Mine has been terrible! I’ve also heard from friends or clients that their sleep has been atrocious!
I love sleep, so this is not good for me!
Then I read a few articles recently saying that many people are finding it hard to sleep well during lockdown – so I thought maybe that’s it!
I have to confess that my stress levels have been higher than normal.
There’s just too many things on my plate at the moment – my girls at home all the time, I’ve been homeschooling them, husband is working from home, I seem to be cooking non-stop… Not to mention the political lockdown situation and all that goes with that!
I’m also working and getting busier and trying to fit that into my spare hours, which is usually in the evenings and later at night! And we all know what blue light does to our sleep, right?
Combining all this with perimenopause, it’s a wonder I sleep at all!
Insomnia and trouble sleeping is actually quite common during perimenopause.
And the reasons are varied and unique to you.
Maybe you get hot flushes and night sweats, or are prone to anxiety and panic attacks.
Eating too many refined and processed foods or not exercising enough.
Or you are exposed to too much blue light in the evenings.
Often our liver is overtaxed, and that can also have a big impact….
During perimenopause we are in a transition period for our sleeping patterns.
We may need more sleep now, like in our teenage years, and then once we are in proper menopause we may need less.
So don’t feel guilty if you feel you need to sleep more!!
Now, let’s talk about STRESS.
This is what is I think is the main thing getting to me at the moment.
Stress in not all bad, it is there to motivate us and help us when we are in danger and to survive. One of the main hormones involved in this is CORTISOL.
Cortisol is there to wake us up and give us energy in the morning and during the day. By evening it should decrease, giving way to melatonin to help us wind down and go to sleep.
The problem starts when we are constantly stressed. Our cortisol levels are constantly on a high, making it much harder to go to sleep.
During perimenopause, our adrenal glands (which produce cortisol) also need to help out with estrogen production, and if they are already over-stressed… well you can see where I’m going with this! It’s a wonder we ever sleep at all!!
This is probably where my problem lies at the moment. It is just hard to get away from stress at the moment, isn’t it?
And remember me mentioning the liver?
I reduced my alcohol intake to 1-2 glasses a week, and now am sleeping so much better.
Sleep is so important for our health and well being. It is especially so during perimenopause because we need that recovery time for our hormones that are naturally all over the place.
We also need it to reduce stress and recharge our energy levels.
If we don’t get enough we can be more prone to inflammation and therefore more at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other related conditions.
Homeopathy can help get you better sleep during perimenopause, especially if it’s stress or anxiety related. Feel free to book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if I can help you!
Maybe it’s not the bleed itself, more what comes with it. The mood swings, the pain, the bloating, the sore boobs…. the weepiness, the food cravings, the spots on your face…. the rage, the headaches, the insomnia…
You are totally fed up, and sometimes it’s so bad you want to just curl up on the sofa with a hot water bottle all day.
Can you believe PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) / PMT (Premenstrual Tension) is something that around 80% of women suffer from, all the way from mild to severe symptoms?!
How can this be?
Is this the fault of our hormones? Did God/Mother Nature/Source get this wrong?
In the physical sense, our hormonal balance is certainly one of the factors – either excess or deficiency of estrogen, plus a deficiency of progesterone.
In addition to our lovely hormones being out of balance when we are suffering PMS, these factors also have a big role to play:
Inflammation
Stress
Trauma
High consumption of dairy, caffeine, sugar, alcohol.
Deficiency of certain minerals (magnesium, selenium) and vitamins (B complex, C, E)
Lack of exercise
Excess weight
Histamine intolerance
But if your PMS is chronic – you get it pretty much every month, year after year – or severe, then you need to look deeper.
Our female hormones communicate with us and guide us in our day to day life.
Premenstrually, they are telling us we need to rest, to look inward, nurture ourselves.
Our modern culture, however, is telling us the opposite. It’s telling us we need to keep active all the time, be productive members of society. We can and should do anything, anytime.
It is when we resist our cycles and rhythms, that we run into trouble. PMS is our body signalling us that we are not in tune with ourselves.
It’s screaming for us to look after ourselves and rest. It’s telling us that maybe we haven’t been kind to ourselves lately – too much stress, not enough nutrient dense foods, not enough exercise.
So what can you do to relieve PMS?
