If you're in perimenopause or menopause, you probably have questions. But sometimes the answers are hard to come by. Truth is, few OB/GYNs receive significant training around menopause. There are so many symptoms that can be difficult to untangle. And because there's conflicting information out there about hormone therapy, it can be challenging to determine the right course of treatment.

Well, sit tight. Our guest today is Dr. Stephanie Culver, a Menopause Society-certified OB/GYN and part of a women-founded, women-led company that provides customized hormone treatment for menopause. On this episode, Dr. Culver is addressing all your concerns about menopause and hormone therapy, and breaking down the range of treatments that can help alleviate your symptoms—so you can start to feel better and more like yourself again. And for those women who are not yet in perimenopause, remember that knowledge is power and you don't want to enter this part of your life without having all the information to navigate it.

Among the topics Dr. Culver and I discuss:

• How women's health and menopause education should be integrated into every medical specialty
• Besides the ubiquitous hot flash, the myriad of other symptoms that are associated with estrogen decline
• How to distinguish from depression/anxiety and menopause, and why some doctors are quick to prescribe meds before hormone therapy
• How patients are now self-educating about menopause, and how this is affecting the doctor/patient relationship
• How hormone treatment got a bad rap, and why it can safely be used to treat many of your symptoms
• What customized hormone treatment looks like, and how it works in your body
• How to know if you're a good candidate for hormone therapy—and when it's too late to start
• From the patch to the pill, how to determine which kind of hormone therapy is right for you
• Whether or not hormone therapy should be prescribed for the prevention of Alzheimer's and other conditions
• Why hormone tests are often unreliable—but sometimes necessary
• For women who can't or don't want to go on hormones, the lifestyle modifications that can help alleviate perimenopause and menopause symptoms
• How Dr. Culver's company, Pandia Health, is helping to educate corporations about supporting their employees who are traversing menopause
• What you can do to start feeling better and taking care of yourself NOW

Dr. Culver also tells you if CBD can help with menopause symptoms, explains why there's still a scary label on your box of vaginal estrogen cream, and answers the million-dollar question: In addition to addressing your symptoms, will hormone therapy make you look and feel younger? Ladies, this is one episode you don't want to miss!

Full show notes available at Morebeautifulproject.com.