Dr. Susan Hardwick-Smith

09/10/2026

Thirty years in medicine — and essentially no training on testosterone in women.
That’s extraordinary when you consider how much testosterone matters throughout a woman’s life.
For years, I’ve been asking questions about testosterone that I was never taught to ask in medical training. What does it mean for muscle and bone? For cognition and metabolic health? What happens as levels change with age? And how much are we still missing because women simply haven’t been studied enough?
Today, those questions are part of the work I do every day at Complete Midlife Wellness Center and part of the research conversations I’m fortunate to be involved in with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine.
That’s why this conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon was so important to me. We went far beyond testosterone and libido and talked about what the science tells us, where the gaps still exist, and why we need better answers for women.
Thirty years into medicine, I’m still asking questions. But now I’m also helping push the conversation forward.
Watch the full conversation on The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show.
LINK IN BIO

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

09/10/2026

Thirty years in medicine — and essentially no training on testosterone in women.

That’s extraordinary when you consider how much testosterone matters throughout a woman’s life.

For years, I’ve been asking questions about testosterone that I was never taught to ask in medical training. What does it mean for muscle and bone? For cognition and metabolic health? What happens as levels change with age? And how much are we still missing because women simply haven’t been studied enough?

Today, those questions are part of the work I do every day at Complete Midlife Wellness Center and part of the research conversations I’m fortunate to be involved in with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine.

That’s why this conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon was so important to me. We went far beyond testosterone and libido and talked about what the science tells us, where the gaps still exist, and why we need better answers for women.

Thirty years into medicine, I’m still asking questions. But now I’m also helping push the conversation forward.

Watch the full conversation on The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show.
LINK IN BIO

09/09/2026

So many women quietly live with discomfort or self-consciousness about their most intimate anatomy, believing they shouldn’t talk about it—or that wanting to change something makes them vain. It doesn’t.

I made this video because women deserve honest information about their bodies without embarrassment or judgment. I explain what l***aplasty is, why women consider it, and how changes in the l***a can affect comfort, clothing, exercise, intimacy, and confidence.

I understand personally how something that appears “cosmetic” can shape everyday life. After having my twins, I lived for years with excess abdominal skin that changed how I dressed, travelled, and felt during intimacy. Choosing to have it removed gave me back a sense of ease in my body.

Having performed more than 600 l***aplasty procedures, I see this work as both surgery and artistry. Every woman’s anatomy is different, and every procedure requires careful attention to proportion, symmetry, function, sensation, and a natural result.

You are already beautiful. You also have every right to make thoughtful decisions about your own body and what helps you feel most at home in it.

Watch the video—and if it speaks to something you’ve been quietly wondering about, let’s talk. You can book a private consultation with me or share this with a woman who deserves to know she has choices, too.

Interested in booking a private consultation?
Use the link 🔗 in bio ✨

*xualHealth

09/09/2026

So many women quietly live with discomfort or self-consciousness about their most intimate anatomy, believing they shouldn’t talk about it—or that wanting to change something makes them vain. It doesn’t.

I made this video because women deserve honest information about their bodies without embarrassment or judgment. I explain what l***aplasty is, why women consider it, and how changes in the l***a can affect comfort, clothing, exercise, intimacy, and confidence.

I understand personally how something that appears “cosmetic” can shape everyday life. After having my twins, I lived for years with excess abdominal skin that changed how I dressed, travelled, and felt during intimacy. Choosing to have it removed gave me back a sense of ease in my body.

Having performed more than 600 l***aplasty procedures, I see this work as both surgery and artistry. Every woman’s anatomy is different, and every procedure requires careful attention to proportion, symmetry, function, sensation, and a natural result.

You are already beautiful. You also have every right to make thoughtful decisions about your own body and what helps you feel most at home in it.

Watch the video—and if it speaks to something you’ve been quietly wondering about, let’s talk. You can book a private consultation with me or share this with a woman who deserves to know she has choices, too.

