Cincy Chic’s Women of the Year
At the age of 49, Lyn Hogrefe developed a two pound fibroid tumor in her uterus. The tumor, which she nicknamed “Bob,” caused her such severe issues that it needed to be removed and led to a radical hysterectomy. Turns out Bob never really left her after the surgery, though. The experience made Hogrefe determined to get to the root of hormone imbalance-related health issues that an increasing amount of women – including herself – are facing.
Luckily, Hogrefe’s husband Jeff is a pharmacist and was familiar with the hormone imbalance issues women experience post-hysterectomy. He didn’t want his wife to endure the same issues his clients experienced on a daily basis — such as issues with sleep, anxiety, weight gain, fatigue, irritability and lack of libido — so, he researched an alternative. “He didn’t want me using current standard of care hormone strategies that consisted of either synthetic hormone pills or one-size-fits-all estrogen patch,” she adds.
Jeff traveled to Houston to be trained and certified in pharmaceutical compounding, which is the creation of a particular pharmaceutical product to fit the unique need of a patient. He was then able to convince Hogrefe’s doctors to offer a naturally-compounded hormone therapy path to replace her depleting hormone levels.
According to Hogrefe, hormone imbalances don’t just happen to women after a hysterectomy. “It’s something that begins to happen to all women once they reach age 35 as part of the aging process,” she explains. “To remain healthy, prevent the symptoms of hormone imbalance and to prevent disease, we must replace these depleting hormone levels as we age.”
As Hogrefe regained her health, it opened her eyes to the variety of women – all ages, from all walks of life – suffering from hormone imbalance issues being treated with sleeping aids and antidepressants. That’s when she was inspired to begin helping these women by opening her first Happy Hormone Cottage location in Centerville in August 2009.
“I educated them on hormone imbalance and natural strategies for ‘refilling our tank’ for our best health naturally,” she recalls. “Women showed up and began to get better. They told their friends and inner circle so more women showed up and we just exploded.”
Today, there are seven locations spanning from Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton, and St. Louis. There’s also a nurse practitioner on hand to prescribe the Happy Hormone Cottage’s proprietary natural hormone balance strategies that are customized for each woman. Hogrefe says it is life-changing for women as they journey back to their best health naturally.
Thanks to all the inquiries from women all over the country who want hormone help but can’t find it, Hogrefe started her newest business HHC Consulting, where she sells her services to doctors across the country. “I want to mentor them and their staff in our successful Happy Hormone cottage strategies to help women regain their hormone health naturally and mentoring doctors is the best way to do it,” she explains.
Happy Hormone Cottage just introduced their new business in Las Vegas at the Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (A4M) trade show where Jeff also received in Advanced Fellowship in Functional Medicine. HHC Consulting isn’t the only new business Hogrefe recently launched. She alo started the Women’s Health Initiatives Foundation to raise awareness regarding natural hormone balance and to help raise money for a team of scientists she’s partnered with in Oregon who are close to finding the genomic DNA component for breast cancer.
“If we can find the genetic component that causes breast cancer, we can work to prevent it,” says Hogrefe. “They need funding for their sensitive instruments to continue their work and I can think of no greater cause than finding a way to prevent breast cancer.”
To top it all off, Hogrefe is releasing a new book in late February 2014 called Own Your Journey. She says it’s about owning one’s journey to natural hormone balance and wellness. “My intention is simply to continue my passion of women helping women by listening to their story and validating them,” she says. “Women just want to have a voice and to be heard; my book offers a unique perspective and advice to help women along their path to wellness by validating and encouraging their next steps.”
Hogrefe’s goal is to get the truth out to help women and doctors become educated in this arena of hormone balance and to clear up all of the confusion that comes along with it. “Women really have to educate themselves int his area and become advocates for their own hormone health, and their path to wellness,” Hogrefe explains. “It really is all about taking charge and advocating for ourselves because our very lives depend on it!”
To learn more about Hogrefe and the Happy Hormone Cottage, visit www.happyhormonecottage.com.
