Elevate MD

Elevate MD 🩺 Physician-Led Hormone Optimization
👩🏻‍💻 Telehealth BHRT across the U.S.
👇🏻 Want to work with us? https://www.elevatemd.co/fb-link-in-bio
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Here are 5 lies I wish doctors would stop telling women about 🫠I will definitely be turning this into a series, so fee...
04/02/2026

Here are 5 lies I wish doctors would stop telling women about 🫠

I will definitely be turning this into a series, so feel free to drop any other lies or misconceptions about perimenopause or menopause in the caption 👇🏻

🚩 “Birth control can manage your symptoms.”
✅ If you don’t need birth control for contraceptive purposes, it shouldn’t be your first line of defense for perimenopause (& definitely not menopause).

🚩 “You’re too young to be in perimenopause.”
✅ Perimenopause symptoms can begin in your early 30’s, this is a fact!

🚩 “We can’t run labs for perimenopause.”
✅ You don’t *need* labs to diagnose perimenopause, but you absolutely need labs to safely treat perimenopause symptoms. This is a non-negotiable.

🚩 “You aren’t in perimenopause if your cycle is regular.”
✅ Your hormones start to decline long before your cycle becomes irregular.

🚩 “Your labs are normal.”
✅ Normal for who? ‘Normal’ looks different on everyone. Your provider should be interpreting your labs based on your symptoms… not the other way around.

If your provider has been gaslighting you about your symptoms or refusing to give you anything more than birth control or SSRI’s, this is your sign to find a provider that actually specializes in hormone optimization! 🫶🏻

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, & you’re interested in exploring hormone optimization, feel free to go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free 30 minute call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

04/01/2026

If you’re in , & your anxiety is off the charts…THIS VIDEO IS FOR YOU! 🫵🏻🥹

Anxiety is one of the most common symptoms we hear from our perimenopause & menopause patients. But you’ll be pleased to know that this is not just ‘in your head’. 😅

Hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause are notorious for triggering nervous system dysregulation, and this can literally cause our bodies to get stuck in fight or flight even when we aren’t in high stress situations. 🫠

So here are 3 science backed hacks you can try to help regulate your nervous system, and quickly get your anxiety under control! 🤌🏻

👉🏻 L-theanine
👉🏻 + Magnesium Glycinate (🔗 in Bio)
👉🏻 Cold Exposure Therapy
👉🏻 Progesterone therapy (This does need to be prescribed, but I promise it is life changing! 🤌🏻)

Supplements and lifestyle modifications can be helpful for anxiety, but the most effective way to address hormonal anxiety is with hormone support! So if supplements & breathing exercises aren’t cutting it, this may be your sign that it’s time to get your hormone levels checked. 🫶🏻

🩺📲 We are currently accepting new Telehealth patients in the US. If you are interested in working with us for hormone optimization, go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free call with my team to get started! 🤗

03/31/2026

Ranking different forms of hormone therapy depending on how well they manage and menopause symptoms! 🙃

1️⃣ Injectable Hormones & VąginąI Creams
2️⃣ Oral Progesterone
3️⃣ Patches
4️⃣ Suppositories (progesterone)
5️⃣ Troches
6️⃣ 🫠
7️⃣ Hormone creams/gels/sprays
8️⃣ Oral Estrogen (highest clotting risk)
❌ Pellets (Not a fan of pellets)
❌ Birth Control (Not a fan of birth control unless you need it for contraceptive purposes.)

This ranking is subjective, but I always tell patients that the best form of hormone therapy is the one that works best for YOU! We find that injectable HRT is the most effective form of hormone therapy for comprehensive symptom management. But the most important thing is having a provider that is willing to explore what options will work best for your unique needs. 🫶🏻

Knowing your options, as well as the pros and cons of each, should be a non-negotiable no matter where you are in your hormone journey! 👏🏻

Drop your thoughts and questions in the comments and let’s talk about it! 🙃

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, & you’re interested in exploring hormone optimization, feel free to go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free 30 minute call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

03/30/2026

It’s 2026… why are so many doctors still refusing to run labs for ? 😤🤨

❌ Your doctor would never put you on insulin without checking your glucose or A1C.
❌ They wouldn’t prescribe thyroid medication without checking thyroid levels.
❌ They wouldn’t even touch your cholesterol without a full lipid panel.

