As you go into perimenopause and menopause you don’t have to settle for increased anxiety, dull moods, depression, a foggy brain, a flabby belly, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, low libido, weight gain and the bone loss that so “common” and “accepted” with getting older.
There are natural, effective and easy-to-implement solutions to balance your hormones at any age!
My perimenopausal symptoms hit with a vengeance in my late 30s. The stress that I was experiencing at work, together with all the hormone changes and what I call my “perfect storm” of gluten issues, heavy metals, low GABA, low serotonin, low zinc, adrenal issues, vegetarian diet, candida, pyroluria and leaky gut, all worked together to cause my anxiety and panic attacks.
I didn’t settle and as soon as I used GABA and tryptophan the anxiety and panic attacks stopped and I could take a step back and work on all the other underlying issues, without all the overwhelm.
I share my story in my interview on the Perimenopause Summit with summit host Dr. Michelle Sands, and go into great detail about how to use the amino acids in the most effective way to ease anxiety, worry, fear, negative self-talk, ruminations and overwhelm.
I also share a study about tryptophan easing PMS symptoms in just 3 cycles, as well as some of my other tips for PMS symptom relief (think liver support).
I also talk about a topic that no-one is addressing and yet there is such a simple solution for this excruciatingly painful condition called proctalgia fugax. You may not have heard this term but if you have you know it! In the medical literature it is described as “a condition that leads to rectal spasms and sharp fleeting pain in the lower rectum or anus.” Sublingual GABA works miracles in a few minutes).
My interview – Amino Acid Therapy for Anxiety
- Problems with commonly prescribed anti-anxiety meds
- How food affects mood
- Right and wrong way to use amino acid therapy
Unfortunately, hormone and women’s health issues are incredibly misdiagnosed and misunderstood, leaving many women feeling hopeless, broken and stuck.
Dr. Michelle gets all this because she was also there, in her 20s with irregular and absent periods, mood swings, joint pain, infertility, low libido, digestive issues and insomnia. She was told her ovaries had failed and to manage her symptoms for the rest of her life with birth control pills, antidepressants and other medications. So, she found a better way — a natural way to help her body heal itself — and she’s here to teach you how to do the very same, no matter whether you’re in your 20s or decades older!
The pyroluria perimenopause connection
There are little known connections between pyroluria (a social anxiety condition) and perimenopause.
The nutrients, zinc, vitamin B6 and evening primrose oil, eliminate the social anxiety symptoms and have a direct tie in to perimenopause because these same nutrients:
- are needed to make neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin
- are also are needed to make our sex hormones (and help so much with PMS and perimenopausal hormone imbalance)
In my interview with Dr. Michelle I also share how I discovered I had pyroluria before I even knew what pyroluria was. I was in perimenopause and had terrible PMS. I read Ann Louise Gittleman’s wonderful book Before the Change: Taking Charge of Your Perimenopause (my Amazon link), and she recommended zinc, vitamin B6, and evening primrose oil for PMS symptoms. Once I started taking these nutrients I had fewer hormonal issues and they helped so much with my social anxiety.
A few years later when I was working with clients with pyroluria and I looked at the pyroluria questionnaire I thought: “that looks like me, maybe I’ve got this too!” I did the urine test and I discovered that I have pyroluria.
In my interview I talk about :
- the pyroluria-introvert connection and why I believe there is a nutritional aspect to introversion and it’s not purely a personality trait
- the pyroluria-Lyme connection and how Klinghardt feels that Lyme Disease cannot be treated until the underlying pyroluria is addressed
Be sure to also tune in to Ann Louise Gittleman’s interview. Her discussion about zinc and copper is a perfect complement to my interview.
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS: Is Perimenopause a Mineral Imbalance?
- Do you have toxic levels of this mineral (copper)?
- Best way to test mineral imbalance
- Overcoming nutrient and mineral imbalance
Adrenal health is so important during perimenopause
Adrenal health is so important during perimenopause. This is covered in this interview – Adrenals are a Perimenopausal Gal’s Bestie with Marcelle Pick MSN, OB-GYN, NP. She covers the following:
- Role of the adrenal glands in hormone balance
- Causes and consequences of adrenal burnout
- Caring for your adrenals.
And shares these gems:
- Prior to menopause about 15% of our sex hormones are produced by our adrenals and after menopause it’s 30% – this is why adrenal health is so important!
- When you are stressed the adrenals will make cortisol at the expense of estrogen and progesterone
She also talks about how we handle stress impact the adrenals and why it’s so important to work on lifestyle changes. One great example she shares is this: “are we a perfectionist and do we expect too much of ourselves?”
I’d like to add to this and say that the first step is recognizing that you are a perfectionist and reminding you that perfectionism is a classic sign of low serotonin. That way you can consider using the amino acids tryptophan or 5-HTP to say goodbye to perfectionism and ease some of your stress.
I talk all about low serotonin in my interview but want to help you make this connection as you listen to Dr. Marcelle’s and my interviews.
Dr. Marcelle also discusses what to eat, some of her favorite adaptogenic herbs for the adrenals, exercise advice (and why to do less when you are healing your adrenals) and the effects of childhood trauma.
Do let us know if any of this resonates with you and feel free to post questions in the comments below.