Hormones
& transitions
Cycle changes, perimenopause, menopause, and symptoms that shift with a changing stage of life.
Women’s health · Dr. Michele Burklund, ND
Women’s health.
Care for your
changing body.
Explore perimenopause and hormone health through naturopathic and functional medicine. Begin with everyday foundations, then consider the testing and support that fit you.
Your biology. Your history. Your life.The body speaks
You know when
something feels different.
Your sleep. Your cycle. Your energy. The way you feel in a body that used to be more familiar.
Sometimes the change arrives quietly. Sometimes it asks for your attention all at once. We begin by listening to what you have noticed, then bring your symptoms, health history, and priorities into the same conversation.
A reference range is one part of the picture.
Your experience belongs in it, too.
Where we look together
Many systems.
One woman.
The concerns that bring you here may overlap. Your care should consider those connections.
Hormones
Mood, sleep
& interest in life
Restless nights, feeling on edge, low mood, or a loss of interest that deserves a thoughtful assessment.
Energy
& metabolism
Fatigue, changes in weight, and questions about thyroid and metabolic health, considered in context.
Digestion
& nourishment
Digestive symptoms, food tolerance, nutrition, and the patterns that shape how you feel each day.
Long-term health
& vitality
Prevention, everyday habits, and health priorities that evolve with age and circumstance.
The body
after loss
When grief becomes part of your health story, there is room to explore that here.
Explore grief medicineThe way I practice
First, understand.
Then, personalize.
Your story, in full.
We look at the symptoms, timeline, medical and family history, medications, daily life, and what you want to feel able to do.
A clearer clinical picture.
I review your existing records and consider examination, testing, or referral where it can help answer a specific question.
A plan that belongs to you.
I use the therapeutic order to choose among daily habits, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, and conventional therapies, guided by the evidence, your preferences, and clinical need.
Room to reassess.
Follow-up brings your response back into the conversation, so care can change as your needs do.
Beneath the surface
Better questions.
Purposeful testing.
Laboratory results are tools for clinical decisions. We discuss what a test can tell us, what it cannot, and whether it is likely to change your care.
Depending on your history, that may include routine blood work, thyroid evaluation, metabolic markers, or targeted nutrient or digestive testing. Functional testing is considered individually, with attention to evidence, limitations, and cost.
Perimenopause often can be identified from age, symptoms, and menstrual history without hormone testing, particularly after age 45.
Explore the tests in my Women’s Health Lab Edit.
Order tests myself
Dr. Michele Burklund’s collection
The Perimenopause
Edit.
Thoughtful support for the changing female body.
Perimenopause asks us to pay attention. To the nights that feel different. The shifting rhythms. The woman we are becoming. I begin with nourishment, rest, movement, and listening to the body in front of me.
This is my personal edit of the botanicals and nutritional formulas I consider through a naturopathic and functional medicine lens—with room for strength, pleasure, and feeling at home in yourself.
Explore my Perimenopause ProtocolOpen my Fullscript collection. Explore individual products and choose what fits your needs.
Your body is changing.
Your care can evolve with it.
Seven selections in my current collection. Browse the ingredients, product details, and available pricing on Fullscript.
01 / NOURISH
The daily foundation.
A nutritional starting point, chosen around your food, your history, and what you already take.
- Perimenopause Multi CapsulesNeeded
- Peri Support PackPerelel
These are different options for a nutritional foundation. Review their overlapping ingredients before choosing.
02 / ENERGY & BONE
Cellular energy. Strong foundations.
I include creatine here for cellular energy and mitochondrial support: it helps replenish ATP, the energy your cells use. Osteo-K is the bone-health selection.
- Creatine PowderNeeded
- Osteo-KNBI
03 / FEMININE ECOLOGY
Plants & the inner ecosystem.
Botanical tradition and the microbiome both have a place in my approach to the changing female body.
