Dr. Angela: Welcome back to the Lifestyle MD podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Angela, and I'm here again with one of my favorite people in the whole world, Dr. Carrie Denny.
Dr. Carrie: Hi!
Dr. Angela: And we're so excited. We are going to do a series, this is part one, on perimenopause and menopause. So we're going to talk about hormones, we're going to talk about symptoms, we're going to talk about how to support yourself. And this first one is really about helping you understand what's actually happening. Because what we hear a lot from people is: "I don't know what's happening." "Why am I feeling this way?" "No one ever told me this could happen."
Dr. Carrie: And I think that's a thing. No one told us this could happen.
Dr. Angela: No one taught us this in medical school. We had to go back and learn it on our own, right?
Dr. Carrie: Absolutely. Like, it was a 20-minute lecture and the only thing I remember from it was about vaginal atrophy.
Dr. Angela: Yes! Same! And now we're like, wait a minute. There is a lot more happening than just vaginal dryness.
Dr. Carrie: Yeah. Yeah.
Dr. Angela: So let's talk a little bit about what is actually happening. When we say perimenopause and menopause, what does that mean?
Dr. Carrie: Yeah, I think a lot of people think menopause is when your hormones are gone or you're done. Or your periods have stopped. And perimenopause is the time leading up to that. So I think we can think of the whole reproductive years and into perimenopause and menopause as phases. And that early perimenopause is often where the hormones are at their highest and start to become irregular, and we start to see a lot of changes. And the thing is, it might not be your periods at all that change at first. It might be mood, or anxiety, or sleep, or fatigue, or hot flashes. And some of those things might even show up when you're still cycling regularly.
Dr. Angela: I love that you said that because that's what I see all the time. I hear from women who are like, I don't think it's my hormones, but I'm crying all the time. I can't sleep. I am feeling anxious. I'm getting panic attacks. And it's a change for them. They're like, I've never been this way. And you're right, they may still be having a cycle, but it's what's happening underneath the surface.
Dr. Carrie: Totally.
Dr. Angela: And what is happening is your hormones are starting to change. They're starting to shift. And it's not even like a gentle decrease. Sometimes it's like a roller coaster.
Dr. Carrie: It's a big old mess sometimes.
Dr. Angela: Yeah. So it's like big, spiky highs. And then drops. And you start to feel it, right? And sometimes the changes are not even reflected in the labs.
Dr. Carrie: Yeah. I mean, I always say, you know, it's not necessarily a laboratory diagnosis. It's a clinical diagnosis. And if you're in your mid 30s, 40s, even into your early 50s, and you're like, something's going on with me, and I feel different, and I don't know what it is, chances are it might be this.
Dr. Angela: Yeah. And the hormone changes are not just about reproduction. They impact the brain. They impact your gut. They impact your skin, your joints, your immune system. Your mood. Your metabolism. I mean, all of that. So we hear from people all the time, I feel like something's changing. I don't know what it is. And what I want you to hear is that it's probably your hormones. And it's normal. That doesn't mean you have to suffer, but it is common, and it is normal, and you're not broken.
Dr. Carrie: Right. And there's a lot we can do. But I think the first step is just understanding what's actually going on. And having language for it. I think so many women just feel like they're losing their mind or something's wrong with them. And it's really helpful to have someone say, hey, here's what's happening, and here's why.
Dr. Angela: Yeah. And that's what we want this episode to be. It's just helping you understand what's going on in your body so that you can make sense of it. So you don't feel crazy. So you don't feel like you're losing your mind. And you can start to think about what you might do to support your body. Because there is support available.
Dr. Carrie: Yep. And we're going to talk more about that in the next episode.
Dr. Angela: Awesome. So stay tuned. And if this episode resonated with you, or you thought of someone else while you were listening, please share it with them. You never know who needs to hear this.