👉🏻 So why is it somehow acceptable to put women on hormone therapy without running a single lab first?

The standard of care for women’s hormone health is so embarrassingly low that in literally any other area of medicine we would be questioning that provider’s competency. But somehow the rules are different when it comes to perimenopause & menopause. 🤨

Starting a patient on hormone therapy without establishing baseline hormone levels first isn’t just sloppy medicine… it’s unsafe & it’s negligent.

You deserve a provider who knows what labs to run, is willing to actually run those labs, understands how to interpret your labs in the context of your symptoms, and treats your hormones with the same level of clinical precision they would apply to every other system in your body. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

If you have been put on hormone therapy without a single lab being run first, or if your provider is just flat out refusing to run labs… we need to talk. 👀😅

🩺📲 If you are in the US, and you’re interested in working with us via Telehealth, go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free call with our team and let’s actually get to the root of what’s going on with your hormones. 🫶🏻

03/30/2026

What exactly is estrogen dominance & why is it so common during ? 🤔

Put simply, estrogen dominance is a hormonal imbalance that happens when your estrogen-to-progesterone ration is out of whack. This typically means that your body is either producing too much estrogen, not enough progesterone, and/or your body is not metabolizing & detoxing estrogen fast enough.

This is a common issue we see in our perimenopause patients, because progesterone is typically the first hormone that begins to decline during peri which creates the perfect environment for estrogen dominance. (Think of estrogen as the gas, & progesterone is the brakes!)

But here’s the interesting part… estrogen dominance doesn’t always mean that your estrogen levels are super high. During perimenopause, we more commonly see something called ‘relative estrogen dominance’. This is when your estrogen levels are still relatively normal (or maybe even low), but your progesterone levels are WAY too low to be able to counter balance your estrogen levels.

And the most frustrating part for most patients is that ALLL of these imbalances will still look ‘normal’ on your lab results unless your provider knows what they are looking for. 🤦🏻‍♀️🫠

This is why we always emphasize that normal ≠ optimized, especially in the context of perimenopause. Your lab results can provide valuable context, but they may not accurately tell your story if your provider is not interpreting your lab results in the context of your symptoms!

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, I can guarantee you that your levels certainly are NOT optimized. We cannot dismiss these symptoms simply because your lab results fall within a ‘normal’ range. Your quality of life matters, & these symptoms deserve to be treated. ❤️

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, and you’re at all curious about hormone therapy for perimenopause or menopause symptom management, go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free virtual call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

03/29/2026

Love it or leave it supplement edition! 🙃

Here are some of the most common supplements you guys ask me about for perimenopause & menopause management! 👇🏻

❌ Beef Organ Supplements: These are fine for vitamin & mineral support, but they aren’t a “cure-all” for perimenopause symptoms.

❌ Nello SuperBalance: I like Nello as a brand, and I don’t hate these ingredients. But I’m not a fan of any supplement that claims to ‘balance hormones’.

✅ Colostrum: LOVE! Absolutely incredible for GI health & overall immune function.

❌ Maca Root: This may be an appropriate addition for athletes to help with stamina & recovery, but there isn’t enough data to show that it has any significant impact on test.osterone levels. (You’d be better off taking the real thing 🤌🏻)

✅ Creatine: LOVE! Absolutely incredible for brain fog, cognitive function, and reducing neuro-inflammation.

⚠️ Chaste Berry: This is more helpful for PMS symptoms, but not comprehensive perimenopause or menopause support!

