4 week Perimenopause/Menopause Course, Are you ready to set yourself free?

To all of my optimal health ladies, this one is for you!!! I am so excited to launch my first of many optimal health courses. I am fed up of being told that what I am experiencing is just normal and to just deal with it. I hear so many women complain about symptoms occurring in their brain and body only to be told to take an antidepressant or to accept it. I refuse to allow this transition to increase my risk of Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses and I want to empower you along your journey.

I am currently experiencing symptoms of perimenopause and I want to share with you what I have learned. It is amazing what is actually happening in the brain while going through this second puberty of our lives and I want you to know exactly what is happening on a physical level. My role for this course will be to listen and support you while sharing all things on sleep, fasting, diet, stress and hacks to relieve symptoms.

I have the luxury of sharing this course with award winning author Stephanie Hrehirchuk, she will be the master of all things menopause, supporting and guiding you with intention setting, anxiety relief, the power of breath and gratitude.

Perimenopause and the big E

 
Me and perimenopause
 

Perimenopause and Estrogen Dominance


O.K before all of my menopausal optimal health seekers skip this article altogether, please consider reading it for your daughters, daughter in-laws, friends and sisters that are maybe in this stage of their lives. Share it with them and hopefully they will get some kind of relief and empowerment from this article.

This topic is dear to me, I am 43 years old and I have been  feeling the symptoms of perimenopause for the last two years now. I  have also suffered from high estrogen levels for the better part of my life due to endometriosis. Sleepless nights, at one point a month's worth of hot flashes/flushes, lack of periods or too many periods, the list goes on folks and yes, it happens to me too.

What I want to achieve from this article is reassurance, reassurance and comfort that there is hope and natural remedies to ease the symptoms of perimenopause, specifically when it comes to estrogen dominance related symptoms.

One of the biggest misunderstandings about why symptoms start to occur in the beginning stages of perimenopause is that they are sometimes due to HIGH estrogen levels and not low estrogen levels in relation to progesterone like we have been led to believe. For the purpose of this article and our attention span, I will focus on some pretty shitty symptoms related to estrogen dominance.  You may be surprised to know that estrogen dominance can start at about 35 years of age but most symptoms  start showing up  in our early 40’s. What happens in our early 40’s is that progesterone is the first hormone that  starts to decrease. It’s like, hmmm, not gonna get pregnant? O.K imma start to shut down. Progesterone please begin.

This lack of progesterone starts leaving room for estrogen to dominate our cycle. Estrogen dominance means that your estrogen levels increase relative to your progesterone levels. So your estrogen levels either rise and your progesterone stays the same or your estrogen stays the same and your progesterone drops. There are many reasons for this to happen; endometriosis, SIBO, chronic stress, adrenal fatigue, Perimenopause, Environmental toxins, Mold toxicity, Gut issues, Liver toxicity, Detox issues, Thyroid issues are just some of the reasons why estrogen can go crazy

There are other hormones that also play an important role when trying to balance symptoms from perimenopause and the two queen bee hormones that are at the top of the pyramid are insulin and cortisol. You didn’t think I was going to say that right?

This is the hierarchy of our hormones when it pertains to our cycle.

Insulin + cortisol then goes to Pregnenolone + DHEA then goes to Progesterone +estrogen + testosterone.

So if you don’t look at the two queen bee hormones; insulin and cortisol, you will only get so far in your healing journey.

It is never just one thing: optimal health seekers, everything is connected so if one test shows up in range  and you are still experiencing symptoms then keep on searching until you get to YOUR imbalance. This is what being an optimal health seeker is all about, taking responsibility for your health and never giving up. 


Why is it so important to get to the root of  high estrogen?

