Perimenopause: What every woman needs to know / Dr. Shahzadi Harper

I wanna go back for a second to your billionaire analogy, because, you know, I think it's interesting, you've talked about this as well.

You go away on a retreat, like we all go away on some health retreat, and we feel amazing, and we're like, "How can we hold onto this feeling?" I mean, I was, I was at, like I said, at this wellness festival in, um, the south of Spain, and I was like, I've got pictures on my phone of the water, you know? And I'm like, "Oh, I could just go back to these photos every time I wanna go back there." But then you come back to real life and obviously again- ...

quote-unquote, "life stressors," um, these changes happen, and I guess this, I guess what you're saying as well is that the hormone replacement therapy can just help keep you on an even keel throughout or-

Stress is a big factor, and I think we have often not really thought about it as part of the impact it has on our hormones, our life, our inflammation, our weight, all of those factors.

And I think that we are living in much more stressful times than we ever did, and that's why when you go on holiday or when you're away, sometimes, um, you might not even need the same amount of dosage of HRT or hor- you know, your treatment, and that's pr- pr- probably because you're not living in that fast pace.

You're not working.

You're not, you know, rushing around to pick the children up.

You're not rushing to do this.

And so I think that, um, you can't get away from those life stressors.

That is life, and especially London life in a way, you know, if you're living in a big city and something like that.

So I think that it's difficult, um, in modern-day life and the expectations, um, that are on women to continue working, um, to, you know, still look good and sexy and still look after it, all the juggle, you know?

Yeah.

I think it's very difficult to do.

Yeah, I think there's an epidemic of chronic stress-

Yeah, yeah

... um, in, in this generation.

Dr. Harper, how would people know when it's time to see somebody?

I usually say when you don't feel like yourself, okay? And I think we all know how we feel, and I think, you know, sometimes just take a moment, sort of pause, breathe, and, and just sort of in- you know, reflect.

Take a moment for yourself to think, "How do I feel?" And I think it is about that.

If you don't feel like yourself, even if you're in your late 30s, your early 40s, your mid-40s, I think think about it sooner rather than later.

It's not just about managing your hot flashes or your insomnia.

It's looking, it's actually looking after your long-term health for the future.

And even if it's not perimenopause, it's a great time for a medical check-in, you know, checking things like your thyroid, nutritional deficiencies, looking at, you know, your, your, your future health and looking at your cholesterol, your lipids, you know, your pre-diabetes screen.

Um, it's really sort of prepping for that next stage, and yes, you know, it may well not be related to perimenopause 'cause there's so many things that can mimic it, like an underactive thyroid, like iron deficiency, like vitamin D deficiency, like fibromyalgia, but it could well be, and even if it's not, it's time to sort of address the other factors.

Now, the final question that we ask all of our guests, knowing what we know now about perimenopause, what would you tell our 35-year-old listener?