• Hormone Care for Women · Virtual Visits
You are not imagining it. And you are not too young.
Perimenopause can start in your late thirties and last for years before your last period. Side Health clinicians specialize in hormone care for women in their thirties, forties, and fifties. We take the time to understand what is actually happening in your body, then build a plan around it.
Virtual visits · In network with most major PPO plans
In network with major PPO plans
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— Does this sound familiar
If three or more of these sound familiar, hormones may be the reason.
Periods that changed
Sleep that broke
Sudden heat
Night sweats
Brain fog
Anxiety out of nowhere
Weight that will not move
Joint aches
Low libido
Painful sex
Hair thinning
Mood swings
These symptoms get treated separately by four different doctors, or dismissed entirely. They are usually one thing. Hormones fluctuating and declining, often years before anyone calls it menopause.
2 minute symptom quiz
Not ready to book? Find out what is going on first.
Answer twelve questions about your symptoms and cycle. We will email you a plain-language summary of what they point to, and what a clinician would want to look at next. No obligation to book.
Or book a consult and skip straight to a clinician.
— The most common objection
The average woman spends years being told nothing is wrong.
Perimenopause typically begins in the mid forties, but it can start as early as the late thirties. Estrogen does not decline in a smooth line. It spikes and drops, sometimes wildly, which is why a single blood test on a single day often comes back normal even when you feel anything but.
That is also why so many women get told they are too young, or that their labs are fine, or that they should try managing their stress. We start somewhere else. We start with your symptoms, your history, and your goals, and we order the right testing at the right time rather than relying on one snapshot.
Late 30s
Perimenopause can begin this early, years before any change in your period is obvious.
4–8 yrs
Typical length of the perimenopausal transition before the final period.
1 test
A single hormone draw can read completely normal mid-transition. Symptoms come first.
— What we treat and how
Five ways we treat midlife hormone change.
Every plan is built around your symptoms, your history, and what you actually want to feel like.
Hormone Therapy
For many women, hormone therapy is the most effective treatment available for hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, and vaginal symptoms, and relief often begins within weeks.We prescribe estrogen, progesterone, and in some cases low dose testosterone, in the form that fits your body and your life. Patches, pills, creams, gels, and vaginal preparations are all options.
Hormone therapy is not right for everyone, and we will tell you plainly if it is not right for you. Your clinician reviews your personal and family history, orders appropriate screening, and walks through the risks and benefits with you before anything is prescribed.
Delivery options
Transdermal patches
Oral tablets
Gels and creams
Vaginal preparations
Low dose testosterone where appropriate
Non Hormonal Options
Some women cannot take hormones. Some simply do not want to. Either way, you still have options, and we take them just as seriously. Non hormonal prescription medications, evidence supported supplements, targeted nutrition, sleep and stress protocols, and behavioral approaches can all bring real relief, on their own or alongside hormone therapy.
Non hormonal options are real medicine, not a consolation prize.
What this can include
Non hormonal prescriptions
Evidence supported supplements
Targeted nutrition
Sleep and stress protocols
Behavioral approaches
Sexual Wellness
Low libido, vaginal dryness, and pain during sex are among the most common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, and among the least discussed. Your clinician will raise it so you do not have to. Local estrogen, non hormonal moisturizers, pelvic floor referral, and low dose testosterone are all part of the conversation.
On the table
Local vaginal estrogen
Non hormonal moisturizers
Pelvic floor referral
Low dose testosterone
Weight and Metabolic Health
Weight gain in midlife is not a willpower problem. Shifting hormones change where your body stores fat, how it uses insulin, and how much muscle you hold onto. We treat weight as a medical issue, with lab work, metabolic screening, and access to our full Obesity Management program when it is appropriate.
How we work it up
Metabolic lab panel
Insulin and glucose screening
Thyroid evaluation
Full Obesity Management program
Preventive and Long Term Health
The years around menopause are when your risk profile for heart disease and bone loss changes. This is the window where preventive care pays off most. We screen for cardiovascular risk, bone density concerns, thyroid dysfunction, and metabolic changes, and we keep watching over time rather than checking once.
What we watch
Cardiovascular risk
Bone density concerns
Thyroid dysfunction
Metabolic change over time
— How it Works
Four steps. All of it from your phone.
No waiting rooms, no repeating your story to a new doctor every time.
1
Tell us what is going on
Complete a detailed intake about your symptoms, cycle, history, and goals. Ten minutes, on your phone, whenever you have a moment.
2
Meet your clinician
A full virtual visit with a clinician trained in midlife women's health. Long enough to actually get through it.
3
Get your plan
Labs where they are useful. Prescriptions where they are appropriate. A written plan you can read, keep, and share with your other providers.
4
Stay connected
Message your care team between visits. Adjust as your body changes. This is ongoing care, not a one time prescription.
— Insurance and cost
Find out what your plan covers before you book.
Side Health works with major insurance plans, and for many patients visits and prescriptions are covered. Select your state and plan and we will tell you where you stand. If you are paying out of pocket, we offer a membership model with transparent pricing.
Check your coverage
Two fields. We will confirm your benefits before your first visit.
• Meet Your Physician
Meet Dr. Anthony Chin Loy
MD, MPH
Medical Director, Side Health
Dr. Anthony Chin Loy is an integrative and functional medicine physician focused on helping patients optimize their health through a personalized, preventive approach. He completed his medical training at Howard University College of Medicine and has more than 16 years of clinical experience.
His background includes obesity medicine, functional medicine, preventive medicine, and lifestyle medicine. He also completed ADAPT Practitioner training through the Kresser Institute.
— Questions women actually ask
Frequently asked questions
Am I too young for this?
Probably not. Perimenopause commonly begins in the mid forties and can start in the late thirties. Symptoms, not age, are what we go on.
Can a blood test tell me if I am in perimenopause?
Not reliably, and not from a single draw. Hormone levels swing significantly during perimenopause, so one test on one day can look completely normal. Your clinician uses your symptoms and history alongside testing rather than instead of it.
Is hormone therapy safe?
For most healthy women who start within about ten years of their last period, the benefits outweigh the risks, and current guidelines support that. Risk is individual, and depends on your history, your age, the type of hormone, and the delivery method. Your clinician will go through yours specifically.
How long can I stay on hormone therapy?
There is no fixed cutoff age. Current guidance treats duration as a decision you and your clinician make together based on your symptoms, your health, and your quality of life.
Do you offer bioidentical hormones?
There is no fixed cutoff age. Current guidance treats duration as a decision you and your clinician make together based on your symptoms, your health, and your quality of life.
What if I still have my period?
Then you may be in perimenopause, and that is exactly when treatment can help most. Still having a period does not disqualify you.
Do I need to come into an office?
No. Visits are virtual. Labs are done at a lab near you, or we can arrange for a phlebotomist to come to you.
What if hormones are not right for me?
Then we build you a plan without them. Non hormonal options are real medicine, not a consolation prize.
Will you talk to me about libido and painful sex, or do I have to bring it up?
Your clinician will raise it. These are among the most common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and among the least discussed, so we ask rather than waiting for you to.
Is this covered by insurance?
For many patients, yes. Side Health is in network with major PPO plans, and visits and prescriptions are often covered. Use the coverage checker above and we will confirm your benefits before your first visit.
Stop waiting for it to pass.
Book a virtual visit with a Side Health clinician and get an actual answer.