Hot flashes, weight gain, fatigue, and mood swings. Most women in mid-life will experience these symptoms during perimenopause and menopause.But it's considered to be one of the biggest blind spots in modern medicine. "The top five complaints are weight gain, weight gain, weight gain, weight gain and weight gain," said Dr. Kristina Sogocio.Dr. Sogocio is a former OBGYN who now specializes in helping women fix these issues as they transition out of their reproductive years. Yes, there are fixes."Symptom control is, by gold standard, taken care of with hormone replacement therapy. I always remind patients as we go through this transition, we are not going to get those hormones back. There are no supplements. There are no other mechanisms that are going to give us back what we're losing. And that is simply hormone replacement," Sogocio said. "Now, that doesn't mean every woman is going to want it or can take it, but it is an option which should be offered to every single midlife woman who is symptomatic and or wants to invest in her future."Investing in the future because this is a life-or-death situation for women. Loss of estrogen can lead to potentially fatal conditions later in life, especially when it comes to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for women.Dr. Sogocio, herself, suffered in silence through the symptoms and questioned her own medical training. "We've been gaslit for, especially the last 20 years," Sogocio said. "Just based on my training alone, I could not convince myself of the priority to listen to my body, to take care of, you know, myself, you know, all that self-care, because I was telling myself, no, you're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. And so for me, if I was gaslighting myself, how the hell was I going to take care of my patients properly?"She said changing her mindset helped her better serve others."When I figured it out and I realigned my thinking and I started taking care of myself better and properly, it really fueled my ability to take care of my patients better. And then it gave me more passion and more impact to say, no, we've got to do this better. And I will not be on the wrong side of history here," Sogocio said.Working to be on the right side of history, Sogocio now serves patients in Merced and Roseville at Integrated Aesthetics and via telehealth appointments, because the need is huge.So huge, it's being called the "Menopause Gold Rush." It's an $18 billion market to be exact.An estimated 47 million women in the United States are experiencing the effects of perimenopause or menopause. Midi is just one of the many start-ups dedicated to helping middle-aged women.Midi founder and CEO Joanna Strober isn't just trying to help women feel better, she is trying to help them live longer."Same medications that you give women to fight perimenopause and menopause are those medications that actually keep our brain stronger. They keep our bones stronger, that keep our heart stronger," Strober said. "So taking estrogen, for example, actually has been directly correlated to a reduction in heart disease directly correlated to having stronger bones. And so those same things that we do to take care of you and perimenopause are the best drugs for longevity. ... We're just helping you become a healthy grandma. But our job is to help you keep healthy as long as possible."But mid-life women's health is considered to be one of the biggest blind spots in modern medicine. "I mean, I think a lot of women feel very dismissed by the medical system. They've been told you're fine. That's what they've been told. You're not dying. You're fine," Strober said. "You know, they go in and they haven't been able to enjoy sex for a long period of time. Or they're having anxiety attacks. They're feeling angry. They're feeling tired, and someone is telling them, 'You're fine.'"Tech and Lifestyle Columnist & Today show contributor, Jennifer Jolly, was one of those women who felt dismissed by her primary care doctor. "I couldn't exercise my menopause symptoms away. I couldn't vitamin them away. I couldn't meditate them away. I needed a doctor who would listen to me, and I needed someone in the medical profession who would work with me on it," Jolly said. "Half of the planet goes through menopause. And for decades, we were handed a fan and told to deal with it." Just in the last few years, things have really turned around with $80 billion in fem-tech funding. "We are finally demanding data. We're demanding dignity and design. That really puts women's midlife needs front and center. We've never done that before. We're just coming into this power on our own," Jolly said.But why now?Yes, it's big business, but it's bigger than that."It's an issue of equity," Strober said. "If you give women the appropriate care, they can thrive at work just the same way as men. But if you don't give them the care, they are suffering, and a lot of women end up leaving their jobs because of these issues."If you do decide to seek help with a specialist, do your research and look carefully at the science, because there is a lot of misinformation. Jolly has spent more than a year testing and trying many of these companies. She is also testing the latest in "fem tech" to help women. You can subscribe to her newsletter here. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

Hot flashes, weight gain, fatigue, and mood swings. Most women in mid-life will experience these symptoms during perimenopause and menopause.

