Perimenopause Symptoms Dismissed? I Fired My Doctor and Got Answers

I didn't realize how common it was to have your perimenopause symptoms dismissed until I started talking about it— and hearing everyone's story.

I walked into the doctor’s office with a laundry list of symptoms:

👉 Brain fog so thick I couldn’t finish a sentence

👉 Anxiety out of nowhere

👉 Night sweats

👉 Exhaustion I couldn’t sleep off

👉 Mood swings that made me wonder if I was losing my mind

And what did I get?

“You’re just getting older.”

“Your labs are normal.”

“It’s probably stress.”

“Try eating cleaner and working out more.”

Oh perfect. So I’m blacking out from rage, crying over a microwave beep, and watching my personality dissolve—but sure, let me just go hit a spin class and meditate it away.

For a while… I believed them.

I thought maybe I was just hormonal.

Maybe I was overreacting.

Maybe this was just what life at 49 looked like.

But deep down? I knew something wasn’t right.

I was slipping away.

And I was tired of begging for help from people who weren’t listening.

So I did what a lot of us are too scared to do:

I fired my doctor.

Yep. I fired her. Politely, of course. (Okay, maybe not that politely.)

Because I was done being brushed off like I was dramatic for wanting to feel like myself again.

I Found a Hormone Specialist—and Everything Changed

This woman?

She didn’t just glance at my TSH and call it good.

She didn’t hand me a wellness brochure and send me packing.

She ran labs I didn’t even know existed.

Cortisol, ferritin, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, reverse T3—and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

She ordered over 20 vials of bloodwork. I’m not kidding. I left wondering if I needed a juice box and a nap just to make it to my car.

There were tests I had to Google because I’d never even heard of them.

It wasn’t just a hormone panel. It was a full-body deep dive.

She sat with me for over two hours.

She explained every result. Connected every dot.

And then she looked me in the eye, held my hand, and said:

“You’re not crazy. You’ve got stuff going on. We’re going to work through it.”

I actually cried.

Because finally—someone saw me.

Not just “me” on paper. Me.

The one who’s been screaming inside for months (or years) that this wasn’t normal.

That something deeper was happening.

That I wasn’t just falling apart because I turned 49.

We Deserve Better Than This

I want to be super honest here:

I know not everyone has access to this kind of care.

I know it’s expensive. Overwhelming. Exhausting.

And I know what it feels like to sit in your car after another appointment thinking:

“Am I seriously going to have to figure this out on my own?”

It shouldn’t be this hard.

It shouldn’t take falling apart before anyone pays attention.

And we shouldn’t have to become full-time researchers just to feel human again.

But that’s what so many of us are doing.

We’re piecing it together.

Chasing down answers.

Trying to explain symptoms that don’t fit on a checklist.

And it’s not fair—but you’re not alone.

If you’re doing your best with what you have? That’s enough.

If all you’ve got in you is Googling something at 2am and crying in the bathroom—you’re still showing up.

If you’re trusting your gut even after being dismissed a hundred times—I see you.

Here’s What I Know for Sure:

✨ You are not crazy.

✨ You are not lazy.

✨ You are not broken.

You are in the middle of something real, and you deserve answers that go beyond “Eat more fiber.”

Whether you’re just starting to question your hormone health, deep in the trenches of perimenopause, or crawling your way out with blood tests and binder tabs—you’re not alone.

So if no one else will say it, I will:

I believe you.

I see you.

You deserve to feel like yourself again.

P.S. This blog was inspired by a TikTok skit I made about being brushed off by my doctor during perimenopause—scroll down to watch the video that started it all.

And if you’re not already following me, now’s the time.

Because this space?

It’s for women who are ready to stop being ignored—and start being heard.