My Journey with bioHRT & Peptides

If you’ve been following the wellness space lately, chances are you’ve heard the term GLP-1 - maybe even “GLP-1 peptides” or “that magical weight loss drug” everyone seems to be talking about.

Today, I want to share my personal experience with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and peptides - what I’ve learned, what I’ve tried and what it’s taught me about the real foundations of health.

But before we dive in, I need to make something clear:

I’m not a medical expert. Or a peptide expert.

I’m a woman in her 40’s and a functional health coach who is deeply passionate about longevity and serving inside the women’s health space. I’ve spent the past few years researching, learning from knowledgable practitioners and testing different tools to support my body, my brain and my longevity.

What I’m sharing today is my story, not medical advice.

When it comes to women’s health especially - it’s so easy to get swept up in the buzz around new tools like GLP-1 peptides or bioHRT. They are shared as THE THING you HAVE to HAVE in order to transform everything. But here’s the truth: no tool can ever replace the foundations of wellness. They can help optimize and amplify and enhance effort - but they are by no means a replacement to the hard work.

If you’re not sleeping well, not eating consistently, not managing stress and not moving your body regularly (with your physiology, so you don’t burnout!) - no injection, pill or peptide will magically “fix” it all.

These are the pillars I’m always assessing first as a coach…

  • Detoxification and Inflammation -
    Are the body systems properly supported to ensure optimal functionality and energy?
    Are you popping daily? Do you feel like you’re carrying extra water?

  • Gut Health -
    Is the internal terrain firing on all cylinders? What are your symptoms like?
    Or is there underlying imbalance, dysbiosis, etc?

  • Movement -
    How are you moving in a supportive way, daily? Are you overtraining? Not moving enough?
    Where is weight training at?

  • Nutrition -
    Are you fueling consistently and intentionally with an anti-inflammatory focus?
    Do you understand the importance of incorporating all macronutrients, adequate protein and how to incorporate as much whole food color as possible?

  • Stress Management + Rest -
    Are you giving your body the time it truly needs to repair? Are you protecting your sleep with a wind down routine? Are you shutting down and unplugging often enough to let your nervous system rest?

  • Joy + Fulfillment -
    Are you doing things that light you up and bring you joy - daily?
    What are you doing to intentionally turn off your mind?

  • Connection + Emotional Health -
    How are your relationships and you pouring into them? Are they pouring into you?
    Are you making an effort to fill yourself with spiritual truth?


These basics might not sound sexy, but they’re the true foundation for optimizing health, especially as we enter midlife. BioHRT, Supplements, Peptides - they’re all supplemental to working on the above.

Now - let’s dive a little more into my story.
Around age 38, right after C*VID and the birth of my fourth baby, my health started to unravel.

Despite doing everything I’d always done - eating well, exercising, sleeping, managing stress - I felt awful. My body stopped responding. I was exhausted, anxious, moody and found myself managing a 30 pound weight gain that seemingly happened overnight.

It was devastating.

I’d always been health-conscious, but this was different.
What used to work for me suddenly…didn’t work AT ALL anymore.

And that season? It forced me to completely recalibrate. I had to unlearn so many “healthy habits” that weren’t serving my changing physiology and learn how to support my midlife body.

In 2021, I dove deeper into functional health testing and discovered major gut imbalances like low stomach acid (H. pylori), parasites, SIBO and more. I worked through healing protocols and started to feel better… until I would backslide. My progress would come in waves. And so I knew I needed to go deeper.

That’s when I expanded my testing to include hormones, thyroid and cortisol - and more of the bigger picture started to become uncovered. When I reviewed my results with my practitioner, we found:

  • Low progesterone

  • Bottomed-out cortisol

  • Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

No wonder I felt awful. My anxiety was sky-high, my motivation tanked, my libido vanished and emotionally I felt like I was walking through life with a weighted blanket on my shoulders at all times.

So I started hormone replacement therapy:

  • DHEA (in pill form)

  • Micronized Progesterone, starting with 25mg in the first half of my cycle and increasing to 100mg in the second half to support mood and sleep.

Within three days, I felt a difference. My mood felt better, my anxiety felt smaller and for the first time in a long while, I felt like myself. But overtime - I would backslide again. Then, I introduced Testosterone and the GLP-1 (Tirzepatide). I made some progress - and would backslide again. You can listen in to the full story on my podcast here.

The back and forth was hard. But I was determined to get to the root of what was causing so much unrest in my body and my brain. As my journey continued, I worked with multiple practitioners - each offering different insights.

Eventually, I ran nearly every major functional test out there:

  • Comprehensive bloodwork multiple times

  • GI Map

  • Gut Zoomer

  • Total Tox (for mold and pathogens)

  • Genetic Testing

  • MRT (Mediator Release Test) for immune-triggering foods

These revealed a crucial finding:
Overactive Immune Disorder (OID) - meaning my immune system was in constant overdrive.

No wonder I kept feeling like I was taking one step forward and two steps back. My lifestyle, my efforts, even certain supplements and foods - it was actually aggravating my immune system even more and keeping me inflamed and STUCK.

Starting to understand this changed everything.
Now, my approach is more precise, more aligned and more effective than ever.

Here’s why I’m sharing my story.
Because I want you to have informed knowledge so you can make empowered decisions for your health.

If you’re in a season of frustration - where nothing seems to be working anymore - please hear this:

You’re not broken.
Your body isn’t failing you.
And no - you don’t need to just dive into bioHRT, peptides and supplements blindly.

Instead - the body is asking for something different.
A slow down. And more intentionality.
While leting these “extra tools” be the icing on the cake after you nurture the foundations.

Midlife isn’t the beginning of the end - it’s the start of an opportunity to dive in deeper than ever before. And when you pair that understanding with education, knowledgable guidance and a willingness to rebuild the basics, your body can and WILL absolutely thrive again!

Erin Trier