You get Smart Moans Zone.

Recorded at Calibrate Coffee, we’re joined by our very special guest Dr Angie from Atlanta, USA, for a conversation that somehow manages to cover cutting-edge medicine, pseudoscience, social etiquette and Australia’s noisiest birds.

In this episode we chat about:

• The recent Four Corners investigation into peptides, including Dr Norman Swan’s reporting on the rapid rise of peptide clinics, the evidence, the hype and the challenges of regulation.
• Ear candling—why it continues to be popular despite the evidence (or lack of it).
• One of life’s great social dilemmas: you’ve just met a group of new people, you’ve been enthusiastically eating bruschetta, and only later discover an enormous basil leaf has been decorating your front tooth the entire time. Would you want someone to tell you? And if you’re the observer… do you say something?
• And, because we’re recording outdoors in Sydney, we also wage a losing battle against the soundtrack provided by some particularly enthusiastic sulphur-crested cockatoos.

It’s science, scepticism, friendship, coffee and complete conversational chaos, in exactly the proportions you’d expect.

Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and join us.

The answer leads us into testosterone treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, hormonal changes through menopause, and the potential role of menopausal hormone therapy and testosterone replacement for appropriately selected women.

Then we enter the strange world of looksmaxxing: soft maxxing, hard maxxing, Botox, injectables, plastic surgery, gym memberships, hair dye, expensive clothes and, at the more extreme end, people taking a hammer to their own jaw in pursuit of a sharper face.

Women have been encouraged to modify their appearance forever, so is looksmaxxing genuinely something new, or is it old beauty pressure repackaged in internet language?

And where is the line between looking after yourself, changing something you dislike, trying to prevent ageing and becoming convinced that your perfectly ordinary human face is a problem that needs to be solved?

We also ask what people really mean when they talk about longevity. Is it living longer, living better, staying attractive for longer, or simply another wellness word that can be used to sell almost anything?

We unpack the difference between misinformation and disinformation, the idea of “inoculating” people against misleading claims, and why becoming more comfortable with uncertainty might actually make you happier.

We also talk about what science really is: not a fixed collection of facts, but a process of testing claims, challenging hypotheses and continually correcting itself.

Along the way, we venture into COVID vaccine conspiracies, the false claim that Professor Richard Scolyer’s brain cancer was caused by vaccination, the vague promise that a multivitamin can make an already healthy person somehow “weller,” and the surprisingly difficult question: what does optimum health even mean?

There is also a discussion about reinventing yourself in a room where nobody knows you, and the revelation that Annie has digits like chipolatas.

We talk about the decline of trust in medicine and mainstream media, why people often struggle to interpret numbers and risk, and how the same data can appear to tell very different stories depending on how it is analysed or presented.

We also explore an uncomfortable tension inside community pharmacy: tightly regulated medicines are supplied from the dispensary, while wellness products with far weaker evidence are sold only metres away often borrowing credibility from the pharmacist and the pharmacy itself.

Along the way, we discuss “costless opinions,” misleading polls and why the way a question is framed can shape the answer.

We talk about what “big wellness” actually means, how health has expanded from something purely physical into something mental, emotional and social, and why wellness marketing has become so powerful.

We also explore whether evidence-based medicine has a marketing problem, why science can struggle to compete with simple promises and emotional branding, and whether I may need to give my pharmacy degree back.

And we end with the question that leads us into part two:

How would you market medicine?

Maryanne Demasi. “From FDA to MHRA: are drug regulators for hire?”
The BMJ, 2022;377:o1538
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.o1538
Published: 29 June 2022

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

Together, they explore what the evidence really says about popular cold and flu remedies, including vitamin C, zinc, echinacea, andrographis, pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine.

They discuss:

• Can you actually shorten a cold?
 • Do “immune boosters” work, and do we even want a boosted immune system?
 • The role of stress, sleep and lifestyle in immune function
 • Why symptom relief still has value, even when it doesn’t cure the virus
 • The TGA warning on andrographis-containing products
 • Which cold and flu tablets are worth your money and which aren’t
 • Why spreading your virus around the office, gym, or Sydney tram is not a public service

Most importantly, Kate and Annie discuss one of the least popular but most useful pieces of health advice:

Lower your expectations.