Getting rid of your hormonal fluctuations – which are normal by the way! – with a hormonal contraceptive will not solve the problem. It’s only patching it up, temporarily. In fact, it will most likely cause more problems (and that is a conversation for another time!).
The main problem or problems will still be there unless you address them.
Reducing stress is probably the most important thing and it goes hand in hand with inflammation. Stress affects the behaviours and communication of all our hormones, including estrogen and progesterone.
Avoiding foods that cause inflammation, like dairy, wheat, sugar, alcohol and vegetable oils, could also be important
You can start to look at your nutrition and exercise habits, and see where you need to change things up.
Do you need to reduce or avoid sugar, caffeine, alcohol, dairy?
Or maybe consume foods that contain magnesium, selenium, vitamin B6, B12, C and E.
Maybe you need to see if your meals are properly balanced, with enough protein and fat to balance your blood sugar and avoid sugar cravings.
Or if you think you have a histamine sensitivity or intolerance, then look at avoiding foods that could cause a histamine reaction – e.g. dairy, alcohol – or that contain histamine – e.g. cheese, red wine, fermented foods, smoked meats, nuts, beans and pulses.
Do you need to exercise more to reduce stress and inflammation and balance blood sugar.
Or maybe you just need to try to get more and better sleep. IF you do the above, your sleep will very likely improve anyway!
You don’t have to keep struggling month after month!
You can heal yourself. Homeopathy can help you deal with your PMS/PMT symptoms. It can also help you get to the deeper root cause, safely and effectively, so you don’t have to suffer any more!
Please get in touch if you need help. I’m here for you!
PMS, cramps, tender breasts, heavy periods, irregular periods… so many women seem to have at least one if not, several of these symptoms around their monthly cycles.
Homeopathy has many lovely remedies to help with menstrual issues, but I’m going to talk about what I think are the 3 most commonly used for this. These three remedies are available in any homeopathic first aid kit.
Lachesis (Lach)
This remedy is made from the venom of the Bushmaster snake. Women who may benefit from this remedy usually have the worst symptoms before their period; they have violent mood swings, insomnia, cramping pains, ovarian pains and headaches/migraines. Often these pains are left-sided or move from left to right. If they get too hot, or too cold they will feel worse, and they especially don’t like any tight clothing or feeling constricted.
Once their period starts, these symptoms get better. They also feel much better if they get fresh air and for movement. During their period, they can have heavy, dark menstrual bleeding or clotting.
In general, women who do well on this remedy can get over-excited or wound up over little things. They are usually quite talkative, and can be jealous or suspicious. And they really hate feeling constricted, especially around the neck.
Pulsatilla (Puls)
This remedy is made from the Pasque Flower. Women who may benefit from Pulsatilla during their period may feel very emotional and weepy, and need lots of support and reassurance. Before their period they may have nausea/vomiting and indigestion, headaches, and diarrhoea.
Their symptoms can be one-sided and/or changeable. Their cycles may be irregular and have changeable flow from month to month. They will feel worse if they are in stuffy hot room or if they get overheated, and especially if they feel neglected or abandoned. To feel better, fresh air, gentle exercise and crying will help, but especially attention and sympathy.
In general, women who need Pulsatilla will be shy but sociable, sometimes seem a bit clingy as they don’t want to be alone. They tend to get chilly and usually are not very thirsty. One-sided and changeable symptoms would point to this remedy.
Sepia
This remedy is made from the ink of the cuttlefish. Women who may need Sepia can be described as the worn out, fed up and irritable mother. Around their period, they are exhausted with moods alternative between violent screaming to weeping and emotional withdrawal. They usually get a bit down or depressed with PMT, and can have dragging or bearing down pains in the lower abdomen. Sometimes it feels as if all the genitals will fall out. Their periods can be irregular and heavy. Their symptoms will improve with eating, exercising or dancing.
In general women who need Sepia are so exhausted and irritable that they can be indifferent or lash out easily towards their loved ones, especially husband and children. They are not interested in sex, and prefer to be alone.
There are of course, many other remedies for menstrual problems, but these 3 should work for many women for acute menstrual problems. If you do have chronic issues with your cycle or any other hormonal problem, then please do see a professional homeopath or health practitioner. Feel free to get in touch with me to see if homeopathy can help. I offer a free 30-minute call where we can chat about how homeopathy can help you and see if we can work together.
