Peri & Pause

09/11/2026

We are ending this week with the words of a patient who spent years - and significant time and money - trying to understand why she no longer felt well.

Good women’s healthcare is not “extra.” Listening is not extra. Education is not extra. Taking symptoms seriously is not extra. 💕

It is the work, our work - and it is a privilege to do it.

What is one thing you wish every healthcare provider understood about caring for women in midlife?

*Shared from a public review. Identifying information has been removed.*

09/10/2026

Too many women spend years being told they are too young, too anxious, too stressed - or that what they are experiencing is simply something they must live with.

This patient’s story is one we hear far too often. Her experience is uniquely hers, but the years she spent searching for answers will feel familiar to many women. 💞

How old were you when you first realized perimenopause might be affecting how you felt?

*Shared from a public review. Identifying information has been removed.*

09/09/2026

There is no single experience of perimenopause - and there should never be a one-size-fits-all approach to caring for it.

Thoughtful care begins with listening: understanding the whole story, evaluating the symptoms, providing education, and creating a plan together. 💕

This patient’s words capture exactly why we do this work.

What matters most to you when choosing a healthcare provider: time, listening, education, collaboration - or something else?

*Shared from a public review. Identifying information has been removed.*

09/08/2026

For Labor Day, we reflected on how meaningful it is to be able to do this work.

For the rest of this week, we want to share what that work can look like through the words of the women who have experienced care at Peri & Pause. 💞

Today’s review speaks to something every woman deserves: to feel heard, understood, and supported by a clinician who takes the time to help her feel like herself again.

What makes you feel genuinely heard during a healthcare visit?

*Shared from a public review. Identifying information has been removed.*

09/07/2026

🇺🇸 Labor Day feels like a fitting day to recognize the work we have the privilege of doing - and the people who make it possible.

To every woman who has trusted Peri & Pause with her story, her questions, her health, and her care - thank you . And to this community that has supported us, shared our name with friends, and helped us reach more women than we ever imagined when this began - we appreciate you more than you know.

Today, we also want to recognize our nurse practitioners.

⭐️ NPs are an essential part of healthcare in our communities. They listen, educate, diagnose, treat, problem-solve, build lasting relationships with patients, and create access to care where it is desperately needed. ⭐️

At Peri & Pause, that work means women who have spent years looking for answers finally feel heard. It means thoughtful conversations, individualized care, and clinicians who have chosen to become deeply knowledgeable in the health needs of women at midlife.

💫 There’s something pretty remarkable about what can happen when good people have the opportunity to do good work. 💫

We see it here every day.

We’re proud of what this team has built, honored by the women who trust us with their care, and excited about how many more women we have yet to reach.

Happy Labor Day from all of us at Peri & Pause. 🤍

...Midlife Women's Care as it should be

09/05/2026

A Big Moment for Women's Health Is Coming - Sept 17 🎗️

Mark your calendar: on September 17, the FDA is holding a public workshop specifically on testosterone use in menopausal women.

Here's why this matters - testosterone plays a real role in women's libido, bone health, muscle mass, mood, and cognition. Yet unlike men, there are still zero FDA-approved testosterone products made specifically for women. Many providers prescribe it off-label, using products designed and dosed for men.

This workshop is a chance for the FDA to hear directly from scientists, clinicians, and the public (aka YOU☺️) about the evidence and the gaps - and it could shape whether we finally get testosterone therapy built for women's physiology.

The meeting is open to the public, both virtually and in person. If you want to sign up to attend (virtual registration stays open through the day of the event):

👉 Register here: https://fda.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_vqCrP60TSOGU7fc9uAWUbQ #/registration

This is the kind of moment where showing up - even just tuning in - matters.

09/04/2026

🚨 FDA UPDATE: Estradiol Patch Availability

If you’ve had trouble finding your estradiol patch lately, you’re not alone.

The FDA has acknowledged access issues related to rapidly increasing demand for estradiol patches. In fact, the supply of FDA-approved patches has nearly doubled over the past year, but demand continues to outpace availability in some areas.

The good news: this is NOT a complete national shortage. The FDA is working with all six manufacturers to increase production and supply.

