Perimenopause Revealed. (this is an excerpt from my workshop)

Poses that lengthen the low back and twist into the kidneys may help raise energy levels during perimenopause and menopause, I found they truly made a huge difference.

Perimenopause:

Instead of being able to chart her regular monthly menstrual cycle and know when her levels of progesterone and estrogen will affect her mood and energy, during the perimenopause a woman’s hormone levels will fluctuate unpredictably in peaks and troughs.  

The levels can change on a daily basis.  It is both the unpredictable hormonal fluctuations and a decline in o-estrogen that cause a range of physical and psychological symptoms. 

Now, we know that perimenopause is different than menopause, but how are they different? These normal life phases differ because perimenopausal women have had a period or some uterine bleeding within the last year. Perimenopausal hormones are also variable and often high compared with the normally low, and more steady levels in menopause.

On average, perimenopause starts in the mid-40s and ends from ages 40-59 or at the average age in the early 50s. Perimenopause may last a couple, to more than 10 years. It also may start in women with predictable month-apart cycles (“very early perimenopause”) in women who have night sweats, sleep troubles and any other typical change,  for a comprehensive understanding of perimenopause see http://www.cemcor.ca/resources/how-can-i-tell-i-am-perimenopause. 

During perimenopause a woman will sporadically miss her period and her cycle may be lighter or heavier, or even continuous.   Eventually she will miss her period for 12 mos. consecutively and this is considered menopause. 

Peri-menopause may not have any recognizable markers:

You may still be ovulating,

·      you may still get your period

·      you don’t make the same number of hormones as you did in the previous 20 years.

Period Trackers:

Allows us to see any changes.

Early Perimenopause:

·      Is a change of 7 days in your cycle—either earlier or later than whatever your average cycle is.  The length of your cycle is day one of your period to the next day one of your period.

·      If that change of 7 days approximately occurs within 10 cycles, you are considered early peri-menopause

·      There is no endocrine markers for this. There is no formal value you can decipher from a blood test.  This is because each month the hormones are changing. So, for example your follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) may be high—and that’s a marker, yet the next month it may be normal—Drs usually won’t have you do lab work for that reason.

Late Stage Perimenopause

·      If you have a change of your period more than 60 days—meaning you haven’t had a period for 60 days, and it happens even one time in a year.

·      Within a year to maybe 3 years you will be entering menopause—that’s if you haven’t lost your period due to other reasons, like massive weight loss.

·      If they test the FSH, it would be above 25 and that means the body is struggling to make the estrogen.

When symptoms start occurring, it’s because of the gap between progesterone and estrogen—as the hormones begin to drop—progesterone is dropping faster than estrogen.

Symptoms of Perimenopause:

-    Heavier or lighter menstrual cycle

·      Timing of cycle

·      Dips of energy

·      Difficult concentrating—word recall

·      Mood changes/swings

·      PMS symptoms worsen—raging, sad, anxious, depressed

·      Sleep disruption

·      Feelings of heat, hot flushes—can be an innate feeling of heat and then cold

·      Joint and muscle aches (rule out arthritis—if it’s ruled out, then they dismiss it)

·      Sarcopenia (muscle loss)

·      Frozen shoulder

·      Arthralgia (joint pain)

·      Asthma

·      Alchohol tolerance changes

·      Acnes

·      Acid reflux/GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease)

·      More frequent urination—with estrogen on the decline the musculature of your bladder starts weakening-inability to completely void

·      Leads to increase un UTI’s

·      Vaginal dryness and sensitivity

·      Pain during sexual activity

·      Libido is low (could be because the area is dry, sensitive)

·      Metabolic changes—important to know your “numbers” in your 40s—meaning your cholesterol, blood sugar, HbA1c (hemoglobin—3 month snapshot of your blood sugar) thyroid (not metabolic—can sometimes change

·      Insulin resistance

·      Irritable bowel syndrome

·      TMJ (temporomandibular disorder)

·      Numbness and tingling

·      Crawling skin sensations

·      Dry skin

·      Itchy skin

·      Brittle nails

·      Body odour

·      Bloating

·      Vertigo

·      Itchy ears

·      Chronic fatigue syndrome

·      Weight gain

·      Wrinkles

·      Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

·      Migraines

·      Kidney stones

·      Dental problems

·      Hair loss—can be hereditary—large genetic component in our 40’s with hair; also if there has been a really stressful event—3 – 4 months later you can lose hair—alopecia.—same form of hair loss as postpartum

·      Clumsiness

·      Heart palpitations—attributed to hormone change

·      Foot pain

·      Voice may get lower (one of my clients noticed in choir!)

If a person has a history of anxiety or depression, or they have a tendency for high blood pressure, or if there are risk factors based on family history and genetics, we might have to work a little bit harder to stay healthy and control changes that could become risk factors, but we will be further ahead. 

Perimenopause can be a real roller coaster.  It is helpful to investigate what we can do to set ourselves up for the next 10 – 30 years. (1/3 of our life is lived AFTER menopause!)

For example, a woman who has a history of PCOS or gestational diabetes can prepare for this: diet and seeing a G.P. or Naturopathic Dr.

PCOS: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common condition that affects your hormones. It causes irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne, pain, infertility. Treatment for PCOS depends on if you wish to become pregnant.

2 years before and 2 years after menopause (12 months without menses) there is an avg. weight gain of 1 lb. a year.

You may wish to attend my Perimenopause and Menopause Workshop to help answer specific needs you may have about how to live more healthfully during this transition.