✅ Pregnenolone: OBSESSED! Pregnenolone is known as the ‘mother hormone’. It is literally the building block for all of your hormones. It is especially helpful for progesterone and DHEA support. 🙏🏼 (This product is available in our online store, 🔗 in bio)

Let me know what we should cover next?! 🤔

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, & you’re interested in exploring hormone optimization, feel free to go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free 30 minute call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

03/27/2026

Here are 5 of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions we see in our patients… GIVE YOURSELF 1 POINT FOR EACH 🏆

1️⃣ IBS: This category includes any new GI issues such as constipation, bloating, indigestion, nausea, and food intolerances.
2️⃣ Anxiety Disorders: This includes any new or worsening anxiety disorders such as OCD, intrusive thoughts, panic disorder, nightmare disorder, driving anxiety, agoraphobia, misophonia, etc.
3️⃣ Fibromyalgia: Any type of neuropathy may fall under this category.
4️⃣ Hashimoto’s: This is the most commonly diagnosed autoimmune condition amongst women in perimenopause & menopause and is the leading cause of hypothyroidism.
5️⃣ Adrenal Fatigue: Many women are told their symptoms are caused by high cortisol or chronic stress.

Most providers look at these conditions as individual diagnoses, when in reality they may actually be symptoms of a much larger hormonal problem.

Interestingly enough, we find that a lot of our patients experience complete relief from many of these issues once their hormones are properly supported! 🤌🏻🙌🏻

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, & you’re interested in exploring hormone optimization, feel free to go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free 30 minute call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

03/26/2026

If you’re in & you’re even the tiniest bit curious about hormone therapy, THIS VIDEO IS FOR YOU! 🫵🏻

As if perimenopause wasn’t already confusing enough, trying to navigate the world of hormone therapy can make things feel even more confusing! 🫠

So I’m going to give you a quick crash course on all things H/R/T, so you can make informed decisions about your hormone health. 🙌🏻

Let’s break this down into 4 categories…

👉🏻 Things you swallow: This includes all oral forms of hormones.
👉🏻 Things that dissolve: Troches, dissolvable hormone tablets, and suppositories.
👉🏻 Things you apply (Transdermal): Patches, creams, sprays, gels, etc.
👉🏻 Things you inject: Pellets & Injectables

Understanding the pros and cons of each type of hormone therapy can help you decide which form may be most beneficial for you. 🙏🏼

Here at Elevate, we prefer injectable hormone therapy for our patients. We find that injectables truly are the gold standard for comprehensive symptom management!

✅ Highest Efficacy
✅ Most Consistency
✅ Dynamic Dosing
✅ Safe & Convenient
✅ Comprehensive Symptom Relief

Perimenopause is confusing, but that doesn’t mean that your hormone support needs to be. 🫶🏻

🩺📲 If you are in the US, we are currently accepting new patients for Telehealth. If you are interested in working with us for hormone optimization, you can go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a call with my team to learn how to begin your hormone journey today! 🤗

03/25/2026

Have questions about your hormone health? You’re in the right place! 🤗 Welcome to our Peri After Dark Q&A. All questions are welcome! If you are interested in working with us, you can click the link below to schedule a free call with my team! 🩺 (Limited spots available- you can also book using the 🔗 in my bio)

https://link.elevatemd.com/discovery-call-fb-post

Hashimoto’s & go hand in hand, so why is your doctor still not connecting the dots? 🤔Hashimoto’s is one of the most co...
03/25/2026

Hashimoto’s & go hand in hand, so why is your doctor still not connecting the dots? 🤔

Hashimoto’s is one of the most common autoimmune conditions, and it disproportionately affects women, especially during hormonal transitions like perimenopause.

👉🏻 Immune System Shift: The “self-attack” of autoimmunity is more likely during hormonal transitions like perimenopause.

👉🏻 Hormonal Chaos: Progesterone, which helps protect the thyroid, begins to decline around age 25, leading to estrogen dominance, which can fuel autoimmune responses.

👉🏻 Overlapping Symptoms: Symptoms of perimenopause often mask Hashimoto’s symptoms (or vice versa) making diagnosis more challenging.

👉🏻 Shared Control Systems: The pituitary gland regulates both the ovaries and the thyroid, meaning a disruption in one system (reproductive) often causes a ripple effect in the other (thyroid).

Our team genuinely understands the complicated relationship between Hashi’s and perimenopause, which is why we run comprehensive thyroid labs for every single hormone patient as part of our standard protocol.

