Peri menopause is the transition period to menopause and it can creep up on you slowly, with an almost infinite number of symptoms.
They might show up slowly over time, typically from your 40s onwards, and can give you the distinct feeling that you just don’t quite feel right, not quite like ‘you’.
Some physical peri menopause symptoms include weight gain, sore boobs and cycles that can be all over the place.
But it’s often the mental changes that can be the most distressing.
Brain fog, anxiety and overwhelm are all really common in peri menopause, and they’re not symptoms that I was able to easily identify experiencing until I’d been feeling off for quite a while.
What causes these shitty symptoms that make you feel like just being up and about is a big effort?
Hormones.
Specifically, the fluctuations of oestrogen and progesterone.
Progesterone is a really important hormone that is often not given the attention it deserves. Progesterone is the hormone that calms us and helps to put our body at ease.
If our levels of progesterone dip and fluctuate, no wonder it’s harder to relax and anxiety, overwhelm and rage take centre stage.
There are some foods you can eat to help boost testosterone – potatoes and tropical fruits are just two. And HRT will bolster your levels if that’s a road you choose to go down.
Check out my infographics on hormones to find out more.