About this episode

Dr. Heather Hirsch discusses hormone therapy myths and the THRIVE Method for women's health.

As part of our Best of the Body Pod series, we're revisiting one of our favorite Body Pod conversations with one of our favorite guests. So many women think they have to wait until they've gone a full year without a period before hormone therapy is even on the table, but Dr. Heather Hirsch, founder of Join the Collaborative, says that's one of the most persistent myths in women's health. Her breakdown of the THRIVE Method and how to actually approach hormone decisions is just as useful now as it was the first time this episode aired. In this episode of The Body Pod, hosts Hailey and Laura sit down with Dr. Hirsch for a wide-ranging conversation on perimenopause and menopause care, digging into her THRIVE Method: a framework for approaching hormone decisions through tracking symptoms, reviewing health history, researching safety data, and investigating one hormone at a time. The discussion digs into testosterone therapy for women (still, as Dr. Hirsch puts it, a "data-free zone"), the safety and underuse of vaginal estrogen even in women already on systemic hormones, and the physiology behind genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). She also makes the case that bone health…

People in this episode

Hosts: Hailey, Laura

Guest: Dr. Heather Hirsch

Topics covered

• hormone therapy
• perimenopause
• menopause care
• THRIVE Method
• testosterone therapy
• bone health
• strength training

Keywords

• estrogen
• progesterone
• testosterone
• hormone decisions
• vaginal estrogen
• genitourinary syndrome
• bone density
• strength training
• midlife health
• women's health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Join the Collaborative

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