Well, personally, my biggest reasons to find more balance through these years of perimenopause  is to prevent Alzheimer’s, reduce symptoms from endometriosis, to prevent certain cancers such as breast cancer  and to reduce perimenopause symptoms so that I can live happily ever after with my husband (wink wink) 

Women have a much higher chance of getting Alzheimer’s in our menopausal years partly due to the hormonal imbalance that happens in our perimenopause and then menopause years. Research on women's health and women’s brains is showing that it is critical to work on hormonal health in our perimenopause years so that the transition to menopause can be much smoother and in turn healthier.

How many times have you shared with your doctor that you are suffering from some or all of the below symptoms and they just recommend to either go on the pill, have a hysterectomy, ablation surgery or start taking antidepressants?

This is not to say that any of the above mentioned therapies are not worth it and aren’t helpful but they do all come with drawbacks on their own and I do believe that trying to get to the root and understand WHY can be very helpful and go a long way for many women. I am not the first to say this, all of the leading women scientists and doctors in Functional Medicine are saying the same thing.


Symptoms of high estrogen (estrogen dominance)

Low libido
Migraines (especially around your period)
Painful periods
Fatigue
Irregular cycles
Heavy periods
Insomnia
Endometriosis
PMS
Depression
Anxiety
Constipation
Brain fog
Tender breast
Bloating
Just can’t handle stress like before
Fibrocystic breasts

Other symptoms and or connections related to  high estrogen include mast cell activation, high cortisol, low cortisol, insulin resistance, autoimmune disorders, thyroid issues, histamine issues and more. 

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What can you do now!


1. Track your 5th vital sign (your cycle) to know if you are ovulating

Knowing when you ovulate is #1 when you are trying to figure out what's up with your cycle. First, it will tell you if you are making progesterone and if you are having a proper  length luteal phase. Note, if you are on birth control, you do not ovulate. The importance of ovulation.

2. Eat more whole foods- Eating more whole foods that contain fiber, prebiotic and sulfur can help feed your gut microbiome and will  help the liver break down toxins and excess estrogen. Broccoli, cabbage, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, chia pudding, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables, all of these are amazing for the health of our liver and gut.

3. Work on your gut health- Let me say this to start- if you do not have a healthy amount of stomach acid, you will not be able to break down and absorb the nutrients from supplements or whole food. O.K, I said it. Just as a side note- Have anemia? It may be from low stomach acid and malabsorption.

Ever heard of estrobolome? Estrobolome is the estrogen part of your guts microbiome that is broken down by an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. So you see, your gut has a specific bacteria and enzyme that is responsible for getting rid of excess estrogen that was packaged up for you in the liver.  

Once the liver has broken down estrogen and daily toxic substances, those estrogen metabolites and toxins get packaged up and sent to the gut, then get broken down further by estrobolome and then you poop em out. If you don’t poop daily, your estrogen will back up too. Your gut has everything to do with removing excess estrogen. Nerdy enough for you yet?

Supplements for gut health in relation to estrogen- Cultured coconut probiotics, BioGai probiotic drops ( I get this at Costco), calcium D-glucarate (if you have high beta-glucuronidase), digestive enzymes, raw apple cider vinegar, bone broth. Oh, and, reduce stress, more on that later...

4. Take care of your liver health- Our liver is known to be most active between 11pm-2am, that is when it does most of its detoxing and that is why sleep is soooo fundamental to hormone health. But, the liver isn’t just working between those hours, it’s always doing something and that is why we must do our job to remove and eliminate as many lifestyle burdens as we can to alleviate the livers to do list. We can do this by  reducing alcohol consumption (I know, i’m sorry but it’s your liver, not me saying this), reducing refined carbs, conventional meat, conventional dairy, non-organic eggs and removing daily toxic home products that tax our liver health.
Our liver is what metabolizes and breaks down estrogen along with 500 other jobs it needs to do. So if our liver is not healthy or is overburdened with breaking down 2 glasses of wine a day, environmental toxins, processed foods, fructose or mold for example, our liver will not be able to eliminate that excess estrogen that your body is making.

