Perimenopause: shining the spotlight on hormones and common symptoms,... know thy enemy!
Hormone Spotlight
The two main female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone decrease significantly from age 35 - 60. Oestrogen drops 40-50% Progesterone drops 90-99% These significant hormone shifts contribute to many of the symptoms of perimenopause.
Oestrogen is produced by the ovarian follicles, and these structures also contain immature eggs. Women are born with a limited number of follicles, which decline over a woman’s life.
As the body loses follicles and therefore loses oestrogen, it tries in vain to stimulate the production of more oestrogen.
We tend to think of oestrogen as a only a ‘sex hormone’ because it’s responsible for the development of our breasts and reproductive organs While it’s produced primarily by our ovaries, it doesn’t just act locally – it circulates throughout the body and plays a vital role in brain function.
So with this in mind let’s now shine the spotlight on to some of the common symptoms of perimenopause.
Symptoms Spotlight
Feeling fatigued all the time regularly tops the list of perimenopause symptoms.
About 85 percent of women report experiencing exhaustion that isn’t relieved with more sleep. Of those 66 percent said fatigue interfered with their quality of life.
And if you find you are constantly asking, OMG why am I so exhausted? Here is the answer!
Like so many symptoms, perimenopausal fatigue is due in a large part to hormone changes.
The levels of oestrogen and progesterone are changing all at once and these interact with the hormones associated with energy from the adrenal and thyroid glands - cortisol is a key hormone here (our stress hormone). This instability can be hard for the body and can lead to crushing fatigue.
Your brain has a lot of oestrogen receptors, and when oestrogen decreases, so does some of the regulation that it provides. For example, oestrogen helps control cortisol, the stress hormone. When that regulation is weakened, the increased stress response can result in extreme fatigue.
Discover what is happening to cause these other common symptoms of perimenopause - featured in the Perimenopause Weekly Show: Hormones and Symptoms.
Insomnia | Hot Flushes Anxiety
Mood Swings | Irritability
The Perimenopause Power House
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