Thermaband: Using the Power of Technology to Relieve Menopause Symptoms with Debbie and Markea Dickinson

Like many women my age, when I first came into perimenopause and hot flashes assaulted my body, I didn’t know what was happening. But there they were – night and day, relentless. Surprisingly, at that time in my life, I had never had ‘the talk’ with my mom about what to expect from peri- or menopause so I was unprepared for it. Today, that shouldn’t be the case.

Peri- and menopause can hit many in many different ways, but the most common symptom that we all know about is hot flashes. So what can we do about hot flashes? After suffering from hot flashes during perimenopause, a black mother and daughter joined forces to create a smart tech wearable that provides relief during hot flashes and night sweats.

Meet Debbie and Markea Dickinson, the dynamic mother/daughter duo behind Thermaband.

Debbie is married and a mom of four phenomenal kids. She’s passionate about women’s health, wellness and rebranding menopause as a natural and empowering phase of life through her multigenerational sisterhood Facebook community. As a perimenopausal woman battling hot flashes to no avail, she and her daughter co-founded Thermaband, Inc., a fem-tech company, to develop a smart tech wearable which provides thermal relief, especially for women battling hot flashes. Debbie is an experienced Harvard Law benefits attorney and Wharton Business School alumni and lecturer, as well as an advocate and serial entrepreneur.

Markea has operations and manufacturing expertise in consumer goods, and recently graduated with her MBA from Yale School of Management. After recognizing the vast amount of use cases in socializing Thermaband’s vision at inception with classmates (such as chemo-induced menopause for breast cancer patients), in addition to her personal struggle with anemia and cold sensitivity, she welcomed the opportunity to launch an equitable solution for women in various seasons of life.

Debbie and Markea’s favorite quotes are:

“Imagine it. Believe it. Expect it, then with work and determination, Receive it.” ~Unknown

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in situation, by prayer and petition, submit your requests to the Lord and the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds.” ~Phil. 4:6-7

“It should not be the case that even among other women that we somehow are not comfortable saying, ‘Hey, here’s what I’m feeling, here’s what I’m sensing.’” ~Debbie Dickinson

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“It’s been interesting, the perception or the assumption that people make about menopause in terms of, ‘Oh, that’s something I need to worry about when I’m in my 50s.’” ~Markea Dickinson

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On The Show . . .

On this episode, Debbie, Markea and I chat about:

Normalizing and destigmatizing the conversations around midlife and menopause
Reframing midlife as a powerful new beginning, not an ending
Hot flashes in peri- and menopause, and how Thermaband can help to lessen them
The importance of community when it comes to women’s health
How menopause should be multigenerational discussions
Being our own best advocates
. . . and more

“These talks are important. It’s important to prepare all generations in terms of acceptance, in terms of compassion, in terms of preparedness.” ~Debbie Dickinson

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“It was really interesting to hear my mom’s perspective about different phrases that really trigger her in different ways negatively, especially the phrase, ‘I’m not there yet.’” ~Markea Dickinson

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“Midlife-A-Go-Go the podcast!” is hosted by Valerie Albarda

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Music Credits:
“My Street” by Lee Rosevere Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/)

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