“Why does my skin suddenly feel dry, thin, sensitive, and impossible to manage?”

“Is it aging... or is it my hormones?”

This week we're joined by Susan Campbell, founder and CEO of Phosis Skincare, an award winning skincare brand created specifically for perimenopausal and menopausal women. Susan's innovative approach to skincare earned national recognition when Phosis was selected by Oprah Daily's Menopause O Awards, making her one of the leading voices in this rapidly growing space.

Many women notice changes in their skin long before they recognize other symptoms of perimenopause. Dryness, loss of firmness, increased sensitivity, and stubborn changes in skin texture are often some of the earliest signs that hormones are shifting.

In this episode, we break down:

• What actually happens to skin during perimenopause and menopause

• How declining estrogen impacts collagen, hydration, elasticity, and skin barrier function

• Why skin often becomes noticeably drier after 40

• The surprising connection between hormones and skin health

• How much collagen women lose during and after menopause

• Which skincare ingredients become more important during midlife

• Common misconceptions women have about aging skin

• Where skincare fits alongside hormones, supplements, and aesthetic treatments

• Why caring for menopausal skin requires a different approach

Susan also shares her incredible entrepreneurial journey, including:

• How she identified a major gap in the skincare industry

• The inspiration behind creating Phosis

• What it took to build a skincare company from the ground up

• The story behind being selected for Oprah Daily's Menopause O Awards

• What happened when Oprah's team discovered Phosis

• A behind the scenes look at a potential Shark Tank opportunity

• Advice for anyone sitting on a business idea they've been afraid to pursue

This conversation is about more than skincare.

It's about understanding that the changes women experience during perimenopause and menopause are real, biologically driven, and deserving of solutions designed specifically for them.

Because healthy aging isn't about chasing youth. It's about supporting your body through every stage of life.

Share this with the woman who's wondering why her skincare routine suddenly stopped working.

“Your progesterone is low.”

“But is low progesterone actually the problem... or is it a symptom of something deeper?”

This week we're joined by returning guest Meg Green, Registered Dietitian and Integrative & Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner, for a deep dive into one of the most talked about hormones in women's health: progesterone.

From anxiety and insomnia to weight gain and PMS, progesterone gets blamed for almost everything online. But what does progesterone actually do, what causes it to decline, and how much of the conversation are we getting wrong?

In this episode, we break down:

• What progesterone actually does beyond fertility and pregnancy

• How progesterone impacts sleep, mood, anxiety, and brain function

• The relationship between progesterone and estrogen balance

• Why many women labeled with "estrogen dominance" may actually be dealing with ovulation issues or declining progesterone

• Common symptoms associated with low progesterone and what may be causing them

• Whether low progesterone truly causes weight gain

• Why some women notice weight changes after starting progesterone therapy

• The connection between stress, cortisol, inflammation, and progesterone production

• How sleep deprivation, under eating, over exercising, and blood sugar swings can affect ovulation

• What low progesterone looks like in younger women, postpartum women, and women in perimenopause

• The role vitamin D and nutrition may play in hormone health

• Why symptoms matter just as much as lab values

Meg also helps us sort through some of the biggest myths surrounding progesterone, including whether stress can completely shut down progesterone production, whether regular cycles guarantee healthy progesterone levels, and whether every woman with anxiety in perimenopause needs progesterone.

This conversation is a reminder that progesterone may be part of the story, but it is rarely the whole story.

Because understanding why hormones change is often more important than focusing on a single number.

Share this with the woman who's been told low progesterone is the answer to everything.

#HumpDayHormones #Progesterone #HormoneHealth #WomensHealth #Perimenopause #FunctionalNutrition #MegGreen #HormoneBalance #WomensWellness

Are you exhausted but wired, waking at 3am, and wondering why your body feels out of sync?”

“What if it is not just stress, but a full hormone and cortisol conversation your body is trying to have with you?”

We are joined by Christa Jackson, APRN at Beyond Wellness, a clinician deeply rooted in personalized, root cause hormone care and formerly with Cornerstone OB GYN alongside Dr Kay Chandler. In this conversation, we dive into what she is seeing every day in women who feel overwhelmed, dismissed, and physically off balance.

This episode unpacks what we are calling cortisol chaos, the intersection of chronic stress, hormone shifts, sleep disruption, and the realities of perimenopause that so many women are navigating at once.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why so many women feel anxious, fatigued, and unlike themselves during this stage of life

• What cortisol actually does in the body and why it is essential, not the enemy

• How chronic stress, sleep disruption, and blood sugar swings create a feedback loop

• Why estrogen plays a major role in stress resilience and emotional stability

• What changes in perimenopause that makes stress feel harder to recover from

• How cortisol interacts with thyroid function and energy regulation

• What clinicians are actually seeing in labs, symptoms, and real patient stories

• Lifestyle and hormonal strategies that support recovery instead of burnout

We also talk through what it looks like in real clinical practice when women feel terrible but are told everything looks normal, and how a different approach to hormones, sleep, and nervous system health can change everything.

This conversation is about more than cortisol. It is about understanding what your body is adapting to, and why it is not failing you, it is responding.

