Perimenopause, HRT, and Why Women Are Being Gaslit Into Thinking It’s “Just Aging” with Dr. Sarah Daccarett | 381

Women’s bodies get endlessly analyzed from the outside… while our internal health gets treated like an optional group project nobody studied for. Cool cool cool.

In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil goes deep on the perimenopause/menopause mess: the years of brain fog, 3 a.m. wake-ups, mood swings, weight gain, and the medical equivalent of a shrug. Enter Dr. Sarah Daccarett, hormone specialist and aging expert, to explain why so many women are confused, dismissed, and exhausted—and why hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be viewed as foundational health support, not a “last resort once you’re fully miserable.”

What We Cover

• Why most women (including doctors) are confused about perimenopause + HRT—and why that’s not your fault

• The “natural” misconception: why Sarah argues HRT can be more natural than the supplement aisle

• Why waiting for hot flashes is like waiting for your car to explode before you change the oil

• Hormones as the “CEO of the body”: brain, bones, metabolism, sleep, libido, digestion—ALL of it

• The real problem with “just fix your gut / cortisol / diet” advice when your hormones are the actual root issue

• PCOS, insulin resistance, and why “just lose weight” advice can be straight-up useless

• Why hormone testing can be wildly unreliable—and why symptoms still matter

• Medical gaslighting: how women lose trust in themselves when the system keeps minimizing them

If you’ve been white-knuckling your way through perimenopause symptoms, you’re not weak—you’re under-supported. Better info + better care isn’t “extra,” it’s the bare minimum.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Sarah:

Website: www.innerbalance.com

$50 off Discount code: PODCASTDRSARAH

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You: The New Hormone Solution with Dr. Erika Schwartz | 305 
• Endometriosis & Women’s Health with Somer Baburek | 238 
• Floored: Why Our Pelvic Floor Health Matters with Dr. Sara Reardon I 314

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