Perimenopause – Michelle
Profile:
- 44-year-old female
- Married
- Daughter in middle school, she is 13 years old
- Realtor
Symptoms:
- Irritable
- Short temper
- Cannot stay sleep
- Low to no libido
- Sugar/carbohydrate cravings
- Bad cramps
- Heavy periods
- Gained weight, despite exercising 4-5 days per weeks
Lab Testing:
Treatment Ideas:
Multifactorial process
- Lifestyle
- Dietary modifications
- Supplementation
- Possibly BHRT bioidentical hormone treatment
Perimenopause is like the “limbo land” of hormones. It is not menopause, where the ovaries have stopped making estrogen and progesterone. In fact, in Perimenopause we are making hormones. Just not in the balanced ratio that we did when we were younger.
In perimenopause, many women complain that they just “feel off”. Like something has happened but they cannot exactly say why. They have been to their PCP, internist, and gynecologist without getting any real answers. That is because they do not have a “disease”. So most docs do not know how to treat perimenopause.
As a perimenopausal woman, you are most likely in your 40’s and still getting your period. But to sum it up, it feels like you are PMS-ing all month long. Perimenopause is like permanent PMS on roids. That still doesn’t make you a candidate for hormone replacement as in menopause. But as you can see from Michelle, the symptoms are real and can really affect your quality of life.
Michelle and many women experiencing perimenopause have been to their primary care and gynecologist. Michelle knows it is her hormones causing all of these symptoms. She had to juggle a lot more several years ago when her daughter was younger and she never missed a beat. Now she feels overwhelmed, irritated and forgetful. Not to mention none of her work pants fit anymore. Her gynecologist recommended an IUD or taking birth control pills. And her primary care wanted to prescribe her antidepressants
Conventionally there are not a lot of options for perimenopause. You cannot just take a “pill” and make it all better.
What is happening to Michelle and other women experiencing perimenopause, is there is an imbalance in her estrogen and progesterone ratios. Not to bore you with all the physiology here. In Perimenopause, your ovaries are still making estrogen. They just are not making enough progesterone. This imbalance can create havoc with your mood and body. As I mentioned, perimenopause is like the limbo-land of hormones.
You are not yet in menopause, but your hormones are not the same as were several years ago. In fact, the hormonal imbalance experienced in perimenopause is just like puberty. Michelle’s 13-year-old daughter, Madison, has the same hormonal imbalance her mom does. When a girl first gets her period, her body is starting to make estrogen, but not much progesterone. That is why Madison and Michelle have some of the same symptoms. Moody, irritable, defensive, gaining weight, tired, irregular periods, acne. Needless to say, Michelle and Madison tend to bump heads a lot.
But there are treatment options to help with perimenopause. There is not a “one size fits all” fix for perimenopause. Approaching it in a multifactorial process is key. Focusing on lifestyle, supplementation, diet, and possibly bio-identical hormone treatment. Because perimenopause will eventually lead to menopause. And not only do we want to make perimenopause bearable, if not an enjoyable life experience. We also want to make the transition to menopause easy and flawless.