But it's considered to be one of the biggest blind spots in modern medicine.

"The top five complaints are weight gain, weight gain, weight gain, weight gain and weight gain," said Dr. Kristina Sogocio.

Dr. Sogocio is a former OBGYN who now specializes in helping women fix these issues as they transition out of their reproductive years. Yes, there are fixes.

"Symptom control is, by gold standard, taken care of with hormone replacement therapy. I always remind patients as we go through this transition, we are not going to get those hormones back. There are no supplements. There are no other mechanisms that are going to give us back what we're losing. And that is simply hormone replacement," Sogocio said. "Now, that doesn't mean every woman is going to want it or can take it, but it is an option which should be offered to every single midlife woman who is symptomatic and or wants to invest in her future."

Investing in the future because this is a life-or-death situation for women. Loss of estrogen can lead to potentially fatal conditions later in life, especially when it comes to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for women.

Dr. Sogocio, herself, suffered in silence through the symptoms and questioned her own medical training.

"We've been gaslit for, especially the last 20 years," Sogocio said. "Just based on my training alone, I could not convince myself of the priority to listen to my body, to take care of, you know, myself, you know, all that self-care, because I was telling myself, no, you're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. And so for me, if I was gaslighting myself, how the hell was I going to take care of my patients properly?"

She said changing her mindset helped her better serve others.

"When I figured it out and I realigned my thinking and I started taking care of myself better and properly, it really fueled my ability to take care of my patients better. And then it gave me more passion and more impact to say, no, we've got to do this better. And I will not be on the wrong side of history here," Sogocio said.

Working to be on the right side of history, Sogocio now serves patients in Merced and Roseville at Integrated Aesthetics and via telehealth appointments, because the need is huge.

So huge, it's being called the "Menopause Gold Rush." It's an $18 billion market to be exact.

An estimated 47 million women in the United States are experiencing the effects of perimenopause or menopause.

Midi is just one of the many start-ups dedicated to helping middle-aged women.

Midi founder and CEO Joanna Strober isn't just trying to help women feel better, she is trying to help them live longer.

"Same medications that you give women to fight perimenopause and menopause are those medications that actually keep our brain stronger. They keep our bones stronger, that keep our heart stronger," Strober said. "So taking estrogen, for example, actually has been directly correlated to a reduction in heart disease directly correlated to having stronger bones. And so those same things that we do to take care of you and perimenopause are the best drugs for longevity. ... We're just helping you become a healthy grandma. But our job is to help you keep healthy as long as possible."

But mid-life women's health is considered to be one of the biggest blind spots in modern medicine.

"I mean, I think a lot of women feel very dismissed by the medical system. They've been told you're fine. That's what they've been told. You're not dying. You're fine," Strober said. "You know, they go in and they haven't been able to enjoy sex for a long period of time. Or they're having anxiety attacks. They're feeling angry. They're feeling tired, and someone is telling them, 'You're fine.'"

Tech and Lifestyle Columnist & Today show contributor, Jennifer Jolly, was one of those women who felt dismissed by her primary care doctor.

"I couldn't exercise my menopause symptoms away. I couldn't vitamin them away. I couldn't meditate them away. I needed a doctor who would listen to me, and I needed someone in the medical profession who would work with me on it," Jolly said. "Half of the planet goes through menopause. And for decades, we were handed a fan and told to deal with it."

Just in the last few years, things have really turned around with $80 billion in fem-tech funding.

"We are finally demanding data. We're demanding dignity and design. That really puts women's midlife needs front and center. We've never done that before. We're just coming into this power on our own," Jolly said.

"It's an issue of equity," Strober said. "If you give women the appropriate care, they can thrive at work just the same way as men. But if you don't give them the care, they are suffering, and a lot of women end up leaving their jobs because of these issues."

If you do decide to seek help with a specialist, do your research and look carefully at the science, because there is a lot of misinformation. Jolly has spent more than a year testing and trying many of these companies. She is also testing the latest in "fem tech" to help women. You can subscribe to her newsletter here.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel