Hi  – welcome to the roller coaster ride of the perimenopausal years! I’m right there with you! But there’s hope and if we can help you figure out the hormonal dynamics in your unique case, the good news is that it can be a much smoother ride.

When we enter the perimenopausal years (typically between 40 and 50 years), progesterone declines at a much faster rate than estrogen which can leave a woman estrogen dominant (i.e. a relatively higher ratio of estrogen compared to progesterone), which leads to symptoms like sore breasts, heavy periods, and PMS.

However, since you’ve mentioned that you historically have had heavy periods, I’m going to assume that you were already estrogen dominant, and now with the gradual decline of progesterone due to the natural aging process, the imbalance might be exacerbated.

If you haven’t already seen it, I would encourage you to watch the presentation that we had with hormone guru, Dr. Carrie Jones. It’s called “Estrogen Gone Wild” and it was all about estrogen dominance. It will help you gain a better understanding of how this dynamic happens; 1- high estrogen to progesterone ratio, 2- lack of clearance of estrogen (gut health!!), 3 – xenoestrogens (outside sources of estrogen which mimic estrogen and aren’t measurable in blood tests, but they have hormonal effect in the body).

So before I guide you further, we need to start getting clear on what are the potential causes in your case. Is it simply due to the decline of progesterone? Is it because of constipation or gut dysbiosis allowing estrogen to go back into recirculation? Or is it lifestyle related based on the choices of hygiene and personal care products used on a daily basis? Here’s a viral post that I did which visually displays some of the common sources of estrogen mimickers.

It could be 1 or all 3 dynamics at play. So before going any further and overwhelming you, please make time to watch that presentation, and then come back to my post and tell me what your intuition says about the possible 3 dynamics, and which ones you feel it could be.

Also, have you ever had your hormone levels tested? Please remove any identifying information, and feel free to upload them here for us to take a look at as well.

Once we begin to zoom in on the contributing factor(s), then we can discuss way to correct it. Hope that makes sense.

Hey ,

Welcome around here! My name is Daniel and I help Bernadette on the platform. I hope we can guide you to some relief!

Understanding how estrogen & progesterone dance with each other will help you make it easier on deciding how to approach your perimenopausal symptoms.

Keep an eye on the general tips section. I am near completing an article (2-3 minutes read – I hope) that will describe how estrogen & progesterone behave during a cycle.

Yes, heavy periods are a risk factor for low iron. Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a genetic condition called Thalassemia that causes low iron levels. Have doctors ever ruled this out? I’m just asking in case you like to use iron supplements. With Thalassemia iron supplements might not work for you –  or make things worse, so be aware!

If you have been tested, we have a course around minerals in the monthly courses folder. You can find the video’s over iron here (just click the bold words, they are hyperlinked). The video about correcting iron deficiency will be answering those questions.

May I have an additional question since I also suffer from similar breast soreness (only left side but quite uncomfortable) and mood swings before and at the start of my period. I have a non hormonal zinc coil and since I put it my periods became super heavy. I also suffer from low iron and was told to consider removing it. Question is, will the PMS soften? Is that also a factor? Question 2, I don’t want hormonal contraceptives, is there a video or post about alternative methods that has minimal effects on the body? Thank you, interesting post and conversation.

Sorry I just realized I write zinc but of course is a copper coil

Hi  – I noticed that Daniel replied to you in depth about copper IUDs. And here is an excellent contraception guide by Dr. Jolene Brighten about the different types of contraception available with pros and cons discussed for each. Hope this helps.