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Dr. Grayson Woods is a native of Nashville and is quickly getting a solid reputation as a hormone specialist. As a GYN, she is already committed to women’s health. After meeting with her last spring, we knew we wanted to highlight her passion for hormones and through this, help to educate StyleBlueprint readers. Grayson is a mother of two children – ages 3 months and 16 months – so she totally understands the crazy life women and mothers lead. She is an enthusiast of Nashville’s parks – preferably for hiking with her family in tow. Today, we are thrilled to present not only a great local doctor, but also some information on hormones which might be useful, no matter your age.
When did you decide to become a doctor?
My sophomore year of college in Dallas I volunteered at Parkland Memorial Hospital in the ER. I was hooked after that.
It’s seems gutsy to decide to not have a OB side to a GYN practice when you are so young. What was it about hormones and women that made you so passionate that this has become what you are known for?
Delivering babies has been one of my greatest joys. It’s also very demanding physically and emotionally. I’m also very passionate about helping women feel their very best. Hormones play a major role in this. After seeing first hand what a dramatic life changing difference hormones and related therapies can make in women’s lives, I decided I needed to focus my attention in order to provide the best possible care for my patients.
Since we have you, we need to ask a few hormone questions for our readers. At what age do hormones start effecting a woman and how early can they be out of balance?
Women as early as their late teens and early 20′s can have major hormone imbalances. The peri-menopause phase (when the ovaries start producing less estrogen and progesterone) typically starts in the mid 40′s and rarely in one’s late 20′s or 30′s.
Is there a certain percentage of the population of women who are estimated to have a hormone imbalance?
One in eight to ten women will have a hormone imbalance problem. The most common one is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and related disorders that can cause excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain, and menstrual irregularities.
What are some basic signs of hormone imbalances in women?
Many times your skin is the biggest indicator. This is why, over 6 years ago, we created Zap! Laser & Aesthetics services to meet the skin care needs of women, as these are frequently signs of hormonal problems. Common signs of hormone imbalance include excessive hair growth or loss, acne, melasma, skin textural changes, wrinkles, menstrual irregularities, weight and mood changes. To combat these signs we want to correct the hormonal problem first. After this, we concentrate on the other popular corrective measures which include laser hair removal, Fraxel skin resurfacing, regular peels, and sometimes additional medicines. We have patients who do not have hormonal imbalances in our practice, as well as clients who only come to Zap!, but most like the extra safety net that our approach provides.
How easy it is to test hormone imbalances?
It can be tricky at times. If the imbalance is subtle or fluctuates, we may need to check several times to see a trend or recheck blood work at different times during the cycle.
Is hormone therapy controversial?
Yes, unfortunately. The media loves to broadcast any possible negatives related to hormones since it sells. The main therapies are usually some combination of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These are made naturally for most of our lives. The idea is to supplement in the same way as if your thyroid were underactive. The newer ‘bioidentical’ formulations are closer to our natural hormones, making them a popular choice for many. We spend a lot of time educating so each patient can make an individual choice for herself.
On to more fun topics. As a Nashville native, how is Nashville different today versus when you were growing up?
I love how much more international Nashville has become, but still with her same ole friendly attitude! It’s wild to remember areas, like south of Old Hickory, that were once mostly farmland.
Do you have a favorite place for a Saturday night date… when you can actually sneak out for dinner!
My husband and I enjoy Cafe Nona. It’s so quaint and reminds me of the cafe in Boulder, Colorado, where I waited tables during my latter college years.
Any great books on your bedside table?
One I just started reading called Loving Your Kids on Purpose.
What movie are you most looking forward to seeing next?
I hear Bridesmaids is hilarious. I guess I’ll need to rent it!
With all the women that you see each year, if you could give one piece of health or non-health advice to the women reading this today, what would it be?
To find a doctor who really listens to you, asks questions and isn’t afraid to think outside the box. This is your health and your life – you deserve to feel good.
What is your one “must-have” for your fall 2011 wardrobe?
After being pregnant for almost two years straight, I have many wardrobe desires! I will definitely add some new winter boots.
Name three things you can’t live without (excluding God and family!)
Morning coffee, my dogs Ruby and Hank, the great outdoors.
Dr. Woods is hosting a seminar on hormones on November 1, 2011. For more information on this seminar and on her practice, or Zap! Laser and Aesthetics, please see her website: click here.
For more pictures from photographer Ashley Hylbert’s photo shoot, click here.
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11 Responses to “FACES: Dr. Grayson Woods”
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Although Dr Wood’s approach seems much better than taking off the shelf hormone replacements, I still do not understand the logic. If we are out of balance, wouldn’t it make more sense to look for the trigger? Otherwise we are constantly fighting our body’s mechanism that throws us off. Taking bio-identical hormones does not give the body an opportunity, or will, to regulate. Instead our body adjusts to the new hormones. It sounds similar to getting hooked on sleeping pills. Not judging…just don’t understand how that can be healthy.