So we’ve all pretty much heard about the menopause, right? That time in a woman’s life when we stop menstruating, and we get lots of horrible symptoms because of it – hot flashes, extreme mood swings, weight gain…
Would it surprise you to know that most of the symptoms we relate to the menopause actually happen before you get the menopause, during the time called Perimenoapuse?
I didn’t know about this until recently either!
So let’s get some facts straight.
The menopause is the time when our ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and our periods end. Basically, you are officially in menopause a year after your periods stop completely. That means zero periods, no spotting, nothing.
Now usually this is not a sudden thing, from one day to the next. For most women, there is a slower, longer process, and this all starts with the perimenopause.
The term perimenopause means “around” or “near” the menopause. This transition period can last between 8 to 10 years before we stop menstruating. Most women start this process around their mid 40s, but it can affect some women as early as in their mid to late 30s! During this time your periods become a bit erratic, some are lighter or heavier, you skip some, then sometimes you get 2 in a month!
If you look at the list of symptoms of the perimenopause, you may be surprise to see some that you only thought you’d get when you hit the menopause!
Symptoms can include:
Hot flushes
Night sweats
Palpitations
Irregular/erratic periods
Heavy periods
Breast tenderness
Headaches and migraines
Bloating and other digestive issues
Weight gain
Fibroids
Mood swings, especially irritability and anxiety.
Anxiety or depression
Brain fog
Insomnia or other sleep disturbances
Fatigue and lack of energy
Low libido
Urinary tract infections
Vaginal dryness
Skin issues
I have a suspicion that many women in their mid-30s to mid-40s have no idea that some of their uncomfortable symptoms could actually be due to the perimenopause and then spend years suffering or taking medications or treatments that don’t really do anything or may actually make things worse.
Is it too little oestrogen? or it is the progesterone?
Although it is commonly believed that this is the time when oestrogen levels fall, they are actually quite stable or even increase. Oestrogen doesn’t start to decrease until about a year after your periods stop (or the menopause, as we’ve just learned!).
It is actually the progesterone levels that do start decrease at this time, which then causes an imbalance with oestrogen, leading to oestrogen dominance.
It is this excess oestrogen in our bodies that is the major factor for many of the symptoms above, and when you add factors like stress or high insulin levels, then more oestrogen is produced, creating even worse symptoms.
I’ve just been reading Dr. Christiane Northrup’s Wisdom of the Menopause (amazing book, I recommend you to read it if you can!), and from her holistic perspective, it is not just our hormones that are solely responsible for causing all these symptoms – there is much evidence that unresolved long-term emotional stress is what worsens hormonal imbalance and thus worsens these symptoms.
I really resonate with this as that is what I see in homeopathy all the time, and not just with hormonal issues. Physical symptoms and ailments will usually have an unresolved emotional issue behind them.
What can we do about these symptoms?
First of all, remember, perimenopause is a normal part of our reproductive lives. Your body is winding down its production of eggs, so it is normal that hormone levels will fluctuate, and you may get some uncomfortable symptoms sometimes.
If perimenopausal symptoms are very uncomfortable and are starting to affect your everyday life in a negative way, then start doing some of these things:
Try to eat a nutrient-dense diet, with more healthy fats (avoid all trans-fats/hydrogenated fats!) and protein and less refined and starchy carbohydrate content. Aim to choose carbohydrates that are higher in fibre, so that blood sugar levels don’t spike and fall rapidly, leading to blood sugar imbalance. Having higher insulin levels in your system will exacerbate symptoms of excess oestrogen. Also make sure you are getting enough omega fats and magnesium in your diet.
Flaxseeds are an amazing food during perimenopause – they are a great source of omega-3 fats and high in fibre, and contain lignans, which are great for regulating our hormones!
Reduce caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugars (I know this is hard!!!).
Stop smoking!
Drink 1.5 to 2 litres a day of clean, filtered water. This will help getting rid of excess toxins (including excess oestrogen!), and will help with digestion, headaches, hot flushes, and dry skin symptoms.
Exercise regularly doing something that you really enjoy and look forward to – whether it is yoga, running, walking, zumba, weights, cross-fit, or my favourite – pole dancing and aerial arts!. High intensity and weight-bearing exercise is particularly beneficial. Just choose something you love doing so you keep doing it! In addition to its benefits in weight loss or maintenance, keeping fit in a fun way will help your sleep, lift your mood, even alleviate hot flushes!.
