Dr AMy Killen Contact +NEW - Dr. Amy B. Killen

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Jul 9

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Yes, we should be checking serum estradiol levels in women taking hormones. 👍

You will still get some benefits from lower doses (ex: bone loss prevention, partial symptom treatment).

But, we know that you generally need higher doses and higher serum estradiol levels (65 - 150+ pg/mL) for full symptom relief and most of the preventative benefits of hormones. ❤️

If symptom relief is your only goal with hormones then labs may not matter. However, if disease prevention is also a goal, we need to start measuring biomarkers and learning exactly what is needed to prevent each disease. ✅

Comment SUBSTACK below for a link to my most recent (paid) Substack with all the sources. 👇

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Sep 14

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Brexanalone is the perfect example of a drug company taking advantage of our lack of appropriate sex hormone education.

Oral progesterone readily gets metabolized into allopregnanolone (ALLO) in the liver. 🥳

Allopregnanolone then acts on GABA receptors to calm you down and help you sleep.

ALLO is useful in postpartum depression but there's no reason to pay $34,000 for a hormone that your body can easily make from plain old micronized progesterone. ✅

Unfortunately, we only have a few small studies that have looked at using progesterone for PPD so, while many doctors have used it with success for years, we're lacking strong clinical trials.

We need to do better. Much better. 🌿

Share this with someone who might benefit! 🙏

P.S. Brexanalone was removed from the U.S market in early 2025 and replaced with Zuranolone, a synthetic version of allopregnanolone that is taken orally and only costs $15,900 for a 14-day supply. 🤔

P.P.S. Thanks to Neil Rouzier for teaching me about progesterone for PPD. @worldlinkmedical

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Aug 26

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Is menopause life threatening? 🤔

Or should we just ignore it and only treat "real" endocrine problems?

It's not a pissing match, doctors! ❎

We can treat menopause AND other endocrine diseases.

It's 2025 - get with the program and stop delaying women's care to LIFE SAVING and LIFE CHANGING hormone therapy. 💯

@menopausetaylor

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Sep 20

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It's been a wild ride! 🎢

I left Emergency Medicine in 2013 to practice a type of medicine that very few doctors understood.

My physician friends made fun of me (some still do). My checkbook hated me. It was all a huge gamble. 😩

But, my husband and kids believed in me and stuck by me during all of the moves, the paycheck-less years, and the many identity crises.

Thank you to those who took a chance on me along the way (see below). 🙏

What "unhinged" things have you done on your path to living your dream? ❓

P.S. Thanks for the post inspiration @nataliecrawfordmd

@docere_clinics @harry.adelson @humanauthealth @killen8 @littlebrown
@shinetalentgroup @mindvalley @apex_biologix

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Jul 17

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Welcome new people! 🎉

And thank you to @corybooker for sharing my "MAHA Bait and Switch" video.

When I first posted that video a month ago, I received quite a bit of hate. 😫

But, I also got many messages from people like you who care about not just your own health, but that of our planet.

I'd encourage MAHA and @robertfkennedyjr to focus not only on removing red dye but to also become activists for the health of our environment.

Thank you all for sticking with me and giving me your trust and attention.

Xoxo...Amy K. 😍

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Jul 29

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Menopause is not a moral failing. ❎

She doesn't feel miserable because she stopped "taking care of herself."

How would you feel if your testicles randomly stopped working at age 50? 🤔

Would you tell yourself to "try harder"to get those hormones back "in balance?"

I rarely call out other professionals on here because I believe expressing our different opinions is healthy.

But, @drpatrickflynn this video is not okay. You owe your 400k followers more. ❗

Sincerely, Dr Amy K

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Jul 26

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We may not all agree on the "optimal" level of hormones in blood (or urine) in menopause and that optimal level may be different from one person to the next, but what do we gain by not measuring? 📊

If we want to learn more about why these hormones work better for some vs others, why some people have side effects, why some women get cancer ... Shouldn't we measure MORE things vs less? 🔬

Yes, advanced testing is not required to prescribe hormones to women safely.

Expensive tests aren't always necessary. But, we will never get better at this if we hamstring ourselves with this antiquated idea that we don't need to test women's hormones.

What are your thoughts? Let's discuss... ❓

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Jul 20

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Does progesterone increase breast cancer risk? 🤔

According to this segment from @cbsmornings it does, BUT just like with the WHI in 2002, we must be careful before broadcasting flawed interpretations!

Dr Celine Gounder is an infectious disease and global health physician. She's not an expert in women's hormones, so it probably wasn't fair to ask her to comment on this particular study. 😩

Menopause Hormone Therapy is quite safe but the details matter so make sure your doctor is up to speed before he/she gets out the prescription pad! ✅

What questions do you have? ❓

P.S. I mixed up absolute risk and relative risk. Ugh. Very sorry.

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Oct 2

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How do the doses of hormone therapy affect endometrial thickness (and endometrial cancer risk)? 🤔

This new study by Glynne and @menopause_doctor had some surprising findings as discussed in the video.

