A couple of years ago, I had an experience on an airplane that stuck with me—and honestly, it says a lot about how women’s hormones are still being treated in traditional medicine.
My husband and I were on a long flight. He was in the aisle seat, I was in the middle, and there was a woman sitting next to me in the window seat.
I couldn’t help but notice she was working on her laptop, and it was pretty clear she was writing about women’s hormones.
It took me about an hour to work up the courage to say something, but eventually I leaned over and said,
“I couldn’t help but notice—you’re writing about hormones?”
She smiled, and we started talking.
She told me she was an OB-GYN, and that a national publisher had asked her to write a book on women’s hormones.
I was excited. I thought, this is someone I can really learn from.
So I asked her a simple question:
“How do you approach hormone therapy in women? What kind of testing do you do?”
And her answer caught me completely off guard.
“We don’t test.”
“We Don’t Test” — And Why That’s a Problem
She went on to explain:
“When women go into menopause, we know their hormones are low. We don’t test. We prescribe hormones and send them on their way.”
And I remember thinking…
that’s going to make for a pretty short book.
But more importantly, it highlighted a much bigger issue:
Hormone therapy is often treated as one-size-fits-all.
Why Hormone Testing Actually Matters
In my practice, I approach hormone therapy very differently.
Because the reality is:
- Not all women are starting from the same baseline
- Not all women process hormones the same way
- And not all symptoms come from the same imbalance
Perimenopause vs. Menopause Matters
Many women come in thinking they’re menopausal, when they’re actually in perimenopause.
And during perimenopause, hormones don’t just decline—they fluctuate.
In fact, I often see:
- Elevated estrogen levels
- Relative progesterone deficiency
- Symptoms of what we call estrogen dominance
What Is Estrogen Dominance?
Estrogen dominance doesn’t mean estrogen is always “high.”
It means estrogen is out of balance relative to progesterone.
This can lead to symptoms like:
- Mood swings
- Breast tenderness
- Weight gain
- Heavy or irregular cycles
- Brain fog
If you assume all women are “low” and skip testing, you can:
- Overshoot dosing
- Worsen symptoms
- Or miss the real issue entirely
Why Guessing Leads to Poor Outcomes
Without testing, hormone therapy becomes guesswork:
- Too much → side effects
- Too little → no improvement
- Wrong balance → new symptoms
And unfortunately, this is what a lot of women experience.
They’re told:
“This should help.”
But no one is actually measuring:
- Where they started
- How they’re responding
- Or what needs to be adjusted
A More Precise Approach to Women’s Hormones
At Chelle Health, we take a more individualized approach.
We look at:
- Estrogen levels
- Progesterone
- Testosterone (yes, this matters for women too)
- Symptom patterns over time
And we adjust treatment based on:
- Data
- Physiology
- And how you actually feel
Because hormone therapy shouldn’t be:
“Here’s a prescription—good luck.”
It should be:
Measured, adjusted, and optimized over time.
The Bottom Line
That conversation on the plane stuck with me—not because the OB-GYN was wrong in every situation, but because it showed how differently hormone therapy can be approached.
Some providers treat hormones as a standard protocol.
Others treat them as a dynamic system that requires precision.
If You’re Not Feeling Better, There’s a Reason
If you’ve been:
- Put on hormones without testing
- Given a standard dose
- Or told “this is just how menopause feels”
There may be a better way to approach it.
Next Step
If you want a more personalized approach to hormone therapy, we can help.
At Chelle, we offer in-person and telehealth consultations across Utah to evaluate your labs, your symptoms, and your current treatment plan.