Interested in booking an appointment?
Click here: https://completemidlifewellnesscenter.com

*xualHealth

https://youtu.be/zOcbQ3YzAXk?si=g_7sAFPCc_NCc1FC

So many women quietly live with discomfort or self-consciousness ab...

09/08/2026

I’m so excited to finally share this conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. ❤️

We went deep into a subject I’ve cared about for years: testosterone in women.

Women actually produce more testosterone than estrogen, yet testosterone can begin declining years before menopause—and we still have 31 FDA-approved testosterone products for men and none specifically approved for women.

We talked about what that can mean for muscle, bone, s*xual health and how we feel as we age, but also about the questions women and their physicians are still trying to answer around testing, dosing and treatment.

This is a conversation I believe we need to be having much more often.

Thank you, Gabrielle, for giving this subject—and women’s health—the time and depth it deserves. ❤️

The full conversation is now live on YouTube.

You have probably been told that testosterone is a male hormone. Wo...

09/04/2026

Join me for a very different edition of The Gathering—this time at The Den Comedy Bar for an upbeat night that’s a lot more playful and definitely not your typical conversation about midlife.

I’ll be joined by Gabriella Espinosa, Meg Ellis, and Kelley Workman for four candid, funny, and very real conversations about the parts of midlife we don’t always talk about out loud—from s*x and vaginal dryness to feminine energy, reinvention, and navigating the messy middle.

And because we’re meeting at a comedy bar, you get to be part of the fun. Bring your favorite menopause or midlife joke—the one that makes your girlfriends laugh, the one your husband or partner may not appreciate, or the one you’ve been waiting for the right room to tell.

And if time allows, you may get a sneak peek at my upcoming 10-minute TED Talk—because what better place to practice than a comedy bar full of supportive women?

This evening is meant to be lighter and more social than our previous Gatherings, with plenty of time to laugh, ask questions, meet other women, and simply enjoy being together.

Thursday, September 24 | 6:30–9:00 PM

📍 The Den Comedy Bar (Wolfsmiths Heights)

🎟️ $20 per person (plus tax) to help share the cost of the facility rental

🍸 Food and adult beverages available for purchase

Space will be intentionally limited, so grab your spot and bring a friend.

Reserve your spot today—tickets are available at the link in bio.

Come with a question. Come with a joke. Come ready to laugh about the messy, complicated, wonderful reality of midlife. 🫶

09/02/2026

Muscle is increasingly recognized as central to healthy aging and longevity. Yet severe loss of muscle mass and strength remains a significant challenge for some women after menopause—and our therapeutic options are limited.

So I want to ask a question that may feel uncomfortable: Is there a place for anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) in carefully selected postmenopausal women?

The evidence is limited, but it is not nonexistent. Small studies in older and postmenopausal women have shown promising signals around muscle protein synthesis, lean body mass, and bone density with anabolic therapies. Other research has explored whether adding testosterone to estrogen may provide additional benefits for bone and body composition.

These studies are small, and they certainly don’t give us definitive answers. But I believe they give us enough to stay curious and keep asking questions.

None of this means anabolic steroids should become routine treatment for postmenopausal women. This is not a recommendation. It is an exploration of the science we have, the science we are still missing, and whether anabolic therapies could someday have a carefully defined role for women experiencing severe muscle loss after menopause.

Sometimes keeping an open mind is where better research—and better options for women—begin.

09/01/2026

When should you check your progesterone?

Ideally, about seven days after you ovulate, or roughly one week before your next expected period.

But during perimenopause, cycles can become unpredictable, making ovulation—and the perfect time to test—much harder to pinpoint.

That’s why we don’t rely on a single blood test alone. Your symptoms matter, too—including changes in sleep, anxiety, spotting, and how you’re feeling overall.

Hormone care is about looking at the whole picture, not just one number.

Come see us at Complete Midlife Wellness Center.