🩹 Menopause Is an Open Wound—And HRT Might Be the Bandage (If You're Lifting the Damn Weight) By Coach Elle Jolie

Seven years ago, my body broke open.
A Grade 5 splenic rupture—the most catastrophic classification—sent me into emergency care and a long, quiet war with my physiology.

What most people don’t understand about trauma like this is that the damage doesn’t end when the scans go clear. My spleen had exploded, but what followed was a chronic systemic inflammation that lived in my tissues and my nervous system. Over time, it changed how my body stored fat, processed stress, and even metabolized nutrients. That trauma became part of my cellular language. What people didn’t know was that I wasn’t just recovering from an organ rupture.
I was fighting crippling neuropathy in both feet for nearly three years—likely from a combination of trauma, nerve compression from abdominal swelling, and the impact of being thrown from my bike.

My feet burned, tingled, went numb.
Every step hurt.
And yet—I trained. I coached. I parented.

And then, menopause arrived.

As if the inflammation and cortisol weren't enough, my hormones flatlined.
I was training properly.
Eating with precision.
Sleeping.
Minimal alcohol.
Coaching others.
Still—even though I was gaining good muscle, it was problematic to reduce subcutaneous abdominal fat, and watching my mid section remain unrecognizable.

It felt like betrayal. But it wasn’t.
It was biology.
It was an open wound.

Menopause, especially for those with past trauma or metabolic dysregulation, is not just a hormone dip—it’s a systemic crash. And for women like me who have done everything right, the most maddening part is that discipline isn’t always enough.

I’m not on HRT—yet.
I’ve considered it deeply, not for vanity, but as a clinical tool of last resort.
Because when your body has been inflamed, stripped of estrogen, and forced to rebuild muscle from the ground up, you owe yourself more than guesswork and glittery fixes.

I’m in the phase of serious exploration: reading the literature, weighing the risks, and looking at the protocols used by real medical professionals—not influencer naturopaths or influencer physicians peddling pellets and HRT like it’s candy.

This is not about anti-aging.
It’s about biological repair.
It’s about muscle retention, stress modulation, and preserving the body I've fought so hard to reclaim.

But let’s be clear: HRT without progressive overload is like wrapping a wound without cleaning it.

If you're not lifting by your mid-40s...
If you’re not building the neuromuscular foundations your future will stand on...
If you’re chasing balance without strength...
You’re missing the point.

Because menopause is a wound. And HRT—if used wisely, with medical supervision—might be the bandage.
But the real healing comes from showing up under the bar.
From training through the fatigue.
From refusing to give up on your own potential.

This is the story I’m still writing.
Still fighting through.
Still sculpting with iron and insight.

For every woman on the fence, I see you.
For every coach holding space between science and soul, I’m with you.
And for every body recovering from trauma while walking through menopause—you’re not crazy. You’re just unfinished.

And you are worthy of the right tools to finish strong.

If you’re walking through this chapter feeling frustrated, foggy, inflamed, or invisible—you don’t have to navigate it alone.

As a trauma-informed coach who’s lived this from the inside out, I’m here to help you rebuild with strength, strategy, and real science—no gimmicks, no fluff.

📩 Reach out to Coach Elle at Elle Jolie Wellness to start your customized menopause resilience plan.
Together, we’ll find your edge—and lift you beyond it.