The Hormonal Rollercoaster of Perimenopause

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The mysterious journey of perimenopause remains largely undiscussed, despite affecting every woman transitioning toward menopause. We dive deep into this critical phase that typically begins in a woman's early 40s, exploring how hormonal fluctuations create a cascade of changes long before menopause officially arrives.

Discover the surprising truth about perimenopause's complex hormonal orchestra. While many women expect estrogen to simply decline, what actually happens is far more intricate. Progesterone typically drops first, affecting sleep and mood, while follicle-stimulating hormone increases, creating periods of estrogen dominance. This hormonal volatility explains the sleep disruptions, hot flashes, emotional changes, and energy fluctuations that characterize this transition. Understanding these normal physiological processes helps reframe symptoms not as malfunctions but as expected shifts that can be managed with the right approach.

The good news? Small, targeted lifestyle changes can significantly improve your perimenopause experience. Modifications to diet—particularly around sugar, caffeine, and alcohol—can reduce symptom severity, while sleep-supporting practices create a foundation for overall wellbeing. Rather than viewing perimenopause as simply an ending, we explore how this transition can become a "second spring"—a new beginning filled with wisdom and vibrance. Whether you're currently navigating perimenopause or preparing for what's ahead, this episode offers practical insights and hope for this important life transition. Ready to transform your relationship with this misunderstood phase of life? Let us know what resonated most by sharing your thoughts or questions!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi and welcome to a mini episode of no Shrinking
Violets, where I give you somerandom topic and some thoughts
on it and hopefully a fewtakeaways for your day.
So I want to talk a little bittoday about menopause and
actually we're going to focus onthe journey into menopause
perimenopause because for a longtime there was not a lot known

(00:30):
about it, or if there was, wedidn't know about it.
So I think perimenopause isreally one of the key times in a
woman's life.
Because we focus so much onwhat happens in menopause the
hot flashes and the brain fogthese things actually start

(00:50):
before we are fully in menopause.
So quickly, menopause isofficial when you have gone 12
months without a period.
Now I can't tell you how manywomen I have heard from who say,
well, I went eight months or 10months and I got a period.
Now I can't tell you how manywomen I have heard from who say,
well, I went eight months or 10months and I got a period.
What is happening with ourhormones during this time

(01:14):
leading up to, I'm going to say,full menopause is crazy and it
helps explain, I think, a lot ofwhat we're feeling.
So let me give you a quicksnapshot.
So we are.
Obviously our cycle is driven byour hormones, and it's not only
what we tend to think of likeestrogen and progesterone.

(01:36):
We have testosterone in the mixand we have FSH, which is
follicle-stimulating hormone,and we have luteinizing hormone.
All of those things wax andwane during a typical menstrual
cycle, like the 28-ish days thatare part of our cycle.
So when we start towardsmenopause, what is happening is

(02:01):
those sex hormones are becomingvery unstable.
Our body wants us to procreate,which is why we get a period in
the first place, but whatstarts to happen as our eggs age
and our body ages is that thosehormones start to shift.
So the first thing that happensis progesterone starts to drop,

(02:22):
and progesterone has to do witha lot of things, but in a
typical cycle it's a hormonethat helps us sleep.
It is connected more torelaxation.
It has a specific job in ourcycle as far as ovulation, but
when we're talking aboutperimenopause, that starts to

(02:44):
drop off first.
The other thing that happens isthat, as our eggs are aging, we
don't ovulate all the time.
We can get a period, and thatdoesn't mean that we've ovulated
, but what happens is FSH, thefollicle stimulating hormone,
tries to get the estrogen upbecause it wants that egg to be

(03:06):
released.
So what happens then isestrogen dominance, and if
you've heard that term and beenconfused about it, it can cause
a wide range of things.
And it's funny because we think, well, I thought estrogen was
dropping and that's why allthese things happen.
Well, it is.
It's unpredictable.
So you can see how, as theprogesterone drops and then the

(03:30):
other hormones, like FSH, getinvolved, they can try to up the
estrogen, but we're notproducing as much estrogen.
So there's a lot of thingshappening.
And then those things, like anorchestra, interact with
melatonin for sleep, cortisol,which helps us deal with stress,
and different hormones thathave to do with feeling hungry

(03:54):
or feeling satiated.
So it's a huge thing.
And that's why sleep is reallya barometer, because we start to
have the hot flashes, becauseour brain, and specifically our
hypothalamus and pituitary gland, they're like what is happening
, they're trying to stabilize us.