A practical, evidence-based conversation for anyone who’s ever stood in the cold and flu aisle, wondering what actually works.

Oh, and how much butter is appropriate on a piece of toast?

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

In reality, it’s also about uncertainty, teamwork, difficult conversations, and helping people navigate some of the hardest moments of their lives.

In this episode, Kate talks to her husband David, a medical oncologist with more than 20 years of experience, about what the job actually looks like behind the scenes.

They discuss multidisciplinary team meetings, treatment decisions, palliative care, the emotional weight of the work, and why cancer care is never the work of a single doctor.

It’s an honest and deeply human conversation about modern medicine, good colleagues, and the privilege of caring for people when they need it most.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

- toys and how to introduce them without feeling awkward 
- and why “good sex” doesn’t always look like the movies

This is funny, honest, occasionally spicy, and deeply reassuring for anyone who has ever wondered if their relationship is “normal.”

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, go back and start there.  We covered libido, desire discrepancy, the “ick,” rejection, and why women wanting more sex than men is far more common than people realise.

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Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

In part one of this conversation, I sit down with Georgina Whelan from Sexual Psychology to talk about the reality of sex and desire in long-term relationships  without the cringe, the wellness fluff, or the unrealistic movie version of intimacy.

Georgina shares her journey from mental health nursing into sex therapy, and we unpack low libido, sexual desire discrepancy, painful sex, “the ick,” resentment, selfishness in bed, and why libido is about far more than hormones alone.

We also talk about the sexual scripts men and women grow up with, how men can also be harmed by patriarchal expectations around sex and performance, and the desire/arousal scale that explains why couples are often mismatched without even realising it.

This episode is thoughtful, funny, and deeply reassuring for anyone who has ever wondered whether their sex life is “normal.”

Stay tuned because in part two, we get even more practical: talking to your kids about sex, sex toys, introducing novelty into long-term relationships, and the concept of “bread and butter sex.”

Find Georgina at https://www.sexualpsychology.com.au/

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

They unpack:

• why creatine isn’t just for gym bros
• how creatine actually works in muscle and in the brain
• what the evidence does, and doesn’t show for cognition
• why “mechanism” is not the same thing as “proof”

They also dive into the growing online claims that nicotine is a cure for dementia:

• how nicotine acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
• why nicotine patches were studied in Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment
• what the trials actually found
• and how wellness culture can take a tiny grain of scientific plausibility and inflate it into certainty.

Along the way, Kate and Annie talk about mental endurance, physical endurance, resilience, and why pushing through hard things, whether that’s running long distances, navigating midlife, or learning to think critically, changes the way you move through the world.

A conversation about science, scepticism, stamina, and why “interesting” is not the same thing as “proven.”

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

We talk about the juggle of full-time work, mortgages, and the mental load of budgeting in a phase of life that’s meant to feel “settled”… but often doesn’t. Jean shares her perspective on working in midlife; what shifts, what matters more, and what we’re no longer willing to tolerate.

We dive into perimenopause. The symptoms you expect, the ones you don’t, and how the people around you might be experiencing it just as much as you are. From brain fog to rage to “is this just who I am now?”, we unpack the invisible ripple effects on family, relationships, and identity.

Then we go there: HRT, longevity, and the idea of having a libido for yourself, not just sexually, but energetically, creatively, and personally. Why are men handed solutions like Viagra without question, while women still struggle to access testosterone? And what does that say about how we value women’s pleasure and wellbeing?

We round things out with a refreshingly honest chat about sex, sex toys, and reclaiming desire in midlife, on your own terms.

It’s smart, funny, slightly rebellious, and exactly the kind of conversation we should be having more of.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

We start at the beginning, a shy child growing up in a family where her dad’s love of comedy, gags, and joke-shop tricks quietly set the tone for what was to come. Jean shares how she “fell” into drama almost by accident, thanks to a drama teacher at her high school.

From there, we dive into her early work teaching drama in disadvantaged schools and how those experiences shaped her perspective on people, confidence, and communication.

We also get into some of the bigger conversations, adult ADHD, menopause, sex education in schools, and what it means to carve out independence as a woman across different stages of life.

It’s thoughtful, funny, and full of moments that will make you reflect on how the smallest nudges can change the course of everything.

