Sharon Meers, COO, Says She Feels Better In Her 50s Than She Has In Decades

Sharon Meers brings her own health journey, as well as her background building and scaling businesses, to her role as Midi’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. As a mom, sister, daughter, friend, and feminist, she’s determined to give women the care they need to thrive. Read why it’s personal for her:

Mornings with perimenopause

“Midi Health was a Covid project for me and my co-founder, Joanna. In the first days of lockdown, as Joanna and I were researching this company, some friends came up with the great idea to form an early morning Zoom group to keep each other sane as we managed our families through the uncertain days of the pandemic. A great thing about Zooming with friends at 7:30 a.m. is that you really bring your whole selves. We could see that pretty much everyone in the group was grappling with some new midlife health mystery: There were no-shows because of terrible insomnia, and also struggles with night sweats, anxiety, wonky periods, forgetfulness, and sexual health. Some days, it was like a perimenopause encounter group! I was the oldest, and hearing my 40-something friends talk about their symptoms opened my eyes as I was reading the research on menopause: I realized that much of what I’d gone through in my forties was likely related to estrogen depletion, and like me, they had no idea that their challenges were driven by hormone change.”

A concerning test result

“Around the same time, my doctor called with concerns about my DEXA Scan: I was at the boundary of osteoporosis. My bone density had declined 10 percent over the space of just seven years. Panicked, I went to a top endocrinologist who said, “Sharon, you do all the right things. You eat well, you run three to five miles a day, you lift weights…this shouldn’t be happening. Let’s just watch it.”  And I said to myself, “At this rate of bone loss, I’ll be a jellyfish by the time I’m 60.”  It took consultations with three more doctors to put together a more satisfying game plan: Estrogen, bisphosphonates and potassium to try to reduce calcium excretion. After one year of treatment, my next DEXA scan said I’d gained 6 percent bone mass—a big improvement.”

Changing female midlife health, for our daughters’ sake

“Thinking about my Zoom group, I felt so grateful to our mothers. They laid the foundations for a world that let my friends and I have careers and lives that were just not available to women before us. But we can do more to improve things for women today and pave the way for our daughters. Billions of research dollars have solved problems related to aging for men, but there’s been less focus on midlife female health. We need to extend for women—as we have for men—the number of years we can be our most vital and productive. That’s what Midi is all about.”

The right care

“I feel better in my 50s than I have in decades. After spending my forties exhausted and grumpy, I am now well-rested and optimistic, more energetic and able to handle a bigger workload than at any time in my career. My command of my mood is entirely different; it’s now a rare day when I worry about snapping at people! I’m proof that with the right care, your best years are ahead of you.”

Sharon’s regimen

• Estrogen and progesterone, for bone health and more
• Calcium, Magnesium and vitamin B2
• Probiotics, for  gut health
• Ashwagandha and L-theanine, for stress sleep, and mood