It is incredibly important to rule out any other possible underlying issues when it comes to perimenopause, so we can make sure we are addressing all of your symptoms at the root. ☑️

🩺📲 If you are in the US, and you are interested in working with us via Telehealth to schedule labs & consultation, go to the 🔗 in my bio to schedule a free 30 minute call with my team to get started. 🤗

03/24/2026

I have a brain tumor on my pituitary gland that threw my body into menopause around the age of 25. 🥹

My doctor told me I was a hypochondriac… but I knew deep down that something wasn’t right. It took 10 years, 10+ doctors, and over 20+ misdiagnoses before I was finally diagnosed as post-menopausal 2 months before my 28th birthday.

In my early 20’s, my health started to rapidly decline to the point where I was barely functioning and no longer recognized the body I was living in. My life felt like it had ended before it ever even began… & no one was listening. ☹️

Despite the fact that multiple specialists told me that I was fine and everything looked ‘normal’, I knew for a fact that what I was experiencing was absolutely NOT NORMAL!

Over the years, I racked up a laundry list of random diagnoses from multiple specialists and was offered a variety of medications including SSRI’s, birth control, sleeping meds, steroids, metformin, statins, etc.

Every provider I went to refused to acknowledge my symptoms as part of a single larger issue, which is why my symptoms continued to get worse, & none of the medications ever provided any real relief. But I trusted what my body was telling me, & I kept pushing for answers.

It wasn’t until the providers at Elevate MD ran comprehensive bloodwork that all of my symptoms FINALLY started to click together, and I was officially diagnosed as post-menopausal at the age of 27 after a decade of medical gaslighting.

I knew I wasn’t a hypochondriac, and I know you aren’t either. You know your body better than anyone else, and you deserve real answers! 🥹🫶🏻

🩺📲 If you are in the US, and you are interested in exploring hormone therapy, we would LOVE to work with you via Telehealth. Go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

03/23/2026

Love it or leave it edition! 🙃

Here are some of the most common supplements/testing you guys ask me about for perimenopause & menopause management! 👇🏻

❌ Wild Yam Cream: If you need progesterone support for your symptoms, you would be better off using a more bioavailable form of Bioidentical progesterone therapy. Although wild yam cream may provide mild relief for PMS-related symptoms.

✅ Black Cohosh: Great for vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes & night sweats.

❌ DIM: This supplement is commonly used for estrogen dominance, but I’m not a fan of DIM unless you’ve had blood work done to confirm true estrogen dominance. (Sometimes estrogen dominance can be a low progesterone issue.)

⚠️ Mira Perimenopause Testing: I LOVE that we are starting to see more home testing options, but this home test is missing quite a few important biomarkers. (Including estrogen & progesterone)

✅ VąginąI Estrogen: Absolutely incredible for overall vąginąI health, including UTI-like symptoms, libido, and hydration. (Available in our online store, 🔗 in bio)

✅ GLP-1’s: Loveee for improving metabolic function & reducing inflammation. These peptides work even better when paired with hormone therapy.

❌ Dutch Test: Dutch tests have many limitations compared to serum/blood testing when it comes to comprehensive hormone analysis. Serum testing is a better option for perimenopause & menopause.

Let me know what we should cover next?! 🤔

🩺📲 If you’re in the US, & you’re interested in exploring hormone optimization, feel free to go to the 🔗 in my bio to book a free 30 minute call with my team to learn how to get started. 🤗

Address

7265 Kenwood Road, Suite 230
Cincinnati, OH
45236

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

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+15138827006

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Elevate MD

We specialize in taking care of the whole patient. Not just your numbers, not just one symptom. We provide general women’s health care and gynecology as well as natural bioidentical hormone replacement for both men and women. We are the most well trained providers in peptide therapy in the Cincinnati area. We also specialize in office cosmetic procedures including liposculpture, Botox and fillers, PRP, and rejuvination procedures. Dr Franzese is the only physician in the Tri-State area providing the most advanced protocols for treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury for Military personnel and Civilians.