Pellets, Periods, and Not Giving a Damn: A Midlife Hormone Roundtable with Dr. Amie Hornaman & Elle Russ
The Hormone Solution | Menopause, Perimenopause, & Women's Midlife Health
Release Date: 07/11/2026
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. Breathwork has been used for thousands of years across cultures as a powerful tool for healing, emotional release, self-discovery, and spiritual connection. Yet most of us move through our days barely thinking about our breath, let alone using it intentionally. In this episode, we explore how breathwork can help you reconnect with yourself,...
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You are taking the supplements. Drinking the water. Maybe you are even on HRT. And yet you still feel tired, puffy, anxious, inflamed, constipated, foggy, wired at night, and completely drained during the day. What if one of the missing pieces is far more basic than another hormone, peptide, or supplement? In this episode, I sit down with Caroline Allen, The Mineral Geek and co-founder of BEAM Minerals, to talk about the role minerals play at the cellular level. We get into mitochondria, energy production, hydration, nervous system regulation, detoxification, adrenal and thyroid function, and...
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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. Dr. Anshul Gupta is a best-selling author, speaker, researcher, and leading expert in Hashimoto’s disease. Through his work, he helps people better understand the root causes of Hashimoto’s and how a functional medicine approach may help improve thyroid function, reduce symptoms, and address the autoimmune process. Hashimoto’s is one of the...
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What do you do when you finally start HRT and instead of feeling amazing, you feel exhausted, puffy, bloated, or like something is just not right? Or you start a GLP-1, lose weight, and suddenly your hair starts falling out? Today’s episode is another listener Q&A, and we are getting into the real-life questions women are asking when hormone therapy, thyroid treatment, weight-loss peptides, and menopause symptoms do not fit neatly into a textbook. We talk about progesterone intolerance, oral versus topical progesterone, when estradiol may still be too low even though your doctor says...
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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. This week we're tackling the misconceptions around health and weight loss, and exploring sustainable ways to achieve wellness goals. I'll tell you some practical tips to debunk dieting and exercise myths, and emphasize the importance of positive thinking while addressing the danger of self-sabotage. It's time to face your own excuses, adopt...
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You cannot open your phone anymore without hearing about Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, retatrutide, and before-and-after transformations. One person says GLP-1s are the greatest thing ever. Another says they are going to destroy your health. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. In this episode, I break down GLP-1s specifically through the lens of perimenopause and menopause, because midlife women are dealing with a completely different metabolic landscape. Estrogen is changing. Muscle is easier to lose. Insulin sensitivity may be shifting. Sleep is falling apart. Belly fat is...
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If you are taking HRT, it is not enough to only ask how much estrogen you are using. You also have to ask a second question: how well is your body actually processing and clearing that estrogen? In this episode, I sit down with David Roberts and John Gilday from Mara Labs to unpack estrogen metabolism, estrogen receptors, environmental hormone disruptors, detoxification pathways, and why the conversation around “estrogen dominance” is often way too simplistic. We talk about the difference between having high estrogen and having estrogen that is not being metabolized efficiently, especially...
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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. Angela is an award-winning Nutritionist, Health & Performance Coach, Keynote Speaker and Host of The High Performance Health Podcast. A former corporate lawyer turned industry leader in biohacking and health optimisation for women, Angela regularly gives keynotes to large fitness, health and wellness events She also delivers Health...
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How do you know if your HRT is actually optimized? Not just enough to stop a hot flash, but enough to support your bones, brain, mood, metabolism, sleep, sexual health, and overall quality of life? In this episode, I break down one of the most confusing parts of hormone replacement therapy: dose, levels, and symptom response. Because the old-school advice to simply use the lowest dose possible until your symptoms disappear does not tell us the whole story. At the same time, more is absolutely not always better. We dig into what the research actually tells us about estradiol dose and brain...
info_outlineThis is not just a conversation about hormones. It is a conversation about what it means to age as a woman in a culture that is obsessed with youth, terrified of wrinkles, and wildly uncomfortable with female power after 40. In this roundtable episode, I sit down with Dr. Amy Horniman and Elle Russ to talk about the very real physical, emotional, and identity shifts that happen as women move through perimenopause and menopause.
We get into everything from early perimenopause symptoms, thyroid issues, SHBG, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, libido, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, pelvic floor changes, and how all of these things can affect the way women feel in their bodies. But we also go deeper into the emotional side of all of it. What happens when you are no longer getting the same attention? What happens when your face changes, your body changes, and you realize how much of your worth was tied to being seen as young or desirable?
We also have a very honest conversation about hormone replacement therapy, why individualized care matters so much, why pellets are not always the answer, and why so many women are still being failed by outdated medical thinking. And from there, we talk about Botox, beauty standards, confidence, sex, self-worth, and why this stage of life can also be one of the most freeing. Because yes, aging is real. But so is wisdom. So is power. So is the version of yourself that finally stops asking for permission.
In this episode, we cover:
- Early perimenopause signs and how differently they can show up for women
- How thyroid issues and elevated SHBG can affect sex hormones
- The difference between rhythmic and static hormone dosing
- Testosterone for women, including libido, muscle, mood, vaginal health, and pelvic floor support
- Why so many women struggle to get proper hormone support from conventional medicine
- The pros and cons of pellets versus creams and injections
- How aging affects confidence, sex drive, self-image, and identity
- Botox, beauty standards, and the pressure women feel to stay young
- Why women deserve to age on their own terms without shame
- How midlife can become a more authentic, confident, and powerful season of life
Who this episode is for
This episode is for women in perimenopause and menopause who are trying to understand what is happening to their hormones, their bodies, their libido, their confidence, and their sense of self. It is especially for women who are curious about HRT, frustrated by outdated medical advice, or wrestling with how to navigate aging in a way that feels empowering instead of defeating.
Dr. Amie Hornaman “The Thyroid-Fixer”, is host to the top-rated podcast in medicine and alternative health: The Thyroid Fixer™, with listeners around the globe. She is the founder of The Institute for Thyroid and Hormone Optimization, an organization with transformational, proven approaches to address thyroid dysfunction and support people in returning to full health.
Dr. Amie is also the creator of The Fixxr™ Supplement line with revolutionary, proprietary supplements that are changing the lives of many people. Ultimately, she is a woman on a mission to optimize thyroid patients around the world and give them their lives back. Visit Dr. Amie's website here.
Elle is a world-renowned thyroid health expert, master life coach, and a #1 bestselling author with a degree in Philosophy from The University of California at Santa Cruz. She has helped thousands of people worldwide reclaim their health through her book, The Paleo Thyroid Solution, her online courses and find confidence with her book Confidence as Fuck. Elle has been an admired leader in the paleo, primal, ancestral health industry for a decade. Elle coaches people all over the world - helping them achieve goals and dreams and improving their health. She offers online courses and free masterclasses to empower people to become the best version of themselves. Visit Elle's website here.
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Are you in perimenopause or postmenopause and struggling with symptoms—but not getting the support you deserve?
At Midlife Solutions, we specialize in hormone optimization for women in midlife. Our all-female clinical team offers telehealth care across all 50 U.S. states, with the ability to prescribe bioidentical estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid medication.
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Your host:
Karen Martel
Certified Hormone Specialist, Transformational Nutrition Coach, & Weight Loss Expert