Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Body-identical or bioidentical menopausal hormone therapy uses hormones that are exactly identical to human hormones. Bioidentical hormones are safer than other types of hormone replacement, both in terms of cardiovascular risk and breast cancer risk. Examples include transdermal estradiol patches and oral micronized progesterone.
According to a Lancet review, menstrual migraines are more severe than migraines at other times of the cycle.
Possible drivers of menstrual migraines include estrogen withdrawal at the end of the cycle, plus an estrogen-dependent release of prostaglandins and histamine. Body-identical progesterone may help to shelter the brain from estrogen withdrawal and reduce the frequency and intensity of menstrual migraines.
Perimenopause, or “second puberty,” is the two to ten years before the final period. It’s different from menopause (or post-menopause), which is the life phase that begins one year after the final period. Symptoms can occur during perimenopause and are temporary.
If you’re a woman of reproductive age, making sufficient estrogen is important for mood, bones, muscles, and metabolism.
Signs you’re making enough estrogen include the presence of cervical fluid and regular ovulation.
Signs you’re not making enough estrogen include a lack of periods and vaginal dryness.
🎈
In your forties, you may find you don’t cope as well with stress. It happens because losing progesterone during perimenopause can destabilize the HPA (adrenal) axis or stress response system.
This recalibration of the nervous system is why perimenopause is associated with an increased risk of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.