Nutrients for the liver- glutathione, Methyl folate, B6+B12, sulforaphane, vitamin C, milk thistle, quercetin, NAC
 
Supplements that help with or remove excess estrogen- DIM, bio-identical progesterone, sulforaphane, vitex, calcium D-glucarate.
*Please ask your doctor and get tested before you start taking supplements to remove estrogen.

5. Stress Reduction- I just can’t seem to take on what I used to anymore, I was a proud and confident multitasker back in the day. I could do 5 things at one time and finish the day by saying- great job Christina, you have accomplished so much today! This does not serve me any longer and I must surrender and accept that what I do in a day does not define me as a person or my accomplishments. We are told to do, do, do. rest is for the weak, I completely disagree, this methodology slowly kills us, don’t eat the candy.

Did you know that chronic stress raises cortisol and cortisol destroys the mucus layer of our gut and our tight junctions within our gut? 
Did you know that stress increases insulin levels that can lead to weight gain, blood sugar imbalance and an increase in triglycerides? 
Did you know that  high cortisol increases estrogen levels and steals progesterone? 
Did you know that stress isn’t just created from a crazy busy lifestyle? It can be created from chronic inflammation, lack of quality sleep, chronic infection, mold toxicity and heavy metal toxicity. I think that sums it up, stress can cause many imbalances and we MUST make this a priority.

Supplements and lifestyle choices for stress reduction and adrenal support- Ashwagandha, rhodiola, lavender, ginseng, quality sleep, being kind to oneself, reducing your workload, just say NO, deep breathing, not going hard at the gym, acupuncture, walking in the forest.

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6. Testing

For some women just looking at the above symptoms could tell you that you have a pretty good chance of having higher than normal estrogen levels and that you could simply start by working on the body organs and tools mentioned above . For some, like me, you need to dive deeper, besides the stool testing (which I will be getting done soon) these are the tests I have done myself.

Dutch Complete test (gold standard urine test)

This test can be ordered by your functional medicine practitioner, nurse practitioner or naturopathic doctor. This test is not only measures typical sex hormones but also cortisol/cortisone levels, types of estrogens, hormone metabolites and detox pathways. Super informative.

Doctors Data Stool Sample OR Diagnostic Solutions Lab- These tests can show your levels of beta glucuronidase, if you have parasites, overgrowth of bacteria and many other interesting things about your gut health.

Blood tests- Full panel thryroid, progesterone, estradiol, LH, FSH, DHEA, testosterone, fasting insulin (you want this below 30), fasting glucose (you want this below 5.2) 

*It’s very important to get these blood tests done at the right time within your cycle. Most practitioners will say to get progesterone and estrogen checked  on  day 19-21 of your cycle but this is going on the assumption that you ovulated on day 14 of your cycle. According to the amazing Nicole jardim the best time to test progesterone levels is 5-7 days after you have ovulated. That goes for estrogen as well if estrogen dominance is a possibility, low estrogen symptoms should be checked at other times in your cycle. You can also test your estrogen, FSH and LH days 3-5 in your cycle.

* Please note, my ranges for blood tests are based on optimal levels within the functional medicine guidelines, these will be very different from conventional ranges.

OH SNAP!

Did you know that if you don’t ovulate you don’t make progesterone? Say Whaaaaaat!

I hope this information encourages you to look a little deeper, don’t ignore your symptoms; symptoms are a gift, they tell us shit ain’t right. For more information I highly recommend looking into the resources and links below.


Links, books and Sources

Period Fix by Nicole Jardim

Hormone Cure by Dr. Sara Gotfried

Estrogen Storm by Doctor Jerilyn Prior

Dr. Carrie Jones 

https://nicolejardim.com/when-to-test-progesterone-levels/

https://reliefsummit.com/

https://ndnr.com/endocrinology/estrogen-dominance-when-an-unhealthy-gut-estrobolome-is-to-blame/

https://ndnr.com/endocrinology/estrogen-dominance-when-an-unhealthy-gut-estrobolome-is-to-blame/