Live Better and More Comfortably By Understanding Perimenopause

The female reproductive organs—breasts, ovaries, vagina and uterus—all depend on the presence of estrogen. Decreased estrogen and the breasts begin to sag. Decreased or insufficient estrogen and the uterus becomes atrophic. The uterus deflates and there is no more reason for menstruation to occur. Decreased or insufficient estrogen—particularly of estradiol—and the cells of the vagina and bladder are lacking the nourishment they need to keep things moist and to prevent against urinary infections and incontinence.

Estrogen—the particular estrogen called estradiol—helps dilate blood vessels, helping to keep the cardiovascular system healthy and blood pressure balanced. Reduced estrogen can also lead to increased heart palpitations—another symptom women will experience with more frequency as we age.

Estradiol boosts blood flow to the brain. This helps with nerve function and brain function. Estradiol helps to keep certain neurotransmitters in circulation, in particular, serotonin and acetylcholine, which help keep memory sharp, reduce anxiety and maintain normal sleep patterns.

Estradiol is also critical for our musculoskeletal health including health of bones and joints.

Estrogen is most associated with its role alongside progesterone in female sexual and reproductive health. Estrogen and progesterone work symbiotically to prevent the lining of the uterus from becoming too thick.

From around the age of 30, levels of progesterone and consequently, estrogen, start to fall.

Progesterone, one of our “feel good” hormones, is among the first to decline during our reproductive years.

Progesterone is meant to balance estrogen and it also protects the nervous system. It’s what keeps ample levels of circulating GABA(1) and allows for more restful sleep.

Progesterone is nature’s diuretic—helping to prevent water retention. And progesterone helps cells take-up the circulating estrogen receptors they need.

A condition called estrogen dominance occurs if progesterone production drops much more rapidly than estrogen. Estrogen dominance may also be considered progesterone deficiency.

Often, the female body produces too much estrogen compared to the amount of progesterone in the body and this is another factor resulting in estrogen dominance.

In severe cases where progesterone is very out of balance with estrogen, estrogen may work overtime in the female body causing cell overgrowths such as tumors in the uterine lining.

During perimenopause, hormone levels tend to fluctuate throughout the day causing an increase in our estrogen to progesterone ratio.

This creates a host of unpleasant, if not, distressing symptoms:

Why Estrogen Dominance Is Not Just Restricted to Women in Their Forties

Estrogen dominance is practically the norm throughout our menopausal years, however today, it’s a cultural occurrence among women of younger age mainly because of the stressful lifestyles many women lead.

Our bodies produces the hormone cortisol in response to stress.When we do not have methods in place to help ourselves respond resiliently to stress, our bodies will produce high amounts of cortisol which will then deplete the body’s ability to produce progesterone. With estrogen left unchecked by progesterone, estrogen dominance occurs even in a woman who doesn’t seem of appropriate age to begin experiencing perimenopause.

High-dose oral contraceptives/birth control pills can be a factor causing estrogen dominance and so can hormone therapy medications.

Having a high percentage of body fat can lead to high estrogen levels because fat tissue secretes estrogen.

High alcohol consumption will also increase estrogen levels while at the same time reducing the body’s ability to metabolize estrogen.

Liver conditions may prevent it from breaking down estrogen and eliminating it from the body causing too much estrogen to accumulate.

If the body is not producing enough digestive enzymes, has too much bad gut bacteria, too little fiber in the diet or low levels of magnesium, all or any of these may prevent the liver from removing excess estrogen.

Common symptoms of estrogen dominance include:

During perimenopause, the ovaries still continue to produce hormones(2) however with progesterone decrease always in play. Hormones in the female during perimenopause are winding down, vacillating, playing with the female body like a yo-yo, and all leading to the moment of full menopause(3)—the full pause or cessation of menses which is a singular occurrence and actually a moment or a day in time.

Susan Love, M.D., author of Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices All the Facts about the New Hormone Replacement Therapy Studies, describes perimenopause this way:

How to Begin Easing the Symptoms of Perimenopause

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