The main treatment offered for women during perimenopause are artificial hormones. These come most often in the form of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or the contraceptive pill.
HRT promises to balance your unruly hormones, and thereby fix all those horrible symptoms: the hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings . . .
But for now I’m not going to go any deeper into the evidence for or against artificial hormones.
I want to explore whether these artificial hormones are the only option, and is it necessarily a good one?*
I also want to look at what these artificial hormones are doing to our physical, emotional and spiritual being.
Transitions, Rhythms and Control
The menopause transition period (including pre-, peri- and post-menopause) is daunting.
Any major transition in life is scary and as humans we don’t like to be out of our comfort zone very much!
Think back to your first period (menarche), and all the changes we had to deal with, both physically and emotionally!
Modern medicine has done a great job in disconnecting us from our natural rhythms. It has even turned normal life transitions into diseases that must be treated with synthetic medicines.
In fact, our whole reproductive cycle has been hijacked by modern medicine. We let artificial hormones control our periods, our fertility, our childbirth, our pelvic health, and the end of our periods!
What this tells most women is that our bodies are not good enough, they need to be fixed.
Messing around with hormones is not a good thing!
Our hormonal system is all interconnected
If you’ve been reading my posts and blogs, you know how the thyroid, adrenal and sex hormones are linked together.
Any changes in them also affect insulin and hunger hormones, our sleep hormones, and many more!
But our hormones are also interconnected with our emotional and spiritual being.
Are artificial hormones disconnecting us from the emotional and spiritual transition we need to make in perimenopause?
Do we want to become wise and powerful women in our post-menopausal years?
If so, then we need to deal with and heal all the emotional and spiritual crap that we have accumulated in our lifetime.
Artificial hormones disconnect us from the physical expression of these emotional issues. If we can’t recognise the problems then we are not going to deal with them!
By letting synthetic hormones control us, they are also disconnecting us from ourselves.
Symptoms are messages
Perimenopausal symptoms are usually messages. Our bodies are telling us that we need to looking inward and start rediscovering our intuition and inner wisdom.
How can we do that when we are disconnected?
This not only happens at perimenopause — it happens all throughout our reproductive years.
PMS, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, postnatal depression – these are all physical signs that something needs to be healed.
If we suppress these symptoms with artificial hormones, it is likely our physical symptoms will be worse when perimenopause comes along.
And if you are taking HRT, once you come off it, these issues will still be there. So many women coming of HRT report that all those horrible symptoms do come back again!
What are the alternatives?
Do you want to truly step into our full power and potential post-menopause? Then you really need to consider whether taking HRT will be of benefit in the long run.
Unfortunately, modern medicine doesn’t give us many alternative options.
But if you look outside the box, into complementary and alternative treatments, there are so many things that you can try.
There are many wonderful herbs out there that have been used for thousands of years to great effect.
There are many foods and supplements you can take to help you balance your hormones.
And of course, homeopathy and flower essences are just amazing because they get to the root of the problems and help us heal our body, mind and spirit.
If you want to now more about how homeopathy can help you to manage and relieve perimenopausal symptoms, please get in touch! I’m here for you. Book a free 15 minute call with me to see how I can help!
* This may not apply to women who are on HRT due to premature or abrupt menopause (due to surgery or illness), and who may need to take these hormones as their bodies cannot produce enough on their own. And I’m not berating anyone who has chosen to take HRT or artificial hormones and done their research and decided that is the best course of action for them. If you are happy with your choice, then that’s absolutely fine, and your right to do so!! My main objective here is to highlight the fact that we are usually not given many other choices when HRT is not suitable or necessary, and the risks and negative aspects of it are downplayed or not even considered at all.
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!
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.
