What is Perimenopause

Perimenopause most often strikes women in their 40’s and sometimes late 30’s. On average it lasts four to six years and for some lucky women it can be as short as one year. For those unlucky amongst us it can take more than 10 years to conclude.

So much less is known about Perimenopause than Menopause and as a Naturopathic practitioner and self-confessed warrior for women’s health education, I have experienced this chapter myself and understand all too well what this can mean for women and their quality of life.  For this reason, I am doing my part to help women understand what is going on for them, supporting them with educational tools, diet, lifestyle, herbs, supplements and more. This is because it really can be a very challenging time of emotional and physical ups and downs for a large percentage of women and significantly impact every aspect of their lives. 

As luck would have it, this hormonal rollercoaster often strikes when women are juggling more than ever before. Women in their 40’s are in high demand with stress in their lives often at a peak as they prioritise demanding families, career commitments, financial expectations, aging parents and the list goes on.   What makes matters worse is that stress worsens symptoms.

Combined with a feeling of not being able to handle the level of life demands that you once did, I spend a lot of time supporting women with achieving hormonal harmony, stress resilience, anxiety reduction, better sleep, optimal day-time energy and mood in this perimenopausal chapter as they can all take a hit!

Other symptoms can include heavier periods & longer bleeding, mood swings & feeling terribly irritated and emotional, feeling tearier than usual, headaches, more painful or swollen breasts, waking up at night & night sweats, hot flushes, and gaining weight without eating more or changing your diet in any way.