On the Mones

Kate
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  • MEDICINE

On the Mones is where pharmacist, menopause myth-buster, and accidental midlife icon Kate Thomas breaks down the chaos of hormones, perimenopause, aging, wellness woo, and the medical misinformation flooding your feed. Equal parts science and sass, Kate gives you evidence-based clarity with zero judgement and just the right amount of swearing. Featuring:🔬 Prescribe or Pass Deep Dives — real evidence, made simple 🔥 Woo of the Week — the latest miracle cure getting roasted 😂 Honest stories from midlife, pharmacy, and motherhood 🤷‍♀️ Peri or Petty — the viral quick-fire segment with Kate’s kids 🔧 The Tradie Brother-in-Law — asking the bloke questions all men are dying to ask Smart, funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly human, On the Mones is the women’s health podcast you’ll actually look forward to each week. Facts you can trust. Conversations you’ll replay. Validation you didn’t know you needed.

  1. 13 HR AGO

    Breath, Beach & Biology: Talking Hormones with Women Rebuilding Their Lives

    In this episode of On the ’Mones, Kate shares a recording from a special event  with women from a women’s shelter. The day began with breathwork and mindfulness overlooking the ocean — a moment to pause, breathe and arrive. For some of the women attending, simply leaving the shelter and coming to the event took enormous courage. Kate then spoke about hormones, perimenopause and what is actually happening in women’s bodies during midlife. From estrogen, progesterone and testosterone to sleep, stress and strength training, this conversation explores the biology behind the changes many women experience — and why understanding our bodies can be empowering. This episode begins with a short guided breathing exercise recorded by the water before moving into part of the talk. Along the way, Kate reflects on the power of knowledge, community and the reminder that sometimes there is less separating our lives than we realise. If you’ve ever cried at an email, an advertisement… or a rescue dog choosing its human on Instagram — this episode is for you.

    26 min

  2. 6 MAR

    Difficult Women, Hot Flushes & Perimenopause Around the World

    In this episode of On the ’Mones, Kate explores a word many women recognise instantly: difficult. Recently Australian activist and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame was described publicly as “difficult” after speaking out politically. Whether or not you agree with her views, the label landed because women everywhere know that word — the one that appears when women stop being agreeable. Kate reflects on her own experience navigating leadership, advocacy and midlife reinvention — including the moment she rage-quit a senior hospital pharmacy leadership role at 45. Was she difficult… or simply done? Alongside this reflection, Kate answers listener questions from around the world about perimenopause and menopause, including: • Anxiety, rage and crying at emails in your 40s — hormones or not coping? • Painful sex and vaginal dryness — is that perimenopause? • Why weight gain around the middle happens even when diet and exercise haven’t changed • Falling asleep easily but waking at 3am wired Kate explains the biology of perimenopause, including how fluctuating estrogen affects neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and GABA — and why life in your 40s can suddenly feel harder than it used to. She also breaks down a new non-hormonal treatment for menopausal hot flushes, Veoza (fezolinetant) — how it works in the brain, what the evidence shows, and where it fits alongside hormone therapy. Because menopause doesn’t care what passport you hold. And sometimes being called difficult simply means you’ve stopped being convenient. Follow Kate on social media: TikTok / Instagram / Facebook @prescribeorpass LinkedIn Kate Thomas – MedGov

    28 min

  3. 27 FEB

    Breast Awareness, Vaginal Dryness & GSM: Menopause Screening and Treatment Explained

    Pharmacist Kate Thomas interviews Dr Sarah Farrell, GP and principal of Sydney Women’s Wellness, about two major midlife health topics: breast awareness and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). We break down: • What “breast awareness” means today • How breast self-exams differ from formal breast cancer screening • When to see your GP about a breast lump • Breast density and mammograms • Why midlife breast changes can feel alarming We also explore genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), including: • Vaginal dryness in menopause • Pain with sex  • Recurrent UTIs after menopause • Bladder symptoms and estrogen decline • Why GSM is common but under-treated We discuss the full treatment ladder: • Vaginal moisturisers vs lubricants • Vaginal estrogen • Prasterone • When hormonal treatment is appropriate • Where non-hormonal options like hyaluronic acid vaginal preparations may fit This evidence-based conversation helps women understand the difference between normal hormonal changes and symptoms that need review — without panic or misinformation. If you’re searching for answers about menopause, vaginal dryness, breast checks, or GSM treatment options, this episode provides practical, medically grounded guidance.