Agree–and it seems to me that the trigger for most hormonal changes (other than imbalances that are indeed out of the ordinary, at an early age) would most likely be plain old aging. If you’re in your late 40s, and your hormones are all of a sudden changing, well, that’s why they call it The Change. Also: to call all those (pricey) skin treatments “corrective measures” is something of a misnomer–they’re not correcting aging, they’re just disguising the natural changes that happen to every woman over time. I wish Style Blueprint would focus on something other than all this face manipulation that is leaving a lot of women looking very strange and unnatural–”plastic eggs,” Lauren Hutton calls them. Here’s a great article about her, a beauty who’s got the greatest attitude toward her face: http://goo.gl/xInZD
This article was in no way focused on facial manipulation. As a matter of fact, as a StyleBlueprint reader since day 1, I can’t remember a time when Liza or Elizabeth promoted strange or unnatural “facial manipulation”. While I do believe that Lauren Hutton is a beautiful example of graceful aging, aging is not the focus of this post.
I wonder if you misunderstand the way thickening facial hair,thinning scalp hair, deep scaring cystic acne, uncontrollable weight gain and other irregularities can profoundly affect the fertility and the overall quality of life for someone with hormonal imbalances. Most women with hormone imbalances do not want to look like plastic eggs, they simply wish to look in the mirror and see themselves, and not be embarrassed to leave the house.
The focus of this article is not on “facial manipulation.” It is an article on a doctor who we have had numerous calls about because she has given a quality of life and compassionate ear to women at their wits end.
Julie and Ann, I think you’re both taking a narrow view of hormones, HRT, and the reasons a woman might seek hormone therapy. Dr. Woods is one of the very few doctors in the United States who works with women in EARLY menopause. Though menopausal women often suffer and benefit greatly from HRT, I’m referring to the women Dr. Woods’ treats who have gone into EARLY menopause for various reasons, i.e. chemotherapy, premature ovarian failure and like she mentions in the article, Polycycstic (sp?) ovarian failure. A woman who goes into early menopause is naturally supposed to have large amounts of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in her body unlike a woman in her fifties. Not only are there huge emotional and mental implications (more hormone receptors in brain than neurotransmitters), it is physically dangerous for these women to go years without these hormones. For example, they are at 10X the risk for heart disease and osteoporosis guaranteed…like ribs popping off. Thus, not doing HRT is far more dangerous than any repercussions from HRT. Because a woman in her twenties and thirties needs so much of these hormones, early menopause hits like a freight train compared to regular, natural menopause…
I should know. I went into menopause at age 24. Because NO doctors were paying attention to female hormones and even less to signs of early menopause, I was misdiagnosed for about 10 years. By the time I was given the correct diagnosis, my ovaries were done…the cause, probably autoimmune but due to the dearth of knowledge in this area, there was no point in looking for a cause…it was too late. I essentially lost 10 years of my life…all the while thinking I was crazy, trying anti-depressants, positive affirmations, etc. I had no libido, was aging fast,lost friendships, lost relationships, severely depressed, HOT FLASHES, moody, lacked concentration, little memory…My hormone imbalance took over my life, and I had no control…When I began HRT, literally overnight a darkness lifted. My body was finally getting the hormones it had zero of for years. Yet, I still struggle to balance my hormones as I will never have my own again. But,now at least I have some hope and overall feel better. Until recently all of the focus on HRT has been towards women going through “the change,” women who need much less of these hormones. Dr. Woods really stands out through her innovative and open-minded approach to treating ALL women struggling with balancing their hormones, especially the ones that are the exception and not the rule. Take it from me, hormones are powerful and when out of balance…they can ruin your life. I applaud Dr.Woods for being one of the VERY few doctors (in the US!) who patiently listens to these women and has the courage to treat them.
I can’t resist weighing in here. This discussion certainly plays into the controversy about hormone therapy and what the positives and negatives are for women. I have found the literature not only confusing, but contradictory. I am sure when women started dyeing their hair to look younger, many thought is was the wrong thing to do. I do remember my mother beginning electrolysis as a result of going through the change. I will say our goal is to put information out there and let you (as intelligent readers) use it or disregard it.
Excellent article and interview. I do not use HRT, did at first and then stopped because of side affects. Nothing wrong with a woman who decides she needs it though, in working with her doctor.
Xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I think Dr. Woods is one of the best doctors in town! She truly cares about her patients and their well being. She is definitely cutting edge when it comes to women’s medicine. I think this is an excellent interview and I would recommend her over and over!
Hormone therapy is definitely a controversial topic. Even health care providers and researchers disagree about various aspects of hormone therapy. The North American Menopause Society is a good source of evidence-based information: http://www.menopause.org.
I have been on bio-identical hormones for 10 years and they have definetely improved my quality of life during menopause, and kept my skin and temperment healthy. So glad to hear about dr. woods. I have been using the Health and Wellness Pharmacy all along and they are fantastic and put together the right amounts of each hormone needed according to saliva testing and blood work. We have to work with aging ! yea! it doesn’t just happen if you want to keep looking and feeling good. Dr Sally Burbank is awesome as well and a great advocate for women and good health.
Just a cautionary note for women who are at high risk for breast cancer or post-breast cancer. Some have the cancer markers for all of these hormones and need to steer clear of them post-chemotheraphy. Your oncologist can explain further based on your own markers.