Is it Perimenopause?

Is it Perimenopause?

	I have heavy, irregular periods.
	I’m retaining fluids.
	I’ve gained more than 10 pounds.
	I’m experiencing problems sleeping.
	I’m having headaches.
	I have bouts of brain-fog-like forgetting names, where I put my car keys, or the point of a text I’ve just been reading.
	I recently discovered cysts in my breasts.
	I have fibroid tumors.
	My endometriosis symptoms have gotten worse.
	I’m over age 35.
	I suffer from premenstrual anxiety, irritability, and mood swings.
	My interest in sex has declined.
	I’ve started to have hot flashes and night sweats.

If these symptoms don’t match yours, perhaps you’re in menopause.

Perimenopause: What is It?

Once your menstrual cycle stabilizes in your late
teens or early 20s, most women can count on getting their periods
at the same time every month, bleed for a set number of days, and
expect a certain amount of blood loss. But once perimenopause hits,
all bets are off. During this time, typically in your late 30s to
late 40s, your entire reproductive system begins to age along with
the rest of your body, and, like a clock wearing down, begins skipping
beats, going too fast, or stopping and then restarting.

Your hormone levels fluctuate like the needle of
a compass at the North Pole, leaving you in an almost constant state
of imbalance between the two main reproductive hormones: estrogen
and progesterone. Your body desperately tries to restore this balance,
but it can only do so much.

About 10 to 20 percent of women—the lucky
ones—make the perimenopausal transition to true menopause with
a minimum of discomfort and inconvenience. They have few hot flashes,
their periods simply become fewer and fewer, and, eventually, one
day, they just stop menstruating permanently.

The rest experience a multitude of symptoms, including
problems sleeping, decreased libido, hot flashes, worsening PMS
and endometriosis symptoms, memory problems, fibroids, and breast
tenderness. These symptoms are all due to a hormone imbalance called
estrogen dominance. That’s when estrogen levels are too high
in relationship to progesterone. Low levels of progesterone, common
during perimenopause, can also contribute to a number of health
conditions.

But the women who seem to sail through perimenopause
have a relatively simple secret. From what I can tell from my own
practice, these women all follow a very strong preventive nutritional
program, both in the foods they eat and the nutrients they take.
For nutritional intervention can make a tremendous difference in
bringing your hormones back into balance and controlling your perimenopause
symptoms.

For more on menopause and perimenopause, go
to:

Is it Menopause?
The Nutritional Treatment
for Perimenopause
After Perimenopause:
Menopause
Power Nutrients for
Perimenopause
Menopausal Symptoms
Making the HRT Decision
Nutritional Treatment
for Perimenopause