Finally with Dr. Raina Patel

New anxiety in your 40s. Rage that seems to come out of nowhere. Low mood, brain fog, and sleep that falls apart. For many women, these changes show up years before the last period, and too often they get dismissed as stress or "just getting older." In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel sits down with Dr. Agnes Simone, a UCLA-trained, board-certified psychiatrist and founder of Olea Women&#39...

Is a high-protein diet hard on your kidneys? Should you stop taking creatine if your labs look off? In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel sits down with nephrologist and obesity medicine physician Dr. Ritu Vyas to answer the kidney questions so many people are asking right now. They cover what chronic kidney disease (CKD) actually is and how it's diagnosed, why so many people don't know they ha...

Most women see one doctor for pregnancy and a different one for menopause, and nobody connects the dots in between. In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel sits down with Dr. Lindsay Maggio, a quadruple board-certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Obesity Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine, and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. Together they trace the weight an...

Obesity is a chronic disease with effective treatment, and access to it is variable. Dr. Raina Patel maps who actually pays in 2026 across Medicare, Medicaid, employer plans, the marketplace, the VA, and cash, with real maintenance prices, the truth about compounded versions, and how to fight a denial that can actually be fought.

Dr. Raina Patel walks through the full birth control menu: the implant, hormonal and copper IUDs, the shot, the pill, the patch, the ring, barrier methods, fertility awareness, permanent options, and emergency contraception. This episode is educational and is not medical advice.

The scale stopped moving and you're doing everything the same. Dr. Raina Patel, explains the biology behind the weight loss plateau: why hunger hormones shift and stay shifted, what metabolic adaptation really is, why a plateau on Wegovy or Zepbound is expected rather than failure, the medical causes nobody checks, and how to tell a real plateau from a look-alike. Educational only, not medical adv...

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and fewer than half of women know it. In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel explains why the years around menopause are a turning point for the heart: what estrogen does for blood vessels, why cholesterol, blood pressure, and belly fat can shift within a few years even when habits stay the same, and which parts of a woman's history (pregnancy complicatio...

A "normal" cholesterol result can still hide real heart risk. Dr. Raina Patel explains ApoB, Lp(a), the new 2026 guidelines, how GLP-1s and weight loss change your lipids, the latest medications, and the truth about statin myths. The numbers your panel isn't showing you - and what to do about them. Follow Dr. Raina Patel: Instagram: @drrainapatel Youtube: @drrainapatel Spotify: https://open.spotif...

Dr. Raina Patel sits down with Dr. Kimberly Bekemeier, a board-certified family physician and founder of Hormone Harmony OC, a membership-based women's primary care practice in Huntington Beach focused on perimenopause, menopause, and hormone therapy. Together they walk through menopause in plain language: what's actually happening in the body, the symptoms that get missed or dismissed, and what r...

In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel breaks down how to actually read a nutrition label, in the order that matters. She walks through why serving size changes every other number on the panel, why protein deserves attention before calories, and the real difference between total sugar and added sugar. The episode also covers fiber, sodium, common marketing terms like "reduced sugar" and "multigrain," an...

Women's Health Mondays · Episode · Guest appearance This episode originally aired on The Dr. Francavilla Show. She invited me on, and I'm grateful she did. If you're not already following her show, start here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qEaWFEYAm7RPE9oXv1Hq5?si=4e0a8baa13894663 Weight gain in midlife is one of the most common things women bring to me, and it is almost always framed as a person...

Dr. Raina Patel breaks down the wellness peptide trend taking over Instagram and TikTok, BPC-157, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Tesamorelin, and NAD, separating what’s backed by human evidence from what’s marketing. She covers why this category exploded, the FDA’s ongoing review of whether to widen access to several of these compounds, the regulatory gray zone around “research use only” products, real saf...

PMOS, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women, yet it's also one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel sits down with Dr. Shehzein Khan, a board-certified family physician and founder of Solace Primary Care in Newport Beach, to break down what a PMOS diagnosis actually means, why insulin resistance play...

