave technique as well?

Dr. Prewitt: Yes, there is lots and lots of literature in the GAINSWave in men, and there is some literature of GAINSWave in Europe. I am getting ready to start a clinical trial on the FEMIWave and publish some data. But the science is inarguable in women. One in 3 women post-menopausal die of heart disease, 1 in 7 pre-menopausal women will die of heart disease, 68% of men are gonna die of heart disease. Therefore, we all have plaque in our pelvic floor. And the GAINSWave and the FEMIWave, inarguably, are gonna improve sexual health causing increased blood flow.

And uniquely in women, as a gynecologist, I’m comfortable using the FEMIWave internally. I don’t recommend that doctors who are not skilled in the pelvic floor do that, but many of us women have undergone episiotomies and we have multiple scar tissue in the vagina, so this is beautiful, it breaks down scar tissue.

It also helps treat pelvic inflammatory disorders like the diseases of endometriosis, potentially sciatic and hip pain. A lot of women get sciatica. And so there’s just so many applications for the FEMIWave in women as well as in men.

Katie: I love it. And are the results long-lasting? Like, is it something that people have to do forever, or can it be done in like a treatment protocol for some amount of time and then the result last, or how does that typically work?

Dr. Prewitt: Again, I individualize it based on each person’s history: pelvic trauma, sports history, and their sexual history. So, a man who cannot have an erection and hasn’t had an erection spontaneously in years is gonna need approximately 12 GAINSWave treatments. They can do two a week for a six-week period. I have men that fly in and I’ll do them Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and they fly out because they don’t live in the area.

If a man can have an erection spontaneously but maybe is still a little flaccid and penetration and satisfaction of his partner is a little bit trying, he might only need six, two treatments a week for three weeks. Women, depending on endometriosis, pelvic history, episiotomies, those kinds of things, it really needs to be tailored to each individual woman.

Katie: That’s awesome. I love that. And like I said, I will make sure that we link to your website, you’re in Texas, I believe, and a lot of listeners are in Texas as well, so people can find you directly. And I’ll also link to, I believe I found blog posts on your site explaining all the different technologies that you guys have and how they work, so for anyone who has follow-up questions about that.

Any other advice or suggestions that you want to leave the listeners with before we end today?

Dr. Prewitt: Yeah. Laser technology is so outstanding, and it is underutilized. Example, the FemiLift. That’s internal vaginal rejuvenation along the entire length of the vaginal canal. And so few women know about it, so few men do know about preventative measures. And I guess the best thing I can say is we all need to concentrate on our nutritional health, our physical health, our physical fitness, and our sexual health. It’s multi-factorial. And also, our spiritual health. And a lot of our spiritual help comes from the feelings, and the gratitude, and the satisfaction that we experience during intimacy.

Intimacy is not well spoken of as yourself made a disclaimer that we’re gonna be talking about things. I write in “Modern Luxe” magazine in Dallas every month. And I actually use the words “penis” and “vagina” because we all have to talk about it, that’s their names. Too long, sexuality has been soiled by pornography, and I think it’s time to really get out there and talk about this. And we have an obligation to keep ourselves sexually healthy for our significant other or our spouse.

Katie: I 100% agree, and from a mom’s perspective, I would say, along that line, but earlier on, I think it’s even important to teach our kids the correct terms early on so they don’t have any shame in talking about it because, for one, like, they’re gonna go through changes in those parts and they need to be able to talk about it if they feel like they should. And also, there’s so much data on…it helps protect your children from situations where they are more likely to be molested or have a sexual trauma if they know the correct words because that’s one of the things that a lot of perpetrators look for because if the kids don’t know the correct term, they’re less likely to be able to report it.

So, I think that’s an important life lesson. I love that you touched on that, and one that we can start early in life with our kids by modeling, you know, good health and good knowledge around those areas, and not being afraid to use those words and making them a commonplace non-shame related thing. I think that’s so important. I love that you brought that up.

Dr. Prewitt: Yeah, I actually have hired a dear friend and colleague. She has a PhD in writing. She’s Dr. Amy Schulte, She and I wanna get literature out there. We talked years about writing books for different age groups addressing sexuality throughout life. And I think that’s a great tool for a lot of parents who feel awkward going there. I mean, I think it’s very, very important that education starts young.

Katie: Absolutely. And like I said, all the things that you mentioned will be linked in the show notes at wellnessmama.fm. Your website is healthwellnessmd.com for anyone who wants to find you directly.

But, Dr. Prewitt, thank you so much for being here. I love that you are taking on these topics and that you are having such amazing results with men and women in a very noninvasive way. I love that the technology is bringing all these things into common use. So, thank you so much for your time and for your research.

Dr. Prewitt: You’re welcome, and our team thanks you for the invitation. And give us a call anytime.

Katie: Thank you, and thanks to all of you for listening and I hope to see you next week on “The Healthy Moms Podcast.”

If you’re enjoying these interviews, would you please take two minutes to leave a rating or review on iTunes for me? Doing this helps more people to find the podcast, which means even more moms and families could benefit from the information. I really appreciate your time, and thanks as always for listening.
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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

9 responses to “168: Dr. Maryann Prewitt on A Proactive Approach to Aging & Sexual Health”

  1. Sandy Sleck Avatar
    Sandy Sleck

    Thanks to this podcast – it was life changing for me! I just came back from a visit with Dr. Prewitt and staff. I have been seeking excellent health care for over 10 years and Dr. Prewitt is it! She understands, listens, and has solutions. I live in Minnesota and Dr. Prewitt’s clinic is in Dallas. I found a very reasonable ticket and even with the cost of the ticket, hotel, and hormone treatment I saved money going to Dallas over having my hormone treatment done in MN. Although, the incredible thing was she was able to find the answers and give me solutions for the health issues I was continuing to have! It is well worth your time and money to check her out. It is so exciting that we finally have an MD that is an advocate for health which improves my quality of life. Thank you Katie and Dr Prewitt for sharing!

  2. DianaCarolina Avatar
    DianaCarolina

    This was a great podcast with Dr. Prewitt. I am interested in the Femilift and will be researching the topic. I wish Dr. Prewitt was not so far away from where I live. Keep up the great interviews Katie!

  3. Joanie Avatar
    Joanie

    What did she recommend for sleep? It started with a P, I think it was a certain kind of progesterone? Thanks!

  4. Sharon Avatar
    Sharon

    Awesome program. Straight talk on what is really needed to stay healthy and happy.

  5. Sharon Avatar
    Sharon

    Excellent talk with information that is critical for everyone. I shared it with my husband who is too “shy” to discuss this with his doctor. I hope he will listen to Dr. Prewitt. I would totally support a trip to see her! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

  6. Renee Avatar
    Renee

    What does she recommend for balancing hormones during peri menopause and beyond to avoid weight gain etc ? Thanks!

  7. Wanda Avatar

    What does she recommend for vaginal dryness? How can patients work remotely with her or find a doctor locally that uses the laser tech to address sexual health?

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