Part 2 drops next episode, where things get even more candid as we talk midlife, sex, and Jean meets Horace 🐾

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

They talk about what turning 18 actually means today: the excitement of voting for the first time, the freedom to walk into an over-18 venue (even if you choose not to), and the strange mix of independence and expectation that comes with being a young adult in 2026.

From Sydney Swans fandom to the pressures facing Gen Z, Audrey shares how her generation sees the world, and what they wish older generations understood about growing up today.

A thoughtful, funny conversation about coming of age, changing expectations, and the moment between childhood and whatever comes next.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

From marriage bars that forced women out of the workforce, to the feminist movements that fought for economic independence and voting rights, the freedoms women have today were hard-won.

So why is social media suddenly romanticising a return to “traditional wives”?

Kate explores the rise of the tradwife movement, the nostalgic aesthetic that makes it appealing, and the historical realities often left out of the story, including economic dependence and limited choices for women.

Along the way she looks at:

• why the tradwife aesthetic spreads so easily on social media

• the connection between tradwife culture and anti-feminist online movements

• the surprising return of anti-suffrage rhetoric

• why Australia’s mandatory voting creates a very different political system

• and what women’s rights have to do with astronauts flying around the Moon.

There’s also a detour into hormone pharmacology, a satirical wellness advertisement for the revolutionary Whole Body RetoX™, and a reminder that sometimes nostalgia looks better from a distance.

Because the real achievement of the last century isn’t that women must work, or must stay home.

It’s that women get to choose.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

Kate reflects on her weekly Wednesday run, the quiet rituals of turning up, the characters who share the track, the sociology of shared spaces, and the reminder that the ability to move your body is never something to take for granted.

From there, the conversation moves into medicine.

After watching The Pitt, Kate unpacks a common myth about morphine in palliative care, the persistent idea that opioids given at the end of life hasten death. Drawing on her experience in palliative care pharmacy, she explains how opioids are actually used to relieve pain and breathlessness, why addiction is not the issue people think it is, and how careful dosing can restore comfort and dignity for patients.

Finally, with winter approaching, Kate walks through the 2026 influenza vaccine rollout in Australia, explaining why flu vaccines change every year, why all vaccines are now trivalent, and how the different options (Influvac, Flucelvax, Fluzone High-Dose and FluMist) work.

Along the way, she explores the idea that healthcare decisions rarely affect just one person — whether it’s medication myths, palliative care, or vaccination, we’re all part of a much bigger chain.

Evidence-based medicine, midlife health, and a few observations from running laps in the dark.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

Between handmade pottery and beeswax candles are stalls offering EMF harmonisers, orgone energy devices, pet psychics, structured frequency water, cannabinoid oils and crystal healing.

Some of it is beautiful. Some of it is harmless fun. And some of it makes some very ambitious claims about biology and physics.

In Episode 15, Kate wanders the aisles and asks the question she always asks: Prescribe or Pass?

Along the way she unpacks:

• The strange history of orgone energy and why scientists rejected it
• Why structured water cannot store molecular memory
• What rouleaux formation actually means in real haematology
• The science behind beta-caryophyllene and CB2 receptors
• Why the endocannabinoid system, a very real biological system, is so often misunderstood in wellness marketing

Kate also discusses new calls from the RACGP for national reform of medicinal cannabis prescribing, using that as a springboard to explain how THC, CBD and the endocannabinoid system actually work in the body.

Because somewhere between laboratory research and Instagram captions, the nuance often disappears. And sometimes the best way to understand the wellness industry is simply to walk through it.

Plus: crystals, a pet psychic, and possibly the most anatomically accurate granite sculpture you will ever see at a health expo.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

In this first official Peri-odical Review, pharmacist Kate Thomas looks at the evidence behind mind-body exercise in perimenopause and menopause. What does the research actually show, where do these practices genuinely help, and where does wellness culture get a little ahead of itself?

In Episode 14 of On the Mones, Kate covers:

• Whether yoga and similar practices genuinely improve menopause symptoms
• Why the biggest benefits may be in mood, stress and overall wellbeing rather than physical symptoms
• What the evidence actually says about hot flushes and mind-body exercise
• Why mind-body exercise is a support strategy, not a cure
• How sex and intimacy fit into the broader conversation about movement, connection and feeling at home in your body
• Why doctors asking you to come back for results is not necessarily a scam
• The problem with direct-to-consumer wellness testing and health anxiety as a subscription service

This is a conversation about menopause, medicine, wellness, evidence and the blurry space in between.

