today we're going to talk about are

the symptoms you're experiencing

perimenopause or is it something else?

I have a lot of clients, a lot of friends

in their mid to late 30s telling me

I'm going through perimenopause, It

could be perimenopausal symptoms or it

could be due to other imbalances, which

I want to talk about in this episode.

So whether it's due to, yes, you are in

perimenopause or you're not sure, this

episode applies to all because we're

going to cover each of those areas.

the normal gauge of when you're going

to go through menopause, I mean, this

is not a very hard scientific rule.

Okay.

But generally what we look at

as a gauge is when did your

mother go through menopause?

And that gives us a bit of an

indication of, When we're most

likely to go through menopause.

Okay.

So if that's not where you are right

now, then it could be something

else that's creating these symptoms.

These symptoms such as fatigue,

low mood, depression, heavy kind of

emotions and feelings, brain fog, where

it feels like you can't concentrate.

You don't have the focus.

You're forgetting things that

it feels like dementia, right?

You just don't have

that mental power there.

And maybe you're noticing

heavier periods or changes with

your periods and weight gain.

Okay.

So they're all symptoms of perimenopause,

but they can be due to other imbalances.

And so one of those imbalances is thyroid

dysfunction or low thyroid function.

So this can look like perimenopause

and The way that you can identify

if you do have a thyroid imbalance

is by doing some thyroid tests.

Now there is no test to diagnose whether

you're going through perimenopause,

okay, because sometimes we can't see

the hormonal changes to pretty much

post, once you're in menopause, okay?

And so what you want to have

a look at is other markers.

So thyroid dysfunction, so low

thyroid function is going to

look like perimenopause, so we're

going to feel tired, we're going

to feel all of those symptoms.

And the way that we check that

is through a pathology Test and

we want to make sure that you're

getting the complete thyroid panel.

So quite often if you go to the

GP They're most likely going

to check Just your TSH, okay.

Now that's not enough to detect whether

your thyroid is in balance, okay.

We've got thyroid antibodies,

we've got free T3, free T4.

They're all important to check to see if

that is actually creating your symptoms.

Because the other thing is, if you are

going through perimenopause, this is

one of the biggest areas that we look

at for perimenopause, is Thyroid health,

because what ends up happening is that

we look at perimenopause is right.

All of the symptoms that women get

through perimenopause is due to

hormonal changes when it's really

due to hormonal imbalances that

have been building up over time and

that eventually catch up with us.

Right?

So at any major point in our life,

puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, we

are more prone to thyroid imbalances.

Okay?

And so this is an area of whether you're,

don't think you're in perimenopause, or

you're or you are, has to be looked at.

And the first step is to do the

appropriate pathology checks.

Now I did a episode on this in episode

six, where I talked about looking

at what pathology tests you need

and what markers they should include

and what range they should be in.

So the thyroid manages our metabolism.

So we're going to feel when

our metabolism is affected, if

we've got low thyroid function,

we're going to feel tired.

We're going to feel sluggish.

We're going to not.

detoxify as well, we're not

going to have the brain power.

So again, you can see it points

to all of those symptoms.

Now, if you're finding that you don't

have time to see your doctor to get these

tests done, or you feel like it might

be an awkward conversation because you

know, you're most likely not going to get

all the tests that you want to get done.

You can order them yourself online.

Again, I talked about

that in the podcast.

So in episode six, if you want to

go back after this one and listen to

that, because I think it's really,

It is really important to have your

markers to know where you stand, to

know where the imbalance is, because

otherwise you could be treating

imbalances that don't exist, right?

You could be looking and focusing

on other areas, which is not

the right area to focus on.

So first area, like I said, is the

thyroid, checking thyroid function.

Number two is stress or

the HPA access system.

So if you've been.

through a period of high stress.

Again, these symptoms

mimic perimenopause.

And I find that when women who are

going through perimenopause, it's

very often they're burnt out, they're

very, very tired, they're exhausted.

Anyway, coming into that because

they've had a very stressful work,

career, children, managing aging,

parents, finances, whatever it is.

They're going through a stressful

period, then the transitional

time comes up, and they get hit

much harder with the symptoms.

And the reason is, is because as we

go through that transition from, you

know, perimenopause into menopause,

we are going to rely on this HPA

adrenals So the HPA is it, um,

hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis.

The adrenals are part of our stress

response system and they start to produce

hormones necessary for our transition,

our easy transition into menopause.

