The other day, I was absently feeling my arm when I noticed a firmness along the upper, outer side. I pressed on it. Still there. I flexed my elbow, and the firmness became even more pronounced. What was this foreign mass in my body? Cancer? Abscess? Hematoma? Nope.It was my deltoid. A vibrant pop art style illustration of a confident woman displaying her deltoid muscle, showcasing strength and elegance with bold colors and striking features. When I was in elementary school

Your adrenal glands are small but powerful organs that sit on top of your kidneys. They produce several important hormones: • Aldosterone , which helps regulate blood pressure • DHEA , which can be converted into sex hormones • Epinephrine and norepinephrine , your “fight-or-flight” hormones • Cortisol —the stress hormone most often mentioned when people talk about “adrenal fatigue” A colorful array of bubbling and steaming test tubes filled with vibrant chemicals,

What is it? Progesterone is a steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands, the ovaries (and the testes in men), and—during pregnancy—the placenta. After ovulation each month, the ovary releases progesterone to prepare the uterus for a possible pregnancy. If the egg is fertilized, the placenta eventually takes over progesterone production. If not, progesterone levels fall… and your period begins. Structural representation of progesterone, a steroid hormone with the chemical for

As we head into Thanksgiving week, I’ve been thinking about what I’m truly grateful for. The list is long, but here are a few things that rise right to the top: 1) Hormone replacement therapy. The conversation around perimenopause is finally changing, and honestly, I think we can thank Gen X women for that. For a generation branded as apathetic, we sure banded together when it came to demanding better care. After 2002, menopause management basically evaporated. Women were tol

Have you ever had an encounter with a doctor that left you in tears? What am I saying— of course , you have. A woman rests her head in her hand, visibly overwhelmed by stress, as thoughts swirl around her. I’ve heard so many stories from patients who didn’t feel heard. Whose symptoms were brushed off. Who walked back to their cars, shut the door, and cried. And as I reflect on my own career, I know—painfully—that sometimes I’ve been the cause of that pain (though, thankfully,

During the pandemic, a man named Josh Wardle invented a game for his partner, Palak Shah who was fond of word games. His game, Wordle became a world-wide phenomenon with people texting their family and friends the results every morning, encouraging some competition and a lot of camaraderie. My family and I joined the Wordle craze and then sought out other similar games. Taylordle, Quordle, Heardle and WORLDle- to name a few. One of my kids found another game called Framed. Th