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Back to Basics: Progesterone

At some point in your early forties or even late thirties, you will start to make less progesterone due to infrequent ovulation. To make progesterone, you must ovulate. Think of ovulation as the MVP of your menstrual cycle.

If you have symptoms but are still having periods than you are in perimenopause. Perimenopause can start 5-10 years before menopause, and it is these tumultuous years when women need extra support.

The loss in progesterone can bring a whole list of symptoms such as anxiety, brain fog, insulin resistance, poor sleep, and much more. Coupled with higher-than-normal estrogen.....which further exacerbates symptoms such as breast pain, heavy periods, mood swings, and migraines.

Also, if you have poor detox pathways, or a stressed liver than you will have difficulty clearing excess estrogen from the body.

There is no blood test for perimenopause it’s a cluster of symptoms:

• Periods are closer together or further apart
• Changes in flow (very heavy with clotting or extremely light until it fades away)
• Night sweats or hot flashes
• Breast pain
• Weight gain without changes in diet or physical activity
• Mood changes
• Brain fog
• Hair loss
• Underactive thyroid or sluggish thyroid
• Increased anxiety
• Trouble sleeping

Many, many more symptoms.

No, you cannot eat your way back to robust progesterone levels.

No, you cannot supplement for progesterone.

No, Vitex/Chasteberry will not replace lowering progesterone.

No, the IUD/pill will not supplement the loss in progesterone.

What can you do?

🌀 Understand that there is help for your symptoms

🌀Do some basic work around sleep and stress

🌀 Add minerals to your diet especially those targeted to help with peri symptoms

🌀 Reduce stress on the body by eating enough

🌀 Get your meno labs checked

🌀 Explore HRT

🌀Don't feel you have to do it 'all'

We want YOU to know that:

• Change is possible
• You don't have to settle
• This is a time of great transformation not your breakdown

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