The Perils of Perimenopause
When we reach our 40’s, a lot of women feel like their bodies are suddenly broken. If this is you, you’re not alone. So many women say their health feels out of control.
It’s a perceptible shift that can be easily attributed to one word.
Perimenopause.
That transitory period of 2 to 12 years when our bodies refocus and prepare for the final phase of our reproductive cycle, menopause.
The hormonal chaos that follows during this time wreaks havoc - it makes us tired during the day, wakes us up in the middle of the night, makes us gain weight slowly but surely, throws our moods off kilter and finds us standing in a room trying to remember why we went there in the first place.
Sometimes during this time you feel like unzipping your body, stepping out and saying I’ll be back in a couple of years.
Recognize you’re not crazy and that this will pass, but in this case preparation really is the antidote to misery.
When’s the best time to do something about the symptoms of menopause? Before you start getting them.
The bottom line is the healthier you are going into menopause, the easier it will be. Plain and simple. That goes for perimenopause too.
The more proactive you are in managing your stress well, getting good sleep, making sure that your thyroid is functioning optimally and maintaining the ideal weight for your body, the less disruptive to your life those unavoidable phases will be.
One of the most important things to address while you’re still in perimenopause is your adrenal health. The adrenals glands sit on top of your kidneys and are responsible for your stress response. If you’re chronically stressed out and your adrenals get exhausted, it makes going into menopause worse since you rely on your adrenal glands at this stage, as opposed to your ovaries, to produce the little bit of estrogen you’ll still make. Overworked, overburdened, burned out adrenals make for a miserable menopause.
Reduce stress by being kind to yourself and finding what best supports you to relieve your stress. While that will look different for everyone, some universal truths are getting enough vitamin C and good sleep every single day.
Position yourself for good sleep by making sure your bedroom is cool, dark and comfortable. Invest in good quality blackout shades. Make sure your bedroom environment is soothing, calm and relaxing. Begin to wind down an hour before bed by shutting down your devices, practice a little self care and take some magnesium.
Equally important is making sure your thyroid is optimized. This will require some blood work from a doctor and if you have access to one, a functional medicine doctor who will do a full thyroid panel and look at optimal ranges versus conventional ranges. If you don’t have access to a functional medicine doctor, ask your regular doctor to check not only your TSH but your free T4, free T3 and as well as your thyroid antibodies.
Perimenopause and menopause don’t have to be horror stories peppered with nightmares and shadows lurking in the corners. In fact, it is possible to breeze right through with barely a complaint.
Our health IS within our control. Use that power in your best interests.
