[00:00:00] Vesna: Welcome to the Peak Revival Podcast. My name is Vesna and 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.
[00:00:36] 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.
[00:00:58] 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.
[00:01:13] 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?
[00:01:38] 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.
[00:01:55] So quite often if you go to the GP They're most likely going to check [00:02:00] 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.
[00:02:17] 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.
[00:02:40] 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.
[00:02:59] 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.
[00:03:09] 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.
[00:03:23] 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.
[00:03:38] 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.
[00:03:58] So first area, like I said, is the [00:04:00] 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.
[00:04:20] 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.
[00:04:51] 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?
[00:05:11] 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.
[00:05:22] 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.
[00:05:38] 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.
[00:05:55] And the third thing is the diet. Okay, so I see women who have either been on [00:06:00] 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.
[00:06:14] 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.
[00:06:30] 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.
[00:06:47] 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.
[00:07:11] 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.
[00:07:27] 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.
[00:07:48] 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 [00:08:00] 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.
[00:08:07] 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?
[00:08:27] 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.
[00:08:42] 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.
[00:09:22] 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.
[00:09:44] Let me know.
