When it comes to menopause hormone therapy, most women are offered a short list of standard prescriptions — and that’s it. But if you’ve ever felt like those options don’t work for you, there’s a reason: hormone therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all.

That’s where compounding pharmacies come in. 

If you’ve hit your 40s and suddenly feel like your body got swapped out for someone else’s…I’m right there with you. For many midlife women, uninvited menopause belly fat shows up overnight, brain fog makes you lose your train of thought mid-sentence, and you’re wide awake at 3am pondering disasters that will probably never happen. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Barbara Sobel, a board-certified nutritionist with a master’s in clinical and functional medicine nutrition. Barb specializes in midlife and menopause nutrition and helping women in perimenopause and menopause figure out what actually helps us feel better at this stage of life.

Perimenopause doesn’t have to feel like the end of your fire. In Ayurveda, this stage of life is actually called your Golden Goddess era.

In this episode, Jessica talks with Heather Grzych, Ayurvedic doctor-level practitioner, bestselling author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, and former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. Heather explains how Ayurveda sees midlife as a shift from the fiery stage of life into the air and space stage — a transition that brings both challenges and new possibilities.

When Julie Parana had a hysterectomy at 42, she expected relief from years of pain—which she got. What she did not expect was the immediate launch into menopause a decade earlier than planned. Even with her ovaries intact, Julie found herself dealing with symptoms like brain fog, forgetfulness, and sleep struggles that were affecting her work. But, it wasn’t until the hot flashes showed up that she connected the dots. 

In this episode, Julie shares how she pieced together the truth, and how the experience inspired her to become The Menopause Occupational Therapist — helping women and employers navigate this transition with confidence.