I'm the only journalist on Substack researching writing about perimenopause, menopause midlife (check out my endorsements!) hotflashinc.substack.com

Dropping tomorrow: The Hot Truth About Hormone Therapy. 6 years of research. 12 prescribing philosophies mapped. 13 things your average doctor might not know about. 13 big questions answered honestly. In under 3 hours. A journalist's guide to making your own informed decision. go.hotflashinc.com/hottruth

In my late 40s, struggling through perimenopause, I finally asked my doctor about hormone therapy. She waved her hand and said: 'There's nothing here. If we were in France, I'd have something for you.' I nodded and left - dismissed, confused, alone. I’m a journalist! Imagine how hard it is if you don’t ask questions for a living. That appointment is why I spent 6 years building @Hotflashinc and my new tool so every woman could get some clarity. The Hot Truth About Hormone Therapy: A Journalist’s No-BS Guide to the Lay of the Land (in Under 3 Hours) drops Monday. And I can confidently say there is nothing like it in the world. If you are a woman trying to figure out fact from fiction, or you are caring for women in perimenopause, this guide is for you. You can pre-order now. go.hotflashinc.com/hottruth

I think everyone just has pieces of the puzzle when it comes to hormone therapy. Even practitioners. Even experts. Very few people have the whole picture. My latest podcast, Why you’re confused about hormone therapy and why it’s not your fault. hotflashinc.substack.com/p/w…

The hormone therapy conversation in 2026 is bonkers. I don’t know how anyone is supposed to understand it. open.spotify.com/episode/6gM…

There are 2 kinds of loud people in the menopause conversation. The ones who think everyone needs hormones. The ones who think no one does. Spoiler alert: they are both wrong. go.hotflashinc.com/hottruth

Progesterone and progestin are NOT the same molecule. They look similar — same four-ring backbone — but their different functional groups mean different receptor binding, different side effects, risks and outcomes. Most women (and many doctors) don't know this. It's one of 5 levels of clarity inside my new guide: The Hot Truth About Hormone Therapy. Under 3 hours. $47. No BS. Now in pre-order. → go.hotflashinc.com/hottruth

There are 12 completely different approaches to prescribing hormone therapy. Most practitioners think the others are wrong. None of them are talking to each other. All of them are talking to you. And then we wonder why women are confused. Something I've been working on for a long time to help clarify all this is almost here. go.hotflashinc.com/hottruth

🫥 We knew this but we know it more now: Endocrinology Advisor reports that Asian and Black women were less likely than white women to receive and to be on HRT, according to study results presented at the 2026 American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting. endocrinologyadvisor.com/rep…

Recently I interviewed an executive from a top wearable company and he said he had to take his device off after flying overseas because the data was ‘too stressful’. I’m finally going to stop beating myself up for not recovering faster from these Abu Dhabi - Toronto flights I’ve been doing for 18 years. This doesn’t even measure the weird emotional/spiritual toll that I feel.

Literally one of the greatest evolutions in my lifetime is the understanding that what we grew up believing about midlife divorce – that men will get tired of you and trade you in for a younger model – actually has a lot more to do with how much women come into their own after menopause. As the Independent reports on the trend of GenX women leaving their marriages: “Most marriages are more beneficial for men because women are only allowed the freedom of self-expression once everything is done in the home. And there is often very little space for that because the caring role is so demanding.”

Friendly message from your perimenopause-obsessed recovering journalist about something boggling my mind right now: In all the coverage of the viral Allegra/Pepcid combo for calming perimenopause symptoms, in all the experts quoted in mainstream media outlets, no one is mentioning that Pepcid works by lowering stomach acid – something you definitely do not want to do at a time when you might already be more prone to having gastric issues. You need your stomach acid. I cannot stress this enough: these are not for anything but short-term use. Please DYOR – the kind that goes beyond medication ad-compromised news outlets.

🌸 This is fascinating: abnormal paps that turn out to be false positives can be an early manifestation of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), which I like to call Va-Vulva Urinary (VVU) stuff, according to a new study in Obstetrics & Gynecology journals.lww.com/greenj…

Top 5 horror movies: 1. Everyone having glass skin but me 2. Taking supplements and/or hormones ‘mouth opposite’ 3. Everyone saying ‘CORRECT!’ like Gary Vee when I’m right 4. GenX male actors getting Botox and fillers 5. People who go on hormone therapy and immediately start offering advice to other people

So many people scaring and complaining that I had to give an shoutout to @etihad … from my first flight over in 2008 when I could not believe they had actual cutlery… to 4 visits by family members to 2024 when I got the terrible call about my dad to this week when I flew out of Abu Dhabi for the first time since the conflict started. 18 years and I’m still all-in with this airline

It was entirely worth it moving to the UAE from Canada, but this headline really seals the deal (and I'm a huge Gertrude Bell fan, so it meant even more). This article ran in newspapers across Canada (I've been hearing from the most fun assortment of people) and accurately sums up why I packed up everything and moved someplace I had never been – and how that's turned out for me.

I’m pretty excited to announce that I’m on this list! I’m #8 - It’s in alphabetical order. Congrats to all the women who are doing the things. And thank you to @Women_Wearables you are unstoppable. womenofwearables.com/blogwri…

JoAnna Ross joined @hotflashinc to talk reinvention, the messy reality of menopause, and what it means to put your full truth on stage! 🎙️🙌 youtube.com/watch?v=0UENiFoz…

Yes, the weekly roundup is here. Yes, I promised myself this one would be short. No, it is not. Yes, I’m the only journalist in the world who has devoted myself to cutting through all this nonsense and noise objectively here on Substack. Yes, I write this newsletter myself. Not an “And honestly?” or weird metaphor to be found. Yes, I’d love you to say hi, join me also to spread the word. I forgot to add the “share” button again, so I need all the help I can get. Yes, if you subscribe, you will find yourself in some very good company. #Perimenopause #hormonetherapy #womenshealth #menopause #bonehealth open.substack.com/pub/hotfla…

Several claims surfaced today asserting that Wall Street plays no role in manipulating the price of Bitcoin. I took a moment to film my response.

Go Justin: “Jane Street is one of four firms with the keys to Bitcoin's ETF infrastructure. It faces a federal lawsuit alleging insider-driven front-running that helped destroy $40 billion in value. It has been accused of running algorithmic sell programs that suppressed Bitcoin's price for months. And it holds the largest disclosed ETF position in Bitcoin while maintaining a derivative book that could make its actual exposure the opposite of what filings suggest.”