02/27/2024
Not many women realize that perimenopause technically stars at 35!
Some women will not notice symptoms until many years later, while others will start to feel unwell and have a myriad of otherwise unexplainable symptoms also known as Mystery Illness starting around 30. Even most doctors are not educated about Menopause and Perimenopause let alone the public. For example, many people, even doctors, confuse the terms menopause and perimenopause. Menopause is actually the event of going 12 months without bleeding while perimenopause is the years leading up to menopause usually beginning around 35 to early 40s and ending around the early 50s when a woman goes into menopause either naturally or surgically due to complete hysterectomy.
Here are just some of the many symptoms a woman can experience during perimenopause:
Terrible PMS
Breast tenderness, pain and cystic breasts
Severe mood changes, anxiety, depression, irritability, anger…
Insomnia and sleep issues which can become chronic
Severe Migraines which can also become chronic
Thyroid issues, hyper or hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's autoimmunity
Fibromyalgia which can become chronic
Weight gain especially in the waist and inability to lose weight, food cravings and increased hunger
Hair thinning
Brain Fog and even Dementia like symptoms
Heavier, longer and more painful periods
Abnormal bleeding and pain between periods
Erratic menstrual cycles
Extreme Fatigue
Loss of s*x drive and desire and vaginal dryness which can cause relationship issues
Infertility
Hot flashes which can cause insomnia and even lead to Alzhiemers later on
Fibroids, Flooding and Anemia…
I could go on but suffice it to say many women are miserable for a decade or longer! Most women have severe symptoms for at least a while if not ongoing for years! All this and most doctors know little about perimenopause and are not equipped to help women deal with the debilitating symptoms which can make it difficult if not impossible to raise children, be successful in business, keep a relationship going and take care of aging parents.
What's a woman to do?
First of all we need to be educated and know what we're up against. Most women are not prepared for what to expect from perimenopause or menopause and are shocked and thrown off by the myriad unexpected health challenges. They may be unable to take the much needed break from work and caring for others to do the self care needed and make the necessary lifestyle changes necessary to maintain their health and wellbeing. Often women are already burned out emotionally and energetically going into perimenopause and menopause from raising children, caring for aging parents, being in an unhappy or emotionally unsatisfying relationship, s*x life and or work life. They may have built a business that takes too much of their energy to maintain and they may not have the resources emotionally and or financially to take time out for the radical self care and often self reinvention that peri/meno demands from women at midlife.
Often what is called for at this time of transition is no less than a radical redefining of one's values, priorities and purpose. A woman who finds herself an empty nester, divorced and single for the first time in many years and or unable to work due to severe physical symptoms often needs to go on a spiritual journey to discover who she is on a deeper level beyond being a mother, wife, daughter, worker or business owner. She must, if she is to survive and thrive, find her true self and true calling to become who she is meant to be and actualize her deeper purpose in order to live out the last half of her life healthy and happy despite the cultural devaluation and invisibility of women beyond their childbearing years. This invisibility often begins around 35 and gets worse as a woman ages in our society. Most men on dating sites, no matter how old they are or if they even want to have children ever, say they are only interested in dating a woman 35 or younger. This is telling of what the culture we live in thinks about women beyond child bearing age. Women of peri/meno age and older must find a way to value themselves and their lives beyond the superficial value our society prescribes to women based on s*xual appeal and reproduction as well as being a mother, wife and caregiver.
Many women believe they can postpone the necessary changes by staying on birth control pills and artificial hormones through menopause and beyond. From all the scientific research I've read artificial hormones including birth control can cause more health challenges in the long run for women. The largest and longest women’s health prevention study ever done called the Women’s Health Initiative research study looked at Hormone Replacement Therapy and showed increased rates of cancer and other long term health issues for women. However, media coverage and most doctors don’t tell you that the study was exclusively using artificial estrogen and not natural or bioidentical hormones. In fact, research shows that natural bioidentical hormones are relatively harmless and can actually be extremely beneficial for women in peri/meno. However, we don't hear about that and that research does not get funded because big pharma doesn't profit from anything natural. Further studies are now coming out linking long term birth control use to some types of cancer.
