128: Female Sex Hormones Explored

If you’ve ever been told hot flashes are “just part of aging,” we’re calling that out for what it is: an incomplete story that keeps women stuck in unnecessary suffering. We sit down and get brutally practical about the hormones most people reduce to sex and reproduction, even though estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone influence your brain, mood, sleep, joints, muscle, bone density, cardiovascular health, and day-to-day drive. When ovaries start to go offline, the swings can feel like a roller coaster, and it can start earlier than you think.We break down what each hormone does, what “estrogen dominance” can look like, and why progesterone often shows up in the conversation as the calm and sleep-supporting counterweight. Then we go straight into the most misunderstood one right now: testosterone. We talk about the real-world care gap women face, why some clinicians still hesitate, and why other countries are far more comfortable treating it. Sam shares her personal journey through hysterectomy, outdated medical guidance, and the long road back from feeling depleted, plus what she wishes she had done sooner.We also map out the major treatment paths people actually use: patches, oral progesterone, creams and gels, pellets, and targeted options like vaginal estrogen or vaginal DHEA that can be a game changer for tissue health and recurrent UTIs. We explain why labs can be a snapshot in time and why symptom tracking and patient feedback matter so much, especially when your goal is to optimize rather than just survive.If you want deeper learning, we name the experts and shows we trust, including Dr Stacey Sims, Dr Vonda Wright, Cynthia Thurlow, Dr Kelly Casperson, Dr Sharon Malone, and Dr Mary Claire Haver. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the memo, and leave a review so more women can find this conversation.Send us Fan Mail Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeprojectFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeprojectLinktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeprojectWebsite/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/