Perimenopause & Menopause - Signs / Symptoms & Solutions

Now this one is for my women out there that are struggling, dealing with and or even wondering about perimenoupause and menopause. Some feel like its a forbidden stage in their life, some feel like they are loosing a part of themselves, some feel freedom, and some feel lost and confused during this time. 

Lets start off with what they are

Perimenopause is: the transition period before menopause, it can occur 4-10 years prior to menopause

Menopause is defined as 12 months after your last period. 

The average age for menopause is 51 years old. A big question most have is when are they going to go through this stage in ones life? Genetics are one of the determining factors along with how those genes are expressed by our health and lifestyle - aka - epigenetics. There is no one way or right way to make this transition, the experience is yours and as unique as you are. Some women experience mild symptoms, and some women experience symptoms that can interfere with their quality of life. 

Now let’s take a closer look at both

Perimenopause starts with losing progesterone & having lots of estrogen, that is where the symptoms stem from. Then you move into the fluctuation of estrogen to eventually low estrogen.There is an entire list of symptoms one can have during this stage, but some of the most common are mood changes, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, weight gain and hot flashes. During perimenopuase you can still ovulate and cycle, although during this time it may become irregular. Irregular can mean shorter periods, longer periods, heavier periods, lighter periods, or even absent periods. During this stage in ones life an immediate goal for one may be to feel better, and that can require some lifestyle changes. 

When we are working with perimenopausal women we always caution them to be careful with contraception. When the body returns to a balanced state fertility and cycle may actually return. So you need to be careful if you dont want a surprise bundle of joy. It has happened quite a few times. 

Having a hysterectomy is not the same as going through menopause. There is no transition period and that means stronger symptoms. Most have a partial hysterectomy, which is where you contain your ovaries still, so you have a hidden cycle. This can be confusing to most because you get the symptoms without the ability to track it though having a period.  

Menopause is when there is a drop in estrogen and no progesterone, and you no longer cycle or ovulate. This stage can be where you stabilize with the symptoms and feel a shift toward other symptoms such as; abdominal weigh gain, vaginal dryness, bladder problems, changes in libido, and mood changes. 

Potential Causes?

There are many aspects to ones lifestyle that can affect and cause hormonal imbalances. It is mostly a combination of factors that build up over time and cause the imbalances. A main factor is the gut. You can have an imbalanced gut caused by food allergies, inflammation, infection, and leaky gut that can cause the imbalances to your gut microbiome that causes the imbalances to your hormones. Other potential causes are toxin exposure, environmental exposures, genetics and lifestyle factors such as stress, diet, obesity, exercise, medication/antibiotics and inflammation. 

Treatment options?

If you have heard that you need to be placed on hormonal birth control to help with the symptoms, then I’m glad you’re here with me so I can tell you that is NOT the answer. Hormonal birth control are synthetic hormones, which means they are structurally different from the actual hormones you contain in your body and can actually do more harm.  Lets take a look at some treatment options 

-natural non-hormonal treatments such as supplements that when taken with diet and lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms. 

-bio-identical hormones, which are chemically identical to the hormones your body produces. Bio-identical hormones replace what you’ve lost to help mitigate symptoms due to the loss of that hormone. Bio - identical hormones are generally a last resort when all the other issues in the body are balanced out as best as they can and there is still a problem. There are still risks with bio-identical. 

It is a personal decision on which route to take, but if you need some guidance you can always give our office a call and schedule an appointment so we can help you during this PERIOD in your life.