Hormones, Meet Your Match

 I have talked on this blog previously about my journey with perimenopause.  I am now around 6 months down the road from when I started having symptoms so I thought that I would share with you today what I have been doing to combat some of the symptoms that I have been experiencing.

Please note that you should not take anything that I say in this post as medical advice.  I am not a doctor.  My body is not your body and what works for me may not work for you.  I merely share my own journey with you.

So.  What have I been experiencing?  On the easier side (although I do not like it all), I am waking up earlier than I ever had before.  I wake before my alarm by half an hour to an hour during the week and at the weekend, I am usually awake by eight, even after a late night.  Please note, I am not a morning person....

This is not a massive hardship or something that I have had to make any major changes in my life for, but damn, I like my sleep!!

I have been lucky in that although I have had the occasional hot flush, thus far, this has not been an issue that has been consistent.

The big one has been my hormones.  I wrote back in August on how perimenopause had set me free.  And in a sense, it did.  Feelings come and are expressed and there is no hiding them.  Letting your fury flag fly free can be liberating when you normally hide it.

However, experiencing fifteen different emotions in one afternoon, especially when you are at work, is a) exhausting and b) can be quite scary for your work colleagues.  I know one person reading this will be nodding their head vigorously at that one.

I decided early on that I did not want to take hormones.  It is a personal choice for me.  I do not rule it out completely, that would be silly if it became absolutely necessary, but ideally; I don't want to use anything like that.

Instead, I decided to do some research on what natural vitamins and minerals I could take that would help.  In doing so I came across a combination pill of evening primrose and star flower oil which has honestly been a game changer.

Both of these oils are rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).  Along with providing anti-inflammatory assistance, the GLA helps to support hormone balance in the production of prostaglandins, which play a role in hormone regulation.

I took the pills for around three months before they started to work but the difference is amazing.  I get the occasional hormonal imbalance and my mood can become low, but the rapid changing of moods has disappeared.  

At my worst when experiencing bad hormones I could barely function as I moved through the changes at a rapid pace.

The NHS says that taking these two alone are not enough in order to deal with perimenopause, but they work for me.

Perimenopause and full menopause is not just about hormones and hot flushes.  It also affects many other things about your body.  In particular, your hair and your skin.  

My hair already sheds like there is no tomorrow so I have no wish to lose any more.  

When perimenopause hits, this starts quite a significant reduction in estrogen, which directly impacts on collagen production.  Studies show that women can lose up to 30% of their skin collagen within the first five years.  This leads to thinner, drier and less elastic skin.

To try and combat this I started taking collagen, specifically a combination of bovine and marine collagen to cover all three types of collagen peptides with added vitamin C which is essential when taking collagen as it helps form strong functional collagen.  I have also upped my water intake as this helps support collagen structure.

I have been taking collagen for around two months now and have noticed that my hair has become stronger, my skin is starting to feel more elastic and my nails are much stronger. 

These are the things that have been working for me and I will continue to use now in my daily life.  The hardest one, strangely, has been upping my water intake as I never drink enough of it!

I would be interested to know what has helped you in your perimenopause/menopause journey.

Vicky x