Lisa Schrenk didn’t know it, but her life was about to change as she trudged down Virginia’s Old Rag Mountain. Her hiking group had reached the peak in time to watch the sunrise, but Schrenk was lost in thought, contemplating suicide. Her journey towards a new lease on life began when she overheard fellow hikers discussing hormone therapy. For Schrenk, a federal government IT specialist, this therapy seemed to offer a solution to her treatment-resistant mood issues, linked to a possible hormone imbalance during perimenopause.

Initially, Schrenk’s primary care physician and two gynecologists dismissed her requests for hormone therapy. But after hearing a friend’s success story, she found Midi, a telehealth startup, and finally felt heard. Over five months, they fine-tuned her treatment, resulting in a radical turnaround in her mental health. Schrenk is now spending time with her dog and enjoying hikes, a far cry from her previous state.

Meanwhile, the perimenopause industrial complex was in full swing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the ‘black box’ warnings on hormone therapy, and the Biden administration saw it as a disaster. By the end of the administration, demand for hormone therapy had spiked, with four leading startups seeing a 490% increase in web traffic. This boom offers a glimpse into the future of medicine, where telehealth and compounded products are becoming the norm.

The perimenopause telehealth boom represents a rare moment of national unity and a future where solutions for hormonal imbalances are as accessible as online shopping. It’s a testament to the changing landscape of healthcare, where technology and telemedicine are increasingly intertwined.