Kylie: [00:00:00] Welcome back to episode of the Hormone Hub Podcast, where we talk all things perimenopause, menopause, and have the conversations no one else is having. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode. 

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Hormone Hub podcast. I’m your host, Kylie Pinwill, and I thought today we would have a bit of fun. So like many of us, I’m in a million different women’s Facebook groups, and there was a poll in one of the groups, and it was basically, what are your top questions that you want to know about perimenopause and menopause.

So all of these questions, I was going, Oh, that’d be great podcast episode. That’d be great podcast episode. So what I thought I would do is actually like a Q and A style podcast today, just to mix it up something different. And clearly I couldn’t find any friends to be guests this week. So, so here we are.

But what I’ve got [00:01:00] is there were tons of questions. So I will spread this probably over two episodes. So I can answer all of the questions in a bit of detail. So kicking off first question: What is perimenopause? And this is a great question because no one ever actually tells us about perimenopause. So it’s the two to twelve average years before we actually hit menopause. So menopause is when we, have gone without a period for 12 months. Now, just like when we go through puberty, we don’t just wake up and we’ve got boobs and have our period. Menopause is the same. So if we think of perimenopause is like, Puberty in reverse.

So all of our sex hormones are on this wild roller coaster. So it’s biggest fluctuation in hormones that we have had since puberty. So it’s, you know, it’s a true roller coaster before our ovaries naturally [00:02:00] start producing lower levels. of hormones. And then once we get into those low levels, that’s where we stop having our periods and we head towards menopause.

So definitely, I believe the time where we have the biggest influx of symptoms. All right, question number two, what symptoms would I have in menopause? So generally when we have gone 12 months without a period we’re in menopause, that means our ovaries are no longer producing estrogen and progesterone and we’re naturally producing less testosterone as well.

So typical symptoms are hot flushes. So this is when you start to get hot flushes, we know that low estrogen drives that. So we know you’re close to or in menopause. But it’s not just hot flushes. It can also be an increase in anxiety around this time. A lot of women experience brain fog and sort of memory loss, and it’s [00:03:00] that big change in oestrogen.

Feeling overwhelmed is another one and definitely a loss of confidence. So, you know, women just start to second guess themselves. And I see this a lot, particularly with my, you know, working women who are generally quite competent, generally quite confident. All of a sudden, you know, they’re starting to question their decisions and question their abilities.

It is a normal part of that menopause process. So don’t be too alarmed. You definitely do not have dementia. Okay, question number three. What can I do to be less moody? All right, so this is, this is a good one. What I would do, like the first place I would start is to balance out your blood sugar. So what happens when our blood sugar goes up?

You know, we might start to feel tired and then we come crashing down. And it’s when we sort of have those blood sugar ups and downs that, that’s triggers our moods as well. So, we all know if we’re hangry, then we’re not [00:04:00] going to be happy. So you want to balance your blood sugar out. And this is one of the first things that I do with my clients inside the hormone code program is we look at, balancing out your nutrition working out what’s right for your body and just keeping that blood sugar stable and plays a huge impact on your mood.

So avoiding sugar, avoiding alcohol, avoiding caffeine, anything that’s going to spike and crash your. blood sugar. Alright, next question is what medication is the best to stop hot flushes and night sweats? Okay, now there is no one magic pill. HRT can certainly help with hot flushes and night sweats. You’re not sick, so you don’t need a medication.

This is a natural transition that we go through. So I would look at how do we get your hormones back into a better ratio. So looking at definitely we know that caffeine can impact hot flushes. We know that [00:05:00] alcohol can exacerbate things for some women, it’s spicy, hot foods. It’s feeling stressed, so definitely you can flare up with stress as well.

So it’s keeping a handle on the diet, the lifestyle pieces rather than looking for a medication because there is no magic pill, unfortunately. Okay, so this follows on to the next question, which what natural products are there to help me manage symptoms? So again, we need to address diet first, lifestyle, stress management.

You know, are you going to bed on time? Are you moving your body on a daily basis? Are you drinking enough water? Okay. So that’s, that’s where I would start. If you’re looking at going down the natural route, diet, lifestyle, hydration, stress management. Okay, then there’s certainly things that can help. So magnesium can be helpful and also taurine.

