Am I in Perimenopause?
Once we hit age 35 to 40, hormone balance suffers as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, thyroid, and insulin, may become “out of whack.” It’s gradual for some and dramatic for others. But perimenopause and menopause do not need to cause any suffering. Or as one woman expressed it to me: “hormone hell.”
Your body would love to be hormonally balanced. Symptoms are your body’s call for “HELP!” Be kind to your body. Let progesterone be your “First Responder.”
How to know if you are in Perimenopause: Is this you?
Feel the need to wear yoga pants or leggings to make room for the roll around your waist, which seemed to arrive overnight?
Emotional instability—for the first time in your life, you burst into tears at a moment’s notice
Anxiety attacking you randomly
Dissatisfaction with exercise because it does not seem to affect your weight no matter what.
Poor sleep; awakening in the middle of the night.
Waking up sweaty.
Crow’s feet and/or a permanently furrowed brow
An unpredictable menstrual period—spotting or flooding or some weird combination of the two
Sudden forgetfulness when walking into a room What was I looking for, again? I know I came in here for something
Your family of all these years starts driving you crazy for no reason and you get irritable or snappish
Lost interest in sex because 1) You have no libido 2) You are feeling “dry as a bone” down there?
Your breasts suddenly begin to droop
Joints are aching and you are thinking you have arthritis
Hair begins to thin all of a sudden
You are cold a lot of the time. No more ski trips or snow lodges…I need the tropics?
A notion that Zoloft or a little Lexapro, maybe an Ambien, sounds increasingly appealing?
An mindset that addressing your mood issues by giving up sugar, alcohol, and flour, taking various supplements, and hormonal tweaking sounds like way too much work?
If you answered “Yes” to many of these questions and you’re age 35-50, welcome to perimenopause. These symptoms mean that your ovaries have started to “sputter” and are no longer manufacturing the same, predictable, and consistent levels of estrogen and progesterone that they used to. To make matters worse, the happy brain chemical, serotonin may head south. Some women actually believe they are going crazy.
Well, ladies, Peri Needn’t be Scary! When I dealt with my own hormone imbalances, I had the help of Dr. John R. Lee, considered “the Father of Natural Progesterone.” He placed me on progesterone at age 35.
It is now 30 years later and I have breezed thru peri-menopause and menopause and I feel GREAT! I want that for you!
Is it hard to believe that you can do this without a prescription AND without a doctor placing you on anti-depressants, sleep meds and Xanax? Well, you can.. Bio-identical progesterone is the exact replica of progesterone your body makes in your ovaries.
Look for a cream that contains 20 mg = ¼ teaspoon. You want to rub it twice daily into your inner arms, face, neck or wrists from Day 12-26. Once cycles get very irregular, use for 25 days of the month.
Get a crème with a good reputation, such as my cremes above. The Pro-HELP for women under 50 in perimenopause, and the Menopause Moisture Creme for women over 50 in perimenopause. Randomized trials show that different formulations of crème produce different results.
Wondering about Estrogen? The indicators for estrogen are vaginal dryness and severe hot flashes and night sweats ( although progesterone is found to be 83% effective for these) If you need a bio-identical estrogen write to me as I have a great recommendation on my website.
Ladies, hormone issues are understandable, but solvable. Be aware of the symptoms and take action. This can be a WONDERFUL time of life! Need more information? Email Me! barbara@askabarbarahoffman.com Love You! Barbara