If these things are not enough, then homeopathy and essences can really help. There are many remedies that will alleviate symptoms, and of course, it will help you address any unresolved emotional issue that may be exacerbating these symptoms. I may talk about these remedies in another blog, so keep checking in or sign up to my newsletter!
If your hormonal symptoms are affecting your everyday life more than you’d like, then feel free to get in touch to see if homeopathy can help. I offer a free 30-minute call where we can chat about how homeopathy can help you and see if we can work together.
There seems to be a growing silent epidemic of hormonal problems among women – this includes thyroid problems, breast and ovarian cancers, precocious puberty, PCOS, and severe menopausal and menstrual symptoms, among many.
Why is this happening?
What are Hormones?
Hormones are the chemical messengers that control all the functions in our body, from our circadian rhythm, metabolism, growth, stress responses, blood sugar balance and energy, as well our sexual function and reproduction.
Hormones include cortisol, adrenaline, melatonin, oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and insulin, among many, many others.
All these hormones are interconnected and work together, and if one or more go out of balance, the whole system could become imbalanced.
What are the symptoms of hormonal imbalance in women?
In terms of hormonal imbalance specifically related to women, the symptoms and conditions can include:
Poor sleep and insomnia
Weight gain or loss
Mood swings, anxiety and depression
Infertility
Irregular and painful periods
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
Fatigue and exhaustion
Digestive issues
Low libido
Breast tenderness or pain
Acne and other skin issues
Brain fog and memory lapses
Headaches and migraines
Joint pain
Fibroids
Endometriosis
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Why is this happening?
There are times in our life when we as women will naturally get imbalance with our reproductive hormones, such as puberty, pregnancy, whilst breastfeeding, as well as perimenopause and menopause. This is normal.
However, sometimes this imbalance can be more extreme and/or prolonged than it should be and it starts to negatively affect our everyday lives. It seems that more and more women are suffering with severe PMS, menopausal symptoms, infertility, and it’s even affecting girls; it is now common that menarche (a girl’s first period) occurs as young as 8 or 9 years old, whereas it wasn’t like this even 30 years ago, where the norm was more like 12-13 years old or even older.
Since the functions of all hormones are interrelated, it is not surprising that with our increasingly stressful and hectic lives, as well as our chronic exposure to toxicity from our environment and food, that our hormones don’t work the way they are supposed to!
Let’s just take chronic stress, probably the biggest factor. When we are constantly stressed out we secrete too much cortisol, the stress hormone that is produced in our adrenal glands.
Too much cortisol can in turn lead to increases in oestrogen; excess oestrogen is the main culprit for all sorts of hormonal symptoms, many of them listed above; it is even one of the factors in developing breast cancer (though it doesn’t necessarily mean you will!).
Another big factor is the toxic substances in our environment. Some of these chemicals are what are called xenoestrogens or endocrine disruptors. These chemicals mimic oestrogen and can cause imbalance in our hormonal system.
Xenoestrogens are present in non-organic foods, skincare products, plastics, paint, cleaning products, car fumes, water supply, birth control, and disposable menstrual products. They are basically everywhere! It’s no wonder our hormonal systems are all out of whack!
What can you do about it?
Aiming to eat more organic foods, avoiding conventional household and skincare products and replacing them with more natural options, managing our stress better – all these things will help.
Take baby steps and be kind to yourself; it can be overwhelming to change everything at once, and even then it is still difficult to avoid everything and be perfectly calm and mindful all the time.
Each of us is unique; we have different lifestyles and challenges, so our hormonal imbalances will affect us in different ways. Some of us will get the mood swings and weight gain and low libido, whilst other may get the breast tenderness and headaches.
This is why I love homeopathy for hormonal imbalance – every single prescription is tailored to your unique symptoms and situation.
If your hormonal symptoms are affecting your everyday life more than you’d like, then feel free to get in touch to see if homeopathy can help. I offer a free 30-minute call where we can chat about how homeopathy can help you and see if we can work together.
Hi, I’m Stephanie!
I’m a registered Homeopath living in the small, beautiful rural county of Herefordshire in the UK. My passion is to help women balance their hormones in a natural, safe and effective way, so they can feel like themselves again.
Lachesis (Lach)
Pulsatilla (Puls)
Sepia
