My mom and aunt both died of estrogen positive breast cancer within months of each other when I was just 26.
I vowed to stay away from all hormones because estrogen came to equal breast cancer in my mind, since my mom was diagnosed when I was 15.
So at 22 when my periods were heavy, painful, lasting 2+ weeks and none of the natural remedies I had learned in my first year at Bastyr for ND school were working I had to consult a gynecologist.
I was convinced to try the Depo-Provera shot, was reassured it would stop my periods and I’d be fine.
Desperate to not live in a world of black pants, sitting on towels, super plus tampons and pads, I figured I didn’t have much choice.
Instead, I spent 3 months crying daily not wanting to get out of bed, spotting every day, and watching the scale go up 10 pounds despite barely eating.
And this was over the summer, my favorite season.
Lucky for me I was able to detox off the hormones, dial in my diet a bit better, get back in the gym and my heavy painful periods became manageable.
That was the end of hormones for me…or so I thought.
Until the research started changing and colleagues began sharing real benefits they and their clients experienced.
I dove in, taking advanced courses and training under Dr. Pamela Wartian Smith, one of the pioneers of compounded HRT.
Once I felt confident, I began prescribing and saw real benefits, though not without hiccups.
Some clients experienced bleeding after years without periods.
While others felt more emotionally unstable.
One developed breast cancer and for a time, I was convinced hormones were the cause so I stopped prescribing them (even though lifestyle factors like alcohol, smoking, and diet were bigger culprits in this case).
Still, I resisted personally.
Five years ago, I finally tried bio-identical progesterone after a 60+ day period that wasn’t responding to any of my natural interventions and it helped.
More recently, I added estradiol on a cyclical basis.
But here’s the difference: I micro-dose, cycle my use, and track every detail.
It hasn’t been perfect, yet it’s been empowering.
And through it all, I’ve learned that what matters most isn’t blindly following a protocol.
It’s listening to your body.
It’s adjusting with awareness.
It’s tracking what works for you.
That’s why I created my online course Love Your Hormones to help you learn how to partner with your body, not fight it.
Tonight—Thursday, October 2nd 4p PST/6p CT—I’m hosting a live call where I’ll share the behind-the-scenes of my HRT journey, the risks no one talks about, and how to know if HRT, micro-dosing, or natural alternatives might be right for you.
If you’ve been on the fence about hormones or know someone who is, tonight’s call will be a great way to hear what it’s really like to be on hormones and what doctors are seeing in real life, not social media land.
✨ Click HERE to register for “Are Bioidentical Hormones The Right Choice For Me?”, replays are going out if you can’t make it.
Here’s to loving your hormones,
Dr. J