So roll out the mat if you want to. Or leave it in the corner and go for a walk in the bush instead. Because you are not doing menopause wrong.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

The day began with breathwork and mindfulness overlooking the ocean, a moment to pause, breathe and arrive. For some of the women attending, simply leaving the shelter and coming to the event took enormous courage.

Kate then spoke about hormones, perimenopause and what is actually happening in women's bodies during midlife. From estrogen, progesterone and testosterone to sleep, stress and strength training, this conversation explores the biology behind the changes many women experience and why understanding our bodies can be genuinely empowering.

This episode begins with a short guided breathing exercise recorded by the water before moving into part of the talk.

Along the way, Kate reflects on the power of knowledge, community and the reminder that sometimes there is less separating our lives than we realise.

If you have ever cried at an email, an advertisement, or a rescue dog choosing its human on Instagram, this episode is for you.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Recently Australian activist and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame was described publicly as difficult after speaking out politically. Whether or not you agree with her views, the label landed because women everywhere know that word. The one that appears when women stop being agreeable.

Kate reflects on her own experience navigating leadership, advocacy and midlife reinvention, including the moment she rage-quit a senior hospital pharmacy leadership role at 45. Was she difficult? Or simply done?

Alongside this reflection, Kate answers listener questions from around the world about perimenopause and menopause:

• Anxiety, rage and crying at emails in your 40s: hormones or not coping?
• Painful sex and vaginal dryness: is that perimenopause?
• Why weight gain around the middle happens even when diet and exercise have not changed
• Falling asleep easily but waking at 3am wired

Kate explains the biology of perimenopause, including how fluctuating estrogen affects neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and GABA, and why life in your 40s can suddenly feel harder than it used to.

She also breaks down a new non-hormonal treatment for menopausal hot flushes, Veoza (fezolinetant): how it works in the brain, what the evidence shows, and where it fits alongside hormone therapy.

Because menopause does not care what passport you hold. And sometimes being called difficult simply means you have stopped being convenient.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

On breast awareness, Kate and Dr Farrell cover:

• What breast awareness actually means today and how it differs from formal breast cancer screening
• How to know when to see your GP about a breast change or lump
• Breast density, mammograms and why midlife breast changes can feel alarming
• The difference between normal hormonal breast changes and symptoms that need review

On genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), they cover:

• Vaginal dryness in menopause and why it is so common and so under-treated
• Pain with sex and the impact on relationships and quality of life
• Recurrent UTIs after menopause and the link to estrogen decline
• Bladder symptoms and what is driving them hormonally

The full GSM treatment ladder is covered clearly and practically:

• Vaginal moisturisers versus lubricants and when to use each
• Vaginal estrogen and how it works
• Prasterone as a treatment option
• When hormonal treatment is appropriate
• Where non-hormonal options like hyaluronic acid vaginal preparations may fit

This evidence-based conversation helps women understand the difference between normal hormonal changes and symptoms that need medical review, without panic or misinformation.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

What does a 21-year-old man think hormones are? Do young men talk about menopause? If boys had menopause, what would happen?

There are one-word answers. There are finish-the-sentence confessions. And somewhere in there, a mother realising her son is now a man.

Then Episode 10 of On the Mones turns to the reassuring comfort of biology with a clear, evidence-based masterclass on melatonin:

• What it actually is (hint: not a sleeping pill)
• Immediate vs modified release
• Dosing that makes physiological sense
• Why more is not more
• And when melatonin is the right tool, and when it isn’t

And in Wellness Woo of the Week, Kate plugs herself into the earth. Grounding mats. Free electrons. USB cords for your doona. Do they reduce inflammation, lower cortisol and improve sleep? Or are we mistaking ritual for redox biology?

This episode is motherhood, midlife medicine, circadian rhythm and a gentle but firm unpacking of wellness mythology, all wrapped up like a properly made bed in cotton and cashmere.

If you have ever rocked a baby at 2am, woken at 3am in perimenopause, bought a wellness gadget at midnight, or wondered what your kids actually think about what you are going through, this one is for you.

Send your voice questions to onthemones@gmail.com. 