Share this with the woman who feels like her body is stuck in overdrive.

“Is the system failing women… or was it never built for us in the first place?”

“Why do so many women feel dismissed when they finally ask for help?”

Women make up over half the population, yet their symptoms, pain, and lived experiences are still too often minimized, delayed, or misunderstood in healthcare. In this episode, we dig into the uncomfortable truth behind inequity in women’s medicine and what starts to change when women finally start talking to each other.

This conversation is bigger than hormones. It’s about the entire system women are navigating.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why women’s symptoms are more likely to be dismissed or misattributed

• The historical exclusion of women from medical research and clinical trials

• How outdated diagnostic models still shape modern care

• Why conditions like endometriosis, autoimmune disease, and heart disease are so often missed or delayed

• What current research actually shows about gender bias in diagnosis and treatment

• How social media and online communities are changing patient advocacy

We also sit down with Claire Brown, founder of MOVE Realty and creator of the Little Rock Power Women’s community, which has grown into a space where over 30,000 women share real healthcare experiences, support each other, and call out gaps in care.

Claire shares:

• Why she started the Power Women community

• What women are really searching for when they join

• The most common patterns she sees in shared healthcare experiences

• How community changes the way women advocate for themselves

• Whether online conversations are creating awareness or real change

A few realities that frame this conversation:

• Women account for about 75% of autoimmune cases

• They are 5 to 8 times more likely to experience thyroid disorders

• Around 80% of osteoporosis cases occur in women

• Depression and anxiety are diagnosed nearly twice as often in women

• Women are more likely to experience delayed diagnosis across 100+ diseases

• Studies show women often wait longer, receive less pain medication, and are more likely to be misdiagnosed, especially in emergency and cardiac care

• One study found 93% of women reported feeling dismissed when seeking medical help

And this isn’t random. It’s systemic:

Women were historically excluded from research, underrepresented in clinical trials until the 1990s, and often studied through male centered models of disease. Even today, symptoms like fatigue, pain, and hormonal changes are still frequently minimized or attributed to stress or anxiety.

But here is what matters most.

When women compare experiences, patterns emerge.

And when patterns emerge, silence breaks.

This episode is about that shift.

Because being told “everything looks normal” should not be the end of the conversation.

Practical takeaways:

• Track your symptoms and patterns over time

• Ask follow up questions when something feels off

• Seek second opinions when needed

• Do not accept dismissal as diagnosis

• Find providers who listen beyond lab results

• Trust your lived experience as data, not emotion

Share this with the woman who has ever been told “it’s all in your head.”

New Episode of Hump Day Hormones is LIVE!

“If testosterone works so well, why isn’t it approved?”

“Is it not safe, or is there something else going on?”

If you’ve ever questioned why testosterone for women is still considered “off-label,” this episode is for you. This is not a simple answer, and it has a lot less to do with effectiveness than most people think.

In this episode, we break down:

• The difference between clinical guidelines and FDA approval

• Why lack of pharmaceutical incentive stalled large-scale trials

• The real safety concerns regulators wanted answered

• Why long-term data is still limited

• Why measuring sexual desire makes trials more complex

• How dosing and product design complicate standardization

We also walk through what actually happened historically. Testosterone has been approved for men for decades and is even used in other countries for women, but in the U.S., timing, funding, and regulation all collided, especially after the Women’s Health Initiative, slowing research and halting momentum.

When companies tried to bring female-specific products to market, they did not fail because they didn’t work. They ran out of time, funding, or both.

Here’s the reality:

The FDA approves products, not hormones, and without the right funding, formulation, and long-term data, approval never happened.

So instead, we are left with off-label prescribing, compounded options, and inconsistent dosing, not because testosterone doesn’t work, but because the system never fully supported bringing it to market for women.

This episode also breaks down what testosterone is actually proven to help with, what is still emerging, and what it is not meant to be used for, so you can understand where it fits and where it doesn’t.

Share this with the woman who’s been told, “If it worked, it would already be approved.”

“Does testosterone increase cancer risk?”

“Is it safe for my heart?”

“Will it make me gain weight?”

This is the episode where we take the most common fears around testosterone and go straight to the data.

Because there is a lot of confusion, and a lot of misinformation.

In this episode, we break down:

❤️ What current research shows about cardiovascular risk in physiologic dosing

🫀 Lipids, blood pressure, and metabolic markers in clinical trials

🎗️ What studies actually show about breast cancer risk and mammographic density

🧬 The difference between androgen receptor effects vs estrogen conversion in breast tissue

⚖️ Why dose and tissue context completely change outcomes

💪 How testosterone affects muscle mass, fat distribution, and insulin sensitivity

📉 What we know about body composition changes in women on therapy

We also talk about one of the most important distinctions:

Physiologic dosing is not the same as supraphysiologic exposure.

Most side effects and risks seen in practice are related to dosing, not the hormone itself.

And when used appropriately, the data we have so far does not show increased short-term risk for cardiovascular disease or breast cancer in women studied.

But we are also honest about the limitations:

Most trials are short term, and long-term data is still evolving.

Finally, we cover weight and metabolism:

Testosterone is not a weight loss drug.

