Women often find themselves with nowhere to turn when hormonal deficiencies begin between the ages of 30 and 60. Symptoms can appear suddenly — uncontrollable sweating, brain fog, anxiety, and depression — yet most physicians never run lab work to evaluate hormone levels. Instead, the first line of treatment is usually antidepressants, which only mask the true underlying problem: hormonal imbalance.

According to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), there are more than 160 recognized medical specialties and subspecialties in the United States. While we have physicians specializing in the heart, brain, and digestive system, very few specialize in menopause — leaving women to navigate a frustrating, years-long journey through multiple doctors without real answers.

I once worked with the Chief of Psychiatry at Florida Hospital. In extreme cases, he told me he resorted to electroshock therapy for patients who didn’t respond to antidepressants. I remember thinking, “That sounds like something straight out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — how is this still happening?”

During our conversations, I explained that many metabolic pathways influence brain chemistry and asked why hormonal deficiencies weren’t being tested — estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid hormones, cortisol, blood glucose, and insulin. His response was simple: he wasn’t familiar with that research.
Over the next three weeks, I gathered and shared the data with him.

One powerful quote helped shift his perspective:

“The riddle of melancholia has stumped generations of doctors… Unlike almost any other psychiatric disorder, melancholia sufferers have abnormal endocrine functions. Tests capable of distinguishing melancholia from other mood disorders were once useful discoveries, but as psychiatry turned away from biology, these tests fell into disuse. The connection between hormones and behavior — once vibrant and promising — has been largely forgotten.”
— Edward Shorter

This quote underscores what’s missing in modern medicine: a connection between the endocrine system and mental health.

The Forgotten Connection

Progress in medicine rarely comes from large institutions. True breakthroughs come from curious, passionate individuals willing to question conventional thinking.
With a better understanding of hormones, we now know that hormonal balance should be addressed before antidepressants or electroshock therapy are even considered.

Every day, thousands of women are prescribed antidepressants simply because their general practitioners or OB-GYNs lack the training to manage menopause. In fact, only one in five OB-GYNs receive formal education in menopause care, and 75% of women never receive the treatment they truly need.

Menopause remains one of society’s best-kept secrets — rarely discussed, barely taught, and often dismissed as a “natural phase” rather than a significant physiological transition that impacts every aspect of a woman’s life.

What We’ve Learned

Back in 2004, when I served as Director of Research for a Signature Compounding Pharmacy, I witnessed thousands of women experience dramatic improvements through bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). Within weeks, their energy, mood, and overall wellbeing transformed.

Still, physicians often relied on me to help interpret hormone tests and fine-tune doses for estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormones (T3 and T4). I explained that hormones can’t be treated in isolation — they work together like a symphony, each one influencing the others.

A Modern Understanding

Today, advanced imaging and neuroscience confirm what we’ve long observed: women’s brains are hormonally, energetically, and chemically different from men’s. Yet traditional medicine continues to overlook this truth.

Why are women:

• Twice as likely to experience anxiety or depression?
• Three times more likely to develop autoimmune disorders?
• Four times more likely to suffer from dementia?

The answer often leads back to unaddressed hormonal imbalance.

Our Approach at Scala Precision Health

At Scala Precision Health, we developed a Prevention Program designed to educate women — and their families — on the importance of hormonal health. We empower women to ask the right questions, seek second opinions, and request the specific lab work that can uncover the root cause of their symptoms.

Because understanding your body is the first step to taking back control of your health — and your life.