How do you stop fatigue during perimenopause?

Today's topic

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I take a look at how to stop fatigue in perimenopause.

We know from all the correspondence we get that fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in perimenopause and menopause. Very often, it can be the first symptom that women start to experience as their hormones begin to change and it can sometimes last a few years.

Today, I am going to look through why this happens and what you can do to help yourself.

What does perimenopausal fatigue feel like?

Perimenopausal fatigue can be physically and emotionally draining. It can be unexplained, persistent tiredness even though you have a good night's sleep. You could go to bed early, sleep really well and when you wake up in the morning, you just want to hide back under the covers and not bother getting up.

It can cause low attention span, you can become forgetful and feel as if you have a fuzzy brain. You just feel out of sorts. You may find that your get-up-and-go has gone. You can no longer face or have the energy to go to your exercise classes or daily tasks like cleaning and shopping. You may find even that socialising is just too draining for you. You get tired so quickly no matter what you are doing.

What causes it or makes it worse?

So, let's take a closer look at what can cause this fatigue during perimenopause and also what can make it worse:

Poor sleep – this in itself is a really big issue. If you're not sleeping well, your body is not going to have time to rest, repair, and recuperate properly. In perimenopause, especially if your periods are starting to change, that can really affect the way that you sleep, especially at the times when your period is normally due.

Extra physical pressure - when the hormonal changes start, that creates other physical changes too. Your nutritional needs can go sky high and if you're not getting enough nutrition, or not getting the right balance of everything that your body needs at this time, your body is not going to have the energy to do what you expect it to do every day.

Fluctuating blood sugar levels - when your hormones are going up and down a lot in perimenopause, that can affect the blood sugar balance very quickly. You can get a really quick sudden dip and that can cause sudden fatigue. If you find that you're going about happily what you're doing and then the next minute you feel you could just curl up and fall asleep, that's often a good indication that your blood sugars have got too low.

Low magnesium – your body needs more magnesium for hormone fluctuations. Low magnesium can affect your general energy levels.
Emotional issues - it's such a hard time for women at this time. When you get to the perimenopause, you may still have children at home. You've got work to contend with. You may have to look after elderly relatives and parents. You're worrying the whole time. Emotional worry and this stress are extremely draining of your energy.

Heavy periods - for some women, as they start the perimenopause, their periods start to change. They may get a bit heavier, longer or closer together. This can cause low iron or anaemia. One of the common symptoms of anaemia is fatigue. If you find that you tend to get extra tired through your period and just after your period, then maybe just get your iron levels checked out or take a gentle iron tonic.

Does perimenopause fatigue go away?

This is a very difficult question to answer because it is going to be different for every single woman. If your lifestyle is a bit chaotic, if you're burning the candle at both ends, then the fatigue is just going to continue.

Remember that fatigue is basically your body's way of telling you, "Help me. I'm tired. I'm doing too much." If you don't listen to that message, then fatigue is just going to continue and that, obviously, is going to impact more and more on your daily life.

Take control of your symptoms

While there are lots of things that can impact your energy levels during perimenopause, there are things you can do to help stop feeling so fatigued. I recommend that you:

Prioritise your sleep - I know it's easier said than done, but there is lots of information out there. We've got a whole area of our website dedicated to how to make sleep better and there are lots of things that you can do.

Simple things like not having that late-night cup of coffee or high salt and sugar food snacks in the evening. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water. Those things can make a huge amount of difference to your sleep without having to do much else. If you are having problems falling asleep, you can look at our licensed remedy, Dormeasan.

Get outside - get some fresh air. That's one of the more wonderful ways of energizing yourself. For those of you lucky enough to have parks, nature, or you live in the countryside, it can be such a lovely energizer just getting out there for half an hour. Hearing the birds' songs and getting a little bit of sunshine when the sun is out can really help.

Remember too that if you don't get a lot of sunlight, you may be lacking in vitamin D and low vitamin D will cause fatigue.

Boost your B vitamins - we need a range of B vitamins. They all help to release energy from our food. They help to support our nervous system and they help to give us that little bit extra energy. So maybe if you're feeling just generally a bit sluggish, a daily vitamin B complex can be very helpful.

Magnesium - magnesium is really important here, as I mentioned before. We have two remedies with magnesium. Our Menopause Support tablets, can be taken in the peri-menopause as long as you are not on any contraceptives and as long as your periods are starting to get lighter, tail off, or miss.

Reduce Perimenopause Fatigue with Menopause Support

• Support for all stages of menopause: perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause
• Reduces fatigue: Magnesium contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, as well as helping to support the nervous system
• Provides 50mg of bioavailable phytoestrogenic soy isoflavones per day, and also contains hibiscus extract
• Can be used with HRT, but not suitable to use with hormonal contraceptives.

"Feel so much better in myself after taking these and will happily continue." Barbara, Northampton

Read more customer reviews

Find Menopause Support tablets in a store near you

You can also look at our Balance Mineral Drink, which has magnesium in it. It also has potassium in it and potassium is known to help with energy levels.

Manage your emotional symptoms - if you are under stress or feeling under a lot of pressure, try to relax. I know it's really difficult and modern life doesn't help women in this situation by giving us time, which is one of the things that we need. Even that half an hour "me" time a day can make a huge amount of difference to your energy levels.

Eat regularly – this will help to keep those blood sugars stable. I know, for myself, that was one of my main issues. My blood sugars tend to go all over the place. I only need to not eat for two or three hours and even now, I can feel my energy just plummet. For me, I found that eating little and often makes a huge amount of difference to my energy levels. Have good, healthy snacks in between meals - not chocolate, biscuits or cake, but nuts and seeds, or one of these energy bars that you can either make or you can buy. These are things that are going to help prolong your energy and keep your blood sugars stable.

Eat breakfast – that's really important here. Your body is going on a long journey every single day and it needs a good start to keep itself going. If you don't like breakfast, then maybe just take a protein powder shake drink first thing. It will give you a little bit of a boost so that you're not running on empty for most of the morning.

Drink plenty of water - dehydration causes fatigue. If you are getting hot flushes and sweats, that's going to dehydrate you even further, and it's going to make you even more fatigued, so drink loads of plain water every day.

Eat slow energy-release food - if you're eating foods that release their energy slowly, that's going to help to sustain you more during the day. Sugary foods and simple carbohydrates are really not going to help here, so it would be things like vegetables, good quality oatmeal and sweet potatoes. Have a good variety of foods at each meal and that will help to keep you going for longer too.

I hope you found this one helpful. It is such a common symptom and so many women find that with fatigue, they just can't perform the way that they want to at this particular time. This is one symptom that really does need sorting the minute you start to find yourself fatigued because otherwise, it can really drag on and impair the quality of your daily life.

When should you consult your doctor about fatigue?

The one really important thing here is if you try all these things and fatigue persists, it can mean that other health issues are involved so this is the point where you check with your doctor. As I mentioned before, low vitamin D, B12, iron and poor thyroid function, can all cause fatigue.

Don't put up with it - if it's really dragging you down, then please seek some advice before you do anything else.

If any of you have any tips or anything that you have found has really helped you cope with fatigue, then please share them because we'd love to hear all about them.

Until next week, take care.