Another misconception about peri/meno is that symptoms are caused by lack of estrogen. The reality is that is only true at the very end of perimenopause when a woman is actually going into menopause and beyond. For most of the many years leading up to menopause called perimenopause studies prove a woman has higher and often erratic levels of estrogen up to twice or even three times the amount that's considered normal. These high levels of estrogen are understood to cause many of the perimenopausal symptoms women experience by doctors who understand perimenopause. Estrogen needs to be balanced by progesterone and testosterone. However in our 30s and 40s women lose progesterone which is also diminished by stress at the same time estrogen is off the charts. Progesterone is a women's calming hormone while estrogen intensifies inflammation, anxiety and sleeplessness among other things. Most perimenopausal symptoms can be treated with enough bioidentical progesterone to balance estrogen. Sometimes testosterone is also helpful except in women with naturally high androgens. Although it may sound simple on the surface, balancing hormones is actually a high science and a high art that women really need to understand to have a positive experience through peri/meno and beyond. Sadly most doctors are not proficient in understanding and balancing hormones, even some who call themselves hormone experts! This is an area where you truly need to work with someone who understands female hormones and how to work with bioidentical hormones. You also need to empower yourself and other women by learning as much as you can about your hormones so you can tell when a doctor knows what they are doing in the area of hormones or not. You or a doctor who thinks they know what they are doing and really do not can really mess up your hormones with disastrous consequences.
One of the main consequences of hormone imbalance and the myriad symptoms that can accompany this common condition in peri/meno is Hysterectomy. Throughout history and even today hysterectomy is used as a kind of cure all for the frequently common and debilitating symptoms of peri/meno. This is especially the case since so many doctors lack the knowledge to help women in any other way and a hysterectomy is a relatively easy surgery for the doctor that many doctors know how to perform and can make a lot of money doing. Unfortunately many peri/meno symptoms are not cured by hysterectomy and may even be made worse. Further, hysterectomy is rarely an easy procedure for a woman emotionally or physically.
Sometimes a hysterectomy is necessary. However, often there are less invasive and less traumatic newer options that your doctor doesn’t know about and or won’t tell you about even if you ask! Perimenopause is an especially dangerous time for women in terms of losing their wombs to surgery as over 20% of women end up with a hysterectomy and the most common age for hysterectomies is in your mid forties. Depending on where you live in the country the percentage could be even higher. For example, women in the south lose their wombs to hysterectomy more often as do rural women compared to women living in cities due to doctors being less well trained in more modern procedures. If you'd like to learn more about how to keep your womb, read one of the many well researched books on the topic including The Hysterectomy Hoax written by an infertility doctor who saw hysterectomy grossly overused. When it comes to any invasive surgery I highly recommend getting a 2nd and 3rd opinion from different doctors who do not know each other even if you trust your doctor and always do your own independent research.
My knowledge, training and wisdom in the areas of hormones, neurotransmitters and Attachment Research allows me to help women navigate this treacherous time and transition in their health, relationships and lives. I have personal experience healing Hashi Motos, Hypothyroid, Chronic Insomnia, Chronic Migraine, abnormal bleeding and anemia among other Perimeno symptoms. I've learned how to use natural bioidentical hormones along with supplements and lifestyle hacks to feel good every day despite having had debilitating symptoms previously for a decade and a half and having been bed ridden and unable to work due to health challenges. Ive been able to get my life back and I can help you do the same. Further as a Clinical and Somatic Therapist (MFT) and women’s health, relationship and s*xuality coach I can help you navigate not just the physical symptoms of perimeno but just as importantly the emotional and spiritual challenges of this significant time in one's life and this important transition.
This is an opportunity to fully come into oneself and one’s power as a woman. It's a time to set your health and wellness up for the rest of your life and to become embodied and empowered in a sensual and joyful way. Don't miss this important opportunity to fully actualize your feminine power and purpose and create the life you have always wanted. I specialize in rebirthing yourself and your life, healing past wounds and traumas so you can live your best life yet. This is a call for spiritual and s*xual awakening, for the best relationships and s*x of your life and for true deep soul fulfillment. Don’t miss the boat.
To learn more about working with Amber St. Germain visit EmpressUniversity.Coach.
