Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute.This episode is dedicated to the overwhelming number of HRT-related questions I’ve received from my community in 2026. Hormone replacement therapy has generated more questions than almost any other midlife topic, especially regarding timing, progesterone, testing, and special situations.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Women can still benefit from HRT later in menopause. The importance of working with a knowledgeable prescriber when making hormone replacement therapy decisions How progesterone tolerance can vary from one woman to another Why your blood work should be timed according to when you apply your estradiol patch, and why I prefer to focus on estradiol rather than routinely monitoring progesterone levels How the synthetic hormones used in oral contraceptives differ from the bioidentical hormones used in HRT How your medical history can influence your hormone replacement therapy plan Fear and outdated information may continue to create confusion about hormone replacement therapy.Connect with Cynthia Thurlow   Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website. Submit your questions to [email protected]  Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.  Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut. Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book The Midlife Pause Supplement Line