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Am I in Perimenopause? How to Tell What Phase You’re In

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Release Date: 03/07/2026

Meno Besties Unfiltered: Bones, Hormones & Hot Hockey Players

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

What happens when three menopause podcasters sit down together with zero intention of staying surface level? You get a smart, honest, hilarious, and deeply validating conversation about some of the biggest midlife topics women are trying to figure out right now. In this roundtable episode, we get into bone health, hormone testing, HRT mistakes, libido, trauma, desire, and the much bigger cultural story around what menopause is actually meant to be. We talk openly about why so many midlife women feel disconnected from sex, why female arousal is so misunderstood, and how much emotional baggage,...

Quick Hits: Breaking the Silence: Andrea Donsky on 103 Menopause Symptoms and Taking Control

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Welcome to Quick Hits — where we bring you the most impactful moments from past episodes in under 15 minutes. Today’s clip comes from one of our most replayed conversations. If you want the full episode, check the link in the description below. Listen to the full episode: Known as the “Menopause Educator and Researcher” to her 340,000+ TikTok followers, Andrea Donsky is a nutritionist on a mission to change the conversation around perimenopause and menopause. Her new book "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best" comes out May 5th! Our...

The Menopause Gut: What Hormone Loss Is Really Doing to Digestion, Inflammation, and Weight with Cynthia Thurlow

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

In this episode, I sit down with Cynthia Thurlow, nurse practitioner, TEDx speaker, and author of The Menopause Gut, to unpack what is really happening inside the body during this transition. We get into why so many women suddenly feel bloated, constipated, reactive to foods, inflamed, and resistant to weight loss, even when they are eating well and doing all the “right” things. Cynthia breaks down the gut-hormone connection in a way that is smart, practical, and incredibly eye-opening. We also go deeper into leaky gut, digestive enzymes, bile, hydrochloric acid, short-chain fatty acids,...

Quick Hits: Metals & Menopause: The Impact of Heavy Metals on Your Sex Hormones, Thyroid, and Energy with Dr. Chris Shade

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Join our FREE upcoming masterclass: Why Midlife Weight Gain Won’t Budge A smarter way to use GLP-1s in midlife without wrecking muscle or metabolism When: April 30th 11 am PST Register here: Welcome to Quick Hits — where we bring you the most impactful moments from past episodes in under 15 minutes. Today’s clip comes from one of our most replayed conversations. If you want the full episode, check the link in the description below. Listen to the full episode here: Itunes: Christopher Shade, PhD, founder and CEO of Quicksilver Scientific, continues to be the driving force of...

We’ve Used GLP-1s for 3 Years: What Worked, What Backfired, and What Women Need to Know

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Three years ago, GLP-1 peptides were barely being talked about in the midlife women’s health space. Since then, Jessica and I have personally used them, experimented with different approaches, and helped over a thousand women inside our peptide program navigate what works, what backfires, and what women in perimenopause and menopause need to know before jumping in. In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on our own GLP-1 journeys, including my rough start with Ozempic, why Tirzepatide worked better for me, Jessica’s experience with Semaglutide and fatigue, and why Retatrutide is...

The Real Reason Your Menopause Belly Shows Up Even When You’re Doing Everything Right with Siobhan Mitchell

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Join our FREE upcoming masterclass: Why Midlife Weight Gain Won’t Budge A smarter way to use GLP-1s in midlife without wrecking muscle or metabolism When: April 30th 11 am PST Register here: There comes a point for so many women in their late 30s and 40s when they look in the mirror, or down at their belly, and think, what is happening to my body? You’re still eating well. You’re still exercising. You’re still trying to do all the “right” things. And yet your body suddenly feels like it is playing by a completely different set of rules. In this episode, I sit down with Dr....

Part 2: What Midlife Women Need to Know About Testosterone & Steroids with Victoria Felkar

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

In this second of two parts, I sit down with Victoria Felkar again to unpack the complicated, often glamorized world of androgens, testosterone therapy, and anabolic steroids for women. Are these hormones empowering tools—or ticking time bombs? How do you know the difference? We dive into what’s really happening beneath the surface when women start layering in testosterone or other androgens, especially without a solid hormonal foundation in place. Have you ever wondered why some women feel amazing on testosterone, while others spiral into acne, hair loss, mood swings, or worse? What role...

Quick Hits: Cracking the Genetic Code: Unlocking the Link Between Genetics, Hormones, Detox, Diets, Mood, and More

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Welcome to Quick Hits — where we bring you the most impactful moments from past episodes in under 15 minutes. Today’s clip comes from one of our most replayed conversations. If you want the full episode, check the link in the description below. Have you ever wondered what your DNA says about your diet and hormones? Well in today's episode we are going to explore the connection between genetics and popular diets like keto, vegan, and low carb. Additionally, we'll explore how DNA reports can help us better understand our hormones and their impact on our health. Kashif Khan the Chief...

Part 1: Women Have Been Lied To About Testosterone with Victoria Felkar

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

In this episode, I’m joined by the brilliant Victoria Felkar, and we go where most conversations in women’s health simply don’t: anabolic steroids. Why has this topic been so misunderstood—and even feared—by women, especially in midlife? Are we lumping very different hormones into one “scary” category without truly understanding them? Victoria shares her own jaw-dropping health story—one that led to sky-high androgens, medical confusion, and even accusations of steroid use. How did a teenage experience with birth control, stress, and recovery from an eating disorder spiral...

Quick Hits: The Hidden Role of Melatonin in Hormones, Aging, and Sleep with Deanna Minich

The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health

Welcome to Quick Hits — where we bring you the most impactful moments from past episodes in under 15 minutes. Today’s clip comes from one of our most replayed conversations. If you want the full episode, check the link in the description below. Listen to the full peptide here: Dr. Deanna Minich, is a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, with a Masters of Science degree in Human Nutrition , and a Doctorate in Medical Sciences. She is an international lecturer, educator, and author, with over twenty years of experience in academia and in the food and dietary...

More Episodes

If you had told me at 40 that perimenopause would turn my world upside down, I would’ve laughed. As a nutritionist specializing in women’s hormones, I thought I had it handled. So why did I gain 15 pounds, lose my sleep, and feel like a stranger in my own body? In this episode, I’m sharing what I wish someone had told me before the storm hit.

Why are so many intelligent, health-conscious women still confused about where they are in perimenopause? Why are we being offered antidepressants, birth control, or told we’re “too young” instead of getting real answers? I break down the three phases of perimenopause in a way that finally makes sense, and explain how to know which phase you’re actually in.

Is it just progesterone? Is it estrogen? Do you really need HRT—and if so, when? I walk you through what’s happening hormonally in each phase, why symptoms can feel so chaotic, and how to stop guessing your way through this decade-long transition.You don’t have to suffer, and you definitely don’t have to do this blindly!

In this episode, we uncover:

How to identify which phase of perimenopause you’re in.
Why progesterone drops first and what that means for sleep.
What estrogen swings really feel like in midlife.
When HRT might be supportive, and why timing matters so much.
How thyroid, cortisol, and insulin interact with your changing hormones.

If you’ve been wondering what on earth is happening to your body, this episode is your starting point. Let’s make sense of your hormones!

Not sure if this is perimenopause — or just stress, aging, or something else? Perimenopause isn’t one phase. It unfolds in stages — and each stage requires a different approach. This quiz will help you identify where you are in the transition and what hormonal shifts are most likely driving your symptoms.

Take the quiz: What Phase of Perimenopause Are You In?

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