So taurine is an amino [00:06:00] acid, which has a huge impact on mental health, our moods and just helps regulate everything. So certainly you want to be looking at about three to four hundreds. micrograms of magnesium a day and about three grams of taurine. And there are some beautiful products out there.

And you need to make sure if you are taking supplements, you’re taking a therapeutic dose. And I hate to say it, but all of your happy hormones, your happy mammoth, your geez, don’t even start me on some of that multi level marketing stuff. It’s not a therapeutic dose. So it’s actually not going to make any difference.

So if you are going to go down the supplement route. Get some advice, take a decent therapeutic dose because that’s what’s going to make a difference. Okay, next question. What kind of diet will make me feel better? Without doubt, a whole food diet. So I don’t prescribe to you must be low carb, you must be keto, you must, you [00:07:00] know, fast, you must, you know, do all this other stuff.

So what I, recommend if it’s real food. You know, use it, eat it, enjoy it. If it’s not, so if it came from a packet, if it’s processed, if you look at the ingredients and you can’t pronounce those ingredients, stay away from it. Definitely staying away from sugar and processed carbohydrates. So again, things that can’t come out of a packet.

So, meat, vegetables, fish, legumes, beans, chicken, a bigger variety of fruit and veggies as you can. So, you know, get the color up, eat the rainbow. Lots of healthy fats, so olive oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, all of those beautiful sort of things. And if you are eating a whole food diet, you 100 percent will feel better.

Your digestive system will feel better. Your blood sugar response will be better. Your liver will work better. And then, you’ll have more energy, you’ll sleep better, you’ll be able to cope with [00:08:00] stress a bit more. So definitely a whole food diet. Next question, is fasting good for mood regulation?

Okay, now fasting is one of those controversial things. There’s a lot of benefits out there to fasting. But I hate to say it, if you’re in perimenopause, fasting is not your friend. And the reason being is, generally, if we’re under any form of stress, and we’ve got these high fluctuating levels of hormones, we tend to have higher cortisol because it’s a busy stage of life.

We’re juggling all the balls. So certainly, once you hit perimenopause, and those big hormonal swings have settled down a bit, fasting can be more beneficial then. And there’s ways to go around it. So you just think, If you are going to, start training for a marathon, like day one of your period is not the day to start training for a [00:09:00] marathon.

Day one of your period is not the best day to be fasting. So you’ve really got to pick and choose. And I do have some very specific protocols for my clients that I work with in the Hormone Solution about when we fast, how long that’s for. It’s never, ever longer than 14 to 16 hours.

Hormone Hub episode is sponsored by our free hormone help call book in your call today with one of our experienced advisors, and we’ll give you some clarity around what’s causing your symptoms and some simple steps you can use straight away to improve your menopause experience. If you’re ready to take the next step book in a call and find out more about how we can help you have a smoother transition through perimenopause and menopause, let us help you balance out your hormones, reset your metabolism, and get your confidence back so you can live the life you’re meant to.

The link with all the details is in our show [00:10:00] notes or over at kyliepinwill.com / hormone help call. 

Okay. Which blood tests should we be requesting to check our hormone levels? Now this is another great question. It comes up a lot. We, our hormones are fluctuating on a daily if not hourly basis. So when we do a blood test, it just gives us a snapshot of that moment in time. Now, if we are very sure of when we ovulate we can definitely pinpoint ideally we would test on day 21 of your cycle.

If you have a perfect regular 28 day cycle that gives us, good information. But if we are just having a random blood test for our hormones on any random day, it’s. Only just telling us what happened in that moment. So it’s a bit like map land. It’s if it was good on the day, it was good on the day, but it [00:11:00] doesn’t tell us the whole picture of what’s going on.

So definitely this is where I go signs, symptoms because they are certainly more indicative. So I know If a woman’s experiencing, say, low energy, brain fog and weight gain and no hot flushes, she’s in the earlier stages of perimenopause. Whereas if you are experiencing, hot flushes, absolute, exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, I know that you’re closer and your periods are further apart, you’re definitely closer to menopause.

So I would go signs and symptoms. And that’ll give me an idea of where you’re at over blood tests any day of the week. 

Okay, next question is, can you avoid the stomach bloat? Yes, you can, essentially. So again, it comes down to diet. Are you eating the foods that are right for your body? Are there foods that are causing [00:12:00] inflammation in your body?

