Perimenopause

You are not losing your mind. You are losing your hormones!

Are you wondering what is wrong with you? Are you banging your head against the wall trying to make sense of what is going on with your body? If you are noticing mood changes, weight gain, fatigue, changes in your menstrual cycles, PMS and your sex drive seems to have vanished - you are likely experiencing the early premenopausal changes of your body known as “perimenopause”. This transition from normal, monthly, predictable cycles to the complete cessation of bleeding can span 10 years or more, and for some women may start to change as early as your 30s.

It seems unfair to be sure, and it may not be clear why this is suddenly happening. You can look at your genetics and your mother line: how have other women experienced this transition in their lives? Did women in your family all have hysterectomies for heavy and/or painful periods? Have you experienced PCOS, infertility, taken birth control for any length of time or had other period issues of your own?

There are many underlying reasons for the disruption in normal menstrual cycles, including such hard-to-pinpoint causes like environmental exposures, stressful life situations, some medical conditions and procedures, low thyroid and/or adrenal dysfunction, poor quality nutrition and gut microbiome health.

Your changing hormones can be highly unpredictable during this time making accurate testing a challenge. Dr. Peterson uses screening blood testing as well as urine testing (such as DUTCH testing) to evaluate the foundational state of your health: thyroid, iron, blood sugar, lipids, micronutrients, adrenal and cortisol function are all involved in contributing to your symptoms, and how you feel overall.

This is a great time of life to start to look more closely at what changes you can start to make in order to transition into menopause with fewer problems arising. Understanding the foundation of your health, those areas where you most need to focus to improve your health - will get you far down the road of healthy living!

Areas Dr. Peterson emphasizes for her patients include:

• Gut Health Restoration: healing your microbiome is increasingly linked to improved health in most all areas of your body. Comprehensive testing for your microbiome health may be offered, and comprehensive programs offered for healing, as indicated.
• Clean Up Your Diet: supporting your best weight by understanding which, if any, foods contribute to inflammation and symptoms can go a long way towards improving your overall health - for life!
• Establishing Good Lifestyle Habits: sleep, exercise, managing stress, reducing exposures to toxins as much as possible.
• Personalized Supplementation: Enhanced nutrition as well as targeted nutraceutical stacks are intended to build and restore your best health, and support you in a powerful practice of self-love: the regular use of high-quality supplements.