Mones as in hormones. Not whinging.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

In this episode of On the ’Mones, I reflect on standing on stage at a menopause education event in Sydney and asking myself a quiet but clarifying question: How did I get here? Not because I suddenly became more qualified, but because I finally gave myself permission to be visible.

We talk about reinvention as access, privilege, momentum, and integration, not burning everything down, but letting hard-earned skills show up in new places. I unpack what it’s like to hold two truths at once: deep medical experience alongside total digital naïveté, and why learning at midlife is uniquely powerful.

From there, we get properly nerdy. I break down testosterone in women, what it actually does, why it’s not a “male hormone,” how it affects drive, energy, cognition, and libido, and how it fits into hormone replacement as part of a team sport with oestrogen. We talk indications, monitoring, side effects, and how to start a sensible, grounded conversation with your prescriber.

And in Woo of the Week, I take on oral DHEA, the internet’s favourite almost-hormone, explaining why swallowing raw hormonal ingredients and hoping for the best is not biology, it’s wishful thinking.

This episode is about hormones, yes, but it’s also about visibility, work, value, and giving yourself permission to evolve without abandoning who you already are.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic, Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Watching her adult children in the surf, Kate reflects on bodies, confidence, ageing, and the subtle way awareness changes how we move through the world. From instinctive confidence to emerging caution, from physical capability to perimenopausal vigilance, this episode explores what happens when experience collides with embodiment, and how generational mirrors quietly hold us up to ourselves.

Along the way, Kate unpacks the emotional charge of family dynamics, teenage daughters, impatience, competence, and the uncomfortable realisation that the traits we judge most harshly may be the ones we’re rehearsing.

In the pharmacology deep dive, Kate breaks down clonidine, an elegant, often underrated medication that calms the body’s stress response. From blood pressure and hot flushes to ADHD, anxiety, sleep, and withdrawal syndromes, this is a clear, practical explanation of how clonidine works, when it helps, and why it needs respect.

And in Wellness Woo of the Week, Kate tackles main character energy, the seductive belief that calm, health, and regulation are moral achievements rather than states shaped by biology, environment, privilege, and access.

This episode is about bodies on beaches, brains on alert, and the humility required to notice when confidence, calm, or competence starts to look like superiority, especially to the people closest to us.

Wherever you’re listening from: welcome.

Let’s get on the Mones.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

In this episode of On the Mones, Kate unpacks a deceptively simple idea with enormous consequences: comfort is not evidence.

It starts with a respectful but confronting comment thread on a debunking video about naturopathy, vulnerability, and communication. From there, the conversation widens into something much bigger: why women in midlife are so often sold reassurance instead of rigour, validation instead of verification, and how “feeling heard” has quietly become a substitute for clinical outcomes.

Kate explores:

• Why warmth, charisma, and simplification can be persuasive, but dangerous, in healthcare
• The lack of regulation around naturopathy and why “my clients love me” is not a defence
• Real-world harm, including Australian regulatory cases involving banned health practitioners
• How wellness culture targets women, especially during hormonal vulnerability, and why that matters

From there, the episode pivots into a clear, evidence-based deep dive on SSRIs:

• How SSRIs actually work in the brain (and what they don’t do)
• Why they’re sometimes prescribed for hot flushes
• And how perimenopausal anxiety is frequently treated with antidepressants when estrogen deficiency may be the real driver

Through a clinical lens and a personal story, Kate makes the case for better questions, better context, and fewer lazy defaults when women in their 40s and 50s present with anxiety.

This episode also features a Wellness Woo of the Week takedown of “adrenal fatigue”, why it isn’t a diagnosis, why it feels comforting, and how it turns complex physiology into fast food.

If you’ve ever been told:

• “At least she listens”
• “It can’t hurt”
• “It makes people feel better”

This episode is your pause button.

Because feeling cared for matters, but only evidence protects you.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

If you’ve noticed that things land differently in midlife, emotions linger longer, moments feel heavier, meaning matters more, you’re not imagining it.

And if, at the same time, your periods have gone completely off the rails - heavier, closer together, unpredictable, exhausting, then this episode is for you.