    28 min

  4. 20 FEB

    Mum Is In Perimenopause, Send Help

    My first baby turns 21. So naturally, I sat him down with a microphone and asked him to explain perimenopause to the boys. What does a 21-year-old man think hormones are? Do young men talk about menopause? If boys had menopause, what would happen? There are one-word answers. There are finish-the-sentence confessions.. And somewhere in there, a mother realising her son is now a man. Then we turn into the reassuring comfort of biology with a clear, evidence-based masterclass on melatonin: • What it actually is (hint: not a sleeping pill) • Immediate vs modified release • Dosing that makes physiological sense • Why more is not more • And when melatonin is the right tool — and when it isn’t And finally, in Woo of the Week, we plug ourselves into the earth. Grounding mats. Free electrons. USB cords for your doona. Do they reduce inflammation? Lower cortisol? Improve sleep? Or are we mistaking ritual for redox biology? This episode is motherhood, midlife medicine, circadian rhythm, and a gentle but firm unpacking of wellness mythology — all wrapped up like a properly made bed in cotton and cashmere. If you’ve ever: • Rocked a baby at 2am • Woken at 3am in perimenopause • Bought a wellness gadget at midnight • Or wondered what your kids actually think about what you’re going through This one’s for you. Send your voice questions to: 📩 onthemones@gmail.com (Mones as in hormones. Not whinging.) Until next time, we get on the ’Mones. Kate x

    27 min

  5. 13 FEB

    Reinvention Is a Permission Slip (Plus Testosterone, Drive & the DHEA Trap)

    Midlife reinvention isn’t glossy, curated, or hashtag-friendly — it happens while you’re still paying bills, packing lunches, and doing the work you already know how to do. In this episode of On the ’Mones, I reflect on standing on stage at a menopause education event in Sydney and asking myself a quiet but clarifying question: How did I get here? Not because I suddenly became more qualified — but because I finally gave myself permission to be visible. We talk about reinvention as access, privilege, momentum, and integration — not burning everything down, but letting hard-earned skills show up in new places. I unpack what it’s like to hold two truths at once: deep medical experience alongside total digital naïveté — and why learning at midlife is uniquely powerful. From there, we get properly nerdy. I break down testosterone in women — what it actually does, why it’s not a “male hormone,” how it affects drive, energy, cognition, and libido, and how it fits into hormone replacement as part of a team sport with oestrogen. We talk indications, monitoring, side effects, and how to start a sensible, grounded conversation with your prescriber. And in Woo of the Week, I take on oral DHEA — the internet’s favourite almost-hormone — explaining why swallowing raw hormonal ingredients and hoping for the best is not biology, it’s wishful thinking. This episode is about hormones, yes — but it’s also about visibility, work, value, and giving yourself permission to evolve without abandoning who you already are.

    25 min

  6. 6 FEB

    Bodies on the Beach, Brains on High Alert Confidence, Clonidine & the Quiet Judgments of Midlife

    Recorded on holiday in Hawaii, this episode of On the Mones starts on a beach and ends deep inside the nervous system. Watching her adult children in the surf, Kate reflects on bodies, confidence, ageing, and the subtle way awareness changes how we move through the world. From instinctive confidence to emerging caution, from physical capability to perimenopausal vigilance, this episode explores what happens when experience collides with embodiment — and how generational mirrors quietly hold us up to ourselves. Along the way, Kate unpacks the emotional charge of family dynamics, teenage daughters, impatience, competence, and the uncomfortable realisation that the traits we judge most harshly may be the ones we’re rehearsing. In the pharmacology deep dive, Kate breaks down clonidine — an elegant, often underrated medication that calms the body’s stress response. From blood pressure and hot flushes to ADHD, anxiety, sleep, and withdrawal syndromes, this is a clear, practical explanation of how clonidine works, when it helps, and why it needs respect. And in Wellness Woo of the Week, Kate tackles main character energy — the seductive belief that calm, health, and regulation are moral achievements rather than states shaped by biology, environment, privilege, and access. This episode is about bodies on beaches, brains on alert, and the humility required to notice when confidence, calm, or competence starts to look like superiority — especially to the people closest to us. Wherever you’re listening from: welcome. Let’s get on the Mones.

