Exploring Perimenopause & Menopause
Is it hot in here or is it just me? Your flow seems a little different…. a little longer or even a little shorter, your bleeding is heavier one cycle and absent the next…. What is going on? Perimenopause, no two individual’s experiences are the same, some may endure a subtle or even erratic transition that occurs over 4-6 years, while others may have regular periods until it stops seemingly overnight. Perimenopause can be tricky to identify since it’s such a unique experience for everyone and there’s no official test in place to confirm its arrival, understanding our bodies is the first step towards learning to flow with our bodies as they change.
Perimenopause Who?
Perimenopause is characterized by the menopausal transition where your ovaries gradually begin to produce less and less estrogen over time. During this time, imbalances of progesterone and estrogen can cause your menstrual cycle to become erratic, your sleep to dwindle, dysregulation in your moods, disruption or sometimes aid in your sexual libido, and affects your overall energy levels. The onset of perimenopause occurs 10-15 years before menopause ( average menopausal age being 51), if menopause sets in before the age of 40 this is known as premature menopause and is usually caused by medical conditions or procedures. If there is no medical cause then this could be due to a primary ovarian insufficiency.
How can I tell?
Cycle Length Shifts
In your early 20s your cycles were roughly 32 days, by the time you reach your thirties they will be 28 days and will continue to shorten over time. If your cycle shifts by 7 or more days from its usual track this is the early stages of perimenopause. After a while, the intervals will lengthen until menstruation no longer occurs - once menstruation has been absent for an entire calendar year this is considered the onset of menopause.
Cause
This occurs due to your maturing follicles ( specifically the corpus luteum) producing less progesterone during each cycle which shortened the time period for the endometrium or uterine lining to thicken and prepare for a fertilized egg.
Cycle of follicle development, ovulation, and corpus luteum degeneration
Erratic Periods
There will be times when estrogen is elevated and other times when it crashes really low, this imbalance can cause a variety of symptoms while enduring regular menstrual cycles. Sometimes the body will not ovulate, other times it will release more than one egg at a time which increases the rate of twins.
Cause
Over time the quantity and quality of follicles reduce to a point where not enough estrogen is produced to kickstart ovulation- this causes instances of missed periods and erratic irregular bleeding. FSH or Follicle Stimulating Hormone can become elevated during menstruation and this is the body's way of trying to jumpstart the process of creating more estrogen to regulate the imbalance of low estrogen.