- Shatavari ComplexGaia Herbs Pro
- FemEcologyVitanica
04 / THE INNER LIFE
How you feel matters.
Mood, sleep, and the demands of everyday life deserve their own conversation. This selection belongs within that individual assessment.
- Serotonin Mood SupportBrainMD
Review this formula’s ingredients and medicine interactions with your clinician before use.
Supplements & labs
Listen first.
Ask better questions.
My functional and naturopathic approach begins with your story. Laboratory testing can be part of a more individual assessment when it answers a useful question about your symptoms, history, or nutritional needs.
Explore the laboratory-testing guidance Discuss your needs in private careExclusive access to my Fullscript collection
Explore the edit.
Make it your own.
You can order individual products. Take your time with the ingredients, ask questions, and choose only what is appropriate for you.
- 01Open the collection
See the products selected for this edit.
- 02Read & choose
Compare ingredients, directions, and current pricing.
- 03Order through Fullscript
Sign in or create an account to complete your purchase.
For help choosing products or doses, explore private care.
My selected lab tests
From my practice. Now yours to order.
The DUTCH test
My gold standard for functional hormone testing. A comprehensive test used in functional and naturopathic medicine, offering a closer look at sex hormones, their metabolites, and daily cortisol patterns.
Order the DUTCH testThe vaginal microbiome test
A closer look at your intimate ecosystem. Explore the microorganisms in your vaginal microbiome with one of my selected tests, now available to order through my lab shop.
Shop the vaginal microbiome testIn my Women’s Health Lab Edit.You don’t have to be my patient to shop. Browse without an account; sign in or create one at checkout. Choose testing with your clinician.
Dr. Burklund’s selected labs
The Women’s Health Lab Edit
A closer look at hormones, nourishment, metabolism, and the intimate microbiome. The tests I consider when a woman’s story calls for more detail.
Comprehensive hormone profile
Dried-urine testing explores sex-hormone levels, the metabolites produced as those hormones are processed, and cortisol patterns across the day. I consider this profile when looking more closely at menstrual changes, midlife symptoms, sleep, and stress physiology. The results belong within the story of your cycle, symptoms, and hormone use; follow the collection instructions for timing.
Comprehensive stool analysis
A stool-based look at digestive function, intestinal inflammation, and selected organisms within the gut microbiome. This can add detail when I am investigating persistent digestive symptoms or looking at how well the foundations of nourishment are working. I consider the findings alongside your food intake, bowel patterns, medication history, and symptoms when deciding which questions to explore next.
Comprehensive metabolic panel
A foundational blood panel that measures glucose, electrolytes, calcium, proteins, and markers related to liver and kidney function. It brings several connected systems into view at once. In my approach, these results help establish context before adding more specialized testing, and I look at patterns and changes over time alongside hydration, nutrition, and your health history.
Iron studies & ferritin
Looks at iron circulating in your blood, its transport and binding capacity, and the iron held in reserve as ferritin. I consider the full pattern when exploring fatigue, heavy menstrual bleeding, or possible nutritional depletion. These measurements help distinguish different iron patterns and inform a more thoughtful conversation about food, absorption, blood loss, and whether iron supplementation is appropriate.
Thyroid screening
Begins with thyroid-stimulating hormone, the signal that helps regulate thyroid hormone production. Free T4 is added automatically when the TSH result meets the laboratory’s criteria. This is a starting point for exploring thyroid function in the context of energy, temperature tolerance, bowel patterns, or menstrual changes; it does not automatically include thyroid antibodies or every thyroid measurement.
Apolipoprotein B
Measures apolipoprotein B, a protein found on cholesterol-carrying particles that can contribute to plaque in the arteries. It adds information about particle burden beyond the amount of cholesterol reported on a standard lipid panel. I consider it alongside blood pressure, glucose, family history, nutrition, and movement as part of a broader cardiovascular and longevity assessment.
