DID YOU KNOW- PERIMENOPAUSE BEGINS ABOUT 8-10 YEARS BEFORE MENOPAUSE

PERIMENOPAUSE 101:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

DEAR LADIES 40 AND ABOVE, THIS WEEK IS DEDICATED TO YOU ALL. WE WILL BE LEARNING THE SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES OF PERIMENOPAUSE, HOW IT FIT'S INTO THE OVERALL MENOPAUSE JOURNEY, AND WHAT SOLUTIONS (LIFESTYLE AND DIETARY) THERE ARE TO MANAGE IT.

WHEN, HOW & WHY?

PERIMENOPAUSE CAN BE WILDLY UNPREDICTABLE: PERIODS CHANGE DRAMATICALLY, MIGHT BE HEAVIER, MORE FREQUENT, OR THEY CAN GO IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. IT'S GENERALLY A CONFUSING TIME THAT CATCHES A LOT OF US BY SURPRISE YOU ARE NOT ALONE). THE TRANSITION IN ITS ENTIRETY TAKES 8-10 YEARS TO MOVE THROUGH, AND WHILE MOST OF US WILL START IN OUR MID-40S, SOME MAY BEGIN YEARS EARLIER.

THERE ARE TWO STAGES OF PERIMENOPAUSE.

EARLY PERIMENOPAUSE - IN THIS STAGE, PERIODS CAN STILL BE REGULAR, WHICH CAUSES SOME CONFUSION. LATE PERIMENOPAUSE- THIS STAGE US MARKED BY SKIPPED AND/OR IRREGULAR PERIODS.

BLACK WOMEN ARE UNIQUE.

LIKE TIMING, PERIMENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS CAN VARY, AND EACH WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE WILL BE UNIQUE. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THERE MAY BE CERTAIN RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES. ONE STUDY IN PARTICULAR SHOWED THAT WOMEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT EXPERIENCE THE WORST VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS (HORMONE-RELATED TEMPERATURE DYSFUNCTION, E.G., HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS), WHILE ASIAN WOMEN REPORTED THE MOST MILD.

PERIMENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS: WHAT TO EXPECT

HERE ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS THAT SIGNAL THE BEGINNING OF PERIMENOPAUSE, ALL OF WHICH CAN BE TRACED BACK TO CHANGING HORMONE LEVELS.

REMEMBER THOUGH, NOT EVERYONE WILL EXPERIENCE THESE SYMPTOMS. OUR GOAL HERE IS TO EMPOWER YOU WITH KNOWLEDGE TO MANAGE THE SYMPTOMS IF (KEY WORD) YOU DO INDEED EXPERIENCE THEM.

• WEIGHT GAIN
• WORSENING PMS WITH BOTH EMOTIONAL &
• PHYSICAL CHANGES (E.G., BREAST TENDERNESS AND HEIGHTENED ANXIETY)
• IRREGULAR PERIODS, WHICH IS AN UMBRELLA TERM THAT CAN ENCOMPASS SHORT OR SKIPPED MENSTRUAL CYCLES AND HEAVY BLEEDING (OFTEN ONE OF THE EARLIEST SYMPTOMS)

THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY, YOU MAY NOTICE A NUMBER OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS (BUT NOT ALWAYS, AND NOT ALL AT ONCE):

HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS, IRREGULAR PERIODS, DIFFICULTY SLEEPING, EMOTIONAL CHANGES (E.G., IRRITABILITY, MOOD SWINGS, AND MILD DEPRESSION, ESPECIALLY BEFORE YOUR PERIOD), DIFFICULTY WITH CONCENTRATION AND SHORT-TERM MEMORY, AKA "BRAIN FOG." VAGINAL DRYNESS AND/OR DISCOMFORT DURING SEX, AND DRY SKIN.

MAKING SENSE OF THIS

IN OUR 20S AND 30S, HORMONES ENJOY A PREDICTABLE EBB AND FLOW. AND IN POSTMENOPAUSE, IT'S LOW BUT STEADY. THE IN-BETWEEN PERIMENOPAUSAL PERIOD IS MARKED BY LONG HORMONAL FLUCTUATIONS OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE.

PROGESTERONE STARTS TO DECLINE FIRST, FOLLOWED BY ESTROGEN. TESTOSTERONE IS INVOLVED HERE AS WELL, AND SLOWLY DECLINES. SO PICTURE A ROLLERCOASTER - THOSE ARE YOUR HORMONES! AND THE REST OF YOU IS ALONG FOR THE RIDE.