What No One Told You About Perimenopause
I’ll never forget a loved one going through perimenopause. She thought she was going crazy. Her mild anxiety turned to a raging beast that required medication seemingly overnight and without triggers. It took months before she correlated it to her shifting hormones. Mood changes is one of the things she felt no-one told her about. As women, we hear about night sweats as a symptom of menopause and maybe nothing else. Here are other things you may notice as you approach perimenopause & menopause.
Bleeding changes - your regular cycle may have been replaced by irregularity, making some cycles ultra short, while seemingly missing others. You may notice your flow increase dramatically. Often these symptoms are what bring a perimenopausal woman into my office for assessment, and thankfully there are several things that we can do to help before the heavy cycles lead to anemia! It is always a good idea to discuss bleeding changes with your medical doctor too, especially if you are menopausal.
Mood & libido changes - as your ovaries head into retirement, your adrenal glands pick up a bit of the work to make a base level of female hormones. This adjustment can be rocky and take its toll on our moods, stamina, focus, and libido.
Hair & weight - these 2 very physical reminders that our body is changing are other big reasons women book in to see me during perimenopause and menopause. It’s important to look at the way the hormones affect our metabolism, but also how our lifestyle and diet factor into these areas too, for a most comprehensive plan.
