ABOUT NEELAM
The guide I needed was nowhere to be found. So I became her.
Physician. Patient. Person moving through this transition in real time — and building, week by week, the kind of care she couldn't find for herself.
physician
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patient
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mother
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still figuring it out too
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here with you
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physician · patient · mother · still figuring it out too · here with you ·
THE STORY
I didn't plan to specialize in this. My own body made the decision for me.
Four years ago, I started gaining weight without changing a thing about my diet or exercise. The insomnia, irritability, and night sweats came soon after — complicated by long COVID, MCAS, and an ankle injury that kept me from walking properly for nearly nine months. For a long time I didn't even know these things were connected. It turns out they're all more common during perimenopause than anyone tells you.
Medical school gave me fewer than four hours on menopause, and the message was essentially: it's natural, wait it out. That wasn't good enough for my patients, and it wasn't good enough for me.
So I went looking for the answers myself — and kept finding that the thing that helped most wasn't a prescription. It was talking to other people going through the exact same thing.
The Wholeness in Midlife Program is what I built from that search. Not a lecture series. A room where the science and the community both show up.
- Y1
Symptoms begin
Unexplained weight gain, insomnia, brain fog — with no clear cause and no clear answers.
- Y2
The misdiagnosis maze
Long COVID and MCAS complicate the picture. Nine months unable to walk properly.
- Y3
Further training
ACLM, Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Menopause Society.
- Y4
Wholeness in Midlife is born
Built from what actually helped — evidence, plus people who understood.
WHAT I BELIEVE
A few things I won't compromise on.
Menopause is not an illness. It doesn't need to be cured. It needs to be understood.
"Your labs look normal" is not the same as "you are fine."
People of color are too often left out of menopause research and menopause care. That has to change.
We don't heal in isolation. Community is not a nice-to-have. It's the treatment.
You deserve a real plan, not a pamphlet and a follow-up in six months.
Pleasure, rest, and joy are part of your health. Not extras you earn once symptoms go away.
TRAINING & CREDENTIALS
The qualifications, for the record.
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)Whole-person, hands-on medical training
- Master of Public Health (MPH)Population-level health and prevention
- American College of Lifestyle MedicineCertified in Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM)
- Integrative Medicine FellowshipUniversity of Arizona
- The Menopause SocietyOngoing menopause-specific education and training
OUTSIDE THE CLINIC
I'm not just guiding this transition. I'm living it.
When I'm not seeing patients or hosting a cohort, I'm doing the same things I tell you to do — and some days failing at them just as often as you are. I'm learning what rest actually means for my body now, not the body I had ten years ago.
This isn't theoretical for me. The plan I build with you is the same kind of plan I'm building for myself.
I am not on the other side of this looking back. I am right here, in it, with you.
NEELAM PATHIKONDA, DO, MPH
WORK WITH ME
A few ways to get started.
Wholeness in Midlife Program
The 8-week, physician-led group experience. Curriculum, community, and a personalised plan.
See the program →Private 1:1 Consultation
A focused session to go deeper on your labs, symptoms, and questions that need individual attention.
Learn more →Speaking & Partnerships
Workshops, podcast conversations, and collaborations on menopause equity and community care.
Get in touch →Ready to stop figuring this out alone?
Join the next cohort of the Wholeness in Midlife Program — eight weeks of knowledge, community, and a plan that carries you through this transition and beyond.