(04:15):
So when that heat starts, theysend out the sweat and they wake
us up and everything feelsunstable.
Our emotions can feel unstable.
All of these things arehappening in the way they're
kind of supposed to.
But the key, I think, tonavigating perimenopause is

(04:36):
really two parts.
One is understanding thevolatility of how those hormones
are interacting, and the otherpart is understanding that there
are things that you can adjust.
So think about too and I talkabout nature all the time we
have.
By the time we are in our early40s, which is typically when

(04:59):
these things can start, we'vehad a lifetime of accumulation
of losses, difficult,challenging, traumatic events.
We're also carrying thesearound and maybe we haven't had
time to process them becausemaybe we moved into a career and
a family.
So when I think aboutperimenopause to me in all my

(05:21):
work with women and even formyself, I feel like it's one of
the most unstable times, but itdoesn't have to be as
frustrating.
It doesn't have to feel like,oh, all that's going to happen
now are things that aren't goodor that are difficult.
Some of it can be difficult tonavigate, but what I'm gonna say

(05:42):
is just getting knowledge and Iknow that can be frustrating
because there's so much outthere.
There's no quick fix.
But diet is important and I'mnot saying you have to change
everything, but paying attentionto sugar, for one thing, hugely
important.
Caffeine and alcohol anotherthing, for one thing, hugely
important.
Caffeine and alcohol, anotherthing that's really really

(06:04):
important.
All of these things make adifference because our body, our
mind, our emotions, our spiritthey all work together.
So we can't focus on one thing.
There's no one pill that'sgoing to just make us skate
through menopause andperimenopause easily.
One of the most impactful thingsthat I know for myself worked

(06:27):
and I know for my clients worksis focusing on the lifestyle
changes that lead to bettersleep.
Everywhere I turn in, all thethings I read and learn, all the
people I learn from, everythingis ramped up around sleep being
essential.
So you might be saying, well,mary, I want to sleep, I can't.

(06:48):
I have some help for that.
So If you want to dig infarther and really start to
focus on lifestyle with theoutcome of improving your sleep,
I have a program calledRestored.
It's a four-module onlineprogram that whisks you through
all these different things butgives you a chance to really key

(07:14):
in on the things that work foryou, because there is no one
formula for every woman.
Everyone is different.
So I'm going to put a link inthe show notes so you can read
more about it.
Like I said, the four modulesare online.
You don't have to be tech savvy.
I have videos with them.
And the best part, I think, isthat you get two months of group

(07:37):
coaching.
So you get me for an hour everyother week for two months to
help you with questions, and thecontent is something where you
can revisit it.
You get lifetime access to it.
So check out the link in theshow notes.

(07:58):
You can always text me herethrough the show at the link in
the show notes, or you canalways shoot me an email, and
that information is on mywebsite too.
So you'll go to maryrothwellnetforward slash restored that's
the name of my programspecifically tailored for women

(08:18):
in peri to postmenopause.
So I hope you check it out.
But overall, just know there'shope.
Just start to focus on smallchanges movement relaxation,
trying to focus on healthychoices as much as you can in
your diet.
Understand that this is a phaseand when you get through it

(08:41):
things can be really, reallywonderful, because a lot shifts
and there are a lot of thingsthat change and I think that
this stage of life can really belike a second spring, like a
new beginning.
So thanks for listening anduntil next time, go out into the
world and you know what I'mgoing to say.
Be the amazing, resilient,vibrant violet that you are.