In Episode 6 of On the Mones, Kate Thomas covers:

• Why periods change so dramatically during perimenopause, and what is actually driving it
• What counts as abnormal bleeding, and when to seek medical review
• The link between fluctuating estrogen and emotional depth in midlife
• Why feelings land differently as we age, and what the biology behind it actually is
• How to advocate for yourself when you are told this is just your age
• The difference between perimenopause bleeding patterns and other causes that need investigation

And because it wouldn’t be On the Mones without it, we finish with Woo of the Week: magnesium, the mineral that somehow got promoted to nervous-system saviour, hormone therapy, and emotional support supplement. What it actually does, where it helps, where it absolutely doesn’t. 

If your bleeding is disruptive, your emotions feel deeper, or you’re being told this is “just your age” - this episode is here to remind you; you’re not dramatic, you’re not failing, and you’re allowed care, clarity, and proper answers.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

If you’ve found yourself forgetting words, losing focus, feeling anxious “for no reason,” questioning whether you suddenly have ADHD in your 40s, or quietly Googling early-onset dementia at 2am, this episode is for you.

Because here’s the truth:
You are not stupid. You are not lazy. And you are not losing your mind.
Your estrogen has simply stopped doing its full-time job.

Kate explains how estrogen functions as the brain’s unseen office manager, coordinating dopamine, serotonin and acetylcholine, and what happens when that system starts running on skeleton staff. The result? Brain fog, anxiety, poor memory, emotional volatility, sleep disruption, and a sudden collapse in cognitive resilience.

This episode covers:

• What estrogen actually does in the brain (spoiler: it’s not just about reproduction)
• Why brain fog feels cognitive, not emotional
• How perimenopause can unmask ADHD traits in midlife women
• The critical differences between brain fog, anxiety and burnout
• Why treating hormonal symptoms with productivity hacks or “just manage stress” advice backfires
• The role of sleep loss as a cognitive and emotional multiplier
• What estrogen therapy can, and can’t, do for cognition
• Where SSRIs, SNRIs, stimulants and off-label menopause medications do fit (and where they don’t)

Kate also shares a brutally honest story from a midlife dinner party that spirals into a candid conversation about libido, testosterone therapy, HSDD, and the unequal way men’s and women’s sexual health is treated in medicine, including why prescribing Viagra or Cialis without considering the partner is clinically short-sighted.

And in this week’s Woo of the Week, Kate takes a hard look at black cohosh:

• What it is (and what it definitely isn’t)
• What randomised controlled trials and Cochrane reviews actually show
• Why “natural” doesn’t mean effective
• And how oversold supplements cost women time, money and confidence

If you’ve ever felt gaslit by your own body, dismissed by well-meaning advice, or ashamed of changes you couldn’t explain, this episode gives you language, biology, and relief.

Because desire, clarity and resilience aren’t personality traits.
 They’re physiological processes, and they deserve real information, real medicine, and real conversations.

You’re not broken.
You’re early to the conversation.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about topics in this episode: www.medicationclarity.com.au

In Episode 4 of On the ’Mones, pharmacist Kate Thomas dives into one of the most misunderstood hormones in women’s health: testosterone. Along the way, she unpacks a petty (and infuriating) pharmacy encounter that sparks a much bigger conversation about boundaries, ageing, assertiveness, and how much bad behaviour women in healthcare are expected to tolerate.

This episode covers:

• What testosterone actually does in women (hint: it’s not a “male hormone”)
• Why women naturally produce testosterone - and what happens as levels decline in perimenopause and menopause
• The evidence-based role of testosterone in HRT
• Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD): what it is, how common it is, and why it’s so under-treated
• Why HSDD is a clinical diagnosis, not a blood test result
• How testosterone therapy compares to how easily erectile dysfunction is treated in men
• Safety, side effects, and monitoring of transdermal testosterone (including AndroFeme)
• Why testosterone doesn’t cause “rage” - but can reduce people-pleasing and tolerance for bullshit
• The difference between assertiveness and aggression in midlife women

Woo of the Week:
Kate takes aim at “natural testosterone boosters,” DHEA supplements, and adrenal support blends, breaking down why these products are often less safe, less predictable, and less evidence-based than properly prescribed testosterone therapy.

You’ll also hear:

• Why supplements that “boost testosterone naturally” are basically hormone roulette
• The difference between oral DHEA, vaginal DHEA, and prescription testosterone
• Why control and precision, not “natural”, are what actually make treatments safer

If you’re navigating perimenopause, menopause, libido changes, or feeling like you tolerate far less nonsense than you used to, this episode will give you language, clarity, and evidence to back yourself.

