If you’ve been blaming your MS or lupus for every new symptom and your doctor hasn’t once mentioned the word perimenopause, this clip is for you.

This is Dr. Mia Cowan (@drmiacowanmd) from last year’s Wellness Week(end), and what she shared in this session honestly changed how a lot of women in that room understood what was happening in their own bodies. She talked about how even in her OB/GYN residency, she wasn’t taught how to properly manage perimenopause and menopause. So she went and figured it out on her own, because the textbook answers weren’t working for her patients. Women in their 30s and 40s who still had plenty of estrogen but were dealing with symptoms nobody could explain. What was missing? Testosterone. And here’s the part that matters most if you’re living with a chronic illness: your testosterone starts declining around age 25 to 30. When it drops, you lose muscle mass, your energy shifts, and symptoms start showing up that look and feel a lot like a flare or disease progression. So instead of exploring whether it’s hormonal, you and your doctor both chalk it up to your MS, your lupus, or your NMOSD, and the real issue never gets addressed. That’s not a small thing. That’s years of unnecessary suffering because nobody thought to check. This is the kind of conversation that happens at Wellness Week(end). In fact, Dr. Cowan will be dropping gems at the “After Dark: Pajamas + Pleasure Party” session at this year’s event. The kind your doctor doesn’t have time for, and the kind that changes how you advocate for yourself from that point forward. Wellness Week(end) 2026 is October 30 through November 1 at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead. Be in the room this year. Comment TICKET and we’ll send you the link. #WeAreILLMatic #WellnessWeekend2026 #ChronicIllnessCommunity #BlackWomenWithMS #LupusAwareness