And so if we're coming into this stage

in our life, burnt out, exhausted,

like completely spent, nothing left

in the tank, well, naturally those

glands are already taken up, right?

The energy is taken up to do the work.

Keeping you going because you're

exhausted and constantly under stress.

the number one priority is not

for hormonal production, right?

And so you're really going

to feel the impact there.

So looking at this area, if so,

you're probably nodding going,

yes, yes, yes, this is me.

I'm definitely being really stressed.

Okay.

Okay.

So.

Even if you don't feel like

you have, this is still an

area that needs support, right?

Because as we transition into

menopause, we want to support the

adrenals with a low stress life.

We want to make sure that

we eat regular meals.

We have good nutrition in the body,

getting good amounts of sleep, all

of the things that are going to

help our body to restore itself

and our nervous system to restore.

So we're able to take the Pressure off

the adrenals, and then our body can

focus this energy on hormone production.

And the third thing is the diet.

Okay, so I see women who have either

been on a low calorie diet, which

means it's a low fat diet, and they

have these symptoms of perimenopause.

Now, we need essential fats.

We need good fats because

they make, cholesterol, right?

We need cholesterol.

Cholesterol makes our hormones.

And if we have been on a low fat

diet, which is normally a low calorie

diet, We're not going to be getting

enough of those essential fats, and

we're not going to have enough to

produce the hormones that we need.

So it's going to feel like we're

going through perimenopause, but

we're really deficient because

of our nutrition is very low.

So have a look at how often

are you maybe eating out?

So that's going to be

the wrong types of fats.

How often are you having good fats like,

you know, your avocados, your olive oil,

even your animal protein gives you a good

source of fat to produce your hormones

as well, even though it's saturated fat.

So those three areas are the same

areas I would look at treating or

supporting during perimenopause.

The only other system I'd add in

there is gut function because during

perimenopause you can have a lot

of the symptoms like mood changes,

depression, teariness, , hot flushes,

night sweats, which can be coming

from too much histamine in the body,

which is all coming from gut function.

So we need to support the gut

as well through perimenopause.

So those So those three key areas are

the first ones that I would look at.

Thyroid function, getting a

test done, looking at what you

can do to support the thyroid.

And I talk about that

in episode number six.

Second thing is supporting your

stress response system, the HPA axis.

So if you've been through a period of

high stress, supporting that, or if you

feel like you actually are going through

perimenopause, this is the age, right?

Then you still need to

support that system.

And again, it's really

looking at reducing the

amount of stress on your body.

I was talking to someone the other day

and she said, look, my lifestyle, I'm

in perimenopause, but my life is hectic.

I'm going through a divorce.

I've got all these financial issues.

I've got court cases and whatnot.

And the thing is we don't need our

life to be stress free completely

in order for our bodies to recover.

Okay.

and it's unlikely that will ever be

maybe in retirement one day, but what

we want to do is reduce as much stress

from the body as we possibly can.

And so if we can reduce the Stress

on our biochemistry with poor food

choices, deficiencies, imbalances in

our thyroid, not eating regularly,

not having enough protein, not having

enough essential fats, bringing that

back into balance and eating correctly.

will reduce the stress hormones

in the body, even though your

life is busy and hectic, okay?

And that's where you really have to look.

And the third thing is making sure

that you're getting essential fats.

Get off any major weight loss regimes

that you're doing that are really,

really restrictive, that are cutting

out essential fats from your diet,

because they're not going to allow you

to produce the hormones that you need.

So just as a final note, I just want

to say that I know that when a lot of

women go to their GP or their doctor, if

they're in a certain age group, it can be

put down really easily as perimenopause

and just brushed to the side, right?

So I've had women in my communities that

have really burnt out and once they've

restored their physical health and

mental health from the burnout, There's

symptoms of perimenopause disappeared,

And so I really want to encourage

you to do your own investigations,

even if you feel like, you know,

you can't get the support, you can't

get the test done that you need from

your doctor, then do them yourself.

You can order them online, they

get interpreted for you, and you

can have a look at where your

imbalances are, and then take the

appropriate action from there.

Rather, then suffering with these

symptoms thinking, okay, well, this

is, I'm in perimenopause and this will

take 10 years and this is where I'm at.

Okay.

So it really doesn't

have to be like that.

There is a lot that you can do.

Let me know in the comments below,

if you're feeling like you're in

perimenopause and after listening

to this, you're thinking, actually,

maybe I am not, and maybe I could

do these extra investigations.

Let me know.