Do perimenopause symptoms get worse just before menopause?

Today's topic

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I'm going to be looking at perimenopausal symptoms and why they can sometimes get worse before menopause itself.

In perimenopause, the phase before your periods stop for good, you could still be getting regular periods or you may be starting to get irregular periods. As this hormonal fluctuation takes place, symptoms can appear. They can be very varied and can differ in intensity. You might get some that are really quite hard to cope with and others that you just breeze along with.

Some women do worry that if their symptoms get worse towards menopause, that they will then end up having a really difficult menopause when their periods stop for good. So, what I'm going to do today is look at the transition through perimenopause to menopause, what happens, what symptoms you're likely to get, and how you can help yourself.

What happens to your perimenopause symptoms just before menopause?

Perimenopause can last up to four or five years until your periods stop for good. A lot of women don't realise that perimenopause can take such a long time. What's happening in this phase is that your monthly hormonal cycle starts to change.

They can be very subtle changes. Some women find they get regular periods right up till the end, but menopause symptoms start to creep in. For other women, the hormones can fluctuate quite dramatically, almost like a seesaw. One month, your hormones might be really high, the next month, they take a really big tumble and then they get high again. This seesaw action can bring about different symptoms, depending on which hormones are dipping and which are getting higher.

You can get a complete combination of different symptoms from month to month, and it can be really confusing because you're then not sure quite how you're going to cope with these.

The problem as well is that these hormonal changes put your body into a tailspin. Our bodies like order and balance. When this order and balance start to falter because of all the hormonal changes, your body will try and fight against it. It wants to keep in balance, which uses up a lot of energy. All these changes can then put a lot more pressure on the body and that can then make it more difficult for your body to adjust.

Also, stress and day-to-day pressures can all compound this problem! If you're really busy, if you don't even take time to breathe, if you get stressed, if you're rundown, if you're fatigued, then all of these will make it harder for your body to adjust. That can then lead to perimenopausal symptoms appearing and for those symptoms to get worse the further through the perimenopause you go. The further through you go, the lower your hormones are going to get, and your body is going to have to work even harder to adjust.

If you think about it, you've got all these hormonal fluctuations happening and then, at one point, your hormones say, "What? That's it. I've done enough here." Your periods stop for good and that's you in the menopause.

At that particular point, for the majority of women, symptoms are often easing off because there's not that great hormonal flux going on every month and the body has finally managed to adjust and get used to this low level.

A lot of women do find that symptoms can be worse in perimenopause, and they will then ease off during menopause itself. I do know, however, from all the emails I get that this doesn't happen to everyone

What can you do to help yourself?

So, let's look at what you can do to help your body to adjust that little bit better during perimenopause and into menopause:

Start with the basics

First of all, it's so important to eat well. Remember your body is using up an awful lot of energy in this adjustment phase and it needs more of absolutely every single vitamin, mineral and essential fat, so you need to eat well.

You also need to rest to allow your body to recuperate. How can it adjust if you're running yourself ragged every single day and maybe you're not sleeping well either? Your body's just not getting a chance to do anything with all these hormonal changes.

Remember sensible exercise. It's really important to keep everything moving and also to keep your heart healthy too.

Hydration is so important too. All these fluctuations can dehydrate you, and dehydration will make absolutely every single menopause symptom worse.

Manage your stress. Again, this is one that is much easier said than done. You can try things like magnesium or stress remedies. Extra supplements like B vitamins can often help to support your nervous system when it's going through these changes.

Take control of your symptoms

So many women write to me and they say, "When will these symptoms end?" That's one question I can't answer. What you can do instead of waiting for the symptoms to end, which could sometimes take years, is take control and try to deal with your symptoms. That's also going to make it easier for your body once you hit menopause fully.

It's looking at symptoms individually, such as stress, joint aches or fatigue, and try to figure out why these are happening and then you can deal with them one by one.

Alternatively, you can look at supplements to provide some extra support.
If your periods are starting to tail off, then you could look at our Menopause Support, which contains soy isoflavones and magnesium and is suitable for all stages of menopause.

If you're getting hot flushes and night sweats, there's the herb sage, such as our one-a-day Menoforce Sage tablets.

Also, remember that little changes that you can do during the day with your diet and stress relief can make a huge difference to your symptoms. It will make you feel better, more positive, and it will help your body to cope that much more.

Menopause Support for perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause

• Support for all stages of menopause
• Provides 50mg of bioavailable phytoestrogenic soy isoflavones per day, obtained using an extract of soya beans
• Magnesium contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and helps support the nervous system
• Also contains hibiscus extract
• Can be used with HRT, but not suitable to use with hormonal contraceptives.

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Find Menopause Support tablets in a store near you

Seek knowledge and support

This is a really important one. So many women come back to me, and just say, "You've explained what's happened and what's happening. I understand it now." It makes them feel so much better and so much more in control.

Knowing why you're getting the symptoms, knowing what exactly is happening to your hormones in perimenopause can make you feel so much better and so much more in control. Again, when you hit menopause itself, you will be able to cope with that a lot better too.

If you're really struggling, try and speak to your doctor. A lot of surgeries and health areas here in the UK have special menopause clinics that you can ask to be referred to.

Look at women's groups or set one up yourself. I always say to women, instead of suffering on your own, you're bound to know other women who may be the same age as you, who may be going through exactly the same thing, and just getting that little bit of extra support can make a huge difference to how you feel and also, how you can cope at this time as well.

Prioritise yourself!

If I'm doing workshops, one of the first things I ask is, "Where are you on your list of daily priorities?" Most women are not even on the list. That's how little they prioritise their health and well-being. Again, it's about looking after yourself. It's not being selfish. If you get rundown, you can't look after other people, you can't work as well and you can't give what you need to give. If you look after yourself, you're going to be physically, emotionally, and mentally stronger.

Try to take 30-minute "me" time each day to relax. I'm forever saying to take 30 minutes to shut yourself away, listen to beautiful music, the sound of the rainforest, or the sound of whales. Just do something, for you, for 30 minutes, where you're completely cut off from the rest of daily life. That can make a huge difference to your general well-being. Don't feel guilty about it!

I told one woman to take this time and she went to her family and said, "I'm going to do this 30-minute "me" time every day." They noticed the huge difference in her mood and her happiness. Now if she misses it, they practically force her to go and do it. Not only will you feel better with the 30-minute "me" time, but it can make a huge difference for all those people around you too.

I hope you found this one helpful. Peri-menopause is a huge phase and this is just a tiny snapshot of what can go on. It can be a really confusing time so if any of you are wondering about symptoms, whether they are normal or not and whether you should be experiencing them or not then please just ask and I will be happy to help.

Until then, take care.