What is premenopause? Premenopause is that time in your life before menopause. It is the beginning of an important change in your life. A time when you can change your future health. It is an opportunity to listen to Mother Nature’s call to put yourself first!
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Menopause is the time when you no longer have your periods. After a year of no periods, you are diagnosed as postmenopausal. But premenopause is long period of time before menopause when your body is preparing for the change of life. It is a time of hormonal stress – physical stress on your body. Stress leads to Inflammation which leads to disease.
You may notice you are in premenopause by the change in your periods, usually they are more frequent and heavier. Sometimes you can bleed for weeks in a month and barely have a break before the next period. It is always advisable to have your healthcare provider investigate, for instance with blood tests and an ultrasound.
Premenopause causes more than bleeding problems. It is a hormonal disturbance that can affect you in many ways, some of them unseen. I remember the train smash that was my pre-menopause. Poor sleep was the first symptom. One minute I could sleep mid-way between good and night—and the next I could count myself lucky if I managed two hours of sleep a night. These changes I noticed reflected the stress in my Limbic System which when overactive can also cause fatigue and brain fog.
Tossing and turning at night required energy, energy I didn’t have. The more tired I became, the rattier my moods. I noticed irritability and anger. Skin crawlies. Then pain hit! My migraines were the turning point in my life.
My ovaries were letting me know their time was almost up. They were racing their way to the finish line. Estrogen was spewing out and progesterone couldn’t keep up. These hormonal imbalances were a sign I was mid-way through my life. If I didn’t wake up, I’d be facing a dismal future. Premenopause is that time in your life where your body might be warning you it is time to take stock of your life.
Because of the migraines, I finally took my health seriously. I finally took the time to heal. It’s always easier taking care of other people. Family. Friends. In my case, patients. Turning the spotlight on yourself is much harder, especially if you are a people-pleaser. But I realized it was time to please my body.
Pre-menopause was my awakening. Many women share this experience. Some wake up to realize they are in an unfulfilling relationship, with themselves or with partners. Sometimes, as in my case, I realized I didn’t really know myself. Recognizing that there is a problem is half the battle. Hard work is the rest. One part of the work is learning about how your body functions.
Hormonal stress is physical. The physical stress comes from your limbic system. The limbic system is your brain’s alarm centre, the place in the brain where our Flight, Fright, Freeze responses arise. It is also a place where the inflammation cascade can be set in action. Stress causes inflammation and the hormonal stress load can cause inflammation in the lining of your blood vessels, the lining of your gut, bladder, and other organs. In my case the inflammation affected my sinus cavities.
Inflammation is linked to heart disease specific to postmenopausal women. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection, SCAD, causes 35% of heart attacks in women under 50. Inflammation causes increased pain, brain fog, fatigue and higher risk of chronic diseases, including dementia.
Not everyone suffers from severe symptoms of pre-menopause. Also, hormonal testing is unhelpful because the limbic system responds differently to hormonal fluctuations from one person to the next. The effect of the imbalance in the levels of estrogen and progesterone varies from person to person. If you have had a tough childhood or trauma, you are more likely to have an overactive brain alarm center. You are then more likely to suffer the consequences of the imbalance and the other consequences of ignoring the neurohormonal stress in your body.
There are many ways to calm the brain’s alarm, using calm abdominal breathing, mindfulness techniques, body scan meditation, exercise, yoga, tai chi or Qi Gong. Managing underlying anxiety and depression is very important. Tending to your Spiritual Life is, I believe, extremely helpful.
Speak to your healthcare provider and therapists who can help you enjoy the next stage of your life. Read spiritual leaders like Eckart Tolle, Ramgiri Braun, Gabor Mate, and Brene Braun.
I believe that working on symptoms of Premenopause can help prevent disease later in life. The 2-step program done frequently rewires the neurohormones in the brain and Calms the Limbic and Inflammation centre.
Meds that can be used include Progesterone
This part below is Taken from AI:
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- Continuous Approach: A daily dose is a standard approach, particularly for women in later perimenopause or those also using estrogen therapy. It is known to have a calming effect which can assist with insomnia and anxiety.
- Cyclic Approach: For those in earlier perimenopause with regular cycles, a provider may recommend a cyclic method, taking the medication for a specific number of days in the cycle, rather than daily. This approach can help maintain a more predictable menstrual cycle.
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- Headaches or dizziness
- Mild nausea or digestive upset
- Daytime drowsiness or fatigue
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- Uterine Protection: For women with a uterus undergoing estrogen replacement therapy, progesterone is essential to protect the uterine lining.
- Allergies: Oral micronized progesterone capsules sometimes contain peanut oil, which is a consideration for individuals with allergies.
Hormone replacement therapy has been controversial but lately we realize that it is probably far more helpful than harmful.
Menopause and HRT https://www.pcwhs.co.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/resources/pcwhf_hrtmythsuncovered2.pdf
Good Luck
The work is worth it
Judy