104. What Nobody Explained to You About Perimenopause and Hormones

You wake up in a body that doesn't quite feel like yours. Sleep is worse, moods are sharper, weight settles somewhere it never used to, and when you finally ask your doctor, you’re told your labs are normal. In this episode, I'm opening the doors to something I teach inside the Living Inspired Life Lab. This is the hormone conversation I have with nearly every woman who finds her way to me. It's not the version you've seen online where estrogen is the enemy and the right supplement fixes everything. It's the real one, where your hormones are one part of a much bigger story your body is telling you, and if you're in your late 30s, 40s, or beyond and you've started to feel like a stranger to yourself, this one is for you.In This EpisodeThe hormone hierarchy, and why your sex hormones sit at the very top of the pyramidBlood sugar as the foundation everything else is built onThe monthly cycle, and the difference between feeling unstable and being cyclicalPerimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause, and why menopause is only one single dayThe estrogen roller coaster, and why this stretch is often harder than menopause itselfProgesterone, ovulation, and the reason your sleep changedFSH, lab tests, and why a normal result doesn't mean nothing is happeningHormone therapy as a start-at-the-base conversation, not a first moveResources MentionedFind Rachel on Instagram: @peaceinperimenopausePodcast episode with a hormone nurse practitioner, Dana Culp, on the hormone therapy process.Podcast episode with Jane Butler on the mindset of the menopause journey.