Estrogen Matters

In my early twenties I dealt with a lot of inflammation. It was the beginning of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which announced itself by me suddenly being reactive to almost anything I ate. And I mean reactive – Epi pen in my purse reactive. A good friend recommended a remarkable nutritionist Mark Mincolla and with his help and the help of many others over the course of years I rebuilt myself.

At the time, in the late 90s, people thought I was nuts. Gluten free? Limited sugar? Probiotics? Who was this quack I believed in? But I knew Mark was right because I could feel the impact in my body and so I continued on. And continue on to this day with the many things he and others taught me.

Recently my inflammation is up. Way up. I live in the body of the tin man. It is strange in that I still practice yoga every day but now my fluidity is gone. It is especially bad during parts of my cycle where my estrogen drops lower than low.

This inflammation is not because of something I am doing wrong. There is no will to work. I already do the things to limit inflammation and have for decades it is simply my body trying to function with limited estrogen and it is not a fan.

It helps me to know that joint pain, aches, even pain that mirrors arthritis is a part of the shift to menopause. I don’t suddenly have rheumatoid arthritis. I don’t have fibromyalgia. I simply have low estrogen which is a normal part of aging – and all women who live long enough will go through this.

Roughly 10% will sail through to menopause no problem but for the vast majority there will be signs. So many signs. Signs that seem disparate. Signs that seem strange. Signs that overwhelm. Signs that bring us to our knees.

If this is you. You are not alone. But this book “Estrogen Matters” is your assigned reading.

For more information about perimenopause see:

Perimenopause Bibiliography

Please note none of this is medical advice.