And perhaps the best part of this story? More women are seeking and receiving evidence-based menopause care. 💗

If your usual patch isn’t available, contact your pharmacist and menopause clinician about alternatives.

Official FDA update linked below 👇

Although availability of certain products or brands may vary by pharmacy or location, estradiol transdermal patches remain available.

09/02/2026

New research: estrogen may protect the brain 🧠

A major new study out of Stanford (published August 2026 in Neurology) looked at over 21,000 women and found something striking: those who used estrogen-only hormone therapy had 35% fewer signs of Alzheimer's in their brains, and 39% lower odds of being diagnosed with dementia.

One important note: this study shows a connection, not proof of cause and effect. Researchers can't yet say estrogen therapy prevents Alzheimer's - only that women who took it tended to have better brain outcomes. More research is needed to know why.

Still, it's a meaningful piece of a growing picture: menopause isn't just about hot flashes - it's connected to long-term brain health too. If this is something you want to understand for your own situation, let's talk about it at your next visit. 🤗

08/30/2026

How to Vet Menopause Info Online 🔍

Your feed is full of menopause advice right now - and that's actually a good thing! For decades this topic was ignored. But not everything trending is trustworthy, so here's how we help our patients sort it:

✅ Check the credentials - and the focus. Is the person a licensed provider (NP, PA, MD)? Look for MSCP after their name - that's menopause-specific certification. We hold it, and menopause care is all we do, not a footnote to a general practice.

✅ Look for nuance, not absolutes. We say "it depends on your history" - not "everyone needs this supplement" or "HRT is always safe/always dangerous." A protocol tied to a product you can buy right then deserves extra scrutiny.

✅ Ask where the claim comes from. Guidelines from groups like The Menopause Society and ACOG are a solid baseline - but the field moves fast. When the FDA removed the black-box warning from HRT this year, it took time for that update to filter through to general guidance. We track those shifts as they happen, not years later. We put evidence into practice today.

We're happy to help you sort fact from noise - bring us what you're seeing online. You deserve answers that reflect where the science actually is right now. 💛

Peri & Pause - The Menopause Center, PLLC - is a comprehensive midlife women's healthcare center in North Carolina focused on treating the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause with hormonal and non-hormonal evidence-based treatments.

08/22/2026

There is something we need to talk about more. 💗

If you experienced postpartum depression, significant postpartum anxiety, or another mood disorder during the reproductive years, that history matters when you enter perimenopause.

We know that certain women appear to be particularly sensitive to the hormonal transitions that occur across a lifetime. And research has shown an association between a history of postpartum depression and depression during perimenopause.

That doesn't mean it will happen to you.

It means we should know to look for it. 🧠

We should ask about your postpartum history when you come to us at 42, 46, or 51.

We should ask what happened after your babies were born. How you felt. How severe it became. What helped. What didn't. Whether anyone recognized what was happening at the time.

Because that history may give us important information about how to care for you now.

And perhaps even more importantly, you deserve to know this about yourself before you are struggling. 💗

Too often, women move through enormous hormonal transitions while simultaneously carrying enormous expectations.

Keep working.
Keep parenting.
Keep managing the household.
Keep caring for everyone else.
Keep showing up.

And when something begins to feel profoundly different, women are still too often told that they're stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or that this is simply part of getting older.

At Peri & Pause, we don't believe midlife women's healthcare should work that way.

We want to know your whole reproductive story - because pregnancy, postpartum experiences, menstrual mood symptoms, previous depression or anxiety, and your response to hormonal changes can all be important pieces of the picture. 🍃

Sometimes appropriate care includes treating the symptoms of the menopause transition. Sometimes it includes therapy. Sometimes it requires psychiatric expertise. Sometimes it requires several of us working together. We can coordinate this with you.

That is what good healthcare should look like. 🤝

Not waiting until a woman is in crisis.

Not expecting her to figure out which part of her experience belongs to which specialist.

Not asking her to carry one more thing alone.

If you experienced significant postpartum depression, anxiety, or mood symptoms years ago, please tell your menopause clinician.

And if you're approaching perimenopause, let us help you understand what to watch for and what resources are available before you need them.

Your history matters. 💗

We are listening.
We see you.
And we are here.

- Peri & Pause, The Menopause Center