In 2013, a woman named Bonnie walked into my brand-new bioidentical hormone practice in Portland, Oregon, and dropped an F-bomb about my parking garage before I could even offer her tea.
She was 52, furious at the world, and pretty sure her life was over. Three months later, Bonnie came back wearing a red kimono, beaming. She hugged me in the lobby before I could say hello. She’d lost 15 pounds, was sleeping again, and that red haze of rage that had been obscuring everything? Gone. She could finally see herself again (find her full story HERE).
I’ve seen thousands of Bonnies since then.
And here’s what keeps me up at night: most of them shouldn’t have had to find me.
The numbers are staggering, and they should make you angry.
Only about 5% of menopausal women in the U.S. are taking hormone therapy. Five percent. That’s down from 27% before 2002, when the Women’s Health Initiative scared everyone away from hormones with a study that used non-bioidentical hormones in women who were, on average, 63 years old and a decade past menopause.
Meanwhile, 70-80% of women experience menopause symptoms that significantly affect their quality of life. Hot flashes. Night sweats. Brain fog. Rage. Weight gain. Loss of libido. The symptoms can last 7-11 years, and up to 40% of women in their 60s still have hot flashes.
More than that, almost all women are affected in some way by the system-wide changes that happen when estrogen leaves the building. Metabolism that stalls. Bones that degrade. Blood vessels that stiffen. Brain power that dims by 30%.
So why aren’t more women getting help?
Because their doctors weren’t taught how to help them.
A 2023 survey found that only 31% of OB/GYN residency programs have ANY menopause curriculum. One in five family medicine, internal medicine, and OB/GYN residents reported receiving zero menopause lectures during their entire residency. And only 6.8% felt adequately prepared to manage menopausal women.
Let me say that again: fewer than 7% of the doctors most likely to see menopausal women feel prepared to treat them.
It takes up one-third of their lives but doctors weren’t taught what to do.
This is why I created the HOT Provider Course.
HOT stands for Hormone Optimization Therapy, because this isn’t your grandmother’s HRT. This is precision medicine. Bioidentical hormones. Individualized dosing. Treating the woman in front of you, not some statistical average from a 20-year-old study.
I’ve spent over a decade treating women like Bonnie, learning what works and what doesn’t, staying up late reading research papers and adjusting protocols. And I’ve realized that keeping this knowledge to myself isn’t enough. One doctor in Utah (me) can only see so many patients. But if I can teach other providers? We can reach thousands more Bonnies who are out there right now, sitting in waiting rooms, being told that their symptoms are “just aging” or “normal.”
Normal? Tell that to the woman who can’t sleep, can’t think, and can’t recognize herself anymore.
Here’s where you come in.
I know many of you have a provider who just... doesn’t get it. Maybe they’ve told you hormones are dangerous. Maybe they’ve suggested antidepressants for your hot flashes. Maybe they’ve looked at you with that face that says, “What do you want me to do about it?”
I also know many of you ARE providers who want to get it but weren’t given the tools.
So I’m making it easier for everyone.
Use code “GIFT20” for 20% off my HOT Provider Course.
Give it to your doctor. Gift it to your nurse practitioner. Send it to that PA who really wants to help but doesn’t know where to start. Or, if you’re a provider reading this, use it yourself.
The course covers everything I wish I’d learned in medical school: bioidentical hormones, optimal dosing strategies, how to interpret labs (and when labs don’t tell the whole story), managing testosterone for women, progesterone protocols, and so much more.
Women deserve providers who understand hormones.
That means providers need access to education that actually teaches them. Medical schools aren’t doing it. Residency programs aren’t doing it. But we can.
One coupon code at a time. One educated provider at a time. One Bonnie who finally gets to recognize herself again.
Dr. Amy B. Killen is a board-certified emergency physician, specializing in hormone optimization, regenerative medicine, and longevity. She has been prescribing bioidentical hormones for over 13 years and has treated thousands of women navigating perimenopause and menopause. She’s Chief Medical Officer of Humanaut Health and founder of HOP Box. She’s a clinician, international speaker and a soon-to-be author.
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Hi - I'm a 70 y/o woman with osteoporosis - is it too late for me too help myself besides taking meds for bone density? If you have any suggestions please lmk. I'm envious of the younger generation's options!
I see a lot of content online suggesting most (all?) women should take MHT to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, etc. The only solid evidence I have seen on the benefits of MHT suggest it can do exactly TWO things. 1. Manage symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, GSM, possibly aches and pains associated with decreased connective tissue elasticity, and a few other things. 2. Reduce osteoporosis risk.
Data, as of today, are equivocal regarding the possibility that MHT can reduce risk of dementia, heart disease, and other chronic conditions associated with advancing age.
If a woman has no menopause symptoms, no hot flashes, no insomnia, is there any reason she should take MHT? Weighing the modest increased risk of breast cancer against the as-yet-to-be-proven benefits for other chronic conditions, my takeaway is, "no, a woman without menopause symptoms and who is at average risk of osteoporosis should not take MHT."
Despite this, I feel constant pressure that I am going to 'miss out,' regret, or otherwise damage my long-term health by NOT taking MHT. Why is there so much pressure and so many people pushing MHT?
Don't get me wrong, I saw the incalculable damage to women's health when the WHI scared women away from any MHT options. That study was poorly designed, and thankfully, medical science has caught up and is correcting the record on that. But, gosh, the drumbeat of TAKE MHT is pretty crazy right now.