“I’m still having my periods, but I feel like my hormones are out of balance.”
How many times have you spoken with your doctor and told them that you feel like your hormones are “out of whack” just to be told that if you are having your regular periods, it can’t be a menopause thing. Then they want to put you on anti-depressants or sleep meds?
You know your body and you know you’re not depressed. You don’t want to take drugs that you don’t need, especially if they aren’t willing to check into possibility that your symptoms are related to hormonal imbalances. Hormones aren’t always the problem or the answer, but you can’t know without checking into it.
Menopause is not like flipping a light switch. It is not like all your hormones are at optimal levels and then, BOOM, you’re menopausal. Many women start to feel the roller coaster of perimenopause 10 – 15 years before their periods stop completely. There is no reason to suffer for a decade until your periods stop before trying to find answers to what is happening in your body.
Even with regular monthly menses, some of the perimenopausal symptoms that commonly appear are:
- Sleep problems
- Heavier or lighter menstrual flow
- Moodiness/anxiety/fatigue
- Weight gain, especially around the waist/lower abdomen
- Decreased sex drive
Progesterone is usually the first hormone to become deficient. This can affect mood/anxiety, sleep and cause more irregular and heavier menses.
Testosterone can start to drop in the 30’s. This can affect energy, muscle tone/strength and sex drive.
Estrogen usually struggles to keep up production but can wildly fluctuate during this time. Your body will notice that the estrogen level is too low and then overcorrect the lower level, leading to estrogen levels that are too high. The highs and lows can cause mood swings, breast tenderness, irregular menses and eventually hot flashes and night sweats.
Many women use hormonal birth control, like the birth control pill, for years without noticing any hormonal side effects but as their bodies change during perimenopause, the way “the pill” changes the natural hormone levels can start to cause new side effects that were never an issue before. Sometimes this may mean having to be open to changing from something that has always worked for you to another method to see if your symptoms improve.
Although the first step is to try some lifestyle support such as stress reduction (easier said than done!), limiting sugars and ultra-processed foods, sleep hygiene, magnesium and vitamin B complex vitamins and sometimes just learning to say ‘no’ to all the demands in your life, but sometimes you need to say ‘yes’ to trying to get some answers to what is going on inside your body and the hormone imbalances that might be causing this chaos rather than listening to those who try to tell you it is all in your head.
At The Women’s Center, we specialize in treating women in all phases of life and we also listen to your symptoms and are will to check on your hormones to see if bioidentical hormone therapy could help you get to feeling like yourself again.
For a step towards feeling like yourself again contact us at The Women’s Center.
Call 704-873-7250 today to schedule a consultation.