Everyone is wearing a device that tracks their health, but what do the numbers actually mean? Dr. Raina Patel breaks down fitness trackers, continuous glucose monitors, smart rings, and sleep trackers: what each one measures accurately, where the marketing outruns the evidence, and how to use the data for your metabolic health without letting it run your life. Follow Dr. Raina Patel: Instagram: @d...

Most women are told to come back when their periods stop. Dr. Raina Patel explains why that advice costs them years. In this episode she breaks down what perimenopause actually is, why it starts in the mid-forties and can run close to a decade, and why the biology is not a slow estrogen decline but a period of wide hormonal swings. She covers the two cycle changes that tell you which stage you're...

Two GLP-1 pills are now approved for weight management in the US, and they solved the same problem two completely different ways. Dr. Raina Patel breaks down oral semaglutide, the Wegovy pill, and orforglipron, or Foundayo: what the trials actually showed, the 30 minute rule that makes or breaks one of them, what they cost right now, and how to figure out which one fits your life. Follow Dr. Raina...

Can you actually improve your egg quality? And why is AMH the most misinterpreted test in women's health right now? This week I'm answering the questions I get asked most about egg freezing, prompted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's announcement that she's freezing her eggs and her comment that there wasn't much good information out there. If that's true for a member of Congress with a staff and full...

Over years of practicing obesity medicine, Dr. Raina Patel has heard the same myths repeated with total confidence — by patients, family, strangers, even other physicians. In this rapid-fire episode, she takes on eleven of the most common ones and replaces each with what the evidence actually says.

When a tragedy makes headlines, millions of people hear two words they've never had explained: postpartum psychosis. This week, Dr. Raina Patel steps in as your doctor, not your commentator, to explain what it actually is, and just as importantly, what it isn't. She draws the clear line between the common, treatable struggles of new motherhood, the depression, the anxiety, the intrusive thoughts t...

Roughly one in three American adults has insulin resistance - and most have no idea. In this episode Dr. Raina Patel explains what insulin resistance actually is (and how it differs from prediabetes), how it develops silently for years before showing up on standard blood work, what it does to your weight and metabolism, and why it is one of the most improvable metabolic conditions we know of - wit...

For everyone who can't use hormone therapy, or simply doesn't want to, there's a real menu of options, including a brand new class of medication designed specifically for hot flashes, the first of its kind in history. Dr. Raina Patel breaks down how it works, what else is on the menu, which mind body treatments actually have evidence behind them, and the honest truth about that supplement aisle. F...

In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel is joined by her friend and colleague, Dr. Ashley Multani (@drashleyaesthetics), to break down hypertension - a condition that doesn't always come with warning signs and is showing up in younger people more than ever. They dive into how it's diagnosed, what medication management actually looks like, and why this 'silent killer' deserves way more attention than it g...

In the second episode of Finally Women's Health, Dr. Raina Patel explores menopause hormone therapy including estrogen and progesterone. She discusses who benefits the most, and what you need to make informed decisions about your health during this life transition. Follow Dr. Raina Patel: Instagram: @drrainapatel YouTube: @drrainapatel Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3mVmg2ILXrnYDMklGnv6...

 In this episode, Dr. Raina Patel walks through her own DEXA scan results — the wins, the surprises, and the area she's now working on — to explain what body composition actually is, why it matters far more than weight, how to measure it, and the two interventions that improve it most. Note: All percentile comparisons in this episode come only from this specific DEXA company's own customer base —...

The premiere of Finally, Women's Health. Dr. Raina Patel takes on the five biggest myths about menopause and perimenopause, the ones she hears in clinic, online, and sometimes from other clinicians. Why the transition starts years before your period stops. Why it's never just hot flashes. Why "it's natural" was never a reason to suffer. The truth behind the hormone therapy fear you inherited, incl...