Susan started feeling unusually tired about a year ago. That and brain fog made her less productive at work. Coworkers noticed it. She no longer had the excitement she once had for the job she was passionate about. “I guess I’m just getting old,” she told me. When she came home from work, all Susan wanted to do was sit on the couch, where she fell asleep watching TV until it was time to get ready for bed. She could care less about intimacy anymore. And it hurt anyway, so this was all the more reason to say, “Not tonight, honey.”

Her relationships had changed, too. Tom and the kids had become increasingly irritating. And she just didn’t have the patience to deal with it anymore. She even lost patience with herself because she often couldn’t think of words or names that used to roll off her tongue. “Am I getting Alzheimer’s?” The thought itself was terrifying, having seen her mother deteriorate to the point of no longer recognizing the one who cared for her every day until she had to be placed in a nursing home.

And the weight gain! And the wrinkles! “Am I just getting old, or could there be something wrong with my hormones?” she wondered. She asked her doctor, who refused to test them. “You’re still having periods, so you can’t be low in hormones. You’re a woman, and women don’t need testosterone. And your insurance won’t cover those tests, anyway” (none of these statements is true, but for some reason they are common misconceptions among doctors).

Starting out in medical practice, I couldn’t have helped Susan. In medical school, we were taught that we had to wait to treat a woman until she had gone a full year without periods, and then we could prescribe “hormone replacement.” This generally meant one of two drugs, Premarin or Prempro, depending on whether she still had her uterus. These took care of hot flashes and night sweats, which was a big help for many. But the drugs did nothing for the rest of a woman’s menopausal symptoms.

The medical conferences I attended were no help, because, of course, they only talked about drugs. So I called doctors all over the country to see if any had better solutions. Fortunately, they did. I began crisscrossing the country, attending advanced trainings and conferences and even learning hands-on from other doctors in their offices.

At one of these trainings, I learned that a small handful of doctors have been implanting tiny bioidentical* hormone pellets (containing pure testosterone and estradiol) beneath the skin in men and women since 1939. Contrary to what we were taught in medical school, I also learned that women actually need testosterone. In fact, during a woman’s reproductive years, healthy ovaries produce ten times as much testosterone as estrogen. Surprisingly, if you take testosterone away from a woman, she feels less of a woman. She just won’t realize it until she gets her testosterone back and discovers what she has been missing.

Just as bad, without enough testosterone, she has a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and every other inflammatory disease. Why? Because testosterone is a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone. One goal of hormone pellet therapy is to maintain adequate hormone levels to minimize these risks. We do the best we can to avoid allowing testosterone to drop too low. While any of the many deficiency symptoms can signal that a woman’s level has dropped too low, one woman I know can tell when she has gone too many months since her last pellet implants because her neck starts hurting again.

Becoming the third doctor in the State of Utah to offer this life-changing service, I suddenly attracted grateful patients from every surrounding state as well as Montana, Wyoming, California, and even Alaska. Susan and numerous other women like her could finally get the help they needed. And once they felt better, their husbands—seeing the dramatic changes and not wanting to be left behind—decided to take advantage of the same treatment.

But even to this day, many women are afraid of “hormones”. This is because the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, published in 2002, concluded that “hormones” cause breast cancer, heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes. The study made headlines all over the world. Overnight, doctors took women off whatever hormone replacement they were on because they didn’t want to be exposing women to unnecessary harm.

But there were two major problems with this now-infamous study. First, the researchers hadn’t studied hormones at all. They had studied the two drugs I learned to prescribe in medical school, Premarin and PremPro. Second, as happens surprisingly often in the medical literature, the conclusions they announced to the world did not match the actual results of their study. Numerous reanalyses since then have demonstrated that the data were completely misinterpreted. Moreover, multiple studies before and since the WHI have demonstrated that bioidentical hormones actually reduce breast cancer, heart attacks, blood clots, strokes, and a whole lot more.