    23 min

  7. 30 JAN

    Comfort Is Not Evidence - SSRIs, Hot Flushes, and the Perimenopause Anxiety Trap

    What if the thing that makes you feel safest… isn’t actually helping you? In this episode of On the Mones, Kate unpacks a deceptively simple idea with enormous consequences: comfort is not evidence. It starts with a respectful — but confronting — comment thread on a debunking video about naturopathy, vulnerability, and communication. From there, the conversation widens into something much bigger: why women in midlife are so often sold reassurance instead of rigour, validation instead of verification, and how “feeling heard” has quietly become a substitute for clinical outcomes. Kate explores: Why warmth, charisma, and simplification can be persuasive — but dangerous — in healthcareThe lack of regulation around naturopathy and why “my clients love me” is not a defenceReal-world harm, including Australian regulatory cases involving banned health practitionersHow wellness culture targets women — especially during hormonal vulnerability — and why that mattersFrom there, the episode pivots into a clear, evidence-based deep dive on SSRIs: How SSRIs actually work in the brain (and what they don’t do)Why they’re sometimes prescribed for hot flushesAnd how perimenopausal anxiety is frequently treated with antidepressants when estrogen deficiency may be the real driverThrough a clinical lens — and a personal story — Kate makes the case for better questions, better context, and fewer lazy defaults when women in their 40s and 50s present with anxiety. This episode also features a Woo of the Week takedown of “adrenal fatigue” — why it isn’t a diagnosis, why it feels comforting, and how it turns complex physiology into fast food. If you’ve ever been told: “At least she listens”“It can’t hurt”“It makes people feel better”This episode is your pause button. Because feeling cared for matters — but only evidence protects you.

    31 min

  8. 23 JAN

    Periods Gone Rogue - Bleeding, Belief and the Biology of Midlife

    A ninety-year-old man walks into a community pharmacy, forgets his wallet… and pays for his prescriptions with Chaucer.  A stranger steps in with quiet generosity.  And somehow, that moment lodges — deeper than it would have twenty-five years ago. If you’ve noticed that things land differently in midlife — emotions linger longer, moments feel heavier, meaning matters more — you’re not imagining it. And if, at the same time, your periods have gone completely off the rails — heavier, closer together, unpredictable, exhausting — this episode is for you. And because it wouldn’t be On the Mones without it, we finish with Woo of the Week: magnesium — the mineral that somehow got promoted to nervous-system saviour, hormone therapy, and emotional support supplement. What it actually does, where it helps, where it absolutely doesn’t.  If your bleeding is disruptive, your emotions feel deeper, or you’re being told this is “just your age” — this episode is here to remind you:  you’re not dramatic, you’re not failing, and you’re allowed care, clarity, and proper answers.

    27 min
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About

On the Mones is where pharmacist, menopause myth-buster, and accidental midlife icon Kate Thomas breaks down the chaos of hormones, perimenopause, aging, wellness woo, and the medical misinformation flooding your feed. Equal parts science and sass, Kate gives you evidence-based clarity with zero judgement and just the right amount of swearing. Featuring:🔬 Prescribe or Pass Deep Dives — real evidence, made simple 🔥 Woo of the Week — the latest miracle cure getting roasted 😂 Honest stories from midlife, pharmacy, and motherhood 🤷‍♀️ Peri or Petty — the viral quick-fire segment with Kate’s kids 🔧 The Tradie Brother-in-Law — asking the bloke questions all men are dying to ask Smart, funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly human, On the Mones is the women’s health podcast you’ll actually look forward to each week. Facts you can trust. Conversations you’ll replay. Validation you didn’t know you needed.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 On the Mones
  • Show Website
    On the Mones

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