07/03/2025
Using time as passenger heading to flagstaff to post about compounded hormones for menopause.
Ruta Nonacs, MD from perfectly sums up answers to most common FAQs on this subject: a must read for women & women’s healthcare providers.
This topic is on my mind today because last patient I saw before hitting the road & seeing this article is perfect example of problem with physicians who prescribe compounded hormones.
At 55 she has now been receiving menopausal hormone therapy for > 7y. She’s used progesterone, testosterone & estrogen pellets, systemic creams, sublingual lozenges. She’s spent $1000s in recurrent appointments & these prescriptions. Not only did she not feel better, mostly she felt significantly worse.
At no time was she ever offered globally accepted standard of care medical treatment for menopausal symptoms: FDA approved estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, all of which have been shown to be safer, more effective & would’ve been covered by insurance. There is literally no advantage or benefit to using compounded hormones over FDA approved option except in very specific situations which are quite rare.
It is important to remember that while it may be difficult to find someone to assist you w/ menopausal symptoms that are following guidelines, we are out there! A good place to start is provider listing for MSCP designation for certified menopause providers.
Next, be sure to look at websites of providers:
✅check prices before making appointment,
✅ask if you will be able to use insurance or savings options like & .
✅ask about approximate cost of meds w/o insurance, a specialist who does this day in day out knows how much hormones cost.
✅ask about labs (hint typically not needed, if so should be covered by insurance & not $500 )
✅ask about costs if required follow ups; you should not need to see someone every 3-4m indefinitely
As in most situations, buyer beware