“If that was true,” one woman told me, “I’m sure my doctor would have told me. She’s really smart.” Yes, her doctor is really smart, but that doesn’t mean she reads the medical studies on bioidentical hormones and attends lectures taught by the world’s leading hormone researchers. She’s too busy trying to keep up with all the other demands on her time.

Fortunately, increasing numbers of patients throughout America are discovering the benefits of hormone pellet therapy for men and women. This has motivated increasing numbers of practitioners to learn how to provide it. But you need to choose your practitioner carefully. Attending a weekend seminar doesn’t suddenly turn a practitioner into a hormone expert. There is a lot more to it than that.

If you or someone you love is not quite feeling and functioning his or her best and suspects hormones might be the problem, or has no idea what the problem could be, call Prestige Wellness Institute at (435) 210-0184 in Utah County or (435) 259-4466 in Moab to see if hormone pellet therapy might be right for you. Chances are you will join the scores of people exclaiming, “I wish I had known about you 20 years ago!”

And be sure to mention you read about it in Moab Happenings.

*Because bioidentical hormone pellets are not US FDA-approved drugs, they are not allowed to claim to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease. The foregoing statements are based on published medical studies and personal experience. Individual results may vary.

Most of us don’t stop to consider how the holidays can shift the entire rhythm of daily life. As daylight shortens and schedules get rearranged, our mental health often moves right along with the season. And while many holiday articles focus on stress and to-do lists, there’s another story worth paying attention to: how these sudden changes affect the balance within our homes, families, and routines—and how they affect those who may not have family at all.

When school lets out, families often experience a “pause” that doesn’t feel like a pause. Kids may be excited and full of energy; parents may feel pressure to make the break meaningful or magical. Some households face childcare challenges; others lose the predictability that helps everyone stay grounded. Teens might feel overwhelmed by social expectations, while younger kids can become overstimulated by the swirl of activities. None of this means anything is wrong—it simply means the season is emotional for everyone.

But not everyone has a full house in December. Some people are far from family, choosing distance from difficult relationships, grieving a loss, or simply going through the season without the support system that holiday ads often assume. For these individuals, the slowdown can feel lonely, especially when the world around them is focused on gatherings and tradition. “Family” looks different for everyone, and meaningful connections can come from friends, neighbors, coworkers, or community groups. Give yourself permission to create your own version of the holiday season.

A few ways to stay centered this season:
· Keep a little routine. Small daily rhythms help everyone feel steadier.
· Participate at your own pace.· You don’t have to attend every event or meet every expectation. Moving through the season slowly or simply is completely okay.
· Talk openly awbout feelings. Kids benefit when adults name big emotions, and adults benefit from sharing theirs too.
· Simplify expectations. You don’t have to create perfect moments; shared moments, even small ones, are enough.
· Offer grace to others. Everyone carries invisible stories during the holidays; kindness and patience go a long way.
· Check in on people who may be spending the holidays alone. A message, an invitation, or a simple “thinking of you” can matter more than you know.
If you’re spending the holiday solo, build the day intentionally. Choose one thing that comforts you and one thing that connects you, even briefly.
· Stay connected with school, healthcare, or community resources if you need support. Counselors, providers, and staff can help ease transitions before and after the break.
The holidays can be joyful, complicated, quiet, or overwhelming, sometimes all in the same afternoon. Instead of trying to match the pace of the season, try matching the pace of your own needs. The holidays aren’t a performance; they’re a moment in time, and everyone deserves to move through them in a way that feels manageable, meaningful, or simply okay.
Mental Health Resources – Moab Regional Hospital
Our providers work with a wide range of clients, including young children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and older adults, in a non-judgmental, confidential environment for people from all walks of life.
· To schedule an appointment: 435-719-5531
· Addiction Treatment: 435-719-3970
(Outpatient services for drug and alcohol detox, recovery resource engagement, and treatment of substance use disorder)
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988, press 2 for Spanish
· The Trevor Project’s suicide hotline · for LGBTQ+ young people: 866-488-7386
· In Crisis? Call 911 or go to the Moab Regional Hospital Emergency Department