My only wish is that they'd looked at the estradiol to progesterone ratios vs endometrial thickness and not just hormone doses and estradiol serum levels. 🥳

I did a deep dive on this study and reviewed some key info about preventing endometrial cancer in this week's Substack so check it out. ✅

Thoughts? ❓

P.S. Do you want to learn more about how GLP-1 medications (ex: Ozempic) affect cancer risk in women? If so, let me know below! 👇

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Aug 2

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Estrogen needs a rebrand. 🎉

Out with the "it causes cancer and makes you gain weight" and in with the "This hormone is cool AF" 🤩

What do you think? ❓

P.S. Made with AI. But damn.... I wanna be this girl! 😂

P.P.S. I should make this bag, yes? 💪

#womenshealth #perimenopausehealth #menopausehealth #estrogenmatters

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Aug 8

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Menopause symptoms aren't caused by a steak and sunshine deficiency. 🥩

Because menopausal symptoms occur due to a systemic drop in estrogen, women have had menopausal symptoms for thousands of years. ✅

@theprimalbod it's not okay to tell women untruths - even if your goal is to get them to eat healthier. ❎

We need to do better.

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Jul 14

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Thank you to @iamgemmabenad for giving us something to talk about 🙏

Honestly, I love the bits about addressing metabolic disease and thyroid.

I appreciate the need to retire from people-pleasing and to reconnect with your body. 💃

Bbbbbbut.... We don't agree on the role of hormone therapy in perimenopause.

Progesterone can be so helpful for sleep and anxiety. 💤

Testosterone can be life and relationship changing. 💪

And, in late perimenopause, adding a zap of estradial can make all the difference. ⚡

What do you think. Is "perimenopause" just marketing jargon? ❓

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Aug 18

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What do you think? 🤔

Menopause hormone therapy is fine if we're just talking about menopause.

Hormones Replacement Therapy is fine if we're actually replacing hormones to their old levels.

Hormone Therapy? Hormone Optimization Therapy (which is what I tend to prefer because I want to be a HOT Doctor! 😭)

What do you think? ❓

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Sep 9

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Big news!!! Gulp. 🤩

I signed a book deal with the fabulous Little, Brown Spark (Hachette publishers) and I couldn't be more excited. 🎉

This book is about women's longevity through the lens of reproductive health.

How does ovarian aging, hormone optimization and sexual health affect health span and lifespan in women? 🤔

How are we different from men?

How can we turn our differences into our superpowers, blending the tried-and-true with the cutting edge to slow aging?

More information to come but for now ... Yay! 🥳

@littlebrownspark @shinetalentgroup

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Aug 13

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How much estrogen do you need for bone health? 🤔

Lower doses of estrogen (oral or transdermal) can help prevent bone loss but you need higher doses to build bone.

And, bone benefits start to fade shortly after cessation of hormone therapy. ⚠️

Are you taking enough estrogen to keep your bones strong? Is anyone monitoring you? ❓

Studies... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5423263/?utm_source=perplexity

https://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/10381-10395.pdf?utm_source=perplexity

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197177?utm_source=perplexity

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Aug 13

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Your bones are remarkably sensitive to estrogen so respond even when it's started late. 🦴

They also respond to a low dose of estrogen (although higher doses will be better for building bone).

What other bone questions do you have? ❓

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Oct 27

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💉What if tiny doses could make a big difference? 💉

The GLP-1 microdosing debate is in full effect.

💭 Can small, off-label doses improve inflammation, hormones, or metabolism without major weight loss?

🧪 The science, 🤔 the skepticism, and 📁 the emerging evidence behind this growing trend - and what it could mean for the future of metabolic health -is all unpacked this week!

Comment "'SUBSTACK' to get this week's free article right to your DMs!
#GLP1 #MetabolicHealth #Semaglutide #Microdosing #HormoneHealth #Longevity

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Aug 4

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About this weekend....

Every year we take a day and drive to the Uintas then hike out to Wall Lake where we cliff jump into frigid water. 🏔️

It's... The best.

Here's to staying healthy enough to keep doing the things that make life worth living. 🎉

P.S. I promise this cliff is higher than it seems here. Ha!! 🤣

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Jul 23

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Alcohol not feeling as good as it used to? 🍾

Yeah. I get it.

A lot has changed since your 20's in terms of how your body responds to alcohol. 🍷

Alcohol has never been good for us, but now it feels downright toxic! ⚠️

Whether you choose to give it up entirely or just drink occasionally, midlife requires us to reevaluate our relationship with alcohol.

What's changed for you about your approach to alcohol? ❓

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Jul 6

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Synthetic vs "natural" is confusing. And, honestly, downright dishonest.

Pregnant mares urine is "natural" - it comes from nature. 🐴

Yet that's what's used to make Premarin (aka conjugated equine estrogen), which we know is not as good as bioidentical estradial. ❌

The important thing is not whether your hormone comes from nature or even whether a lab helps make it... The important thing is whether the chemical structure of that hormone exactly matches what your body makes. ✅

Estradial. Progesterone. Testosterone. Those are bioidentical.

And for the love of God, please stop by talking cream off Tok Tok. You're wasting your money! ⚠️

Questions? ❓

#menopausehealth #perimenopausehealth #hormones #womenshealth

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