Why I Always Run Labs Before Hormone Therapy: The Real Risks of Skipping FSH

Welcome to the podcast with Dr. Brendan McCarthy!

 

In this deeply personal episode, he shares why lab work—especially testing FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)—is non-negotiable in hormone replacement therapy.

 

This is not about gatekeeping. It’s about understanding. It’s about caring. Dr. McCarthy recounts a formative memory of meeting a woman who underwent surgical menopause and was never told what would happen to her body afterward. That moment shaped his lifelong mission to treat women with comprehensive, individualized care—not cookie-cutter patches or “blind firing” estrogen without context.

In this episode, he explains:

🧬 Why FSH matters just as much as estrogen

🧠 How FSH affects metabolism, bone density, fat storage, and even Alzheimer’s risk

🩺 What truly responsible hormone therapy should look like

💬 And how we must challenge trends in medicine that ignore the full picture

 

Citations: Mao L, Wang L, Bennett S, Xu J, Zou J. Effects of follicle-stimulating hormone on fat metabolism and cognitive impairment in women during menopause. Front Physiol. 2022 Dec 5;13:1043237. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1043237. PMID: 36545281; PMCID: PMC9760686.

Spicer J, Malaspina D, Blank SV, Goosens KA. Follicle-stimulating hormone: More than a marker for menopause: FSH as a frontier for women's mental health. Psychiatry Res. 2025 Mar;345:116239. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116239. Epub 2024 Oct 28. PMID: 39892305; PMCID: PMC12094525.

Sponton CH, Kajimura S. Burning Fat and Building Bone by FSH Blockade. Cell Metab. 2017 Aug 1;26(2):285-287. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.07.018. PMID: 28768167; PMCID: PMC9142816

 

Dr. Brendan McCarthy founded Protea Medical Center in 2002. While he’s been the chief medical officer, Protea has grown and evolved into a dynamic medical center serving the Valley and Central Arizona. A nationally recognized as an expert in hormone replacement therapy, Dr McCarthy is the only instructor in the nation who teaches BioHRT on live patients. Physicians travel to Arizona to take his course and integrate it into their own practices. Besides hormone replacement therapy, Dr. McCarthy has spoken nationally and locally before physicians on topics such as weight loss, infertility, nutritional therapy and more.

 

Dr. Brendan McCarthy founded Protea Medical Center in 2002. While he’s been the chief medical officer, Protea has grown and evolved into a dynamic medical center serving the Valley and Central Arizona. A nationally recognized as an expert in hormone replacement therapy, Dr McCarthy s the only instructor in the nation who teaches BioHRT on live patients. Physicians travel to Arizona to take his course and integrate it into their own practices. Besides hormone replacement therapy, Dr. McCarthy has spoken nationally and locally before physicians on topics such as weight loss, infertility, nutritional therapy and more.

 

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Check out Dr. Brendan McCarthy's Book! https://www.amazon.com/Jump-Off-Mood-...

 

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Clinic Website: www.protealife.com