Midlife Medicine Is Evolving — And Women Deserve More Than “You’re Fine.”

If you had told me two years ago that the most meaningful part of my 16-year medical career would unfold inside a tiny one-room clinic in Chanhassen, I never would’ve believed you. Back then, I was balancing busy emergency medicine shifts, raising kids, training for certification after certification…and unknowingly entering my own perimenopause.

What started as a “side gig” has become the most fulfilling work of my life — and a place where women finally feel seen, heard, and helped.

Welcome to Dragonfly Menopause Care. Welcome to medicine done differently.

The Problem: Women Aren’t Getting the Care They Deserve

If you’re a woman in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s, you already know the story:

You tell your clinician you’re exhausted, wired-but-tired, gaining weight despite doing everything “right,” melting down at 9 p.m., not sleeping, losing your hair, anxious, flat, or not feeling like yourself.

And too often you hear:

• “Your labs are normal.”

• “It’s just aging.”

• “You’re fine.”

• Or my personal favorite: “Have you tried yoga?”

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I’ve lived this both as a woman and as a physician, and it’s exactly why I built a different kind of menopause practice.

Hormones Are Phase 1 — But They’re Not the Whole Story

We start with hormones because they’re foundational. Most of the time, optimizing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone gets women feeling significantly better.

But if you still don’t feel like yourself — if your mood, hair, metabolism, energy, or sleep are still off — that’s not a failure.It’s a clue.

Your body is incredibly interconnected:

✓ Cortisol and DHEA shift with stress, sleep, and midlife changes.✓ Thyroid hormones may “look normal” but not convert properly.✓ Pregnenolone — the memory hormone — is often shockingly low.✓ Neurotransmitters influence anxiety, sleep, appetite, motivation, and even hair loss.✓ Amino acids (yes, biochem!) can reveal deeper needs your body has been whispering about for years.

What I love — truly love — is that so many of these can be supported with targeted nutrition, supplements, amino acids, and lifestyle changes…Not just prescriptions (though those are incredibly helpful when needed).

This is where functional and personalized medicine shine.

Why I Added Advanced Functional Medicine Training

In early 2024, my own perimenopause symptoms pushed me to learn more — much more.

That curiosity took me through hundreds of hours of additional study: ✔ North American Menopause Society training ✔ Advanced personalized/functional medicine coursework with Dr. Pamela Smith (USF) ✔ Deep-dives into adrenal health, neurotransmitters, midlife brain changes, metabolic pathways, and more

For the first time in my career, biochemistry became…fun. (If you'd told med-school me that, I would have laughed.)

It changed how I practice. It expanded what’s possible for my patients.And it made Dragonfly grow faster than I ever expected — including complex cases, cancer survivors, and now Medicare patients.

The Adrenal–Thyroid–Brain Connection No One Talks About

One of the most surprising patterns I see?

Women whose estrogen and progesterone are beautifully optimized…but they still don’t feel right.

Often, the real answers lie here:

Cortisol:

If it’s high at night → you’re wired, anxious, awake, itchy, inflamed.If it’s low all day → you’re dragging, foggy, craving carbs, barely functioning.

DHEA:

Often very low in women contributing to low motivation, low muscle mass, low resilience.

Pregnenolone:

Dr. Pam Smith calls it the memory hormone, and she’s right — I check it often now, and so many women have levels that are barely measurable.

Thyroid:

Normal TSH means nothing if you aren’t converting T4 → T3.Ferritin, selenium, iodine, vitamin D, stress, and inflammation all play a role.

Amino Acids:

This has been a game-changer. They impact:• neurotransmitters• hair loss• mood• appetite• stress response• sleep

The deeper I go, the more I see how much is fixable.

Women Deserve Care That Matches Their Complexity

Your midlife symptoms are not random. They’re not “just aging.” They’re not in your head.

They are biochemical — and treatable.

What I love most about this work is partnering with women who are ready to understand their bodies and finally feel like themselves again.

At Dragonfly, you don’t get 6 minutes and a prescription. You get time.A physician who listens.A personalized plan.And a model of care that makes that possible.

Your best years start now. I believe that wholeheartedly — because I see it every single day.

If You’re Ready to Go Deeper

Whether you're struggling with symptoms or just want to understand your midlife health more clearly, here are next steps:

• Schedule a visit (in-person or virtual anywhere in MN)

• Consider hormone + adrenal + thyroid testing

• Explore blog posts about brain health, amino acids, thyroid, cortisol, alcohol at midlife, sleep, and more

• Or just reach out — I love helping women understand what’s really going on

  
  

This is the kind of medicine I wish all women had access to.

And it’s why Dragonfly exists. 💜