Hello everyone, I am so happy that you are here! Please take a moment to watch this quick, Skool tutorial. Also, please introduce yourself to the group and tell us why you are here. I cannot wait to get to know all of you better and to navigate this stage of life together. 🥰https://www.loom.com/share/1fe97f05a8f84e8192dd7b8839cc3bdb

Before we start trying to improve our health and symptoms during this phase of our lives, it’s important to know what is happening to our bodies. Learning all of this made me feel so much better. You are not doing anything wrong. Your body is not broken. This is simply a natural life process. But yet, no one really discusses it. Let’s get into the basics… 📚 During our reproductive years our hormones run on a steady 25-40 day cycle with our periods lasting three to seven days. But when we start to go into perimenopause our hormones can often feel like a roller coaster. By definition menopause is only one day. It’s the one day when you have not had your period for 12 months. The average age in the United States is 51 years old. Normal is between ages 45-55 and early menopause is before 45. Menopause represents the end of reproductive function. Perimenopause is the beginning of the end of ovarian function and can show up 7-10 years prior to menopause. It can start as early as 36 years old but the average is 45. During this phase, fluctuations in hormones levels start to appear, especially in estrogen and progesterone. Perimenopause can be extremely difficult to officially diagnose because symptoms appear differently for every woman, the age varies and there is not an established test for doctors to use. Many doctors haven’t been educated on the subject and think that symptoms only appear as irregular periods or hot flashes (please see “Perimenopause Symptom List” in Menopause 101). Post menopause marks the remainder of your life after menopause. All three phases may feel the same to some because they are caused by deprivation of sex hormones (estrogen, testosterone and progesterone). Now that we understand the basics of menopause, we can start to uncover how we can truly THRIVE during this third of our lives. There is so much that we can do and this doesn’t have to be a time of gloom and doom. It can be a time for us to live our healthiest and happiest lives! 💕