Perimenopause, or the early symptoms of menopause, can begin as early as your mid 30s to late 40s. The first hormonal change to occur is a gradual decline in progesterone levels while estrogen can remain stable or increase. Maybe this is the opposite of what you have heard but it is often the reason why you are feeling like you have “PMS times 10” – bloating, weight gain, cramps, mood swings, headaches and painful breasts. Periods can often become heavier and typically shorter from 28 days to 21-24 days…arghh! Classic symptoms of decreased progesterone and estrogen dominance.
Here’s why…ovulation becomes irregular – more cycles where you don’t ovulate and don’t produce a corpus luteum the tissue from the ovarian follicle that’s the unsung heroine of the menstrual cycle because it produces progesterone. Progesterone not only maintains a pregnancy but among it’s many roles is a natural antidepressant, keeps blood sugar stable, uses fat for energy and builds bone. But it is in desperate decline when ovulation is erratic.
So what you have in perimenopause is a relative excess of estrogen compared to progesterone where the ovaries begin to slowly sign off as the major sponsors of your reproductive life. Research has shown that estrogen and progesterone are also produced in body fat, skin, nerves, the brain and adrenal glands but this production is intimately connected with your nutrition, environmental toxins, and stress levels. Maybe the demands of your busy lifestyle are exhausting your ability to keep pumping out hormones. As Dr. Christiane Northrup describes in her book, “The Wisdom of Menopause”, perimenopause is the “mother of all wake-up calls” and it is not surprising it happens around mid-life.
Luckily for women, your body’s inner wisdom signals any imbalances in your mind/body via the monthly cycle. This is the time that unresolved emotional issues bubble up to your consciousness, not discounting the actual physical hormonal fluctuations taking place. Taking heed of these early wake-up calls in your teens, 20s, and 30s, like PMS, can help prepare you for what is to come in the decades to follow. However, if you have just barreled through discomfort – painful, heavy periods, for example – maybe taking painkillers or the Pill to externally regulate your cycle, perimenopause might seem like the nightmare so many women are talking about.
Interestingly, these symptoms are a Western phenomenon. They are virtually unheard of in traditional cultures where menopause is seen as a transition into wise womanhood and a time for quiet celebration. If you can see the symptoms of perimenopause as the wake up call for an overdue overhaul of your lifestyle it can start a series of profound changes in your body-mind. Using the three pillars – diet, lifestyle, and stress management – to support your hormones, health, and happiness, you can find menopause an extraordinary time of self-discovery and spiritual awareness.