Peri-menopause

The Menopause is a natural unavoidable time of a woman’s life,  it’s the official ending of menstruation and a new phase. The ride up to this point can be easy for some, but for others it can be a long turbulent time and brings with it some unpleasant, unwanted side effects that can have a huge impact on our daily life both physically and mentally. 

The perimenopause is the time leading up to the menopause lasting for some only a few months but for many, this can last for a number of years usually starting in our mid 40’s.

This change in our body can often be very difficult to cope with and the symptoms vary widely from person to person. Some of the most common symptoms are irregular periods, hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression, irritability and vaginal dryness but the list of symptoms can be endless and can cover many areas of a woman’s life.

The reason why we experience these symptoms is due to the fluctuation in our hormones, mainly oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones are not only involved in our menstrual cycle but have other functions around our body and so the ability to balance this fluctuation is really important during this time.

Oestrogen for example helps to stimulate mood, can increase libido, and can also be responsible for boosting certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, Oestrogen also has benefits for your bones, muscles, heart, good quality sleep, healthy skin, improvements in metabolism and balancing blood sugar. Progesterone on the other hand calms the brain, reduces anxiety and promotes sleep, helps to build bones, reduce inflammation, increase metabolic rate and stimulates the thyroid.

As you can start to see these hormones are mighty beneficial to our whole body and play very important roles.

As we move through peri-menopause you might experience lower progesterone as our cycles become irregular, but also high and fluctuating oestrogen and then eventually low oestrogen after our final period and its this fluctuation in hormones that brings with it the variety of symptoms. 

The good news is that we can support our bodies a lot during this time, by understanding where you are on the peri-menopause timeline allows us to get a good insight into what is happening in the body and the best way to support it. 

As your Health Coach together we can co-create a plan, set goals and make small changes to improve your whole health and wellness and reduce the symptoms of the peri-menopause.