Hemoglobin A1c & estimated average glucose
Measures the proportion of hemoglobin with glucose attached, providing a view of average blood sugar over approximately two to three months. Estimated average glucose translates that result into familiar blood-sugar units. I use the longer view to explore metabolic patterns alongside nourishment, movement, sleep, and other relevant markers; it does not show individual meal-related spikes.
Vaginal microbiome profile
Examines microorganisms present in a vaginal sample, offering a more detailed view of the intimate microbiome. I consider this information when exploring recurring changes in discharge, odor, irritation, or vaginal comfort. The findings are interpreted alongside symptoms, hormonal changes, and treatment history; the presence of an organism alone does not tell the whole story.
Anti-Müllerian hormone
A blood measurement of a hormone produced by small ovarian follicles, used to add information about ovarian reserve. I consider it within a wider preconception or fertility conversation that includes age, cycle history, and other findings. It can help inform expectations about response to fertility treatment, but it does not measure egg quality or predict whether you will conceive.
About these tests & references
Choose individual tests around your history, symptoms, and existing results, with your clinician’s guidance.
A few useful answers
Your changing body. Your questions.
Perimenopause deserves a conversation that begins with your experience: your cycle, your sleep, your relationships, and the life surrounding them.
What are common signs of perimenopause?
Changes in menstrual timing, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, and shifts in mood can accompany perimenopause. Your own pattern matters; symptoms that are new or disruptive deserve attention.
Do I need a hormone test to know if I am in perimenopause?
For otherwise healthy women aged 45 or older with typical symptoms and cycle changes, perimenopause is usually identified from the history rather than a hormone panel. Testing can be useful in selected situations, including suspected early menopause or when another cause needs investigation.
Can grief and perimenopause happen at the same time?
Yes. A loss and a hormonal transition can belong to the same chapter of life. I would want to understand when each symptom began, changes in your cycle, and what has happened around you. There is room to consider both, without reducing your whole experience to one explanation.
What does a naturopathic approach to perimenopause include?
My approach makes room for nourishment, sleep, movement, botanical traditions, emotional life, and appropriate medical assessment. A recommendation should have a reason connected to your circumstances. Traditional wisdom and modern research both deserve thoughtful attention; their different kinds of knowledge can be named clearly.
Where can I order Dr. Burklund’s women’s health labs?
Explore my women’s health lab collection on Fullscript. The available tests, prices, eligibility, and ordering requirements appear there. Choose tests for a specific question and arrange help interpreting results when needed; a larger panel is not automatically a more useful one.
Medicine without walls
Thoughtful care.
In a familiar place.
Through virtual consultations, I bring our conversation into your home. I confirm your location and clinical needs before we establish care.
CaliforniaWashingtonMontana
Your location at each visit determines eligibility. Some concerns require an in-person examination or local care.
A few things to know
Care begins
with clarity.
Do I need a diagnosis before reaching out?
No. Tell me about the symptoms or changes you want help understanding. Your inquiry helps me consider whether my practice is appropriate for your needs.
Will I need a large panel of tests?
Not necessarily. Testing is guided by your history and the clinical question. Existing results are reviewed first, and additional testing should have a clear purpose.
Is every symptom a hormone problem?
No. Sleep, mood, energy, and cycle symptoms can have several contributors. The goal is to investigate carefully rather than assume a single explanation.
Will you be my primary care doctor?
I am a licensed naturopathic primary care physician. In this practice, I focus on women’s health, functional medicine, and the physical effects of grief; I do not provide ongoing general primary care here. I ask you to maintain a primary care clinician for routine preventive care and needs outside our work together. With your permission, I coordinate with your other clinicians.
Are you accepting new patients?
I am welcoming private-care inquiries for future availability. Share a little about yourself, and I will be in touch about next steps if there is a fit as space opens.
Further reading & clinical context
When you’re ready
Let’s begin
with your story.
Private care for your changing body and the life within it.
Private Care