Is This Perimenopause?

Have you ever found yourself feeling tired, unfocused and physically out of whack for days, weeks or even months on end?

Have you ever found yourself asking…who is this person I have become, who’s body am I stuck in, how did I get to this point, have I gone crazy and how do I escape this exhausting cycle of physical & mental illness?

Just plain and simply have you ever questioned…WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?!

Well, perimenopause may likely be the culprit if you are now a woman in your 40’s. You change pretty drastically during this time of your life mentally, emotionally and definitely physically.

BUT…there are things you can do to break free of the prison you may find yourself in in this new body and mind of yours.

You are not going crazy. Every women goes through some form of this at some point in her life.

It is natural, normal and yes it still sucks. Just know that there are actually some major changes happening in your body, they won’t last forever and the symptoms of perimenopause can be dealt with to help you live a more comfortable and fulfilling life during this time.

First off, what is perimenopause and when does it happen?

Ok disclaimer time. I am not a medical doctor.

I am just a woman in her mid 40’s who has been suffering with what feels like crazy symptoms for a few years, with no real explanation for them or much of a break from the troubles.

I have researched and pieced this together for my own life and want to share what I have found with others. Why? Because its not really a conversation women have with each other, especially if they aren’t even sure what is happening to them in the first place.

So take what you want, research more for yourself and again, every woman is different so be sure to evaluate your own body, symptoms and treatment. Now, back to the wonderful perimenopause!

Perimenopause is the 5-10 years that leads up to menopause, which is the point in time that you have no longer had your menstrual cycle for a full 12 months. Generally around age 50-52.

So anytime in your 40’s, or for some even sooner, you will start to notice the effects of perimenopause.

What happens is your hormone levels start to change as you exit your child bearing years. Your body no longer is in need of the estrogen & progesterone levels that it previously required so they start to drop.

The drop itself causes a lot of changes in our bodies but during perimenopause it is more the roller coaster effect of your hormone levels that are causing a lot of the undesirable side effects.

Think of the week leading up to your period…this is the time you may have PMS symptoms like mood swings, fatigue, tender breasts etc. this is due to our estrogen & progesterone dropping during this time.

Now imagine if that starts happening irregularly throughout the month. You will start to feel these effects and not understand why more often.

What are some of the symptoms you can expect to feel?

The symptoms of perimenopause will be different for every single one of us. Some of us will have multiple symptoms, more severe levels of particular symptoms, milder symptoms or even no real noticeable symptoms for those lucky few.

So what can you start to expect and prepare for?

Here is a partial list of common pre-menopause symptoms that women have reported and have been linked to perimenopause (there are up to 100 and I don’t want to overwhelm you).

Sign up for our mailing list below for a free copy of the list so that you can start to track your own perimenopause journey.

I believe it is a powerful tool to be aware and proactive with your own health and wellness. Why suffer through something that can be helped or possibly some symptoms even prevented? It could be a long 10-14 yrs of needless suffering if you don’t pay attention.

Enough already? I know! You get the point though, right?

There are a lot of symptoms and some you wouldn’t have associated with perimenopause.

Knowing what your symptoms are and linking them to perimenopause can help alter your course of treatment and a correct course at that.

If you went to your doctor because you have anger & rage issues she may believe that it is from life stress and prescribe a medication or therapy.

Great, but if you were correctly diagnosed with being in perimenopause you will learn that it is your out of whack hormones that need to be balanced and talking to a therapist will not do that, although may still be beneficial.

You get the picture, right? If you or your doctor aren’t aware of all the puzzle pieces how do you know where to start to improve your health and wellness?

Be an active participant in your health. You are the only person who really knows what is happening in your body and you can gather the research and help to improve it. Don’t suffer needlessly!

What can you do to prevent/alleviate some of the symptoms?

There are many symptoms of perimenopause and thankfully also many solutions & treatments.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle in general is good for all of us, but never more so than during this transition period.

Focus on your nutrition. Learn what foods cause your symptoms to flair up and feel worse. Avoid those foods.

Learn what foods help boost estrogen levels and eat more of those, especially at times during your cycle where your estrogen hormones are very low. Tip - research foods high in phytoestrogens.

Just these few changes to your nutrition can bring on drastic changes with your mood and physical symptoms. For example…alcohol increases the severity of your hot flashes. So put down that glass of wine!

Other areas you can focus on to help with your journey through perimenopause are physical fitness, sleep quality, knowing your symptoms & 28 day cycle and planning your days accordingly if possible.

For instance, if your cycle is still regular you can predict almost exactly when your PMS week will begin and know not to plan any big projects or events that week.

Plan to isolate for the sake of your family…well if your moods are anything like mine have been the last year or so. Ha! Ha!

I am working on balancing my symptoms currently and will update you on the solutions that work.

Perimenopause is a vast topic with not a lot of attention given to it.

I know for myself I really only ever heard of menopause and hot flashes & mood swings. I didn’t understand all that came leading up to this time, until I started to feel like I was losing my mind and that my body was attacking me.

This blog will be sure to touch on this topic in depth and with real life stories & solutions from women who are in the thick of it and who have come out the other side.

Please, please learn about perimenopause and how you can improve your quality of life during this time. There is no need to suffer through it when there are lots of things you can do to make life more pleasant.

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Please share in the comments below any experiances of tips for perimenopause you may have.

Thanks for reading!