If you are noticing stomach bloating sort of happening around your cycle, then I would, we would be looking at are you clearing out those excess hormones? Are you moving your body? Because often, if we feel bloated and puffy we can be holding onto excess fluids. So we want to have a look at, yeah, what’s going on in your diet.

Are you going to the toilet regularly? Are you pooping at least once, if not two or three times a day? Is it well formed? Is it easy to pass? Are you drinking enough water to flush everything through? So you absolutely can avoid the stomach bloat. 

Will I lose my sex drive? Okay, so this is another good question and I did a whole episode on this. 

Yes and no. So there’s a few things going on. So definitely our drop in hormones will trigger, or sorry, the drop in hormones will sort of lower our sex drive 100 percent because we’re losing testosterone as well, and [00:13:00] testosterone is a big driver for our sex drives. But if you think about it also, there’s a lot of other stuff going on.

So if we are tired, like, you’re not going to feel very, sexy if you’re just exhausted. You’re not going to feel very sexy if you’re feeling bloated and not very confident in your own body. If you’ve had a lost connection with your partner and you’re just kind of going through the motions, all of these things can contribute to what we think is low sex drive.

But if we start to, maybe change the time around of, when we are You know, wanting to have sex. So maybe we switch it from instead of like 10 o’clock at night, maybe switch it up to the morning. Maybe go on a date night, create a connection with your partner. So there’s a lot we can do.

So we don’t have to just write it off as that’s the end of our sex life forever. It’s just sort of like, how can we nurture it? How can, what can we do differently just to spice things up a bit? Next [00:14:00] question is, when should I stop my HRT medication? So currently, in, okay, so let’s just first, the UK is doing their own thing right now.

So the UK is advocating that women stay on HRT forever. All right. The rest of the world is not. So the rest of the world is following the guidelines of the lowest dose for the lowest amount of time possible. So generally this is sort of around about five years. So sometimes it’s less, sometimes it’s more just depending on, if you lower your dose and you’re not getting a flare up of symptoms, you know, it could be because our hormones are meant to decline and our hormones are meant to settle down.

So you’re not going to have those menopausal symptoms forever. So, you can get to a point with your doctors. you know, a conversation with your doctor like winding down those, those HRT medications. But certainly [00:15:00] the current recommendation is around five years. Like I said, except for the UK, they’re doing their own thing and keeping the weight off.

So absolutely you can keep the weight. off. Gaining weight during perimenopause and menopause is not a given. We do have to work a little bit harder on it, and we’re not harder, but we just need to do it differently. So we need to pay attention to the hormones that go into it. trigger us to gain weight.

So this can be estrogen, it can be insulin and it can be cortisol. So these are our biggest weight gaining hormones. What we want to do is we want to keep your blood sugar stable. We want to keep a handle on your stress response and we want to get that ratio of, of estrogen in balance with progesterone.

And this is certainly like, it’s too big for a podcast episode, that’s for sure. But this is certainly something that I’ve worked towards with all [00:16:00] of my clients is how do we keep that blood sugar stable, cortisol down, and estrogen balanced? And yeah, weight gain is not a given, as we hit this stage of life.

So if you’ve noticed that your weight distribution has changed on your body and it’s now your got bingo wings and you’ve got back fat and you’ve got belly fat and all these things that you’ve never had before. It’s your hormones signaling your body to store weight differently. Okay, so that is the first half of our questions.

So hopefully that was helpful. If you do have more questions, let me know. I’m always happy to answer questions. That’s what the whole idea of the podcast is, if there is anything that’s come up today and you think, oh yeah, that’s me. I really want some help with that. This is what we do inside the hormone code.

Okay. So we work with you. It doesn’t matter what medications you are. It doesn’t matter what challenges you’re having. We want you to [00:17:00] thrive through menopause. Okay. We want you to get on top of your symptoms, on top of your nutrition, on top of your lifestyle choices. And these then become, you know, it’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity and it’s a necessity.

That’s going to keep you well. through this transition and long into old age as well. So definitely this is not the time to hang up your boots girls. All right. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you in the next episode. 

Thank you for taking the time to listen today. You can head on over to the show notes at kyliepinwill.com/podcast where you’ll find all the links. Now, before we go, it would mean the world to me if you’d head on over to your favorite podcast channel, subscribe and leave a review. Don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Then stay tuned for next week’s episode and I can’t wait to see you then.