What’s Really Going on with your Hormones during Menopause and Perimenopause

Sometimes, we often ask what’s happening to our surroundings. It is normal that we want to know what is the real deal when it comes to things that affect how we live our daily lives. And more often than not, we tend to make assumptions that get us more confused and left alone in the darkness of the unknown. That is why we need to be informed and educated with how things work, making it easier for us to understand this chaotic world that we live in.

The body is just like the surroundings, change is always constant at some point in our lives. Unexpected occurrences happen especially when we least expect it. In this case, women are put into the limelight as we discuss what really happens to the hormones during perimenopause and menopause.

Perimenopause means just before menopause or around the menopausal period. It usually occurs 3-5 years before menopause starts, and that’s averaging at around 40 years old for most women. In this phase, the woman’s body is starting to change and getting ready for menopause. Now with concern to hormones, the female body experiences erratic levels of estrogen, which is the main hormone of the female body, and because of this, menstrual periods tend to be shortened or last longer and as result, women can sometimes miss a period and have a period without releasing an egg cell. Other symptoms include mood swings, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness. You can check out https://www.yeswellness.com/lorna-vanderhaeghe-estrosmart/ to learn more about how to handle these unexpected symptoms.

Also if the estrogen level falls, the release of FSH or follicle-stimulating hormone increases, but without enough estrogen levels, the high levels of FSH do not work in stimulating the ovaries to release egg cells, resulting in an absence of follicle in the menstruation. There is also a study that women who are smokers tend to have an earlier stage of menstruation. Certain chemicals in cigarettes contribute greatly in the early on stage of this condition. Family history, Hysterectomy, and any cancer treatment are also key players in contributing to the early onset of the menopause stage.

Menopause, on the other hand, begins when there is a 12 month complete absence of a menstrual period without experiencing other contributing factors such as breastfeeding, medication and surgery. At this stage, the levels of Estrogen remains low and have hindered the FSH and Luteinizing hormone from doing their functions, resulting in no menstrual cycle at all. In this state, the woman is more vulnerable to osteoporosis, mood swings, muscle and joint pains, weight gain, difficulty in sleeping as well as frequent urination, all because of the decrease of estrogen levels.

The whole Menopausal experience usually lasts around 1 to 3 years, depending on each individual. So around this period, it is normal that you experience muscle and joint pains, difficulty in sleeping, and other perimenopause symptoms. The most important part to watch out for is Osteoporosis, which is a decrease in bone density and weight gain in order to avoid other unwanted complications.