But it does play a meaningful role in:

Lean muscle mass

Insulin sensitivity

Energy and activity levels

Which can indirectly support healthier body composition over time.

This episode is about clarity, not fear.

And helping you understand what the science actually says versus what people assume.

“Testosterone is a male hormone, right?”

“But I thought women shouldn’t take that…”

If you’ve ever been told testosterone isn’t important for women, this episode will completely change how you think about it.

Because testosterone is not just a male hormone. And in women, it plays a much bigger role than most people have been taught.

In this episode, we break down:

🧬 What testosterone actually does in the female body

⚖️ Where women naturally make testosterone (and why it matters)

🧠 How it impacts brain function, motivation, and libido

💪 Its role in muscle mass, insulin sensitivity, and metabolism

🩺 What the research actually says about safety in physiologic dosing

We also talk through the most misunderstood part:

Women naturally have significantly more testosterone than estradiol in circulation when measured in equivalent units, yet it is almost never discussed in standard hormone education.

And when levels start to decline in the 30s, many women begin to notice changes like:

Low libido

Brain fog

Fatigue

Reduced motivation

Changes in body composition

But are often told it is “just aging.”

Here’s the truth:

Testosterone is not optional in female physiology.

It is foundational.

And when used appropriately, the data shows it can be both effective and safe in physiologic dosing.

This episode is your foundation for understanding what testosterone actually is in women, and why it deserves a place in the conversation.

Share this with the woman who’s been told testosterone “doesn’t matter for her.”

“I’ve been told to just stay on birth control—it’s basically the same thing.”

“But I still don’t feel better.”

If you’ve ever been confused about the difference between birth control and hormone therapy, this episode is for you.

Because these two are not interchangeable—and using one in place of the other can leave women feeling worse, not better.

In this episode, we break down:

🧬 The fundamental difference between suppression vs support

💊 How birth control actually shuts down your natural hormones

🩺 What hormone therapy is designed to replace and restore

⚖️ Why the type of estrogen matters more than most people realize

📉 Why your labs look “off” on birth control

🔄 Why symptoms often persist when the root cause isn’t addressed

We also talk through what many women experience:

Low energy

Brain fog

Poor sleep

Low libido

Mood changes

…and being told their hormones are “fine” while on birth control.

But here’s the truth:

Birth control overrides your system.

Hormone therapy supports it.

Later in the episode, we walk through who each option is actually for—and why using the wrong approach in midlife can lead to poor symptom control, unnecessary risks, and missed opportunities to truly feel better.

Because you deserve more than symptom masking.

You deserve hormone care that actually makes sense.

Share this with the woman who’s been told,

“It’s basically the same thing.”

“I’ve been told my labs are fine.”

“But I still feel awful.”

If you’ve ever wondered whether you even need lab work—or if you’ve been overwhelmed by endless testing—this episode is for you.

Labs are powerful tools, but they’re not the whole story. Ignoring them completely? That’s also not good medicine.

In this episode, we break down:

🧬 Why “normal” labs don’t always mean optimal

🩺 When labs are actually necessary

⏱ Why baseline labs before therapy matter

🔄 How hormones and labs work together, not in isolation

📉 What can go wrong when labs are treated as the goal instead of a tool

💉 How following labs on therapy helps personalize treatment safely

We also cover the reality many women face on therapy:

Persistent fatigue

Brain fog

Mood swings

Unexplained weight gain

Sleep disturbances

…and how labs help differentiate what’s really happening.

Later in the episode, we discuss evidence-based targets and why monitoring estradiol, testosterone, and other hormones can improve bone health, cardiovascular protection, and overall well-being.

Because you deserve more than “everything looks normal.”

You deserve to feel your best.

Share this with a friend who’s been told,

“Your labs are normal…but you know something isn’t right.”

“I’ve been told everything looks fine.”

“But I don’t feel fine.”

If you’ve ever left an appointment feeling dismissed, confused, or still searching for answers, this episode is for you.

There is a gap in women’s healthcare, especially in midlife.

Your gynecologist and your hormone provider are not the same role, and expecting one visit to cover everything often leaves women without the support they actually need.

In this episode, we break down what each role is designed to do and why both matter.

We walk through:

🩺 What a Gynecologist Focuses On

🧬 What Hormone Care Actually Addresses

⏳ Why Midlife Symptoms Get Missed

🧠 The Difference Between “No Disease” and Not Feeling Well

🔄 Why Hormones Don’t Work in Isolation

📉 The Limitations of “Normal” Lab Work

We also talk about the reality many women face:

Fatigue

Brain fog

Weight gain

Anxiety

Poor sleep

…and being told nothing is wrong.

But these symptoms are not random, and they are not something you just have to “push through.”

They are often part of a bigger hormonal picture.

Later in the episode, we discuss what better care can actually look like.

• Why longer, more in-depth visits matter

• Why hormone care requires follow-up, not just annual exams

• How combining gynecologic care with hormone support improves outcomes

• The shift toward focusing on healthspan, not just disease

Because women deserve more than being told they are “fine.”

They deserve to understand what is happening in their body and have options to feel better.

Share this with the woman who’s been told,

“Everything looks normal.”