As women, we will spend nearly 50% of our lives in perimenopause and menopause - and yet medical students receive just two hours of education on both combined. That gap isn't a personal failing but a systemic one, and it’s exactly what this conversation is here to change.

This week, Marina sits down with Lauren Colletti, nurse practitioner, board-certified functional medicine expert, and co-founder of SolWomen and the functional medicine clinic at Alive & Well in Austin. With nearly 20 years in healthcare and thousands of female patients under her belt, Lauren brings a rare combination of clinical expertise, lived experience, and deep intuition to women's health.

Together they pull back the curtain on some of the most talked-about - and most misunderstood - tools available to women right now, from HRT to peptides & GLPs.

In this episode, you will hear about:

• What perimenopause feels like in your late 30s and why most women don't recognize it
• How declining progesterone affects your mood, sleep, and nervous system before anything else shifts
• The truth about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, why the fear around it was based on a flawed study, and why there's now a shortage of estradiol patches
• What peptides are, how they work, and the four Lauren uses most with her female patients
• Why GLP-1s aren't just a weight loss drug - and how microdosing them is changing outcomes for women with autoimmune conditions, PCOS, and chronic inflammation
• The blood work every woman in her 30s should have done, and why getting it when you feel your best is actually the right time
• Why menopause is not an ending - and how to step into this phase with your health, vitality, and voice fully intact

Connect with Lauren Colletti:

Connect with Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurencolletti_fnp/

Connect with the SolWomen community: https://www.instagram.com/thesolwomen/

Alive & Well Austin Center: https://aliveandwell.health/

This season is sponsored by Wizbe Genius Strips - caffeine-free focus strips designed by a neuroscientist. They dissolve in your mouth in minutes and deliver hours of focus. Get 15% off with code EXHALE15 at wizbe.com.

Connect with Marina + Women Who Breathe:

Join the Women Who Breathe community with free and paid resources, cycle syncing courses, and breathwork sessions: www.womenwhobreathe.com

Free breathwork practices on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@womenwhobreathe

Connect with Marina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenwhobreathe/

Find the Exhale Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.exhale.podcast/

As always, if you have questions or want to connect for an exploratory call for 1:1 health & leadership coaching, reach out to marina at marina@womenwhobreathe.com or book a time for a complimentary intro call via womenwhobreathe.com.