We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Amanda Tracy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

My journey to becoming a holistic expert in hormones, stress and perimenopause began at a young age. In my teens and 20s I had irregular periods that would be on time for months in a row and then disappear for months on end, only to return monthly for no apparent reason! I saw medical doctors, had blood tests and ultrasounds –nothing was found and I was told, “everything looked normal”.

Naturally, when I started naturopathic medical school, female hormones and menstrual cycles were of personal interest. I created a regimen for myself using herbs and nutrition to support my hormones but it wasn’t until I fully embraced a 100% plant based diet, got serious about my stress management and made sleep a priority in my life that I was able to have regular, monthly periods in my 30s and 40s. The strategies I used for my own healing became the backbone of how I guided my patients in my medical practice as it grew into an award winning wellness center.

In my 40s, I had two distinct moments that changed the trajectory of both my life and career.

On the eve of my 40th birthday, I was driving home from my office late at night and exhausted. I was excited because my boyfriend was taking me on a surprise trip for my birthday but also so exhausted that all I could think was, “when we get back from this trip I am going to plan a sabbatical, I need a break”. Alas, this thought was too late!
My trip was followed by months of reoccurring infections, hair loss, insomnia and eventually my regular monthly cycles I had worked so hard for started to get wacky. This experience of “burn out” was a wake-up call for me that forced me to re-evaluate my lifestyle and work-life balance as well as my nutrition and supplement regimen. Knowing the close relationships between stress, insomnia and my hormones, I dove deeper into the causes of my stress and how to manage my triggers daily. This experience was not only a wake-up call for me to make adjustments in my career such as hiring more staff and delegating tasks, it also inspired me to refine my knowledge into my first patient program for women, Hormone Harmony.

The second moment came in 2020 when I was presented with an opportunity to move to California from Massachusetts, where I had built my practice for the past 15 years. I took a leap of faith and said, “yes” to this opportunity to refresh, renew and expand my practice to serve women over 40 from coast to coast and in between.

Both of these moments led me to not only heal myself again but also led me to create the type of medical practice I have today – helping women who feel their bodies (and minds) are in chaos because of hormonal transitions and the constant stress of our modern lives!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have enjoyed being a licensed Naturopathic Doctor (ND) since 2005. For the first 15 years of my career, I worked to build an award-winning wellness center in Massachusetts and in 2021, took an opportunity to relocate to Northern California wine country and transition my practice to a 100% virtual practice.

I love helping patients with various health challenges however, my unique knowledge and passion flourishes working with women who feel their bodies are in chaos because of hormone imbalances, sleep issues, stress or anxiety. My current practice is focused in these areas, guiding women over 40 to navigate hormone changes with ease to fully enjoy how they look and feel – in both one-on-one sessions and group programs.

My SOLVE Your Perimenopause Puzzle program teaches women how to recognize the symptoms of hormonal changes, how to balance hormones naturally before and after menopause and how to thrive with more energy, deeper sleep and a kickass good mood. I pride myself on finding and treating the true, root causes of a women’s symptoms and guiding my patients with easy to follow treatment plans full of actionable steps they can take on a daily basis to heal and thrive.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Beyond medical training and having extensive knowledge of natural therapies such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements and hormone replacement, I feel having an open heart and being a good listener are the two most helpful assets a doctor can possess.

The majority of women that come to my practice are looking for an integrative or holistic doctor to put all their puzzle pieces together – they’ve already seen other doctors, had testing done and aren’t getting the answers or solutions they need to heal and thrive.

Perimenopause is a phase of life that can last years, even a decade, for women and can involve over 50 different symptoms that gradually build-up and add on to each other including sleepless nights, fatigue, irritability, bloating and headaches. This is where our medical system that compartmentalizes care is failing women in mid-life, most primary care doctors and gynecologists aren’t trained in perimenopause. The conventional system doesn’t allow doctors the opportunity to be listeners or have the ability to have a holistic approach however, that’s where I come in.

Besides having an integrative and holistic approach to balancing the hormone changes and related symptoms in perimenopause and menopause, I am a good listener and have a kind heart. Most of my patients feel better already in the first session with me because they feel that they were really heard and that there is a solution that can end their struggle. Also, 90% of the solution to a patient’s perimenopause puzzle is in their story and how they tell it – being a good listener is paramount.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

When I had the opportunity to move to California in 2021, I sold my practice to an Associate Naturopathic Doctor that had been working in the wellness center for the past few years. Bringing this associate into the practice was one of the changes I had made while healing from my burnout in 2017. The first lesson learned is that I really should have brought in an associate to share the patient load years before I did. Having an associate not only reduced my patient load to a manageable level, it liberated me to be more creative in my practice and enabled me to begin fostering a healthy work-life balance.

I feel extremely lucky and grateful that I had an associate to turn to when the opportunity to move across the country presented itself. After building my practice for over 15 years, I was saddened to say goodbye to patients I had known for over a decade and it was not an easy decision to leave but I was reassured that my patients would be in good hands.

Selling my practice wasn’t part of my career plan (yet). So when the situation arose, I did feel unprepared for it. I reached out to other doctors, business coaches, attorneys and practice consultants for advice – I suggest you do the same if selling your practice is on your horizon. I learned that in my field, 3-5 years is the minimum amount of time for succession planning but closer to 10 years is ideal to prepare another doctor to work in and eventually take over your practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dramandatracy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandatracynd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandatracynd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatracynd/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaTracyND
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9-SZJOrN_WnxwBQ3AJTzI0_f6UPFVI0
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/amandatracynd/