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HRT & GLP-1 Q&A: Progesterone Problems, Hair Loss, Weight Gain, and More

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

Release Date: 09/05/2026

Why Do My Joints Suddenly Hurt in Perimenopause?

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

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE "IS YOUR HRT OPTIMIZED!" Yesterday morning, I sat up in bed and somehow threw my neck out. That was it. I did not fall. I did not lift anything heavy. I did not have some dramatic injury. I literally sat up. And if you are somewhere in your 40s or 50s, there is a very good chance you have your own version of this story. Your shoulder suddenly stops moving properly. Your back goes out doing something completely ordinary. Your knees start aching. Your Achilles is angry. Your elbow hurts for no apparent reason. Workouts you used to recover from easily suddenly leave...

Quick Hits: Estrogen Has Been Vindicated! Estrogen HRT & Its Crucial Role in Breast Cancer Prevention with Dr. Lindsey Berkson

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

This is Quick Hits, where I pull the best takeaways from past podcast episodes and bring them to you in a shorter format. If today’s clip resonates with you, be sure to check out the full episode linked below. Download in iTunes or on your favorite podcast platforms. Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson is a thought leader in functional medicine, with an emphasis on hormones, nutrition, digestion, and intimacy. Berkson was a distinguished hormone scholar at a world-renowned estrogen think tank at Tulane University because she wrote one of the first breakthrough books on endocrine disruption)....

The Midlife Peptide Guide: Energy, Muscle, Recovery, Skin, Sleep & Libido with Dr. Jeff Gross

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

Peptides are everywhere right now. They are being talked about for fat loss, muscle, recovery, brain health, skin, longevity, inflammation, mitochondrial function, injury repair, and just about every other problem women run into in midlife. But which peptides actually make sense? Which ones have useful evidence or clinical experience behind them? Which ones are still early? And where do peptides fit when a woman is already dealing with changing hormones, declining muscle, stubborn body composition changes, poor sleep, low energy, and slower recovery? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jeff...

Quick Hits: The Sun Deficiency Epidemic: Could Sunlight Be the Missing Link in Modern Health W/ Gerardo Gutierrez

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 popular conversations. Want the full episode? You’ll find the link below. Are we getting enough of the right kind of light? In this Quick Hits episode, I pull out the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Gerardo “Guti” Gutierrez on sunlight, UVB, vitamin D, red light therapy, infrared light, circadian rhythm, and hormone health. We break down why sunlight is about far more than vitamin D, how UVA and UVB affect the body differently,...

What Happened When I Stopped Drinking: Hormones, Weight, Stress, and Breaking the Cycle

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

This may be one of those episodes you are tempted to skip because nobody really wants to hear that their nightly glass of wine could be working against them. But this is not a lecture about why you should never drink again. In this episode, I’m having a very honest conversation about alcohol, especially for women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. We talk about how drinking may affect sleep, cortisol, cravings, estrogen metabolism, liver health, insulin sensitivity, weight loss, and the way your body handles stress as you move through perimenopause and menopause. But this conversation goes much...

Quick Hits: Breathwork for Women: Igniting Inner Empowerment with Kyla Erlandson

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,...

Tired, Wired, Puffy, and Foggy? Minerals May Be the Missing Piece with Caroline Alan

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

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...

Quick Hits: Reversing Hashimoto's Disease: Insights from Dr. Anshul Gupta

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. 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...

HRT & GLP-1 Q&A: Progesterone Problems, Hair Loss, Weight Gain, and More

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

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...

Quick Hits: The No BS Guide: Ditching Excuses and Taking Charge of Your Health

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. 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...

More Episodes

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 your levels are “fine,” thyroid-related puffiness and fatigue, HRT after hysterectomy, and what women need to consider when starting hormones later in menopause.

I also answer questions about GLP-1 nutrition, peptide stacking, hair loss during rapid weight loss, muscle and bone concerns, stalled weight loss, and whether it makes sense to start HRT and a GLP-1 together.

This episode is all about troubleshooting instead of assuming there is only one right way to do hormones or weight loss in midlife.

In this episode, we cover:

Why oral progesterone can make some women extremely tired
Topical versus oral versus vaginal progesterone
What to look at when you feel puffy or tired on HRT
Why estradiol levels should not be interpreted by numbers alone
Thyroid testing when fatigue, constipation, puffiness, or brain fog persist
Alternatives to hysterectomy for heavy bleeding and uterine problems
How to eat while using GLP-1 weight-loss medications
Protein, fat, and carbohydrate considerations on GLP-1s
Combining GLP-1s with other peptides
HRT after a breast scare and questions around route of estrogen
Starting HRT later in menopause
Hormone intolerance and why delivery method matters
Whether tirzepatide works even when appetite suppression fades
Muscle and bone concerns during GLP-1 weight loss
Hair loss after rapid weight loss and how to support regrowth

Who This Episode Is For

This episode is for women who are already on HRT or GLP-1 therapy and have questions that are not being answered by the standard advice.
It is especially helpful if progesterone makes you tired or puffy, your HRT does not seem to be working, you are gaining weight despite hormones, you are losing hair on a GLP-1, or you are trying to understand whether your thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, or nutrition may be part of the problem.

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