Key takeaway:
Testosterone isn’t a personality transplant.
It’s not a cure-all.
And it doesn’t fix context.

But for the right woman, with the right diagnosis, at the right dose, it deserves a seat at the grown-up medical table. Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

🎧 Listen now to Episode 4 of On the ’Mones - where hormones, healthcare, and real life collide.

Read more about topics in this episode: www.medicationclarity.com.au

First, we deep-dive into progesterone. Why it’s not always a gentle background hormone, how it acts in the brain, and why some women feel calmer while others feel anxious, flat, or completely unhinged when they start it. We explain the real science behind "progesterone intolerance", PMDD, GABA receptors, and why “just push through it” is terrible advice.

Then, I get personal about brain fog, the kind that messes with your confidence and identity. We talk estrogen, cognition, working memory, task overload, and why perimenopause doesn’t steal intelligence; it steals your buffer.

Finally, it’s Woo of the Week, and we’re taking on collagen powders and protein marketing. What actually happens when you eat protein? Does collagen really know where your sore knee is? (Spoiler: no.) We separate legitimate nutrition from seductive nonsense and explain what the evidence actually says.

This episode isn’t about doing more; it’s about understanding better.

If you’ve ever thought:

• “Progesterone made me feel worse. What’s wrong with me?”
• “Why does my brain feel different lately?”
• “Is this supplement actually doing anything?”

You're in the right place. 

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

That moment opens the door to a much bigger conversation.

This episode explores why many women resist menopause care (even informed, health-literate women) and why perimenopause is often misunderstood as a “trend” rather than what it really is: a long-overdue correction to decades of silence, stigma, and medical neglect.

Kate unpacks:

• Why perimenopause is being talked about more, and why that doesn’t mean it’s overdiagnosed
• How menopause mirrors the cultural unmasking we’ve already seen with ADHD in women
• Why HRT is no longer just about hot flushes, but long-term brain, bone, and heart health
• The three types of estrogen (E1, E2, E3) and how oral, transdermal, and vaginal forms differ
• How to think about estrogen as a toolkit, not a one-size-fits-all prescription
• And why resistance to “what everyone else is getting” is often about fear, identity, and agency - not medicine

The episode also features a deep dive into Wellness Woo of the Week, tackling wild yam cream: what it claims to do, why it doesn’t work biochemically, and why women are so often targeted by hormone misinformation in the first place.

This is an episode about hormones, but it’s also about psychology, culture, gender bias, and what happens when women finally have language for what they’ve been experiencing all along.

Smart, evidence-based, occasionally sweary, and deeply validating, this one is for anyone who’s ever wondered whether midlife medicine is a fad… or long-overdue progress.

Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you. 

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au

Is it just me… or is something seriously happening to my body?

In the very first episode of On the ’Mones, pharmacist of 25 years, Kate Thomas pulls back the curtain on perimenopause, hormones, rage-quitting jobs, libido loss, bone health, and the quiet suffering so many women carry alone.

From estrogen “leaving the group chat” to a friend breaking down in the kitchen whispering “I thought it was just me”, this episode sets the tone for the podcast: honest, evidence-based, funny, messy, and deeply human.

You’ll hear:

• Why peri-menopause catches so many women off guard
• How hormones are meant to rise and fall (spoiler: balance is a myth)
• How hormones fluctuate during perimenopause and menopause
• The Beyoncé–P!nk–Adele explanation your biology teacher never gave you
• Why loss of libido isn’t a personal failure, and what options actually exist
• A takedown of seed cycling (sorry, chia pudding)
• And a new segment: Is it peri-menopause or am I just being a Karen?

If you’ve ever felt anxious, irritable, flat, foggy, ragey, invisible, or like your brain “isn’t braining” anymore, this is for you.  Whether you are in perimenopause, approaching menopause, or simply trying to understand your hormones, I've got you.

You’re not broken.
 It’s not your fault.
 And you’re definitely not alone.

Welcome to On the ’Mones. Let’s get on them.

Read more about this episode at Medication Clarity Clinic - Kate's own medication education and telehealth consulting site: https://medicationclarity.com.au